Clinton
The reform law got a boost Wednesday from former President Bill Clinton, who praised the law's benefits and urged supporters and detractors to work together on fixing its problems.
Clinton's speech is a needed boost for the White House less than a month before open enrollment begins, especially as the Obama administration is now focused on garnering support from Congress for a military strike against the Syrian government. <
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The news Thursday that the Internal Revenue Service will recognize same-sex marriages, no matter where the couples live, will have healthcare implications.
They're not necessarily positive ones, according to Brian Haile, senior vice president for healthcare policy at Jackson Hewitt Tax Service.
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It's more those smoking breaks than healthcare costs that make smokers more expensive employees.
A new analysis by researchers at Ohio State University found that employees who smoke cost private employers $5,816 more a year than nonsmoking employees. Much of the cost, about $3,077, came in lost time from smoking breaks.
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The American Nurses Association wants the federal government to require insurers selling plans on state insurance exchanges to have at least a certain percentage of advanced practice registered nurses in their provider networks.
The ANA proposed the minimum level would be equal to 10% of the number of APRNs who independently bill Medicare Part B in a state.
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New York insurance regulators today approved rates for health plan offerings on the state insurance exchange in 2014 that they say are on average more than 50% less than premiums for currently available individual-market plans.
For example, for an individual seeking coverage in Manhattan on the New York Health Benefit Exchange in 2014, a standard HMO Aetna plan that currently has a premium of $1,409 a month would cost $688 for an Aetna gold-tier plan.
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Obamacare critics have warned of a potential surge in improper federal subsidies due to the administration's recently announced delay in federal verification of income and lack of employer coverage to qualify for insurance subsidies on the state exchanges. A Wall Street Journal editorial called it the “liar's subsidy.” But Americans tempted to shade the truth to qualify for the generous subsidies should take a close look at other obscure provisions of the healthcare reform law.
The July 5 rule allowing those delays led supporters to highlight provisions in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act meant to discourage applicants from gaming the system and garnering federal subsidies to which they were not entitled. The law allows civil penalties of up to $25,000 for applicants who submit inaccurate information because of “negligence or disregard of any rules or regulations.”
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