Fiscal Cliff Legislation Helps Recover Medicare Funds
As part of the fiscal cliff legislation enacted prior to the end of 2012, $10.5 billion in Medicare overpayments to hospitals will be recovered over the next few years.
HHS Grants $1.5 Billion to Fund State-Based Marketplaces
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has approved $1.5 billion in new Exchange Establishment Grants to ensure states have the required resources to build marketplaces that meet the needs of residents.
Healthcare Law Requires Pediatric Dental Coverage
Under the Affordable Care Act’s “10essential health benefits,” individual and small group health plans sold under state-based health insurance exchanges and outside them on the private market will be required to cover pediatric dental services beginning in 2014.
HHS Relaunches Website to Help Uninsured
The U.S. Department of Health andHuman Services has relaunched its website to attract the 43 million uninsuredAmericans needed to make the healthcare law work when open enrollment in state and federal healthcare exchanges begins in October 2013.
New Tools to Help Decipher Health Benefits
Insurance companies and employers are now required to provide consumers in the private health insurance market with tools to help improve and clarify the insurance policy selection process.
HHS Announces Program for Mental Health Disorders
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has a new program to help care for mental and behavioral illnesses.
Secure Health Information Sharing Demonstration a Success
The Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Veterans Affairs have developed a demonstration of the standards to permit sensitive health information to be shared responsibly among providers using electronic health records, while abiding by confidentiality rules and guidelines.
New Bill Will Modify Medical Loss Ratios
The U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee has approved H.R. 1206, the Access to Professional Health Insurance Advisors Act, with a 26-14 vote.
Office of Mobile Health to Speed Up Medical App Approval
The U.S. House of Representatives has introduced a bill that intends to clarify and shorten the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s assessment process of mobile health apps.
6M Uninsured Americans to Be Hit with Tax Penalty
Beginning in 2014, nearly six million U.S. citizens are expected to purchase health insurance or face an average tax penalty of $1,200, following a Supreme Court 5-4 decision this past summer that upheld the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act.