Department of Health and Human Services

Sebelius announces awards for future health centers

Posted on September 15, 2011

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has announced the awarding of $10 million to 129 entities around the country that intend on becoming community health centers. The money was made available by the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and will be used to develop new health centers, which provide access to care for many medically under-served Americans.

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Categories: Department of Health and Human Services, Grants, Health Insurance, Key Developments, Medicaid and CHIP, Office of the Secretary, Public Health

CMS issues RFI on Basic Health Program

Posted on September 9, 2011

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has issued a Request for Information (RFI) on the Basic Health Program (BHP). The BHP is designed to offer an alternative pathway to coverage for low-income families, and must provide at least the same level of mimimum essential health benefits offered to other consumers through plans sold in the State’s Exchange. The RFI seeks input from stakeholders on what they feel will be challenges and costs associated with the BHP, how the BHP might affect the Exchange, and innovative strategies States could use in contracting with standard health plans.

For more information on the BHP, click here.

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Categories: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Department of Health and Human Services, Health Insurance, Key Developments, Medicaid and CHIP, Rulemaking, Rules, and Guidance

HHS issues amended final rule on rate review, association plans subject to reviews

Posted on September 6, 2011

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has issued an amended final rule clarifying the definition of “individual market” and “small group market” with respect to the rate review process authorized by the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The definition now includes association plans in the types of health insurance products that are subject to the rate increase disclosure rules ad reviews, even if States do not chose to regulate association plans as part of their own individual or small group markets.

For more information on the disclosure and review of insurance premiums under the ACA, click here.

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Categories: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Health Insurance, Key Developments, Office of Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight, Rulemaking, Rules, and Guidance

CMS releases details, RFA on bundled payment initiative

Posted on August 24, 2011

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has formerly announced the Bundled Payments for Care Improvement initiative. This initiative, authorized by the Affordable Care Act (ACA), proposes that various provider reimbursements for multiple services a person may receive during the normal course of an illness or injury be bundled together into one payment. The initiative allows broad flexibility for providers to determine which services may be bundled, as well as what share of the single payment may be allocated to each provider. CMS intends for this initiative to improve care coordination and reduce costs in Medicare, and has issued a Request for Applications (RFA) from interested parties on the four (4) different proposed bundling models.

For more information on bundled payments, click here.

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Categories: Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Department of Health and Human Services, Health Care Quality and Delivery System Reform, Key Developments, Medicare

Treasury, DOL, HHS issue new rules on providing insurance information to consumers

Posted on August 17, 2011

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) of the U.S. Department of Treasury (Treasury), The Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) have jointly-released two Notices of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRMs) covering the disclosure of the Summary of Benefits and Coverage and the Uniform Glossary to insurance consumers, aimed at providing clear, consistent, and comparable information about their health plan. The rules apply to group health plans and health insurance coverage in the group and individual markets under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and include not only what must be disclosed to consumers, but also examples of the templates on which the information will be disclosed.

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Categories: Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Labor, Department of the Treasury, Health Insurance, Internal Revenue Service, Key Developments, Rulemaking, Rules, and Guidance

HHS and IRS release NPRMs on exchange eligibility, tax credits, medicaid expansion

Posted on August 12, 2011

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) have released Notices of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on Exchange eligibility and insurance premium tax credits, respectively. Additionally, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has released an NPRM related to the Medicaid eligibility expansion authorized by the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

All three NPRMs are designed to simplify Exchange eligibility and enrollment by coordinating with state Medicaid agencies and the IRS to determine eligibility for premium tax credits and Medicaid under the new expanded eligibility rules laid out in the ACA. Also addressed in the proposed rules is the eligibility and calculation of tax credits for small businesses.

For more information on the Medicaid eligibility expansion, click here. For more information on tax credits, click here. For more information on Exchange eligibility, click here. Finally, for more information on tax credits for small businesses, click here.

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Categories: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of the Treasury, Health Insurance, Internal Revenue Service, Key Developments, Medicaid and CHIP, Rulemaking, Rules, and Guidance, Tax Policy

HHS announces millions in grants for nursing workforce

Posted on August 1, 2011

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has announced more than $70 million in new grants to help support nursing workforce development. The money will be used to support additional nursing education and training, nursing school loan programs, and promoting diversity in the field.

For more information about nursing workforce issues, click here.

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Categories: Department of Health and Human Services, Grants, Key Developments, Office of the Secretary, Workforce and Access

HHS issues amended preventive services IFR

Posted on August 1, 2011

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has issued an amended version of the previous Interim Final Rule on the coverage of preventive services by group health plans and health insurance issuers under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The amended rule reflects recent recommendations by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) regarding particular preventive services for women that should be covered at no cost by insurance companies. Services include screening and counseling for certain sexually transmitted infections, screening for gestational diabetes, and among others, counseling and contraception to prevent unintended pregnancies. The Internal Revenue Service has also issued an amended rule that reflects the coverage of these preventive services.

*** On August 3, 2011, HHS issued an amendment to the amended IFR, further clarifying the expemption of religious organizations from the contraception coverage requirement.

For more information on prevention, click here.

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Categories: Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Labor, Department of the Treasury, Employee Benefit Security Administration, Health Insurance, Internal Revenue Service, Key Developments, Rulemaking, Rules, and Guidance

HHS issues advanced notice of changes to common rule

Posted on July 27, 2011

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) soliciting comments on how regulations governing human subject research might be modernized, including making changes to the Common Rule. These regulations have not been have not kept pace with advances in science and human subject research, so updates would be welcome and will apply to all human subject research funded by Affordable Care Act (ACA).

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Categories: Department of Health and Human Services, Key Developments, Office of Public Health and Science, Public Health, Rulemaking, Rules, and Guidance

Medicare proposes covering screening for depression

Posted on July 21, 2011

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has proposed covering depression screening in adults. Depression screening has been given a B grade by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), which means the benefit to patients is moderate to substantial. According to the CMS memo, which also seeks public comment, depression affects 1 in 6 adults over the age of 65.

For more information on prevention, click here.

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Categories: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Department of Health and Human Services, Key Developments, Medicare, Rulemaking, Rules, and Guidance