Archive for the ‘CMS’ Category

UnitedHealth Group Inc., the nation’s largest health insurer which last year said it might withdraw from the Obamacare insurance exchanges, this week increased projected 2016 Affordable Care Act (ACA) losses from $400 million to $500 million. Humana Inc. also disclosed that it was setting up a “premium deficiency reserve” for its anticipated 2016 ACA losses. […]

As consumers count down to today’s enrollment deadline for Jan. 1 coverage, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that new HealthCare.gov consumer decision support features piloted earlier this enrollment season are now fully deployed for all visitors.  The new Out-of-Pocket Cost calculator, Doctor and Facility Lookup, and Prescription Drug Lookup features will help consumers to […]

Though critics claim the goal of 900,000 new Obamacare sign-ups by Dec. 15 was modest to begin with, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced this week that the state and federal exchanges have already secured 1 million new enrollees. In all, 2.83 million have signed up this year, according to CMS. Dec. 15 […]

As part of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Congress included a provision called the “risk corridors program” that collects money from insurance companies making money and then distributes it to companies losing money. The program is set to run through 2016, but with a severe limitation. Congress in 2014 passed, and the president signed, a […]

Beginning today, HealthCare.gov is piloting a new beta feature that allows consumers to search plans by their preferred provider or health facility. Some consumers will be part of a pilot that allows them to use the beta Doctor Lookup feature as they compare their coverage options in window shopping or when selecting a plan. “The […]

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) thave released final rules that simplify requirements and add new flexibilities for providers to make electronic health information available when and where it matters most and for health care providers and consumers to be able to […]

With Marketplace Open Enrollment set to begin on Nov. 1, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) have announced grant awards totaling $67 million to support outreach efforts designed to connect people with local help as they seek to understand the coverage options and financial assistance available at HealthCare.gov. Awarded to 100 organizations located […]

The next open enrollment period for Marketplace coverage begins on Nov. 1, 2015, for coverage starting on Jan. 1, 2016. Some people can sign up for health coverage outside of open enrollment, before Nov. 1, because they qualify for a special enrollment period (SEP). A consumer can qualify for a SEP for such circumstances as […]

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) ran a two-year sting operation on the federal Obamacare site, HealthCare.gov, and was able to enroll 11 fake applicants using fabricated documents and even leaving some required information out. All 11 were renewed this year, according to a report released yesterday. Six applicants at one point were terminated, but GAO […]

Hawaii became the latest state to shut down its online health insurance marketplace after the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) began cutting back on grant funds because its exchange was out of compliance with the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The Hawaii exchange enrolled only 8,500 persons in the first year of Obamacare, costing the […]