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6-9-11 Affordable Care Act Update

... CAN filed comments this week with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on the proposed Medicare regulation creating Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs). ACOs, which were mandated in the Affordable Care Act (ACA), are groups of providers that receive bonus payments for ... more integrated and coordinated care for Medicare beneficiaries. ACS CAN’s comments acknowledge the potential of ACOs to improve the health and quality of care of cancer patients, and encourage the administration to improve the regulation to better benefit families affected by ... of palliative care services as an integral component of ACOs and other proposed models. The comments also recommend that the Department of Health and Human Services more carefully consider several patient-specific issues in the regulation, such as:       Enhancing patient ...

6-8-12 Affordable Care Act Update

State Update   Responses to an essential health benefits survey for state insurance departments and insurance commissioners, which was created by Society Divisions and ACS CAN in ... including cancer, and will help gauge the adequacy of state insurance plans that may eventually be chosen as the benchmark level for essential health benefits for all individual and small group plans in a state beginning in 2014, when the health insurance exchanges are up and running. ACS ... than half of the plans currently sold on the individual market do not meet the standards set for essential health benefits set by the Affordable Care Act.   Litigation Update   The Supreme Court decision on the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is expected to be announced ...

7-6-12 Affordable Care Act Update

Supreme Court Decision ACS CAN is continuing to review last week's historic Supreme Court ruling on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to gain a full understanding of the impact of the decision on people with cancer and their families. In the meantime, we are pleased ... that Congress had exceeded its authority under the US Constitution in two primary ways: 1) By requiring most Americans to obtain or purchase health insurance by 2014 (the so-called "individual mandate"); and 2) By requiring states to expand Medicaid eligibility beyond its current scope ... feature of any tax is to produce at least some revenue for the government. Essentially, the Court ruled that the penalty for not purchasing health insurance "looks like a tax in many respects" and will yield revenue for the government; therefore, the fee that will be imposed on those ...

7-7-11 Affordable Care Act Update

... Last Thursday, a National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) task force recommended that the NAIC endorse the Access to Professional Health Insurance Advisors Act (HR 1206), which would take broker and agent commissions out of the medical loss ratio (MLR) calculation created by the Affordable Care Act. The ACA requires insurers to spend at least 80 percent of their premium revenue on health care claims and quality improvement costs. Beginning this year, insurers who miss the target are required to rebate the difference to policy ...

8-4-11 Affordable Care Act Update

... prevention and early detection programs, Medicare and Medicaid, and insurance subsidies for individuals and families under the Affordable Care Act. Work on the FY12 Labor-HHS appropriations bill will likely pick up in the House when Congress returns in September.  The bill will ... the House floor the week of September 18 th .  Senate action will likely trail the House by a few weeks.   HHS Adopts New Women's Preventive Health Care Recommendations   This week the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that it will adopt the recommendations recently submitted by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) on women's ...

4-5-12 Affordable Care Act Update

In the States   ACS CAN and Society Divisions used the two year anniversary of the Affordable Care Act and the Supreme Court hearing to educate the public about the key provisions in the law that are helping cancer patients and their families access quality, affordable health care. Outreach activities included participating in coalition events, pitching cancer patients' stories to the media, and placing op-eds and ... on benefits versus administrative costs. Under the Affordable Care Act, insurers must spend at least 80 percent of their premium revenue on health care claims and quality improvement costs. Starting in 2011, insurers who miss the target are required to rebate the difference to policy ...

9-21-12 Affordable Care Act Update

... and Commerce Committee   On Thursday, the House Energy and Commerce Committee marked up and approved H.R. 1206, the Access to Professional Health Insurance Advisors Act of 2011. The legislation would remove the commissions of health insurance agents from the medical loss ratio (MLR), a calculation that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires insurers to show the proportion of premiums they spend on providing health care to patients as opposed to salaries and ...

4-14-11 Affordable Care Act Update

... for Disease Control and Prevention budget at $5.6 billion, a cut of $740 million (nearly 12 percent) below FY10. The National Institutes of Health budget will be just under $30.7 billion, a cut of $320 million (1 percent) below FY10. The National Cancer Institute budget will be $5.06 billion, a cut of $43 million.     Funding for implementation of the Affordable Care Act was mostly untouched; however the CR does cut $2.2 billion of the $6 billion that was authorized for the Consumer Operated and Oriented Plan (CO-OP). CO-OP was created as a public option alternative that creates nonprofit, member-run health insurance companies in all 50 states and District of Columbia to offer qualified health plans. The CR also repeals the Employee Free Choice ...

9-27-12 Affordable Care Act Update

Federal Update Beginning this week, all health insurers and group health plans are required to provide applicants and interested parties with an easy-to-understand summary of a plan's benefits and coverage. The ... called "coverage examples," that allow consumers to see what the plan would generally cover in two common medical situations - maternity care and diabetes.  ACS CAN is advocating for the inclusion of a cancer example in future versions of the form. The SBC is modeled after the ...

10-27-11 Affordable Care Act Update

...             Final Accountable Care Organization (ACO) Rule Released           The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) late last week released the final rule for the Affordable Care Act's key health care delivery reform -- Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs).  ACOs are groups of providers and hospitals that agree to come together to ... that the proposed rule released in March made it too difficult for physicians and hospitals to participate in the program, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) simplified the regulation by eliminating penalties and reducing administrative requirements. The rule could spur ...

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