The Anthem Breach – One Year Later
A proposed class action suit against some of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield entities became smaller last week when a federal judge in California fully disallowed three Anthem affiliates from participation in the litigation. Seven more were partially removed, meaning part of the claims will be allowed to move forward. In February of 2015,… Read More
ABS Florida Regulator Approves Aetna’s Acquisition of Humana
The approval of the acquisition of Humana by Aetna was announced last week by Florida’s insurance regulator with conditions that by 2018 the carrier must offer their Obamacare marketplace plans in five additional counties. In addition, their plans must be available throughout the state by 2020. So far Aetna has received approval in 10 out… Read More
How Will Scalia’s Death Affect U.S. Health Care?
On February 13, 2016 United States Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia passed away unexpectedly, reportedly of a heart attack. He was on a hunting trip at a Texas ranch with friends and was reportedly alone at the time of his death. Recent conspiracy theories have emerged due to the circumstances surrounding his death; namely, that… Read More
New Obamacare Sign-Up Enrollment for Select Few Who Failed to File a 2014 Tax Return.
What we know Although the Obama administration said they would not extend the Obamacare open enrollment period beyond January 31, 2016, a select few may qualify to enroll up until March 31, 2016. This new sign-up applies only for those who failed to file taxes in 2014. Why the Extension People who failed to file… Read More
CMS Releases Home Health Patient Experience of Care Star Ratings
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, CMS, released the Home Health Care Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems, or HHCAHPS based on star ratings measurement to evaluate and rate patient’s interactions and experiences with home health agencies. The public website is available at https://www.medicare.gov/homehealthcompare/search.html Patients and their families or caregivers can rate an… Read More
#EsuranceSweepstakes $250,000 Dollar Sweepstakes
Esurance’s advertisement aired on yesterday’s Super Bowl game and viewers jumped at the chance to win the $250,000 prize. The company gained more than 9,000 retweets per minute throughout the day. Since the company did not require participants to be one of their insureds, there was no law preventing the contest. Independent insurance agents can… Read More
Are Insurance Jobs Going Away?
Data from a recent McKinsey & Company report, Automating the Insurance Industry, is scaring a lot of insurance company professionals. The report suggests that within the next decade upwards of 25% of full-time professionals may see their jobs consolidated or replaced by automation with the majority of the losses coming from Operations and Administrative Support…. Read More
What Obama’s 2017 Budget Means for the Cadillac Tax
President Barack Obama’s 2017 Budget is expected to propose changes to the “Cadillac tax” by tailoring it to reflect differences between lower and higher cost regions. The tax was a part of the 2010 Affordable Care Act and was due to start in 2018, however, this date was pushed back to 2020 as a result… Read More
Noteworthy News from Across the Nation
WASHINGTON, D.C. Subpoenas to Treasury after Administration Denied Repeated Requests for Information Fred Upton (R-MI), House Energy and Commerce Committee chairman, and Kevin Brady (R-TX), House Ways and Means Committee chairman issued subpoenas to Jack Lew, Secretary of the Treasury. In addition, three officials with the IRS also received subpoenas. The subpoenas were sent after… Read More
Marketplace Enrollment Numbers Fall Short of CBO Projections
The opinion of many experts that the PPACAs enrollment estimates were too high was confirmed by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) who now say that they expect enrollment in Obamacare qualified health plans to reach approximately 13 million, by the end of 2016. This is a far cry from the projected 20 million enrollees expected… Read More