The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) issued a report today which examines what would happen to the health insurance marketplace if the Trump Administration ended the cost-sharing reductions (CSRs). The CSR payments are payments made to the insurance companies to help offset out-of-pocket costs for lower income enrollees and have been the subject of an ongoing lawsuit […] Read More »

CMS has released their new navigator certification training required for all navigators. The requirements for the certification training can be found in CMS’s Assister Certification Bulletin. The training itself is available through the CMS portal. Read More »

With the Senate’s failure to pass a repeal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), attention has been turned to other ways the ACA could be weakened by the Administration. One of the things that the Trump Administration could do which could destabilize the marketplace would be to withhold the cost-sharing reduction (CSR) payments which are […] Read More »

After a series of votes this week failed to pass the Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017 (BCRA), the Senate version of repeal and replace of the ACA, or the Obamacare Repeal Reconciliation Act of 2017 (ORRA), which was the repeal and delay approach, Senate Republicans attempted one last bill entitled the Health Care Freedom […] Read More »

CMS has released a new fact sheet on the new verification process for Special Enrollment Periods (SEPs). The fact sheet “5 Things Assisters, Agents, and Brokers Should Know about SVIs” examines SEP Verification Issues (SVIs) and answers important questions such as what are the deadlines which consumers need to know and what documents are needed […] Read More »

Today, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the Eligibility Determinations and Enrollment Report from May 2017. This report can also be found on our Resources & Links page under “Enrollment Statistics.” Prior Medicaid enrollment reports from CMS, are archived on our website. Read More »

As the Senate continues to debate the Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017 (BCRA), the Kaiser Family Foundation has released a new issue brief which explains the changes to Medicaid under the BCRA. The brief entitled “Medicaid Changes in Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA) Go Beyond ACA Repeal and Replace” examines how the BCRA would […] Read More »

The Kaiser Family Foundation has released a new issue brief on the effect that the Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017 (BCRA) would have on state-by-state Medicaid funding. The brief is entitled “Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA): State-by-State Estimates of Reductions in Federal Medicaid Funding” and looks at the cuts which would occur for two different […] Read More »

Previously, we reported on an opportunity with the Collaborative on Health Reform and Independent Living (CHRIL) as they are interviewing adults with disabilities on their experience with health insurance. The CHRIL is still in need of volunteers. The announcement is below. PARTICIPANTS NEEDED: Health Insurance Interviews: The NIDILRR-funded Collaborative on Health Reform and Independent Living (CHRIL) […] Read More »