Didn’t sign up for health coverage before March 31st, 2014? You can still reduceyour tax penalty for going uninsured by purchasing Health Insurance today! Remember- With the Affordable Care Act, YOU need to have health insurance, either through an Employer Group plan, Individual/Family policy, Medicare or Medicaid. If you are […]

What is Open Enrollment and how does it affect you? Open Enrollment is a specific period of time you can sign up for, or make changes to Qualified Health Plans. For 2014, the Open Enrollment Period is from October 1, 2013 thru March 31, 2014. When does Open Enrollment end? […]

Don’t worry, the hearing didn’t actually last for 40 hours, but the House Ways and Means Committee did host a full committee hearing on PPACA’s 40-hour rule earlier this week. As you all know, PPACA’s definition of a full-time employee has caused many employers and employees quite the headache. Beginning […]

CBS News (11/14, Jaslow) reports a Commonwealth Fund survey of 20,000 adults in 11 “high-income countries” found that the US led the categories of residents who “went without recommended medical care, did not see a doctor when ill or failed to fill a prescription” due to cost at 37 percent; […]

HealthDay (11/14, Norton) reports that a new Harris Interactive/HealthDaypoll of 2,033 Americans conducted online October 21-23 found that “Many Americans say they’d submit to insurance company medical tests and lifestyle monitoring in exchange for lower-cost premiums.” Overall, “Three-quarters said they’d have a blood pressure check, while 68 percent were willing […]

Missouri Senate Committee Rejects Medicaid Expansion Proposal. The AP (11/14) reports from Missouri that the state’s Republican-led Senate Interim Committee on Medicaid Transformation and Reform “considering changes to Missouri’s Medicaid program has rejected a Democratic proposal in support of expanded eligibility.” Yesterday’s decision by the committee “dealt with what recommendations […]

New Hampshire Democrats Propose Medicaid Compromise, Senate Republicans Decline. The Concord (NH) Monitor (11/13, Palermo) reports that on Tuesday, New Hampshire Gov. Maggie Hassan (D) and House Speaker Terie Norelli (D) announced their party’s willingness to compromise on some aspects of a Medicaid expansion plan, but Republican responded this would […]

Coverage of state exchanges focused on enrollment numbers and other activity data, as the majority of exchanges have reported initial data. Hawaii Exchange Has Not Reported Enrollment Numbers. The Honolulu Star-Advertiser (11/14, Marcellus) reports that Hawaii’s state-run health insurance exchange is one of three across the country that have yet […]

Report: ACA Has Led To Reduced Worker Hours. The Hill (11/13, Hattem) reports in its “Regwatch” blog on a report from the Chamber of Commerce and the International Franchise Association that finds that the Affordable Care Act “is already causing businesses to reduce their workers’ hours, more than a year […]

The Hill (11/14, Cox) reports in its “Floor Action” blog that multiple Senate Republicans on Wednesday used comments made Tuesday by former President Bill Clinton to attack the Affordable Care Act. In the interview, Clinton said that “Obama should keep his promise that if someone likes their healthcare plan, they […]