Government Affairs Breaking News news and information

With less than eight weeks to go before the official launch of the under the federal health law, backers of the law are rushing to encourage people to sign up. But there's another effort gearing up this month as well. Opponents of the healthcare law are making one last-ditch effort to run Obamacare...
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HHS is preparing to award $54 million in grants to navigators—organizations that will provide impartial information to the public about signing up for coverage on the state health insurance exchanges. Navigators are not allowed to recommend particular health plans.
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Congress has partially wriggled free from the "Obamacare" health reforms that it passed and subjected itself to three years ago. In a ruling issued Wednesday, U.S. lawmakers and their staffs will continue to receive a federal contribution toward the health insurance that they must purchase through...
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With the complicated state health insurance exchanges going live in October, CMS Administrator Marilyn Tavenner has a lot to think about at the end of the day.
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While a new report estimates millions of people could be added to Medicaid and CHIP if all states expanded the programs under the ACA, several states have refused, leaving thousands without coverage.
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Healthcare information technology leaders today hailed the efforts of Dr. Farzad Mostashari, who announced he will step down this fall as head of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology at HHS, where he's had a big hand in guiding federal health IT policy for the...
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Health insurance exchanges in every state are set to go live in 18 weeks, and HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius promises that open enrollment will begin as scheduled.
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Municipalities across the U.S. are pushing public unions to accept cheaper health benefits in anticipation of a component of the Affordable Care Act that will tax expensive plans starting in 2018.
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Democratic governors say they are nervous about getting the new federal healthcare law implemented but add they will be better positioned in next year's elections than many of their Republican counterparts who have resisted the far-reaching and politically polarizing measure.
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Two months before open enrollment begins on the state insurance exchanges, CMS Administrator Marilyn Tavenner downplayed concerns from GOP lawmakers that the 2010 healthcare law will hurt jobs and expressed confidence that the employer mandate delay won't affect the law's implementation.
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