One in four employers offering health care benefits will be subject to the Affordable Care Act's (ACA) so-called "Cadillac tax" in 2018, and 42 percent of employers will be affected a decade after that, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. Under the ACA, employers that offer health plans with annual premiums of more than $10,200 for individuals or $27,500 for families will pay a 40 percent excise tax on the portion of the premiums that exceeds those thresholds. The tax is set to take effect on Jan. 1, 2018. Some employers could begin making changes to benefits now to avoid the tax.
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Health Care Waiting Room
Congress Stops ACA's New Definition of Small Business
Samantha Beasley, Director of Public Policy, L.A. Area Chamber on October 7, 2015 at 10:00:00 am
Posted in Health Care Waiting Room
An Affordable Care Act (ACA) provision that changes the definition of a "small business employer" has garnered bipartisan opposition in Congress and was effectively reversed last week. The Protecting Affordable Coverage for Employees (PACE) Act, stops the ACA from requiring that businesses of 51-100 people enter the small-group insurance market in 2016 and manage the costs of new coverage.
Is your employee health plan compliant with the ACA?
Health Law Guide for Business on September 23, 2015 at 10:00:00 am
Posted in Health Care Waiting Room
If you have a small business that offers health insurance, make sure your plan complies with Affordable Care Act (ACA) rules that take effect at the end of the year. If your business offers a grandfathered plan or if your health insurance does not comply with the ACA, then you have until Dec. 1, 2015 to enroll in an ACA compliant plan to ensure your coverage meets the terms of the law on Jan. 1, 2016.
Committee Gives 'Mega Bill' Go-Ahead
California Healthline on September 11, 2015 at 10:00:00 am
Posted in Health Care Waiting Room
A special legislative session committee in the California Legislature approved a far-reaching bill on Thursday that imposes a $2-a-pack tax on cigarettes and a similar tax on electronic cigarettes, institutes a revised version of the current tax on managed care organizations, funds programs to curb tobacco use, pays for a 7 percent restoration in In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) hours, provides money to bolster services for the developmentally disabled and boosts pay rates for providers of those services.
One-Fourth of Employers Offering Health Benefits Will Be Hit With ACA's 'Cadillac Tax'
California Healthline on August 26, 2015 at 4:00:00 pm
Posted in Health Care Waiting Room
California's Aging Population Could Strain Health Care System
California Healthline on August 12, 2015 at 10:00:00 am
Posted in Health Care Waiting Room
California's health care system could struggle to meet the demand of the state's growing aging population, according to two new reports, the Sacramento Bee's "Capitol Alert" reports.
Details of CHCF Report
According to a report by the California HealthCare Foundation (CHCF), California's population of residents ages 65 or older is projected to more than double by 2040. As a result, that population's demand for health care services will increase, but the effects will be disproportionate depending on service type and location.
Report Highlights Importance of California's Social Safety Net for Children's Health
Michelle Rosenfeld, California Healthline Editor on July 29, 2015 at 10:00:00 am
Posted in Health Care Waiting Room
About 2.3 million California children live in poverty -- but that number would go up by 1.28 million if the state's social safety net programs were not available, according to a report from the Public Policy Institute of California.
Although government assistance is available for so many, wide variations in enrollment from county to county have led to disparities, according to the PPIC report released earlier this year.
Governor's Special Session on Health Care Financing
Samantha Beasley, Director, Public Policy on July 17, 2015 at 12:00:00 am
Posted in Health Care Waiting Room
Facing billions in funding challenges for our state’s health care infrastructure in 2016, Governor Jerry Brown recently began a special legislative session on health care financing. In this, hearings are being held in the Senate and Assembly to discuss the needs of our continuously expanding Medi-Cal population, services for people with developmental disabilities, and - most prominently - expiration of the current Managed Care Organization (MCO) tax structure.
Governor's Special Session on Health Care Financing
Samantha Beasley, Director of Public Policy, L.A. Area Chamber of Commerce on July 15, 2015 at 2:00:00 pm
Posted in Health Care Waiting Room
Facing billions in funding challenges for our state’s health care infrastructure in 2016, Governor Jerry Brown recently began a special legislative session on health care financing. In this, hearings are being held in the Senate and Assembly to discuss the needs of our continuously expanding Medi-Cal population, services for people with developmental disabilities, and - most prominently - expiration of the current Managed Care Organization (MCO) tax structure.
Assembly Panel Rejects Nurse Practitioners' Scope-of-Practice Bill
California Healthline on July 1, 2015 at 11:00:00 am
Posted in Health Care Waiting Room
On Tuesday, the Assembly Committee on Business and Professions rejected a bill (SB 323) that aimed to allow nurse practitioners to treat patients without the supervision of a physician if certified by an authority such as a hospital, medical group, accountable care organization or clinic, the Sacramento Bee's "Capitol Alert" reports (Walters, "Capitol Alert," Sacramento Bee, 6/30).
Brown, California Lawmakers Reach Budget Deal After Compromises
California Healthline on June 17, 2015 at 10:00:00 am
Posted in Health Care Waiting Room
On Tuesday, California lawmakers and Gov. Jerry Brown (D) announced a $115.4 billion budget deal with several health care implications, the Los Angeles Times' "PolitiCal" reports (Mason, "PolitiCal," Los Angeles Times, 6/16).
The deal comes after the California Legislature on Monday passed its budget plan (AB 93) hours ahead of the deadline to do so.
The initial $117.5 billion general fund plan assumed that the state would get about $2.3 billion more in revenue than estimated in Brown's revised version of the fiscal year 2015-2016 budget plan, which was released in May (California Healthline, 6/16).
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