Earlier this month the Supreme Court issued its decision to uphold the ACA, dismissing the challengers who asserted it was unconstitutional. So, what happens next? Now that the healthcare law …
Medicaid
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ACA ComplianceAffordable Care Act
ACA Affordability for the 2021 Tax Year
by Robert Sheenby Robert Sheen2 minute read: For the 2021 tax year, the ACA affordability threshold will increase to 9.83%. That means employees will likely have to contribute more towards their employer-sponsored healthcare. IRS …
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Affordable Care Act
Recapping on Biden’s ACA Reforms, What Employers Need to Know
by Robert Sheenby Robert Sheen3 minute read: Since Biden took office on January 20, 2021, several advancements to the Affordable Care Act followed, so we thought it best to recap on the ACA reforms …
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3 minute read: President Joe Biden nominated California’s Attorney General Xavier Becerra, a known supporter of the ACA, as the new Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary. On March 18, …
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3 minute read: Since the Biden Administration took office a few weeks ago, changes to help bolster the Affordable Care Act are already underway. President Joe Biden has already signed …
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Affordable Care Act
ACA Improvements to Expect from the Biden Administration
by Robert Sheenby Robert Sheen3 minute read: The inauguration welcoming president-elect Joe Biden to the White House is imminent and with the recent shift in majority control of the Senate, we can expect a …
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2 minute read: At the dawn of 2021, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is poised to continue to be central to the health and wellbeing of millions of Americans. A …
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3 minute read: As the fourth quarter of 2020 draws near, so does the presidential election. A popular topic of debate to be addressed in the coming election is healthcare, …
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Affordable Care Act
IRS Releases New ACA Filing Information for the 2020 Tax Year
by Robert Sheenby Robert Sheen2 minute read: The IRS has published various Affordable Care Act Information Returns (AIRs) documents for the 2020 tax year with which employers will need to familiarize themselves before electronically …
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2 minute read: New IRS guidance addresses the intersection of COVID-19, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act (ACA). In a bid to increase COVID-19 testing in the U.S., one facet …
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Affordable Care ActHealth Care Coverage
ACA to Aid Millions in Obtaining Healthcare, KFF Report Finds
by Robert Sheenby Robert Sheen2 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 …
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ACA ComplianceAffordable Care Act
New Jersey Adopts ACA Provision to Lower Healthcare Costs
by Robert Sheenby Robert Sheen3 minute read: Earlier this month, New Jersey signed into law a state version of an Affordable Care Act provision, the Health Insurance Assessment (HIA) program. New Jersey is the …
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2 minute read: In another court victory for the Affordable Care Act (ACA), a federal appellate court ruled in Texas v. Rettig that a provision of the ACA that imposes …
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3 minute read: In yet another triumphant win for the Affordable Care Act, the state of Missouri approved and passed the expansion of Medicaid. The expansion comes after nearly 53% …
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2 minute read: House of Representative Democrats have unveiled a bill that would enhance many of the ACA’s components while reversing much of the Trump administration’s onslaught to the healthcare …
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Affordable Care Act
ACA’s Expansion of Medicaid Takes Hold in Oklahoma
by Robert Sheenby Robert Sheen3 minute read: In late June, Oklahoma joined 37 other states and the District of Columbia in expanding Medicaid under the ACA. Better late than never and in good timing …
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Affordable Care Act
Proposed IRS Regs Will Not Affect How Individuals Receive PTCs
by Robert Sheenby Robert Sheen2 minute read: The IRS recently issued proposed regulations on how the personal tax exemption reduction to “0” will affect qualifications for recipients of Premium Tax Credits (PTCs). Regulation 124810-19, …
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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 Act
Employers May See More ACA Penalties As a Result of COVID-19
by Robert Sheenby Robert Sheen2 minute read: A new data analysis report from the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) finds the vast majority of Americans who lost their job amid COVID-19will be eligible for government …
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2 minute read: Maine will become the next state to administer its own statewide health exchange. The state will however, continue to operate on the federal healthcare.gov website platform. The …
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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
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 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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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 Act
What Employers Need to Know About the ACA (UPDATE)
by Robert Sheenby Robert Sheen7 minute read: It’s always interesting to look back and see how regulation develops. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) is no exception. I wrote a five-part series about the ACA …
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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 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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Affordable Care ActHealthcare
Individual Healthcare Mandate Being Considered in Maryland [UPDATE]
by Robert Sheenby Robert SheenSenate Republicans added repeal of the ACA’s individual mandate to the Senate’s tax reform bill to save nearly $340 billion in federal funds during the next decade to mitigate increases …
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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
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
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 Reform
U.S. Senate Committee Hears More Support for CSR Payments and Flexibility for States
by Robert Sheenby Robert SheenThe U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions continued its hearings on healthcare policy yesterday. The hearing brought testimony in support of providing states more flexibility in addressing …
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Affordable Care ActHealth Care Coverage
MassHealth Changes Come With A Hefty Price Tag For Employers
by Robert Sheenby Robert SheenWhile healthcare is expected to continue to be discussed when Congress reconvenes in September, some state governments are taking steps of their own to shore up the Affordable Care Act …
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Affordable Care ActMedicaid
Medicaid Receives Praise From Its Recipients
by Robert Sheenby Robert SheenThere’s a fallacy amongst some people that suggests Medicaid recipients are receiving less than stellar healthcare. That couldn’t be further from the truth according to a new study from Harvard’s …
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Affordable Care Act
Pressure Mounts for Congressional Action on Healthcare as Congress Returns to Washington
by Robert Sheenby Robert SheenAs Congress returns to Washington, D.C. from a quick Independence Day break, the question of repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act (ACA) remains top of mind. Job one for …
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Affordable Care ActHealth Care Reform
Complexities Await Should ACA Be Amended Prior To Repeal
by Robert Sheenby Robert SheenOn June 26, President Trump tweeted, “Republican Senators are working very hard to get there, with no help from the Democrats. Not easy! Perhaps just let OCare crash & burn!” …
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American Health Care Act (AHCA)Health Care Coverage
The AHCA May Cost Seniors Almost Half Of Their Annual Income In Premiums
by Robert Sheenby Robert SheenThe American Health Care Act (AHCA) is still sitting in the Senate, awaiting a verdict on being modified or dismantled to something unrecognizable. While in limbo, analyses continue to surface, …
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Health Care CoverageMedicaid
Seniors And Medicaid: The Real Connection
by Robert Sheenby Robert SheenFor many Americans, the understanding of healthcare when it comes to senior citizens is that their benefits are derived from Medicare. While that may be true for millions, there are …
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Health Care CoverageMedicaid
Will Medicaid Be A Casualty Of The AHCA? New Study Shows Americans Are Concerned
by Robert Sheenby Robert SheenWhile the Affordable Care Act made significant strides in Medicaid Expansion, that may all change should the American Health Care Act (AHCA) be put into action. While federal funding for …
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Affordable Care ActHealth Care Coverage
GOP Health Care Bill Now Faces Uphill Battle in Senate
by Robert Sheenby Robert SheenToday, with a vote count of 217 for and 213 against, the heavily Republican majority House passed the amended American Healthcare Act (AHCA). This rushed vote came with less than …
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Affordable Care ActHealth Care Reform
Minnesota And Alaska Lead The Charge For State Healthcare Empowerment
by Robert Sheenby Robert SheenIn Trump’s plans for healthcare reform, individual states were a high priority in allowing more localized power from state-to-state. While the American American Healthcare Act (AHCA) has since collapsed, the …
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Affordable Care ActHealth Care Coverage
As The ACA Stays, Should States Readjust Their Employer Mandate Demands?
by Robert Sheenby Robert SheenIn a matter of two weeks, everything seems to have changed for the fate of states and their
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When news broke last week that the Affordable Care Act would no longer be repealed and replaced, it signified an end to the waiting game on the fate of America’s …
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Affordable Care ActAmerican Health Care Act (AHCA)
Breaking: Affordable Care Act Will Not Be Repealed Due To Votes
by Robert Sheenby Robert SheenThe New York Times broke the story today that House Speaker Paul Ryan “rushed” to the White House to explain to President Trump that he lacked the votes to repeal …
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Health Care CoverageMedicaid
Are Medicaid Recipients Always Below The Federal Poverty Line? The Short Answer Is No.
by Robert Sheenby Robert SheenWhen it comes to Medicaid, there is a lot of confusion as to what it means to be eligible on a state by state basis. The assumption may be that …
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Affordable Care ActHealth Care CoveragePolls/Surveys
New KFF Study Shows A Change In The Perception of The ACA
by Robert Sheenby Robert SheenAs the Trump Administration begins the rollout for changes to healthcare reform—namely a repeal and replacement of the Affordable Care Act—there appears to be changes in American opinions of the …
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Health Care CoverageMedicaid
Keeping Up With The GOP And Medicaid Expansion
by Robert Sheenby Robert SheenNew remarks from President Trump are now suggesting that the Affordable Care Act won’t see an immediate repeal or replacement until well into the next year. While that may be …