Health Exchanges -Obamacare

Americans Demand More Time to Comment on Proposed PPACA Regulations

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services set forth four new Obamacare regulations that totaled more than 700 pages during the holiday season and allowed for only 30 days of public review and comment. A majority of public comments on these bills – totaling more than 80 percent on one regulation – insisted that the HHS extend the review and comment period to 90 days to allow for adequate review and public feedback.

ACA Health Insurance Exchanges – State Costs & Status

New CCHF chart showing the annual operating costs each state would have to pay to manage a state-managed, state-funded federal exchange under Obamacare. If you have data or information you believe to be an update from the data on the chart, please feel free to send it to CCHF with the url citation.

HHS Tight Holiday Review Periods for Pending Regulations

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is petitioning the American public for comment on a total of six new regulations related to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, commonly referred to as the ACA law. Two regulations have an adequate amount of time to read, understand, and comment on the proposed regulations, but four, including the 373-page the “Head Tax” rule that adds a monthly fee to all insurance premiums to cover the cost of individuals with pre-existing conditions, have only a 30-day window for public comment, and the timeframe falls over the winter holidays that include Chanukah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, and New Year’s. The four bills total nearly 750 pages of regulation, clearly a large amount to read, absorb, and understand in thirty days.

Slow Obamacare Implementation!

Obamacare Creates a Privacy Nightmare

Obamacare creates a privacy nightmare. Have you heard of the "HUB"? Last week in the USA Today, two authors laid out the national database being built by the Obama administration as part of Obama's federal exchange system. This is the "Federal Data Services Hub " (HUB). Back to eNews.

Intrusive HUB Explained in Medicaid FAQ

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services answered a few questions in a FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) about how the intrusive centeralized ACA database -- the federal data services hub (HUB) -- will work. They include a comment that all states must use, connect to and share data with the HUB for Medicaid even if the state refuses to expand Medicaid under the ACA. 

Nevada's List of Questions on ACA and the HUB

Nevada's Silver State Health insurance Exchange sent a 26 page document of questions to HHS, including on the illusive FEDERAL DATA SERVICES HUB. In their introductory statement, they note, "The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) [Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight (CCIIO)] has issued multiple proposed, interim final and final regulations to implement the ACA. However, complete guidance has not yet been issued....Questions, concerns and confirmation requests are provided in bold text. The number of asterisks indicates the priority of the questions. Items with five asterisks need to be answered within a month so that Nevada can maintain the implementation deadline..." (Questions about the federal data services HUB begin on page 10)

Deadline Approaches; CCHF Cites Costs as Reason to Decline

The new, extended deadline for states to declare their intentions with regard to a state health insurance exchange is December 14, by which time HHS has asked states to declare whether they intend to shoulder the responsibility of creating and operating an ACA health insurance exchange in their state. Costs are determined by a state’s population and the anticipated usage of the Exchange, with costs estimated to be between $15 million for very small states with low populations, to upwards of $300 million for heavily populated states like California. The costs are not only staggering, but could decimate the budgets and financial standing of states already struggling under a difficult economy. 

Simple Task to Slow Obamacare!

Ask for an extension of the 30-day public comment period on four proposed Obamacare regulations. Below is a comment you can use. It’s easy! Just go to each of the 4 the websites listed below, paste your comment in the “Type Comment” field, provide your country, state, zip code and category -- and CLICK “SUBMIT.”

Residents Each State Could Exempt from Individual Mandate