Tag Archives: Affordable Care Act

Capitol Hill Healthcare Update

Photo of Mike FergusonPhoto of Chris JonesPhoto of Adam HigginsPhoto of Tyler ThompsonBy Mike Ferguson, Chris Jones, Adam Higgins and Tyler Thompson on Posted in Uncategorized
Delayed Senate Health Vote Boon to GOP or Just Prolonging the Inevitable? Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s announcement that he would delay a key procedural vote scheduled for this week on the Republicans’ healthcare overhaul gave the GOP yet more time to find a legislative solution that can pass the Senate. But given McConnell’s inability … Continue Reading

Capitol Hill Healthcare Update

Photo of Mike FergusonPhoto of Chris JonesPhoto of Adam HigginsPhoto of Tyler ThompsonBy Mike Ferguson, Chris Jones, Adam Higgins and Tyler Thompson on Posted in Uncategorized
CBO Score of House Health Bill Set for This Week Congress’s official budget scorekeepers this week will release analysis of the House-approved bill repealing most of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and that data will inform Senate Republicans on a path for passing their version of the legislation. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and the … Continue Reading

Capitol Hill Healthcare Update

Photo of Mike FergusonPhoto of Chris JonesPhoto of Adam HigginsPhoto of Tyler ThompsonBy Mike Ferguson, Chris Jones, Adam Higgins and Tyler Thompson on Posted in Uncategorized
Senate Panel OKs FDA User Fees Legislation reauthorizing FDA user fees for prescription and generic drugs, biosimilars, and medical devices won wide bipartisan approval last week in a Senate committee, teeing up approval by the full Senate, likely after the Memorial Day recess. The Senate HELP Committee approved the five-year renewal on a 21-2 vote. … Continue Reading

Capitol Hill Healthcare Update

Photo of Mike FergusonPhoto of Chris JonesPhoto of Adam HigginsPhoto of Tyler ThompsonBy Mike Ferguson, Chris Jones, Adam Higgins and Tyler Thompson on Posted in Uncategorized
House approval last week of legislation repealing and replacing most of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) sets up a showdown in the Senate, where GOP leaders will confront a familiar web of political, policy and procedural obstacles that took House Republicans five months to navigate. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and key committee chairmen must reconcile … Continue Reading

Market Stabilization: To Be or Not to Be?

By Susan Feigin Harris on Posted in Uncategorized
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) published a Final Rule intended to stabilize the individual and small group insurance markets on April 18, 2017. Reflecting the urgent need to address the uncertainty afflicting the markets, CMS advanced the rule from proposed to final form in just two short months despite receiving more than … Continue Reading

AHCA: The Republican House Leadership Proposal to Change the ACA

By Susan Feigin Harris on Posted in Uncategorized
Late Monday afternoon, House Republican leaders released a two-bill legislative package to “repeal and replace” the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Collectively called the “American Health Care Act” or “AHCA,” the two bills drafted by the Energy and Commerce and Ways and Means Committees reflect efforts by the GOP to identify provisions in the ACA that … Continue Reading

Capitol Hill Healthcare Update

Photo of Mike FergusonPhoto of Chris JonesPhoto of Adam HigginsPhoto of Tyler ThompsonBy Mike Ferguson, Chris Jones, Adam Higgins and Tyler Thompson on Posted in Uncategorized
‘Take it or leave it’ Some conservatives say it represents “Obamacare lite,” not the full repeal they have campaigned on for years. Other Republicans are mindful of policy decisions impacting Americans who have received insurance coverage on the Exchanges or the states that have expanded their Medicaid populations. House leaders have concluded it’s impossible to … Continue Reading

Reducing the Regulatory Stranglehold on Federally Facilitated Exchanges: Will It Work?

By Susan Feigin Harris on Posted in Uncategorized
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently issued a proposed rule aimed at improving the individual and small group markets that have been plagued with instability as issuers continue exiting the Exchanges. While the proposed rule is primarily focused on the Federally-facilitated Exchanges (FFEs), CMS is encouraging state-based Exchanges to adopt similar policies. … Continue Reading

Capitol Hill Healthcare Update

Photo of Mike FergusonPhoto of Chris JonesPhoto of Adam HigginsPhoto of Tyler ThompsonBy Mike Ferguson, Chris Jones, Adam Higgins and Tyler Thompson on Posted in Uncategorized
At HHS, Price will lead Trump’s efforts on ACA repeal Three weeks into President Trump’s administration, the Senate on Friday narrowly approved Tom Price as Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), elevating the former orthopedic surgeon as Trump’s point person on repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Price … Continue Reading

Capitol Hill Healthcare Update

Photo of Mike FergusonPhoto of Chris JonesPhoto of Adam HigginsPhoto of Tyler ThompsonBy Mike Ferguson, Chris Jones, Adam Higgins and Tyler Thompson on Posted in Uncategorized
GOP leaders delay ACA action amid “repeal,” “repair” debate House Speaker Paul Ryan last week set a deadline of the end of March for repealing most of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), as other Republican leaders and conservative rank-and-file lawmakers advocated competing policy alternatives for what would follow the health law. Congressional Republicans had hoped … Continue Reading

Capitol Hill Healthcare Update

Photo of Mike FergusonPhoto of Chris JonesPhoto of Adam HigginsPhoto of Tyler ThompsonBy Mike Ferguson, Chris Jones, Adam Higgins and Tyler Thompson on Posted in Uncategorized
At GOP retreat, consensus on healthcare elusive House and Senate Republicans emerged from a policy retreat last week in Philadelphia with no agreement on next steps in their plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Most congressional leaders, including House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden (R-Ore.), urged rank-and-file lawmakers to … Continue Reading

Capitol Hill Healthcare Update

Photo of Mike FergusonPhoto of Chris JonesPhoto of Adam HigginsPhoto of Tyler ThompsonBy Mike Ferguson, Chris Jones, Adam Higgins and Tyler Thompson on Posted in Uncategorized
Trump order seeks to undermine ACA President Donald Trump didn’t mention the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in his inaugural address but later that night he signed a sweeping executive order that directs federal agencies to effectively undermine the health law. The executive order doesn’t repeal the ACA, and it’s mostly symbolic – but it is … Continue Reading

Capitol Hill Healthcare Update

Photo of Mike FergusonPhoto of Chris JonesPhoto of Adam HigginsPhoto of Tyler ThompsonBy Mike Ferguson, Chris Jones, Adam Higgins and Tyler Thompson on Posted in Uncategorized
Congress sets up bill to repeal ACA The House on Friday gave final congressional approval to a budget blueprint that authorizes separate filibuster-proof legislation Republicans will use next month to repeal much of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Republican-led committees in the House and Senate now will begin drafting the so-called reconciliation legislation that will … Continue Reading

Capitol Hill Healthcare Update

Photo of Mike FergusonPhoto of Chris JonesPhoto of Adam HigginsPhoto of Tyler ThompsonBy Mike Ferguson, Chris Jones, Adam Higgins and Tyler Thompson on Posted in Uncategorized
A growing number of moderate and conservative Republicans in Congress are voicing concerns about the party’s strategy to repeal the Affordable Care Act (Act) in February but then wait months – and possibly even into 2018 – before developing a replacement plan. Republicans, including President-elect Trump, have said the party’s No. 1 priority is repealing … Continue Reading

Capitol Hill Healthcare Update

Photo of Mike FergusonPhoto of Chris JonesPhoto of Adam HigginsPhoto of Tyler ThompsonBy Mike Ferguson, Chris Jones, Adam Higgins and Tyler Thompson on Posted in Uncategorized
New Congress targets ACA repeal Republican congressional leaders overseeing the new 115th Congress will trigger a legislative process this week which will likely culminate in February with the repeal of most of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The Senate will vote on a budget framework that will authorize separate legislation known as budget reconciliation. That … Continue Reading

Providers Breathe Sigh of Relief with New Anti-Kickback Safe Harbors and CMP Exceptions

By Darby C. Allen on Posted in Uncategorized
On December 7, 2016, the HHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) finalized a set of rules first proposed in 2014 adding new anti-kickback law safe harbors and protecting additional conduct from enforcement under the civil monetary penalties (CMP) law related to beneficiary inducements. The OIG’s stated purpose in adopting the rule is to allow greater … Continue Reading

Capitol Hill Healthcare Update

Photo of Mike FergusonPhoto of Chris JonesPhoto of Adam HigginsPhoto of Tyler ThompsonBy Mike Ferguson, Chris Jones, Adam Higgins and Tyler Thompson on Posted in Uncategorized
House Oks “Cures,” Senate Votes This Week The Senate this week is likely to give final congressional approval to legislation that adds billions of dollars for biomedical research and aims to speed the discovery and development of new drugs and medical devices. The “21st Century Cures” legislation won House approval last week 392-26. Although several … Continue Reading

Trump Administration: Impact on Healthcare Policy

Photo of Mike FergusonPhoto of Chris JonesBy Mike Ferguson, Susan Feigin Harris and Chris Jones on Posted in Uncategorized
Republicans’ biggest issue will be what to do with the 20 million Americans who have gained coverage under the ACA. Congress reconvened this week for the first time since Donald Trump’s stunning victory, and just as his election was a political earthquake, the impact of the Trump administration and the Republican Congress on healthcare policy promises … Continue Reading

Capitol Hill Healthcare Update

Photo of Mike FergusonPhoto of Chris JonesPhoto of Adam HigginsPhoto of Tyler ThompsonBy Mike Ferguson, Chris Jones, Adam Higgins and Tyler Thompson on Posted in Uncategorized
Upton Acknowledges ‘Cures’ Stalled House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) acknowledged publicly last week what has been widely suspected on Capitol Hill – his “21st Century Cures” medical innovation legislation will not pass Congress before the November elections. Upton had hoped to push through even a scaled-back version. But lack of consensus … Continue Reading

U.S. House of Representatives v. Burwell: A Failure to Appropriate, Not a Failure in Drafting

By Susan Feigin Harris on Posted in Uncategorized
“A most curious and convoluted argument whose mother was undoubtedly necessity,” wrote Judge Rosemary M. Collyer in describing the argument made by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to uphold the constitutionality of cost-sharing reduction payments to insurers under Section 1402 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). On May 12, 2016, the … Continue Reading
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