Earlier this week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released a proposed rule that cuts federal payments to hospitals for uncompensated care. What still remains unclear, however, is how these cuts will impact states that do not expand their Medicaid programs. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires significant cuts to Disproportionate Share Hospital… Continue Reading
Category Archives: Health Care Reform
Subscribe to Health Care Reform RSS FeedHPIO Resources on Medicaid Expansion in Ohio
Posted in Affordable Care Act, Health Care Reform, MedicaidThe Health Policy Institute of Ohio (HPIO) has recently added to its collection of Medicaid resources a brief focused on projected new employment and new local general sales tax revenues due to Medicaid expansion. Governor Kasich’s budget proposal includes language expanding Medicaid eligibility up to 138% of the federal poverty level, or $32,499 for a… Continue Reading
Arkansas Proposes Coverage Definition of Habilitative Services
Posted in Affordable Care Act, Health Care ReformDespite states’ struggles to define coverage of services under the habilitative services category of Essential Health Benefits as required by the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Arkansas recently proposed a coverage definition of habilitative services. Under the ACA, health plans sold inside a state’s Health Insurance Exchange, as well as all individual and small group plans,… Continue Reading
Health Care Reform Pay or Play Penalties for Employers
Posted in Affordable Care Act, Health Care ReformIn this Labor and Employment Alert, Vorys attorneys discuss proposed federal regulations regarding health care reform pay or play penalties that will impact applicable large employers. If you are an employer, read the alert to determine whether/how you will be impacted.
No Enhanced Federal Funds For Partial Medicaid Expansion
Posted in Affordable Care Act, Health Care Reform, MedicaidLast week, 11 governors – including those in Ohio, Arizona, Louisiana, Florida, Virginia, Iowa, Maine, Mississippi, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming - submitted a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius asking whether states that expand Medicaid eligibility to a level less than that included in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) are eligible to… Continue Reading
Feds Extend Deadline for State Exchanges Again
Posted in Affordable Care Act, Health Care ReformOn Thursday, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius extended the deadline to December 14 for states to submit letters of intent to build state-based health insurance exchanges. The original deadline had been today, Friday, November 16. Secretary Sebelius’ letter announcing the extension was in response to a request by the Republican Governors Association for… Continue Reading
HHS Extends Deadline for State-Based Exchanges
Posted in Health Care ReformIn a letter to governors on Friday, Secretary Kathleen Sebelius of the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that HHS is extending the deadline for State-based Exchange Blueprint application submissions to Friday, December 14,2012. Read the letter or Kaiser Health News’ breaking news bulletin for full details.
States Begin to Choose Essential Health Benefits for Their Citizens
Posted in Health Care Reform, MedicaidAlthough not a “hard” deadline, states were encouraged to submit to the federal government by Monday, October 1, 2012, their lists of essential health benefits required by the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Essential health benefits are a set of health care service categories that must be covered by certain plans beginning in 2014. According to… Continue Reading
Vorys’ Labor and Employment Alert Offers Guidance on Full-Time Employee Status and Other Employee Benefits News
Posted in Health Care ReformVorys’ Labor and Employment Alert offers important information regarding shared responsibility penalties on large employers that fail to offer health coverage to all of their full-time employees (or offer health coverage to full-time employees that is deemed to be unaffordable or inadequate). This piece offers a wealth of information for employers contemplating the effects of the… Continue Reading
ACA Teleseminar Recording Now Available
Posted in Health Care Reform, MedicaidNow available: A recording of the July 2 teleseminar regarding the U. S. Supreme Court’s decision on the fate of the Affordable Care Act, provided by Vorys Health Care Advisors (VHCA) and Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease. You can also review VHCA’s PowerPoint presentation on which the Medicaid portion of the teleseminar was based.
VHCA Discusses Changing Health Care Landscape and Potential Future Opportunities for Assisted Living Providers
Posted in Health Care Reform, MedicaidVHCA recently published an article in the Ohio Assisted Living Association’s quarterly newsletter. The article is focused on the changing health care environment and potential future opportunities for assisted living providers. Topics include: Medicare quality and payment reform provisions that could impact assisted living providers- Medicare Shared Savings Program Reducing avoidable hospitalizations in Medicare National… Continue Reading
Teleseminar Slides Now Available
Posted in Health Care Reform, MedicaidVHCA’s slides from Monday’s teleseminar discussing the U. S. Supreme Court’s opinion on the Affordable Care Act are now available. Please note that this content is specific to the Medicaid portion of the opinion and teleseminar discussion.
Where States Stand on Implementing Health Care Law
Posted in Health Care ReformThanks to those of you who joined this afternoon’s teleseminar focused on analyzing the Supreme Court’s opinion on the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The teleseminar was jointly hosted by Vorys Health Care Advisors and Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease. During the call, we referenced an Associated Press article entitled Where States Stand on Implementing Health Care Law. … Continue Reading
New Federal Income Eligibility Levels in 2014
Posted in Health Care Reform, MedicaidIndividuals represented by the red boxes will be impacted by the Supreme Court’s ruling on the Medicaid expansion. This information is provided courtesy of the Ohio Governor’s Office of Health Transformation.
Webinar – The U.S. Supreme Court Decides on the Affordable Care Act: What Happens Now?
Posted in Health Care, Health Care ReformThe U.S. Supreme Court is expected to announce on Thursday, June 28th, its decision on the Affordable Care Act. Vorys Health Care Advisors and a panel of Vorys, Sater, Seymour, and Pease attorneys will be available Monday, July 2 at 2:30 p.m. (ET) for a complimentary webinar. To RSVP or for more information, please contact Cindy… Continue Reading
Health Care Reform: Count Down to Decision Day (Part II)
Posted in Health Care, Health Care Reform, MedicaidIn our last post, we discussed the practical impact on the American public of the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion. There are also significant repercussions for states, as described below. What does the Medicaid expansion really mean for States? For Ohio, specifically? • States will be responsible for up to 10% of the cost of the… Continue Reading
Health Care Reform: Count Down to Decision Day
Posted in Health Care, Health Care Reform, MedicaidConventional wisdom holds that the U. S. Supreme Court is likely to render a decision on the fate of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) near the end of its term concluding on June 30th. Four separate issues are under review: 1. The so-called “individual mandate” that all Americans have health insurance 2. The Medicaid expansion to low-income… Continue Reading
Ohio Undertakes Locally Driven Initiatives to Improve Quality, Reduce Cost, and Expand Access to Health Care
Posted in Health Care, Health Care Reform, MedicaidOhio’s involvement in local projects focused on improving quality, reducing cost, and expanding access to health care exemplify dynamic partnerships that are fully engaged in the evolving health care environment. These are some—but certainly not all—of the exciting, locally driven initiatives underway in Ohio: Ohio Children’s Hospitals’ Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation Award The… Continue Reading
Webinar: Important Issues for Psychiatric Hospitals and Other Residential Providers of Behavioral Health Services
Posted in Behavioral Health, Health Care, Health Care Reform, MedicaidJoin Vorys Health Care Advisors for a complimentary webinar. Wednesday, April 25 from 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. (EDT) The Ohio Office of Health Transformation is working with the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services’ Office of Ohio Health Plans and the Ohio Department of Mental Health to implement several new Medicaid behavioral health policy… Continue Reading
What the Affordable Care Act’s DSH Reductions Really Mean to High-DSH Hospitals
Posted in Health Care Reform, MedicaidIn fiscal year 2009, Ohio hospitals received nearly $408 million in Federal disproportionate share hospital (DSH) payments. One provision of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA)—coupled with Ohio’s methodology for determining how DSH payments are allocated—will reduce important funding for Ohio’s safety net hospitals. In the early 1980s, Federal legislation established a requirement… Continue Reading
Vorys Health Care Advisors’ Medicaid Teleseminar a Success
Posted in Health Care, Health Care Reform, MedicaidThanks to the many health care professionals and children’s advocates from around Ohio and beyond who participated in our Medicaid teleseminar last week! Participants from at least five states, including all regions of Ohio, took part in the learning opportunity. Our focus on Ohio’s Office of Health Transformation initiatives and other states’ coordinated care delivery… Continue Reading
Simple Guide to Understanding the GOP Candidates’ Positions on Health Care
Posted in Health Care, Health Care Reform, Medicaid, UncategorizedThe Deloitte Center for Health Solutions recently published a piece highlighting the GOP presidential candidates’ positions on health care. This helpful chart (located a third of the way down the page) illustrates their plans for the Affordable Care Act, Medicare and Medicaid, public health and wellness, and other insurance industry issues. Check it out to… Continue Reading
Medicaid Tools Added to VHCA Site
Posted in Behavioral Health, Health Care, Health Care Reform, Medicaid, Physical and Behavioral Health IntegrationWe have added several tools under the “Resources” tab that can be used to help navigate the complex Medicaid system. We originally shared these tools at an ANCOR conference VHCA facilitated in January 2012. Under the Resources tab, you can now find: A description of Medicaid case management/care coordination services and the federal authorities that underly… Continue Reading
Is the Medicaid expansion a good deal?
Posted in Health Care, Health Care Reform, MedicaidIn my last post, I contemplated whether the expansion of Medicaid is constitutional (i.e., whether Congress can mandate the expansion). In this post, I explore whether the expansion should stand. To some, the question seems narrow. It is not! At issue is a provision in the health care reform law that, for the first time… Continue Reading