A federal appeals court panel in New Orleans is poised to uphold a lower court ruling enjoining the enforcement of the Affordable Care Act's (ACA) requirement that most private health insurance cover recommendations of the United States Preventive Services Task Force (Task Force).
On March 4, 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit heard oral arguments in Braidwood v Becerra, a case challenging the constitutionality of the ACA requirement that most forms of private health coverage include certain recommended preventive services. The panel of three judges ...
On January 18th, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a new demonstration model called the Innovation in Behavioral Health (IBH) Model, which is designed to improve outcomes for adults with mental health and substance use disorders (MH/SUD) by enhancing behavioral health provider capacity to integrate physical health care into their practice settings and services. The new demonstration model will be run out of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) under the funding authority of Section 3021 of the Affordable Care Act and demonstration ...
Our colleague .
Following is an excerpt:
The IRS Office of Chief Counsel recently issued a memo which, in a surprise to many, concluded that the filing of the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) Forms 1094-C and 1095-C (“C Forms”) does not start the statute of limitations on ...
Sponsors of health plans have long known that the only constant in life is change. In 2020, that is surely to remain true.
Ding-Dong! The Cadillac Tax Is Dead!
On December 20, 2019, as part of the year-end appropriations bill, the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) so-called 40% “Cadillac Tax” on high-cost health plans was finally, after much lobbying and other efforts by sponsors and health care payers, put to an end with a full repeal. The “Cadillac Tax” was currently scheduled to take effect in 2022 (after two delays), and would have taxed employer-sponsored plans worth more than ...
As discussed in our March 28, 2019 blog post, New Jersey adopted its own individual health insurance mandate, the New Jersey Health Insurance Market Preservation Act (“NJHIMPA”). The NJHIMPA requires, with certain qualifying exemptions, New Jersey residents to have minimum essential health coverage. New Jersey employers must verify health coverage information provided by individuals. To assist with employer reporting, New Jersey launched an official website with guidance on the filing requirements.
Recent updates to the official website, which was lasted updated on ...
As employers are wrapping up their reporting under the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) for the 2018 tax year (filings of Forms 1094-B/C and 1095-C/B with the IRS are due by April 1, 2019, if filing electronically), they should start preparing for new reporting obligations for the 2019 tax year.
After a string of failed efforts to repeal the ACA, Congress, through the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (“TCJA”), reduced the federal individual shared responsibility payment assessed (with limited exceptions) against individuals who failed to purchase health insurance to $0 beginning ...
Employers and health plans should be aware that two recent federal decisions have recognized that the non-discrimination provision in the Affordable Care Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender identity. Plans cannot categorically exclude coverage for procedures to treat gender dysphoria.
In Boyden v. Conlin, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin found that the state’s exclusion of gender reassignment-related procedures from the state employees’ health insurance coverage constitutes sex discrimination in violation of Section 1557 ...
Faced with the inability to repeal the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) outright, the Trump Administration and Congress have taken actions to provide more health insurance options for Americans. Thus far, the Administration announced that they would no longer make cost sharing reduction (“CSR”) payments to insurers on the Exchanges and extended the time period in which short-term, limited-duration insurance (“STLDI”) plans could be offered. Meanwhile, Congress removed the individual mandate in the 2017 tax bill. The Administration asserts that these efforts are all ...
On his first day in office, President Trump issued an Executive Order entitled "Minimizing the Economic Burden of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Pending Repeal." The Executive Order is, in effect, a policy statement by the new administration that it intends to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (the "ACA" or the "Act") as promptly as possible. The Executive Order also directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the heads of all other executive departments and agencies that, pending repeal of the ACA, they are to exercise the full extent of ...
As the transition in Washington moves into high gear this month, it's not just the new Administration and Congress that are putting in place plans for policy and legislation; stakeholders are busy creating agendas, too.
Many stakeholder agendas will seek to affect how government addresses such prominent health care issues as the Affordable Care Act, Medicare entitlements, fraud-and-abuse policies, FDA user fees, and drug pricing. There will be a myriad of stakeholder ideas, cutting a variety of directions, all framed with an eye to the new political terrain.
But whatever policies ...
On December 31, 2016, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas issued a nationwide preliminary injunction that prohibits the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) from enforcing certain provisions of its regulations implementing Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act that prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identity or termination of pregnancy. This ruling, in Franciscan Alliance v. Burwell (Case No. 7:16-cv-00108-O), a case filed by the Franciscan Alliance (a Catholic hospital system), a Catholic medical group, a Christian medical ...
On December 31, 2016, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas issued a nationwide preliminary injunction that prohibits the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) from enforcing certain provisions of its regulations implementing Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act that prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identity or termination of pregnancy. This ruling, in Franciscan Alliance v. Burwell (Case No. 7:16-cv-00108-O), a case filed by the Franciscan Alliance (a Catholic hospital system), a Catholic medical group, a Christian medical ...
On November 4, 2016, the Western District of Pennsylvania held that the “because of sex” provision in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. In doing so, the court broke from the recent trend of federal courts that have felt compelled by prior precedent to dismiss sexual orientation discrimination claims.
In EEOC v. Scott Medical Health Center, P.C., the plaintiff (a gay male) alleged that he was subjected to repeated and unwelcome offensive comments regarding his sexual orientation and his relationship with a male ...
Kyler Prescott was a 14 year old transgender boy who was receiving puberty-delaying medication to help him transition. Shortly before Kyler’s death he had “suicidal ideation” and was taken to Rady Children’s Hospital - San Diego in April 2015. The hospital has a Gender Management Clinic to provide services to children with gender dysphoria and related issues. A lawsuit under the ACA’s non-discrimination provision, § 1557, alleges that after admission, despite assurances that he would be referred to with masculine pronouns, hospital employees referred to Kyler as a ...
Recently, the Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") faced major losses in challenging hospital mergers. However, it is clear that the FTC is not backing down, especially given its tendency to conclude that proposed efficiencies do not outweigh the chance of lessening competition.
In July of this year, the FTC abandoned a challenge to the proposed merger of St. Mary's Medical Center and Cabell Huntington Hospital in West Virginia after state authorities had changed West Virginia law and approved the merger despite the FTC's objections. This year as well, the FTC failed to enjoin the Penn ...
In less than three weeks, health care providers covered by the Affordable Care Act must meet various posting obligations required by the recently issued Section 1557 regulations. Epstein Becker & Green, P.C. has written extensively about the Final Rule, including the expansive nondiscrimination standards and the upcoming October 16 deadlines. While we encourage you to review these publications for more detail, covered entities urgently need to prepare by October 16, 2016, nondiscrimination notices and taglines to be posted (1) in significant publications or communications; ...
The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission ("MedPAC") met in Washington, DC, on September 8-9, 2016. The purpose of this and other public meetings of MedPAC is for the commissioners to review the issues and challenges facing the Medicare program and then make policy recommendations to Congress. MedPAC issues these recommendations in two annual reports, one in March and another in June. MedPAC's meetings can provide valuable insight into the state of Medicare, the direction of the program moving forward, and the content of MedPAC's next report to Congress.
As thought leaders in ...
[caption id="attachment_1416" align="alignright" width="113"] Stuart Gerson[/caption]
Today, the U.S. Supreme Court decided (6-2, with Kennedy writing for the majority and Ginsburg and Sotomayor dissenting) the case of Gobeille v. Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. The matter before the Court involved Vermont law requiring certain entities, including health insurers, to report payments relating to health care claims and other information relating to health care services to a state agency for compilation in an all-inclusive health care database.
In an important victory ...
In February 2012, two years after the passage of the Affordable Care Act ("ACA"), the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services ("CMS") issued a proposed rule, which was subject to significant public comment, concerning reporting and returning certain Medicare overpayments ("Proposed Rule"). On February 12, 2016, four years from the issuance of the Proposed Rule (and six years after passage of the ACA), CMS issued the final rule, which becomes effective on March 14, 2016 ("A and B Final Rule").
The A and B Final Rule applies only to providers and suppliers under Medicare Parts A and B ...
2016 is poised to be a major year in network adequacy developments across public and private insurance markets. Changes are ahead in the Medicare and Medicaid managed care programs, the Exchange markets and the state-regulated group and individual markets, including state-run Exchanges. The developing standards and enforcement will vary significantly across these markets.
Through 2014 and 2015, major news stories discussed concerns over the growing use of narrow provider networks by issuers on the Affordable Care Act's insurance exchanges ("Exchanges"). Others reported on ...
Epstein Becker Green's Lynn Shapiro Snyder, Senior Member of the Firm, and Tanya Vanderbilt Cramer, Of Counsel, will present "Accountable Care Organizations and Other Provider Risk Sharing Arrangements — a Legal and Regulatory Overview," a webinar hosted by Bloomberg BNA.
While the federal government has encouraged the growth of accountable care organizations (ACOs) through the Affordable Care Act, the regulation of ACOs and other provider risk sharing arrangements remains a patchwork of federal and state requirements that span many different areas of law. This ...
My colleagues Frank C. Morris, Jr., Adam C. Solander, and August Emil Huelle co-authored a Health Care and Life Sciences Client Alert concerning the EEOC’s proposed amendments to its ADA regulations and it is a topic of interest to many of our readers.
Following is an excerpt:
On April 16, 2015, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) released its highly anticipated proposed regulations (to be published in the Federal Register on April 20, 2015, for notice and comment) setting forth the EEOC’s interpretation of the term “voluntary” as to the ...
FDA published the long awaited draft guidance on wellness products last Friday. The guidance is a positive step forward for industry in that it proposes that certain general wellness products will not be subject to FDA regulation.
The draft guidance clarifies that FDA does not intend to enforce its regulations against products that are "low risk" and are intended to:
- Maintain or encourage health without reference to a disease or condition (e.g. weight, fitness, stress) or
- Help users live well with or reduce risks of chronic conditions, where it is well accepted that a healthy ...
On January 7, 2015, U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Joe Donnelly (D–IN) along with Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Joe Manchin (D-WV) introduced the Forty Hours is Full Time Act, legislation that would amend the definition of a “full-time employee” under the Affordable Care Act to an employee ...
Only last week, we informed you of the Supreme Court's somewhat surprising grant of cert. in the Fourth Circuit case of King v. Burwell, in which the court of appeals had upheld the government's view that the Affordable Care Act makes federal premium tax credits available to taxpayers in all states, even where the federal government, not the state, has set up an exchange.
The Administration has taken something of a PR buffeting in the week following, after its principal ACA technical advisor's comments on this issue were made public.
In any event, we suggested that the scheduled DC ...
Everyone is talking about Ebola, including the risk of contracting it, treatment for those who do contract it, and protection for those who treat patients who have it. There has been very little discussion, though, about how to pay for the costs of treating Ebola patients, including whether health insurance will cover the treatment and pay the providers.
Most health insurance coverage that complies with the ACA minimum essential coverage standards will cover the costs of medically necessary hospitalization and physician services. However, many of those policies have significant ...
Our Epstein Becker Green colleagues have released a new Take 5 newsletter: “Five ACA Issues that Employers Should Be Following” by David W. Garland, Adam C. Solander, and Brandon C. Ge. Below is an excerpt:
Employers have about three months to finalize their employer mandate compliance plans under the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”). While most employers are in the final stages of planning, this month’s Take 5 will address five ACA issues that employers should be aware of as they move forward:
- ACA-related litigation
- Employer mandate reporting
- Section 510 liability
In the wake of the Hobby Lobby ruling with respect to the Affordable Care Act's contraceptive coverage mandate, the Administration (which already has taken steps to fund contraception for employees affected by their employers' exemption) is attempting also to deal with the issue by a recently-published DHHS regulation setting forth the procedures that "religious" employers might follow to gain exemption from having to provide contraceptive coverage in their sponsored health plans. The proposed rule covers both religious not-for-profits and closely held ...
Epstein Becker Green and EBG Advisors, as part of the Thought Leaders in Population Health Speaker Series, will host a complimentary webinar in August on emerging trends in value-based purchasing in health care. The session, Population Health Strategies for Employer-Based Coverage, will assess how employers and other health plan sponsors are developing new programs to promote enhanced clinical and financial outcomes for the groups and populations they manage. In particular, speakers will highlight how the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is influencing population health ...
Our colleague Stuart Gerson of Epstein Becker Green has a new post on the Supreme Court's recent decisions: "Divided Supreme Court Issues Decisions on Harris and Hobby Lobby."
Following is an excerpt:
As expected, the last day of the Supreme Court's term proved to be an incendiary one with the recent spirit of Court unanimity broken by two 5-4 decisions in highly-controversial cases. The media and various interest groups already are reporting the results and, as often is the case in cause-oriented litigation, they are not entirely accurate in their analyses of either opinion.
In ...
Our colleague Stuart Gerson of Epstein Becker Green has a new post on the Supreme Court’s recent decisions: “Divided Supreme Court Issues Decisions on Harris and Hobby Lobby.”
Following is an excerpt:
As expected, the last day of the Supreme Court’s term proved to be an incendiary one with the recent spirit of Court unanimity broken by two 5-4 decisions in highly-controversial cases. The media and various interest groups already are reporting the results and, as often is the case in cause-oriented litigation, they are not entirely accurate in their analyses of either ...
Our colleague Eric Conn, Chair of Epstein Becker Green's OSHA Practice Group, will present a complimentary webinar on April 8, at 1:00 p.m. EDT: OSHA's Temporary Worker Initiative. Topics include enforcement issues and data related to this work relationship, and recommendations and strategies for managing safety and health issues related to a temporary workforce.
Companies are expected to employ many more temporary workers as the Affordable Care Act is implemented, particularly when the "Employer Mandate" kicks in, which will require employers with 50 or more workers to ...
In a complimentary webinar on February 20 (1:00 p.m. ET), our colleagues Frank C. Morris, Jr., and Adam C. Solander will review the ongoing impact of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) on employers and their group health plans.
The Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service recently issued highly anticipated final regulations implementing the employer shared responsibility provisions of the ACA, also known as the employer mandate. The rules make several important changes in response to comments on the original proposed regulations issued in December 2012 and provide ...
In a complimentary webinar on February 20 (1:00 p.m. ET), our colleagues Frank C. Morris, Jr., and Adam C. Solander will review the ongoing impact of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) on employers and their group health plans.
The Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service recently issued highly anticipated final regulations implementing the employer shared responsibility provisions of the ACA, also known as the employer mandate. The rules make several important changes in response to comments on the original proposed regulations issued in December 2012 and provide ...
Our colleague Frank C. Morris, Jr., at Epstein Becker Green wrote the December issue of Take 5, with five key action items for employers in 2014. Following is an excerpt:
It’s December, and human resources professionals and law departments are reflecting on the issues addressed in 2013 and giving thanks for incident-free holiday parties. But the big question is this: What issues should get priority attention for 2014 as part of a proactive approach to workplace issues and limiting potential employment and labor law claims? This month’s Take 5 provides a “Top 5″ list of action ...
Our colleagues Kara Maciel and Adam Solander have a new Law360 article, "Where ERISA and the Affordable Care Act Collide," that serves as an important wake-up call on staffing decisions that employers have to face.
Following is an excerpt:
In July 2013, the Obama administration announced a delay of the employer mandate provision of the Affordable Care Act for one year (i.e., the employer mandate). While back in July a one-year delay seemed like an eternity, the reality is that given the way in which most employers will determine whether an employee is classified as full-time, and ...
We recommend this recent post on the Hospitality Labor and Employment Law blog: “IRS Releases Proposed Rules on Employer's Information Reporting Requirements Under the Employer Mandate of the Affordable Care Act,” by Kara Maciel, Adam Solander, and Brandon Ge, our colleagues at Epstein Becker Green.
Following is an excerpt:
On September 5, 2013, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) released two proposed rules to implement important reporting requirements under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“ACA”), which will help determine penalties under the ...
A recent article in Bloomberg BNA's Health Insurance Report will be of interest: "ACA's Employer 'Pay or Play' Mandate Delayed - What Now for Employers?" by Frank C. Morris, Jr., and Adam C. Solander, colleagues of ours, based in Epstein Becker Green's Washington, DC, office. Following is an excerpt:
The past few weeks have changed the way that most employers will prepare for the employer ‘‘shared responsibility'' provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Over the past year or so, employers have scrambled to understand their obligations with respect to the shared ...
A recent article in Bloomberg BNA's Health Insurance Report will be of interest to health industry employers: "ACA's Employer 'Pay or Play' Mandate Delayed - What Now for Employers?" by Frank C. Morris, Jr., and Adam C. Solander, colleagues of ours, based in Epstein Becker Green's Washington, DC, office.
Following is an excerpt:
The past few weeks have changed the way that most employers will prepare for the employer ‘‘shared responsibility'' provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Over the past year or so, employers have scrambled to understand their obligations with ...
By: Elizabeth Bradley, Kara M. Maciel & Adam Solander
In breaking news, the Obama Administration has now acknowledged the significant regulatory burdens that the January 1, 2014 deadline under the Affordable Care Act would place on employers. Based on reports, the ACA Employer Mandate has been delayed to 2015! We understand that regulatory guidance will be forthcoming this week.
This is welcome news to employers across the country who have been struggling with compliance efforts under the ACA.
Stay tuned to this blog and www.ebglaw.com for additional information.
By Gretchen Harders and Michelle Capezza
On May 8, 2013, the Employee Benefits Security Administration of the Department of Labor (the “DOL”) issued Technical Release 2013-02 (the “Release”) providing important guidance under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (the “Affordable Care Act”) with regard to the requirement that employers provide notices to their employees of the existence of the Health Insurance Marketplace, generally referred to previously as the Exchange. These ...
By Gretchen Harders and Michelle Capezza
On May 8, 2013, the Employee Benefits Security Administration of the Department of Labor (the “DOL”) issued Technical Release 2013-02 (the “Release”) providing important guidance under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (the “Affordable Care Act”) with regard to the requirement that employers provide notices to their employees of the existence of the Health Insurance Marketplace, generally referred to previously as the Exchange. These ...
Evan Rosen and Mark M. Trapp of the Labor and Employment practice co-wrote an article titled "What To Know About ACA Collective Bargaining."
Following is an excerpt:
For the unionized employer, the advent of the Affordable Care Act requires careful strategic thought about its impact on upcoming collective bargaining negotiations. Indeed, for companies with a unionized workforce, the ACA poses additional challenges and strategic considerations above and beyond those confronting nonunionized workforces.
Allen Roberts, a Member of Firm in the Labor and Employment practice and co-chair of the firm's Whistleblowing and Compliance Subpractice Group, in the New York office, wrote an article titled "Impact: Employers Brace for Change – Top 5 Issues Facing Businesses, as appeared in Insurance Advocate."
Following is an excerpt:
By popular account, the Affordable Care Act ("ACA") would preserve the base of insureds and extend health insurance coverage to as many as another 32 million Americans. That estimate could be wrong if ACA disrupts patterns and experience of spouse and dependent ...
On February 20, 2013, the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and the Treasury (the “Departments”) jointly issued a set of Frequently Asked Questions (“FAQs”) About Affordable Care Act Implementation (Part XII). In the latest round of guidance, the Departments addressed the limitations on cost-sharing and the coverage of preventive services under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (the “Affordable Care Act”). This guidance applies only to non-grandfathered group ...
I wrote the January 2013 edition of Take 5: Views You Can Use, a newsletter published by the Labor and Employment practice of Epstein Becker Green.
In it, I summarize five actions that employers should consider taking in 2013 as the DOL steps up its audit efforts under the leadership of the reenergized Obama administration,
- Assess the Workforce
- Choose Whether to “Pay” or to “Play”
- Evaluate Existing Wellness Programs and/or Implement New Wellness Programs to Enhance Employees’ Health Profiles and to Avoid or Minimize the “Cadillac ...
Please join Epstein Becker Green’s Health Care & Life Sciences and Labor & Employment practitioners as we continue to review the Affordable Care Act and its ongoing impact on employers and their group health plans.
In less than a year, employers employing at least 50 full-time employees will be subject to the Employer Shared Responsibility provisions. Under these provisions, if employers do not offer health coverage or do not offer affordable health coverage that provides a minimum level of value to their full-time employees, they may be subject to a tax penalty under the proposed ...
Please join Epstein Becker Green’s Health Care & Life Sciences and Labor & Employment practitioners as we continue to review the Affordable Care Act and its ongoing impact on employers and their group health plans.
In less than a year, employers employing at least 50 full-time employees will be subject to the Employer Shared Responsibility provisions. Under these provisions, if employers do not offer health coverage or do not offer affordable health coverage that provides a minimum level of value to their full-time employees, they may be subject to a tax penalty under the proposed ...
On Tuesday, December 18, Epstein Becker Green attorneys Gretchen Harders, Frank C. Morris, Jr., and Adam C. Solander offered a one-hour webinar titled “What Employers Need to Know Now!” as the second webinar in a series on the New ACA Implementation Regulations: Employer Impact.
The webinar included:
- ACA implementation timeline
- Structure of the law and basic concepts affecting employers
- Critical employer decision making and planning for 2014
- Alternative plan design options available to employers
The webinar recording and presentation slides for “What Employers Need to ...
Frank C. Morris, Jr., Member of the Firm in the Litigation, Labor and Employment, and Employee Benefits practices is speaking at the 36th Annual National Labor & Management Conference on the topic of the Affordable Care Act and associated compliance issues facing employers and health and welfare funds.
The National Labor and Management Conference is recognized as one of the most outstanding labor and management programs in the United States, promoting discussion and collaboration on many levels. The program annually unites a diversity of labor and management leaders from ...
In the months leading up to Election Day 2012, the pace of health reform implementation slowed considerably as the Obama administration held off on releasing regulations to avoid pre-election controversy. With the 2012 elections now in the books, health reform has scored two major victories: the re-election of President Barack Obama and the preservation of a Democratic majority in the Senate. Although the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is now safe from repeal, implementation still faces hurdles, such as state resistance, the fiscal cliff, and pending lawsuits ...
Please join Epstein Becker Green’s Health Care & Life Sciences, Employee Benefits, and Labor & Employment practitioners as we continue to review the Affordable Care Act and its ongoing impact on employers and their group health plans and programs.
Since the Presidential election, The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is moving quickly to implement the Affordable Care Act. Rules have been released in the past few weeks concerning participation in federal exchanges, discrimination based on pre-existing conditions, essential health benefit requirements, and ...
Please join Epstein Becker Green’s Health Care & Life Sciences, Employee Benefits, and Labor & Employment practitioners as we continue to review the Affordable Care Act and its ongoing impact on employers and their group health plans and programs.
Since the Presidential election, The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is moving quickly to implement the Affordable Care Act. Rules have been released in the past few weeks concerning participation in federal exchanges, discrimination based on pre-existing conditions, essential health benefit requirements, and ...
By Amy J. Traub, Gretchen Harders, Anna Kolontyrsky, and Margaret C. Thering
With the reelection of President Obama, it is clear that employers should be preparing to comply with all of the applicable provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (the “Affordable Care Act”). As employers well know, the Affordable Care Act contains comprehensive healthcare reform provisions, including, among other things, the mandate that larger employers face penalties starting in 2014 if they do not ...
In addition to the work that states are doing (or purposefully not doing) to implement State Health Insurance Exchanges for operation in 2014, states have also been given the task of choosing a benchmark plan for purposes of defining the essential health benefits (“EHB”), a minimum package of benefits that must be offered by all insurance policies sold in the small group and individual markets beginning in 2014.
Section 1302(b) of the Affordable Care Act directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (the “Secretary”) to define the EHB. The scope of the EHB must equal the ...
by Lynn Shapiro Snyder and Shawn M. Gilman
Speculation abounds with respect to the decision that states will make on the issue of whether to expand Medicaid coverage under the Affordable Care Act, now that the Supreme Court of the United States has made the option to abstain a meaningful one. This health reform alert highlights some key factors that may influence a state's decision on whether to implement such an expansion.
Danielle Steele, a Summer Associate (not admitted to the practice of law) in Epstein Becker Green's Washington, DC, office, contributed ...
Although not the only factor, government payment reform initiatives in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) are widely perceived as driving health care market consolidation. Perhaps more significantly than mergers between hospitals, the ACA has created new interest in mergers across service lines (as reported here, here, and here). Hospitals, physician groups, outpatient centers, post-acute providers, and even insurance carriers are combining with each other in all sorts of ways and at an accelerating pace. Depending on who you talk to in government, this activity is (1) paving the ...
Stuart Gerson, a Member of the Firm in the Litigation and Health Care and Life Sciences practices at Epstein Becker Green, authored an article titled "The Supreme Court Has Decided, but Can America Afford the Affordable Care Act?"
Following is an excerpt:
By now, every American who pays any attention to the news is aware that on the last day of its now concluded term, the U.S. Supreme Court, with its June 28 decision in National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius, U.S., No. 11-393, 6/28/12, has upheld essentially all of the Obama Administration's Affordable Care Act (ACA ...
By now, every American who pays any attention to the news is aware that the Supreme Court of the United States has upheld essentially all of the Obama administration's Affordable Care Act. We have posted a copy of the lengthy opinion, concurrence, and dissent on our website. For now, we should be focusing on what the case of National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius actually will cause to occur.
By now, every American who pays any attention to the news is aware that the Supreme Court of the United States has upheld essentially all of the Obama administration's Affordable Care Act. We have posted a copy of the lengthy opinion, concurrence, and dissent on our website. For now, we should be focusing on what the case of National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius actually will cause to occur.
The three days of arguments about the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act are complete. The Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States have conducted their post-argument conference and are now turning their attention to the drafting and the discussions that will lead to a majority opinion and, likely, several dissents and concurrences. The Court's decision should be issued before the end of June. Health care companies and employers, like the rest of the population, await the ultimate decision. However, there are several ...
by Jason B. Caron, O. Benton Curtis III, Anjali N.C. Downs, and Jennifer K. Goodwin
Almost two years after the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“ACA”), the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) released a proposed rule regarding overpayments to providers and suppliers, as provided for under Section 6402(a) of the ACA. To date, regulators, courts, clients, and members of the bar have interpreted the requirements of Section 6402(a) in various ways. The proposed rule provides CMS's view on this matter, and, given that CMS is proposing a ...
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