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What We’re Reading: ACA Family Glitch Fix; Walgreens Buys Out CareCentrix; Bright Health Pulling Insurance Plans
Families may see lower costs for health insurance through the Affordable Care Act (ACA); Walgreens Boots Alliance will take full ownership of CareCentrix; Bright Health will stop offering individual and family health insurance plans in 9 states.
New Marketplace Tax Credit Rules for Families
The Treasury Department announced on Tuesday new rules that may provide tax breaks for families purchasing health insurance through the marketplaces established by the Affordable Care Act, the Associated Press reports. The new rule attempts to fix what’s referred to as the “family glitch,” in which the eligibility for tax credits was determined by the individual’s work-sponsored health insurance plan rather than the cost for the entire family. Families who were previously unable to qualify for the tax breaks can now apply for them, as long as they pay more than 9.5% of their income to monthly premiums.
Walgreens to Buy Remaining Stake in CareCentrix
Walgreens Boots Alliance plans to buy the remaining 45% stake of CareCentrix for approximately $392 million as part of its focus on primary care, postacute care, and home care, according to Fierce Healthcare. The move comes after Walgreens Boots Alliance had announced that it would purchase a stake in the company last October. That deal, which closed in late August, was just 1 of Walgreens’ acquisitions to strengthen its reach in health care, joining its recent purchase of the remaining stake in Shield Health Solutions. CareCentrix currently manages care for more than 19 million members in 7400 locations, offering services that include home nursing, providing durable medical equipment, home infusion, and in-home palliative care.
Bright Health No Longer Offering Insurance Plans in 9 States
Bright Health Group will stop offering individual Affordable Care Act and family health insurance plans in 9 states, leaving hundreds of thousands of Americans needing new insurance coverage for next year, according to Forbes. In addition, California and Florida remain the only states where Bright Health will continue to provide Medicare Advantage plans. Although the exact number of people who will be affected is unclear, Bright Health had previously projected 1 million total health plan enrollees for 2022.
CMS' 340B Repayment Proposal May Harm Vulnerable Hospitals, Reward Those With Higher Revenues
April 26th 2024The 340B hospitals not receiving an offsetting lump-sum payment from CMS following 2018-2022 cuts later ruled unlawful are disproportionately rural, publicly owned, and nonacademic, according to a new study.
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Examining Low-Value Cancer Care Trends Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic
April 25th 2024On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we're talking with the authors of a study published in the April 2024 issue of The American Journal of Managed Care® about their findings on the rates of low-value cancer care services throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Empowering Community Health Through Wellness and Faith
April 23rd 2024To help celebrate and recognize National Minority Health Month, we are bringing you a special month-long podcast series with our Strategic Alliance Partner, UPMC Health Plan. In the third episode, Camille Clarke-Smith, EdD, MS, CHES, CPT, discusses approaching community health holistically through spiritual and community engagement.
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Kaiser Permanente was hit by a data breach in mid-April, impacting 13.4 million health plan members; GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) sued Pfizer and BioNTech for allegedly infringing on its messenger RNA technology patents in the companies’ COVID-19 vaccines; the CDC announced the first-known HIV cases transmitted via cosmetic injections.
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