HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius released a new report that finds premiums in the Health Insurance Marketplace will be nearly 20 percent lower in 2014 than previously expected. The Affordable Care Act requires health insurers in every state to publicly justify any premium rate increases of 10 percent or more. Health insurance companies now generally have to spend at least 80 cents of every premium dollar on health care or improvements to care, or provide a rebate to their policy holders. In addition, when the Health Insurance Marketplace opens for enrollment on October 1, 2013, consumers will be able to make…
CMS released a proposed rule outlining program integrity guidelines for the Health Insurance Marketplace (Marketplace) and premium stabilization programs. Through the Affordable Care Act, consumers and small businesses will have access to new Marketplaces where they can access quality, affordable private health insurance. Consumers in every state will be able to buy insurance from qualified health plans directly through these Marketplaces and may be eligible for tax credits to lower the cost of their health insurance. “In just a few months, consumers across the country will have access to a new Marketplace in their state where they can easily…
For over 40 years, advocates, policy makers, and others have relied on NHeLP to ensure that the Medicaid program is implemented as the law intends and that eligible low-income people can access the services that Medicaid provides. The recently updated Advocate's Guide to the Medicaid Program (Guide) is the leading reference on Medicaid for a quick, convenient way to understand the program. The Guide covers all of the major developments in Medicaid law over the past year and a half, including new guidance from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the Supreme Court's decision upholding the Affordable Care…
House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) released his budget for FY 2014 this week. The Ryan FY 2014 budget is very similar to his budget proposals from years past and recommends significant reforms to Medicare and Medicaid. The proposal would balance the budget by 2023, cut $4.6 trillion in a decade, and leaves the sequester in place. The Ryan Budget recommends spending $41 trillion over the next decade, which is approximately $5 trillion less than would be spent under the current Obama Administration policies. Congressman Ryan proposes to “simplify the tax code to make it fairer to American families…
The Department of Health and Human Services recently released additional Affordable Care Act proposed regulations. The proposal aimed to clarify the market rules for insurance plans and advance the process of defining essential health benefit plans. The proposal announced that the cost of running federal exchanges would be funded by a monthly fee (3.5 percent of monthly premiums) on participating insurance companies.
Now that the votes are counted and President Obama has a second term, what does it mean for seniors? While President Obama's re-election means Medicare and Medicaid as we know them will likely be preserved at least for the next four years, many challenges are still ahead. One of the biggest outcomes of the election is that the Affordable Care Act (ACA – a.k.a. "Obamacare"), which candidate Mitt Romney had promised to repeal, will almost certainly remain as law and be fully implemented. The law is already beginning to close the gap in Medicare’s prescription drug coverage known as the…
For too long, too many hard working Americans paid the price for policies that handed free rein to insurance companies and put barriers between patients and their doctors. The Affordable Care Act gives hard-working families the security they deserve. The new health care law forces insurance companies to play by the rules, prohibiting them from dropping your coverage if you get sick, billing you into bankruptcy because of an annual or lifetime limit, or, soon, discriminating against anyone with a pre-existing condition. And it includes substantial new benefits for Americans living with disabilities.If you’re living with a disability, private health…
While President Obama's re-election means Medicare and Medicaid as we know them will likely be preserved at least for the next four years, many challenges are still ahead. One of the biggest outcomes of the election is that the Affordable Care Act (ACA – a.k.a. "Obamacare"), which candidate Mitt Romney had promised to repeal, will almost certainly remain as law and be fully implemented. The law is already beginning to close the gap in Medicare’s prescription drug coverage known as the "doughnut hole," as well as providing free preventative care for Medicare recipients. The ACA also included a number…
President Obama believes affordable health care you can rely on is part of the middle class bargain whether you’re working or retired. The Affordable Care Act strengthens and protects Medicare for seniors who have earned and paid for the guaranteed coverage it provides. Nearly 50 million older Americans and Americans with disabilities rely on Medicare each year, and the new health care law makes Medicare stronger by adding new benefits, fighting fraud, and improving care for patients. The life of the Medicare Trust Fund will be extended to at least 2024 as a result of reducing waste, fraud, and abuse,…
While the fate of Medicare has drawn the most attention during the election campaign, some seniors and their families may have even more at stake in the debate over Medicaid. Support from Medicaid plays a much less visible but nevertheless essential role as the safety net for middle-class Americans whose needs for long-term care – at home or in a nursing home – outlast their resources. With baby boomers and their parents living longer than ever, fewer families can count on their own savings to go the distance. Maryland citizens who currently rely on Medicaid are diverse. Most people think…
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