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Affordability

  • Most Important Issues for Children in the New Proposed Rule on Medicaid, CHIP and Exchanges

    CCFadmin

    By Jocelyn Guyer After an intensive few weeks spent lugging around binders filled with the latest proposed rule on Medicaid and CHIP, we’ve finally done it!  Here is our very best shot at a concise(ish) list of the top issues of concern for kids in the proposed rule.  Comments are due this Thursday and, if…

  • Proposed Rules Shed Light on Individual Mandate Exceptions

    CCFadmin

    By Joe Touschner and Tara Mancini As highlighted in the Supreme Court case, we all know that the Affordable Care Act includes a tax on those who choose not to maintain health insurance coverage starting next year. New rules from the federal government spell out just who will face that tax—and more importantly, who won’t.…

  • Premiums for Employer-Sponsored Coverage Increase Modestly, but Lower-Income Workers Pay More

    CCFadmin

    By Martha Heberlein The annual Kaiser Family Foundation/Health Research and Educational Trust survey of employer health benefits was released today and found that the average premium for family based coverage rose to $15,745, or just 4% compared to 2011 (premiums for individual plans rose 3%). Although moderate, this growth has far out-paced workers wages, which…

  • GAO to IRS: Consider the Family Penalty

    CCFadmin

    By Joe Touschner Say Ahhh! readers have heard all about the family penalty—the proposed rule that spouses and children won’t be able to access premium tax credits if employer-sponsored single coverage is affordable for a worker—even if the cost of family coverage would be out of reach. (Note that some also refer to this problem…

  • Blended Match Rate Proposal Raises Red Flags

    CCFadmin

    By Jocelyn Guyer Last week just as Representative Cantor was making his dramatic exit from deficit reduction talks with Vice President Biden, rumors started to emerge that the idea of adopting a “blended matching rate” for Medicaid and CHIP was gaining currency.  The Obama Administration first put forth the idea in a deficit reduction proposal…

  • Senate Approves Bill to Change ACA’s 1099 Reporting Requirements

    Cathy Hope

    The Senate passed H.R. 4 today to remove the Affordable Care Act’s enhanced 1099 reporting requirements.  President Obama has not yet indicated whether or not he will sign the bill into law. The White House supports the bill’s goal of eliminating the enhanced reporting requirements for businesses but has expressed concerns about the offset that was included…

  • Rate Review: States Can Help Make Health Insurance More Affordable

    Sabrina Corlette

    Thirty-nine percent increase in California. Fifty-six percent increase in Michigan. Forty-seven percent increase in Connecticut. Twenty-one percent increase in New Mexico. In recent years consumers have faced unprecedented hikes in their health insurance premiums. In many cases, these hikes are driven by the increasing costs of medical care. But what happens when an insurance company…

  • Congress Acts to Change ACA Subsidy Structure

    CCFadmin

    By Joe Touschner We’re less than a year beyond the passage of the Affordable Care Act and still three full years from the implementation of state exchanges and their federal premium subsidies.  But already Congress has decided to make some significant changes to how the premium tax credits would work and, in the process, could…

  • Summary of Medicaid, CHIP, and Low-Income Provisions in Health Care Reform

    CCFadmin

    On March 23, 2010, President Obama signed into law the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which is designed (with its companion set of amendments in H.R. 4782) to provide coverage to 32 million people, adopt broad-reaching reforms in insurance industry practices, make major new investments in public health, and reduce the federal deficits. This…

  • Poll: Affordability and Health Care Coverage

    CCFadmin

    This survey shows that families are still reeling from the recession, feeling pessimistic about the future, and struggling to afford health care. Health care costs are squeezing families financially, forcing them to make hard choices. For this reason, their goal for health care reform is overwhelmingly to make health care more affordable and to lower…