Under the President’s leadership, the Biden-Harris Administration has continued its work to invest in America, lower costs for families, combat climate change, and grow the economy from the bottom up and middle out. The Administration is using every available tool to improve Americans’ lives, including Federal regulations that my office—the Office of Information and Regulatory Review (OIRA)—reviews.
Today, OIRA is releasing its Spring Regulatory Agenda , which details additional actions that Federal agencies are considering over the coming months. These actions build on and accelerate this Administration’s progress in delivering for the American people.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Office of the Actuary released projections of National Health Expenditures (NHE) and health insurance enrollment for the years 2022-2031. The report contains expected impacts from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), including that people with Medicare prescription drug coverage (Part D) are projected to experience lower out-of-pocket spending on prescription drugs for 2024 and beyond as several provisions from the law begin to take effect.
Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangements, or the unfortunate-soundingICHRA for short, are a type of health insurance arrangements which were created via Trump administration-era regulations back in 2019.
An individual coverage health reimbursement arrangement (ICHRA) is a new type of health reimbursement arrangement in which employers of any size can reimburse employees for some or all of the premiums that the employees pay for health insurance that they purchase on their own...ICHRAs represent a departure from previous ACA implementation rules that forbid employers from reimbursing employees for individual market premiums....
...data is only available for 8 states so far; for another, the data from those states is a mish-mash, clearly broken out in some but only partial in others, and some only include percentages instead of hard numbers.
Even so, you can already see that at least 258,000 people have lost Medicaid coverage due to paperwork/clerical issues in just Arkansas and Florida alone...in just the first two months of the unwinding process.
Thanks to the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts to strengthen maternal health, an estimated 509,000 Americans annually are now eligible for essential care for a full year after pregnancy.
Today, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), announced New York’s extension of comprehensive coverage after pregnancy through Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) for postpartum individuals for a full 12 months.
Last week Amy Lotven of Inside Health Policy noted that the 5th Circuit Court panel was trying to come up with some sort of stopgap solution to the ongoing Braidwood v. Becerra lawsuit until such time as the case winds its way up to the U.S. Supreme Court.
One judge on the federal appeals court panel considering whether an order blocking HHS from enforcing the Affordable Care Act preventive services coverage mandate should continue to be partially stayed through its appeal is urging the parties to pursue a workable resolution, and legal expert Tim Jost says the panel appeared open to the government’s suggestion the court issue a narrow solution that only applies to insurers in Texas.
The list includes 9 major items (some of which actually include a lot more than one provision within them). It really should include ten, since I forgot about implementing a Basic Health Plan program like New York and Minnesota have (and as Oregon is ramping up to do soon as well), but it's still a pretty full plate.
Health Carriers Propose Affordable Care Act (ACA) Premium Rates for 2024
Public Invited to Submit Comments
BALTIMORE – The Maryland Insurance Administration has received the rate filings containing the proposed 2024 premium rates for Affordable Care Act (ACA) products offered by health and dental carriers in the Individual, Non-Medigap and Small Group markets, which impact approximately 471,000 Marylanders.
The Connecticut Insurance Department has received a total of 10 rate filings from 9 health insurers for plans that will be available on the individual and small group market, both on and off the state-sponsored exchange, Access Health CT. As part of our regulatory responsibilities, we will conduct a thorough examination of these filings to ensure that the requested rates comply with state laws and regulations.
The review process will delve deeply into each submission, requiring insurers to provide justifications and supporting evidence. As always, the rate reviews will be comprehensive, continuing our ongoing efforts to promote transparency and accountability. By utilizing various tools, such as benchmarking and other industry best practices, we strive to maintain a fair and competitive insurance market while prioritizing the interests of consumers.
Every month for years now, the Centers for Medicare & Medicare Services (CMS) has published a monthly press release with a breakout of total Medicare, Medicaid & CHIP enrollment; the most recent one was posted in late February, and ran through November 2022.
