Where we’re going

Under applicable federal law, all private insurance plans are required to cover the entire cost associated with approved COVID-19 testing provided the test is deemed medically appropriate. The U.S. government has also paid for COVID-19 vaccines with no out-of-pocket costs regardless of whether the vaccine recipient is insured or not. But there has been no … Continued

On January 1, 2021, the Federal Hospital Price Transparency Rule went into effect requiring hospitals to disclose certain pricing information. Specifically, the Rule requires hospitals to provide pricing information: in a “single machine-readable digital file containing the following standard charges for all items and services provided by the hospital: gross charges, discounted cash prices, payer-specific negotiated charges, and de-identified … Continued

On August 20, 2021, the Health and Human Services, Labor and Treasury Departments released FAQs About Affordable Care Act and Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 Implementation Part 49, which delays the enforcement of certain provisions contained in the No Surprises Act and the Transparency in Coverage (“TiC”) Final Rules. The reasons for the various delays include … Continued

We are halfway through the 2020 Olympic Games being held in Tokyo, Japan. As I write this, the United States is tied with China for the total number of medals won (46). We’ve witnessed new world records (Caeleb Dressel, Tatjana Schoenmaker, Emma Mckeon) and new sports (karate, surfing, climbing and skateboarding). You may be asking … Continued

On July 1, 2021, the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), Labor, and Treasury, and the Office of Personnel Management, issued the first set of regulations under the No Surprises Act – “Part I of the Requirements Related to Surprise Billing.”[1] Part I provides regulations for only a portion of the No Surprises … Continued

Over the past two years, we’ve followed and discussed the twists and turns in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (the “PPACA”) legal battle.[1] In December 2020, we concluded that the Supreme Court would not overturn the PPACA. We anticipated that the Supreme Court may use the nullified penalty in the individual mandate as … Continued

In November 2017, ACS Primary Care Physicians Southwest PA and Emergency Services of Texas (affiliates of physician led TeamHealth), filed a lawsuit in Houston, Texas alleging that Molina Healthcare, Inc. and Molina Healthcare of Texas, Inc. failed to pay the usual and customary rates for out-of-network services.[1] ACS and Emergency Services of Texas sought more … Continued

Covid-19 has had sweeping effects across the world, as worldwide, 3.5 million people have died.[1] An estimated 591,000 of these deaths occurred in the U.S.[2] Future impacts on health insurers and insureds are uncertain and difficult to project. While economists are aiming at a moving target, the pandemic will have an estimated 4.5 percent GDP loss, … Continued

In April, Nuance Communications, Inc. announced that it was being acquired by Microsoft for 19.7 billion dollars. This deal is expected to be ongoing throughout the rest of 2021. [1] Microsoft, in this transaction, made sure to emphasize that it wants to provide software that works alongside doctors. [2] Let’s take a look at what … Continued

If you did not watch the Academy Awards, you may have missed a new national campaign. It wasn’t about COVID. It wasn’t about the opioid crisis, anti-bullying, or suicide prevention. (https://rpdrlatino.com) It was about medical price transparency – Power to the Patients – “Our Health. Our Money.” The campaign strives to raise awareness that knowing … Continued