2 minute read: The data is in: at least 27 million Americans have lost employer-sponsored health coverage as a result of COVID-19. The Kaiser Family Foundation issued a report in …
Health Care Coverage
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Affordable Care ActHealth Care Coverage
ACA’s Expansion of Medicaid Key Player for Providing Health Coverage Amid COVID-19
by Robert Sheenby Robert Sheen2 minute read: By now it’s become abundantly clear how important it is for individuals to have health coverage. COVID-19 or not, healthcare is saving lives and the ACA has …
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Affordable Care ActHealth Care Coverage
Federal Special Enrollment Period on the Horizon
by Robert Sheenby Robert Sheen2 minute read: The Trump Administration is doing the unexpected and considering a special ACA enrollment period in light of the COVID-19 Pandemic. The special enrollment period will provide uninsured …
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Affordable Care ActHealth Care Coverage
Proposed Health Care Data Transparency Rule Complements ACA
by Robert Sheenby Robert Sheen2 minute read: As the Affordable Care Act’s Employer Mandate moves into its sixth year of operation, federal agencies have proposed a rule to promote better health care cost transparency. …
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Affordable Care ActHealth Care Coverage
ACA Approval Ratings on The Rise
by Robert Sheenby Robert Sheen3 minute read: As the discussion over the 2020 election begins to take shape, we can expect the Affordable Care Act to be a topic of debate. However, based on …
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Affordable Care ActHealth Care Coverage
Three More States Decide to Expand Medicaid Under the ACA
by Robert Sheenby Robert Sheen3 minute read: Utah, Nebraska, and Idaho will join 33 states and the District of Columbia in expanding Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. The expansion will take place under …
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Affordable Care ActHealth Care Coverage
Trump Tries to Change the ACA, But Not The Employer Mandate [UPDATE]
by Robert Sheenby Robert Sheen3 minute read: President Trump announced his intent to make administrative changes to the Affordable Care Act in 2017 as part of this executive order, “Promoting Healthcare Choice and Competition …
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Affordable Care ActHealth Care Coverage
California Passes New State-Wide Healthcare Individual Mandate
by Robert Sheenby Robert Sheen5 minute read: In early January, I wrote a blog post titled, “Will 2019 Be the Year for Statewide Individual Health Insurance Mandates?” More and more, it is appearing that …
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Affordable Care ActHealth Care CoverageIRS
IRS Sending New ACA Penalty Notices for 2017 Tax Year
by Robert Sheenby Robert Sheen3 minute read: The IRS has started issuing new penalty notices to employers that failed to file forms 1094-C and 1095-C with the federal tax agency or furnish 1095-C forms …
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Affordable Care ActHealth Care Coverage
New Jersey Plans to Create Statewide Health Exchange
by Robert Sheenby Robert Sheen3 minute read: New Jersey will administer its own statewide health exchange marketplace starting in 2021. As a result, the state will no longer operate under the federal health exchange. …
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Affordable Care ActHealth Care Coverage
CMS Report Shows a Stabilizing ACA
by Robert Sheenby Robert Sheen2 minute read: The latest open enrollment period report for the 2019 plan year from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) shows that the Affordable Care Act marketplace …
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Affordable Care ActHealth Care Coverage
Is Maryland the Next State to Approve an Individual Mandate?
by Robert Sheenby Robert Sheen3 minute read: Maryland is getting closer to a state-wide version of an individual mandate that will encourage state residents to purchase health insurance. A bill in the Maryland legislature, …
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ACA ComplianceHealth Care Coverage
California Carries the Torch for State-Based Individual Mandates
by Robert Sheenby Robert Sheen2 minute read: California Governor Gavin Newsom has not wasted time wading into the healthcare debate. The governor has proposed an individual mandate requiring all California residents to obtain health …
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Affordable Care ActHealth Care Coverage
Will 2019 be the Year for Statewide Individual Health Insurance Mandates?
by Robert Sheenby Robert Sheen3 minute read: Since the Trump Administration took office, the ACA has been under fire from the White House and many Congressional Republicans. Legislative repeal of the ACA failed. However, …
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Affordable Care ActHealth Care Coverage
IRS Releases New ACA PCORI Fees
by Robert Sheenby Robert Sheen2 minute read: The IRS has released new PCORI rate for health insurance plans that end on or after October 1, 2018 and before October 1, 2019. PCORI fees are …
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Affordable Care ActHealth Care Coverage
ACA Support May Dictate Midterm Election Results
by Robert Sheenby Robert Sheen2 minute read: Americans across the country will report to their respective poll places to cast their ballots in the midterm elections on November 6, and the issue of healthcare …
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Affordable Care ActHealth Care CoverageLawsuits
The ACA’s Section 1557 Extends to Gender Identity
by Robert Sheenby Robert Sheen2 minute read: A recent court ruling in Minnesota has affirmed that the provision of the Affordable Care Act extends to transgender and gender non-conforming people, and has dealt another …
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Affordable Care ActHealth Care Coverage
Insurers Plan ACA Expansion for 2019
by Robert Sheenby Robert Sheen2 minute read: There has been a lot of talk about the future of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). With the midterm elections coming soon, Americans have stated that healthcare …
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Affordable Care ActHealth Care Coverage
The Affordable Care Act, and Why You Can’t Afford to Ignore It [UPDATE]
by Robert Sheenby Robert Sheen5 minute read: It’s always interesting to look back and see how the contours of a law changes in time. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) is no exception. I wrote …
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Affordable Care ActHealth Care Coverage
Report Projects Stability for Employers with 2019 Healthcare Costs
by Robert Sheenby Robert Sheen2 minute read: While the handwringing continues over anticipated healthcare premium increases for individuals who purchase insurance from Healthcare.gov and state healthcare exchanges in 2019, healthcare costs for employers under …
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Affordable Care ActHealth Care Coverage
More Americans Paying for ACA Health Plans
by Robert Sheenby Robert Sheen2 minute read: It’s no secret that replacing the law is a top priority for President Trump and a majority of Republicans in Congress. Recent data from the Centers for …
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Affordable Care ActHealth Care CoverageMedicaid
Medicaid Expansion Supports ACA Popularity
by Robert Sheenby Robert Sheen2 minute read: It’s not a mystery that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is complex. Since its passage in 2010, the landscape of the healthcare industry and marketplace has changed …
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ACA ComplianceAffordable Care ActHealth Care Coverage
Proposed Farm Bill Another Attempt to Undermine ACA
by Robert Sheenby Robert Sheen3 minute read: It’s well known that the Trump administration is doing all it can to undermine the Affordable Care Act. The recent decision by the federal Justice Department to …
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Health Care Coverage
Proposed California Bill Puts the State in Charge of Healthcare Costs
by Robert Sheenby Robert Sheen2 minute read: As the current White House and Congressional Republicans continue to snipe at the Affordable Care Act, some states are taking action to shore up the federal healthcare …
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Affordable Care ActHealth Care Coverage
ACA Complexity to Grow as States Develop Their Own Healthcare Solutions [UPDATE]
by Robert Sheenby Robert Sheen5 minute read: The many false starts of the Republican-led effort to dismantle the Affordable Care Act (ACA), along with the Trump administration’s continued efforts to undermine the healthcare law, …
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Affordable Care ActHealth Care Coverage
IRS, CMS, EBSA Seek Public Comment on ACA Change
by Robert Sheenby Robert SheenThe IRS, the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) are seeking public comments on proposed regulations that would change the definition of …
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Affordable Care ActHealth Care CoverageHealth Insurance Marketplace
2018 Affordable Care Act Enrollment Shows Marketplace Stabilizing
by Robert Sheenby Robert SheenThe Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) plan to release a more detailed 2018 enrollment report in March for the recent open enrollment under the Affordable Care Act, including …
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Affordable Care ActHealth Care Coverage
Masshealth Changes Come With a Hefty Price Tag For Employers [UPDATE]
by Robert Sheenby Robert SheenWhile healthcare continues to be talked about by the federal government, some state governments are taking steps of their own to shore up the Affordable Care Act (ACA) impact on …
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The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced it is extending the deadline to enroll in health coverage through the Federal Health Insurance Exchange until March 31, 2018, …
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Affordable Care ActHealth Care CoverageHealth Insurance Marketplace
ACA Health Insurance Marketplace May Stabilize In 2018
by Robert Sheenby Robert SheenIt’s been a tumultuous year for the Affordable Care Act (ACA). From insurers withdrawing from providing health insurance on government exchanges to spiking premiums in the face of financial losses …
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Affordable Care ActHealth Care Coverage
New Study Shows ACA Catalyst for Increase In Adolescent Annual Wellness Visits
by Robert Sheenby Robert SheenOne of the objectives of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was to make it affordable for Americans of all ages to actively take part in preventative care, including adolescents. The …
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Health Care CoverageMedicaid
New Guidance on Medicaid May Lead to More Choice for Employers and Employees
by Robert Sheenby Robert SheenNew guidelines from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) support efforts by certain individual states to test incentives that make participation in work or other community engagement a …
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Affordable Care ActHealth Care Coverage
Studies: ACA Has No Effect on Hours Worked [UPDATE]
by Robert Sheenby Robert SheenShortly after the passage the Affordable Care Act (ACA), some economists predicted that the law would cause employers to slash workweeks to less than 30 hours to avoid having to …
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Affordable Care ActHealth Care Coverage
The Affordable Care Act Has Helped Millions, But There’s More Work To Do
by Robert Sheenby Robert SheenIn 2010, former President Barack Obama introduced the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in an effort to provide more Americans with health coverage. Over the course of its now-nearly eight-year run, …
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Affordable Care ActHealth Care Coverage
As Congress Moves To Remove Individual Mandate, States Seek Their Own Version
by Robert Sheenby Robert SheenIt was a decade ago when Massachusettsimplemented its own individual mandate that required state residents to obtain health insurance or face financial ramifications. Nationwide, that rule became the framework of …
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Affordable Care ActHealth Care Coverage
2018 Enrollment in Affordable Care Act Shows Americans’ Support
by Robert Sheenby Robert SheenOpen enrollment to obtain insurance starting on January 2018 under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) ended on December 15 with more than 8.7 million Americans signing up for coverage, according …
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Affordable Care ActHealth Care Coverage
Some Americans Able to Sign Up for Insurance Under the ACA Past December 15 Deadline
by Robert Sheenby Robert SheenAs we wait for the latest statistics on the number of Americans who have signed up on government exchanges for healthcare insurance coverage for 2018, experts are predicting that the …
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Affordable Care ActHealth Care Coverage
The ACA Has Improved Healthcare In the United States
by Robert Sheenby Robert SheenThere is much political debate about whether the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has improved healthcare for Americans. The Wharton University scholarly podcast Knowledge@Wharton recently featured Wharton health care management professor …
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Affordable Care ActHealth Care Coverage
ACA Enrollment Continues at Faster Pace From Previous Year
by Robert Sheenby Robert SheenThey say that you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone, a theory that may be true for the Affordable Care Act (ACA). It was just months ago when …
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As we enter into the annual Thanksgiving break, there is much to be thankful for. Most lists will include giving thanks for family, friends, and employment. And almost 1.5 million …
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Affordable Care ActHealth Care Coverage
Why It Matters That More People Signed Up for ACA Health Coverage In 2018
by Robert Sheenby Robert SheenIt was meant to have the opposite effect. The Trump administration’s decision to undermine the Affordable Care Act (ACA) by shortening the annual open enrollment period to 45-days and cutting …
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Affordable Care ActHealth Care Coverage
New Kaiser Family Foundation Study Shows Number Of Uninsured In 2016
by Robert Sheenby Robert SheenWhen the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was first enacted in 2010, the mission was clear: provide affordable healthcare to the millions of Americans without it. Depending on who you speak …
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Affordable Care ActHealth Care Coverage
Efforts to Undermine the Start of Open Enrollment for 2018 Healthcare Coverage on November 1
by Robert Sheenby Robert SheenOpen enrollment for individuals to purchase healthcare coverage through government exchanges begins tomorrow and runs through December 15. Both advocates and opponents of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) are anxious …
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Affordable Care ActHealth Care CoverageHealth Care ReformHealth Insurance MarketplaceLegislation
Americans Don’t Want President Trump to Destroy the Affordable Care Act
by Robert Sheenby Robert SheenWhile President Trump does his best to undermine the Affordable Care Act, the American public wants it to succeed. Americans don’t want the Affordable Care Act (ACA) destroyed. They want …
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Affordable Care ActHealth Care Coverage
In Contrast to Federal Government, California Institutes New Laws to Bolster ACA
by Robert Sheenby Robert SheenWhile the White House and many Republicans in Washington, D.C., seem intent on undermining the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the statehouse in Sacramento is doing something to bolster it. The …
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Health Care CoveragePrescription Drugs
States Are Taking The Lead in Curbing Drug Costs
by Robert Sheenby Robert SheenStates are taking more aggressive action to curb drug costs. It’s self-preservation. Prescription drug expenditures are nearly 20 percent of U.S. health care costs. According to the National Academy for …
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Affordable Care ActHealth Care Coverage
Temporary Shutdowns of Healthcare.gov Termed ACA Sabotage
by Robert Sheenby Robert SheenIt’s become a bit of a sport. Websites and media outlets are tracking ways that the Trump administration has been working to undermine the Affordable Care Act. Organizations such as …
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Affordable Care ActHealth Care Coverage
CHIP Reauthorization in Congressional Committees Sees Mixed Results
by Robert Sheenby Robert SheenThere were mixed results yesterday in Congress as Senate and House committees considered bills reauthorizing funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). The program provided healthcare coverage to 8.9 …
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Health Care CoverageHealth Care Reform
Congress Not Delivering Yet on Public Priorities for Healthcare
by Robert Sheenby Robert SheenDespite a recent declaration that Congress will focus on tax reform, the need to address critical healthcare issues remains. A recent Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) survey found that a large …
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Affordable Care ActHealth Care Coverage
U.S. Senate Health Committee Works to Reach Consensus With Healthcare Hearings Over
by Robert Sheenby Robert SheenCan they reach a bipartisan consensus on fixing healthcare? That’s the question now that the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions has completed its hearings on stabilizing …