White House Moves to Fix 2 Key Consumer Complaints About Health Care Law
The White House is moving to address two of the most common consumer complaints about the sale of health insurance under the Affordable Care Act: that doctor directories are inaccurate, and that patients are hit with unexpected bills for costs not covered by insurance. (Robert Pear/The New York Times)
House Dems: Repeal Medical Device Tax by Memorial Day
More than a dozen Democrats are pressuring House leadership to advance a bill that repeals ObamaCare’s medical device tax before Memorial Day. Rep. Scott Peters (Calif.) led 17 House Democrats in a letter to Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) urging “timely passage” of the bill. (Sarah Ferris/The Hill)
GOP-led Medicaid Expansion States Test Limits of CMS Flexibility on Waivers
Republican-led states that already expanded Medicaid now are coming back to the Obama administration with requests to move their expansion programs in more conservative directions, including higher cost-sharing for beneficiaries, work requirements, and coverage time limits. These moves may test the limits of the administration's flexibility and could lead to rollbacks in Medicaid expansion across the country. (Virgil Dickson/Modern Healthcare)
Sixteen Hospitals to Pay $15.69 Million to Resolve US Medicare Probe
Sixteen hospitals will pay $15.69 million to resolve allegations they were reimbursed from Medicare for services that were unnecessary, the U.S. Justice Department said on Thursday. As part of the settlement, Health Management Associates Inc and 14 of its formerly associated hospitals will pay $15 million, Community Health Systems and its subsidiary Wesley Medical Center in Mississippi will pay $210,000, and North Texas Medical Center will pay $480,000, the Justice Department said. (Lindsay Dunsmuir/Reuters)
Sen. Cassidy Maps a Plan to Overhaul Obamacare
Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana is throwing his hat into the ring of Republicans vying to shape the party’s health care policy this summer. GOP lawmakers have been wrestling for months over what to do if the Supreme Court strikes down the Affordable Care Act’s tax credits in most of the country, a move that would upend a big part of the law. A decision is expected in June, and Republican leaders believe it will give them a chance to overhaul a law they have long opposed. (Louise Radnofsky/The Wall Street Journal)
