Senate Health Committee chairman Alexander on Tuesday released a statement ending a bipartisan effort to find an Affordable Care Act fix.
"During the last month, we have worked hard and in good faith, but have not found the necessary consensus among Republicans and Democrats to put a bill in the Senate leaders’ hands that could be...Arizona News
Arizona Governor Doug Ducey (R-AZ) offered his support today.
This is important. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) was a key "no" vote in the last unsuccessful Senate Repeal and Replace vote.
Sen. McCain has said that Ducey’s position would be an important factor in how he votes. Every vote is critical to reach the magic 50 needed to...National News
Graham says that without repeal and replacement of the ACA, Bernie Sanders' (I-VT) bid for a single payor system, "Medicare for All", is inevitable.
Dubbed federalism of healthcare, the 141 page plan includes block grants for states to create their own insurance markets. “We need people onboard now to stop what I believe is...National News
"Today is an historic day. Along with 14 co-sponsors, I was proud to introduce Medicare-for-all, single-payer health care legislation in the U.S. Senate."
Sanders has long been an advocate to the fundamental change in healthcare financing. Along the way, other Democratic senators have joined in. Here is a quote from his...National News
Nearly 90 percent of children in CHIP are in families with annual incomes below twice the poverty level (about $49,000 for a family of four).
The current appropriation runs out at the end of this month, and many states will exhaust their allotments of federal money later this year or early next year. The agreement that extends...
Navigator groups help educate and enroll consumers in the Affordable Care Act insurance exchanges. Funding disappears and no contracts offered.
At the end of August, the CMS announced plans to slash funding for navigator groups by about 40%, but the agency did not indicate it would stop funding navigation services altogether. The CMS...
Five governors, Republicans and Democrats, testified before the Senate HELP committee Thursday.
The testimony of the governors of Massachusetts, Montana, Utah, Tennessee and Colorado came during the second of four hearings aimed at sketching out the policy options Congress has before 2018 insurance rates are finalized at the end of...
The first of four hearings seeking perspective and advice from outside the Beltway was held today.
Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), the chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, said at the beginning of the hearing he hoped to reach consensus on “a small, bipartisan, stabilization bill” by the end of next...
Senate parlimentarian determines how "reconciliation" rules apply and has declared September 30 as the end date.
The ruling by Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough is likely the final nail in the coffin for repeal and replace. It means Republicans would have to revive the effort and wrap it up in just a few weeks. Congress returns...
Learn some facts, dispel some myths
The Department of Health and Human Services announced that it is cutting the advertising budget for the upcoming open enrollment period for individual insurance policies by 90%, to $10 million from last year’s $100 million. The HHS also is cutting funds for nonprofit groups that employ...
A new direction may surface in the Affordable Care Act debates.
There may be three sources of energy after the stalled Senate "Repeal & Replace" activity. Two members of the Senate HELP Committee, the House-based Problem Solvers Caucus and governors led by Kasich and Hickenlooper.
We will see how it all plays out as Congress...National News
CMS and Mark Farrah Associates looked at the impact of the different programs the ACA put in place to mitigate adverse selection and stabilize premiums.
Risk corridors, reinsurance and risk adjustment were the "Three R's" of the ACA. Only the risk adjustment program is permanent. It deters insurers from manipulating risk selection...Arizona News
After Republican efforts to Repeal and Replace stalled, there may be opportunity for fresh looks.
Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN), chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee and ranking member Patty Murray (D-WA) are seeking bipartisan solutions to the instability of the individual insurance market....National News
The Commonwealth Fund looked at black-white and Hispanic-white differences in healthcare issues.
The study looked at the years 2013-2015. The study found racial disparities in the percentage of uninsured adults, the percentage of adults who skip care due to cost and the percentage of adults who lack a primary care provider were...National News
"Don't make things worse" is the message from Thompson, Leavitt and Sibelius.
Tommy Thompson and Mike Leavitt served as Health and Human Services Secretary under George W. Bush and Kathleen Sibelius had the post under Barack Obama. They all assert that immediate stability for the individual insurance market is critically...
Insurers say the infusion is critical to market stability. Trump threatens to discontinue them to bludgeon the ACA.
The administration is making the "pay or no pay" decision every month. It brings grave concerns to an industry founded on predictability of risk and cost.
Premiums will rise if the CSRs are not funded, and experts are...
After failure of "Repeal & Replace" measures, Harvard researchers examine the state of public opinion.
The New England Journal of Medicine published a report analyzing 27 national opinion polls by 12 survey organizations. It provides a look at four critical issues relevant to the previous House and recent Senate health care...
The subsidies are integral to insurers continuing to participate on the individual marketplaces.
President Trump is holding out the cessation of the CSR subsidies as a way to "Repeal & Replace" by causing the ACA to "implode".
The subsidies reimburse insurers for reducing deductibles, co-payments and other out-of-pocket costs...
HHS Secretary Tom Price and CMS Administrator Seema Verma have access to powerful tools.
HHS can help states combat the problems of raising rates and shrinking individual marketplaces. Here are four ideas that HHS and the states can explore and expand:
Expand state reinsurance options
Allow innovative pilot plan designs for high...National News
Uncertainty over possible Congressional and Trump administration actions leave carriers uncertain whether to stay in marketplaces and what to charge,
The last six months have been anything but predictable for an industry based on ability to foresee risks and costs. Friday insurers received a letter from the federal Centers for...
