Apr 17 2014
Politico reports that many insurers are contemplating expanding -- or initiating -- their participation in exchanges. Other news outlets examine tax day, the health law and the Internal Revenue Service.
Politico: Insurers See Brighter Obamacare Skies
Health insurers got their first taste of Obamacare this year. And they want seconds. Insurers saw disaster in the fall when Obamacare's rollout flopped and HealthCare.gov was a mess. But a strong March enrollment surge, along with indications that younger and healthier people had begun signing up, has changed their attitude. Around the country, insurers are considering expanding their stake in the Obamacare exchanges next year, bringing their business to more states and counties. Some health plans that skipped the new marketplaces altogether this year are ready to dive in next year (Cheney and Norman, 4/15).
Fox News: How Much Will ObamaCare Cost You In Taxes?
On this April 15, filers and accountants alike are finding a new array of taxes resulting from the president's health care legislation. These include at least 20 ObamaCare-related tax increases totaling $409 billion over the next ten years, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation. The new taxes are especially irksome to ObamaCare opponents, because they are imposed by a law that passed on a straight party-line vote and are being enforced by an agency that some accuse of party favoritism. "I think it's rather unfortunate that the IRS has this huge role in the Affordable Care Act because it's always controversial," said Mark Everson, a former IRS Commissioner (McKelway, 4/15).
Politico Pro: IRS Soon Becomes Point Guard For ACA
The IRS is already laser-focused on 2015, when they take the lead in carrying out Obamacare. The law's pivotal individual mandate and subsidies kick in this year, so the IRS role will expand next filing season. A major goal? Avoid the fate of the Health and Human Services website "train wreck," as the GOP so fondly calls it, quoting the early worries of a Democratic senator (Bade, 4/15).
|
 This article was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews.org with permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent news service, is a program of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health care policy research organization unaffiliated with Kaiser Permanente.
|
Study reveals significant financial strain on families seeking mental healthcare