Category: Healthcare Law

A tale of two mergers: Following their losses in DOJ merger…

In the past month, the DOJ and several state governments scored two trial wins in their challenges to mergers among some of the country’s largest health insurers. First, Judge Bates of the District of Columbia blocked the combination of Aetna and Humana, finding that the “proffered efficiencies do not offset the anticompetitive effects of the merger.”

Why GlaxoSmithKline’s 2017 Guidance Is Conservative

Assuming that Advair will face competition from a substitutable generic in the US by mid-2017, GSK guided for flat to a slight decline in Core EPS at constant exchange rates. The stock is trading at a discount to five years average historical P/E vs. peers and some potential source of earnings upside is expected in 2017.

Kasich v Tiberi: Who’s Driving Who On ACA?

… last year when he tried for the second time in 16 years to run for president, wants President Barack Obama’s health care law to continue, especially the law’s expansion of Medicaid. Kasich’s concern is to not repeal the Medicaid expansion part …

ACA repeal vs. N.Y.: Tallying up the harm

President Trump and Congressional Republicans are determined to repeal the Affordable Care Act and roll back the coverage gains and consumer protections the law has provided for millions of Americans. With no clear or realistic plan for replacement in sight, consumers, health care providers and insurers both in New York and across the nation are united in their fears regarding the chaos that could ensue.

Congress should initially focus on short-term fixes for ACA

Premium increases hitting those in the narrow individual health insurance market put a necessary spotlight on the Affordable Care Act’s flaws. But as efforts to repair the law – or repeal it – ramp up with the recent confirmation of U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price , it is important to remember that the ACA also benefited millions of Americans.

Why Donald Trump and the GOP Can’t Repeal Obamacare

After Donald Trump campaigned for the presidency on the promise to repeal and replace Obamacare with ” something terrific ,” his administration has just released a set of tweaks to the health care law-and those tweaks all favor the insurance industry over ordinary Americans. The Affordable Care Act , which the GOP gleefully dubbed Obamacare, is clearly not good enough to serve all Americans well.

Traumacare: son of ACA

… places.” He said the best hope is to “learn how to put it all together so we can move forward.” K. John McConnell, Health Economist & Director of the Center for Health Systems Effectiveness, Oregon Health & Science University, cautioned that it took …

A new way to count the poor

… as families no longer submit the applications.” In contrast, using information about enrollment in subsidized health insurance programs gives the state accurate information about each student’s need, Roy said. If Malloy’s new definition for …

The Shameful Republican Assault on Medicaid

… lawmakers outlined proposals that are familiar from a plan that Ryan put out last year . They included expanded health savings accounts, financial aid for the establishment of high-risk pools at the state level, and the replacement of income-based …

A Big Week for Health Care

A Big Week for Health Care – “In the fight to save the ACA, next week is absolutely pivotal,” Topher Spiro tweeted on Thursday, referring to the health care law. “And YOU can help…” – The fight for the law is really a fight to prevent millions of people from losing health insurance and, by extension, medical care.

Three ways Republicans want to replace Obamacare

House GOP members met Thursday to hear more from committee leaders about efforts to replace the massive health reform law. In a presentation, Representatives Greg Walden of Oregon and Kevin Brady of Texas explained how the party wants to overhaul America’s health care system through the use of tax credits, health savings accounts and changes to Medicaid funding, among other measures.

House GOP discusses Obamacare replacement ideas – but does not call them a plan

House Republicans left a highly anticipated meeting on health care Thursday with some new details on the options GOP leaders are considering to replace the Affordable Care Act – but without the fully formed plan that those leaders and President Trump have promised. The meeting in the Capitol basement included presentations from leaders of key House committees and Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, and it was intended to give lawmakers more information ahead of a week-long recess where many of them will be meeting constituents eager for details on what will replace the health care law the GOP has pledged to repeal.

More

House Republican leaders shared general descriptions Thursday with rank-and-file lawmakers of how they’d propose replacing President Barack Obama’s health care law, with little detail. Highlights are based on a document distributed to legislators obtained by The Associated Press and interviews with lawmakers, aides and lobbyists: MEDICAID: Phases out Obama’s expanded Medicaid coverage for more low-income people that 31 states accepted, which is nearly completely financed by federal funds.

Medicaid exposes rifts within the GOP over the programa s future after the ACA

Seema Verma, nominated to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, testifies at her confirmation hearing Thursday before the Senate Finance Committee. As congressional Republicans move from talking points to details of how to abolish the Affordable Care Act, behind-the-scenes jockeying over the future of Medicaid demonstrates the delicate trade-offs the GOP faces in trying to steer health policy in a more conservative direction.

Highlights of House GOP health care overhaul proposal

House Republican leaders shared general descriptions Thursday with rank-and-file lawmakers of how they’d propose replacing President Barack Obama’s health care law, with little detail. Highlights are based on a document distributed to legislators obtained by The Associated Press and interviews with lawmakers, aides and lobbyists: MEDICAID: Phases out Obama’s expanded Medicaid coverage for more low-income people that 31 states accepted, which is nearly completely financed by federal funds.

Take these steps if you haven’t gotten your W-2

You’re ready to file your taxes – except for one thing: You’re still awaiting an IRS Form W-2 from an employer. Each January, companies issue W-2s to inform workers, and Uncle Sam, of the amount of money the worker made during the previous year and how much in income, Social Security and Medicare taxes was withheld.

Obamacare repeal would gut opioid treatment gains, study finds

To continue reading up to 10 premium articles, you must register , or sign up and take advantage of this exclusive offer: WASHINGTON – A new study by Harvard Medical School and New York University shows that repealing the Affordable Care Act would cut $5.5 billion a year for substance-abuse and mental health treatment, creating a 50 percent spike in the number of people unable to address their opioid dependence. The lost funding would have sweeping implications as deaths from opioid abuse continue to rise across the nation and local governments struggle with the effects on their communities.

Pick for Medicare post faces questions on contracts

Trump pick to run Medicare is under fire over claims she advised states on health policy while being employed by company which makes medical devices President Donald Trump’s pick to oversee Medicare and Medicaid faces questions over claims she ‘played both sides’ in health policy negotiations in an arrangement branded ‘definitely improper’ by a former White House lawyer. Seema Verma made millions of dollars through consulting arrangements with at least nine states, and advised Vice President Mike Pence when he was Indiana’s governor.

Pick for Medicare post faces questions

President Donald Trump’s pick to oversee Medicare and Medicaid advised Vice President Mike Pence on health care issues while he was Indiana’s governor, a post she maintained amid a web of business arrangements – including one that ethics experts say conflicted with her public duties. A review by The Associated Press found Seema Verma and her small Indianapolis-based firm made millions through consulting agreements with at least nine states while also working under contract for Hewlett Packard.

Paul Ryan faces major test in selling his plan to replace Obamacare

House Speaker Paul Ryan , R-Wis., spent Tuesday on a door-to-door tour of the Capitol in hopes of salvaging his plan to repeal and largely replace the Affordable Care Act by spring. The day-long blitz comes as Republicans in Congress have made virtually no visible progress in recent weeks on overhauling the health-care system, according to interviews with several senior GOP aides.

Few smokers seek CT scans to check for lung cancer

Few smokers seek CT scans to check for lung cancer Screening rates have barely budged in recent years Check out this story on thecalifornian.com: http://bit.ly/2lgSjYA In 2013, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommended annual low-dose CT scans for many current or former smokers between the ages of 55 and 80. Under the health law, health plans have to cover preventive services recommended by the task force without charging consumers for them. Lung cancer screening rates have barely budged in recent years, according to a new study, even though under the health law many people don’t have to pay anything out-of-pocket for them because the test is recommended by a panel of prevention experts.

Excellent advice for the path forward

You may have missed the insert in the newspaper Feb. 5 and thrown it out with the ads. I almost tossed it myself, but fortunately took a second look at “Crossroads for America: Challenges and opportunities in renewing our republic.”

Aetna, Humana call off $34 billion deal

Aetna and Humana called off a $34 billion proposal to combine the two major health insurers after a federal judge, citing antitrust concerns, shot down the deal. The announcement Tuesday comes several days after another federal judge rejected a tie-up between two other massive insurers.

Health insurers say they need insurance protection from big claims

In Minnesota’s individual market, health insurers can lose big money if they wind up with a disproportionate share of sick patients who rack up massive bills. Of the roughly 336,000 Minnesotans who were covered by individual plans at some point during 2015, slightly less than 2a …percent – or 5,300 people – generated roughly 40 percent of all medical bills, according to the state’s trade group for insurers.