Although the Affordable Care Act was signed into law by President Obama five years ago and the major provisions of the legislation took effect at the beginning of 2014, health care reform remains a highly contentious work in progress. Two recent reports provide some indications about the ACA’s success to date in achieving its primary
WASHINGTON — Three Republican lawmakers have proposed an alternative to the Affordable Care Act that would stop the expansion of Medicaid and reduce subsidies for middle-income people to buy insurance. The plan would give states more power to list “essential health benefits” of insurance. Coverage for maternity care would no longer be mandated. The proposal was
WASHINGTON — Larry Merlo basked in the glow of a tribute to CVS Health from President Obama during the State of the Union address last month. Attending the speech at the invitation of first lady Michelle Obama, the CVS chief executive officer was shown on national television after the president said, “Tonight, I’m also asking more
LAKEWOOD, Ohio — Highlighting the Obama administration’s partnerships with drug chains to boost health plan enrollment, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Sylvia Burwell last month toured a CVS/pharmacy store here. Burwell’s visit also was intended to urge people to sign up for health insurance by the February 15 deadline in the current open enrollment period
WASHINGTON — Marilyn Tavenner is resigning as administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. She will step down at the end of this month, she told CMS staff members in an e-mail. Principal deputy administrator Andrew Slavitt, who joined the agency last year to help fix HealthCare.gov, will be the acting administrator. Department of
WASHINGTON — Nearly 6.5 million consumers selected a health insurance plan or were automatically reenrolled under the Affordable Care Act in November and December. And 87% of people who selected 2015 plans through HealthCare.gov in the first month of open enrollment are getting subsidies to lower premiums, the government reported. “We’re pleased that nationwide, millions of
In the not-too-distant past community pharmacy was correctly perceived as a conservative business whose members were intent on operating within a well-defined set of parameters and not rocking the boat. A generation ago it wasn’t uncommon to hear members of the profession joke about what they did as “lick, stick and pour.” The industry as
WASHINGTON — A late surge lifted the number of people enrolling for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act to nearly 2.5 million since mid-November. More than 1 million signed up in the last week of open enrollment before the December 15 deadline for full-year coverage in 2015. The enrollment figure, which excluded the final
McLEAN, Va. — A new survey finds that consumers and heath care providers share strong opinions — as well as hold impressive differences — on the future of health care. Booz Allen Hamilton and Ipsos Public Affairs discovered the perspectives in a study titled “How We View Health Care in America: Consumer and Provider Perspectives.”
