The New Congress The 116th Congress of the United States convened on January 3, 2019, and will exist for two years–divided into the first and second “sessions.” It is the most racially and ethnically diverse Congress in history, and the most female. Among the new...

Update on Texas v. Azar -- Challenge to the ACA As reported in the last Update, in December a federal district court held that the entire ACA is unconstitutional in Texas v. Azar (also known as Texas v. United States), a case brought by the attorneys-general in 20...

Managed Care Comments Due on January 14 As reported earlier, and explained in the “Your Input Sought” section below, the administration issued a proposed rule on Medicaid/CHIP managed care on November 14. Comments are due on January 14. See Proposed Changes to...

New to TRICARE? The Basics You Need to Know Jan. 3, 2019 Calendar Year Costs for TRICARE Resets Jan. 1 Dec. 18, 2018 TRICARE implemented in 2018 include changing cost limits from a fiscal-year cycle to a calendar-year cycle. Therefore, annual catastrophic caps and...

New National Center on Advancing Person-Centered Practices and Systems The Administration for Community Living and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services recently announced the launch of the National Center on Advancing Person-Centered Practices and Systems...

Comments to CMS about Proposed Rule on Medicaid/CHIP Managed Care – due Jan. 14, 2019 On November 8, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) (proposed rule) to amend the 2016 managed care final rule issued...

Health insurance marketplaces are still open for enrollment in California, Colorado, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, Rhode Island, and Washington, DC. The following resources might be helpful to consumers. Health Insurance Marketplace Calculator This tool from the...

Create Your Crisis Communication Plan Wednesday, December 19, 1:00 pm ET Emergency Partners Information Connection (EPIC) program of the CDC Click https://zoom.us/j/336888256 to join the webinar or telephone: Dial (for higher quality, dial a number based on your...

Court Finds That the ACA Is Unconstitutional, But the Law is Still in Effect No doubt you have heard by now about the recent ruling in a case challenging the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Texas v. United States (also known as Texas v. Azar). A...

Congress and the president have not yet reached an agreement on funding for construction of a wall between the U.S. and Mexico, which the president is seeking. If they do not come to an agreement by December 21, there will be a partial government “shut-down” affecting...