February 2026

CMS Proposes Major Changes in Exchange Plans

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has proposed sweeping changes in the health plans offered by Affordable Care Act marketplace exchanges. The changes, revealed in CMS’s proposed Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters for 2027, affect both the regulations governing the types of health plans that can be offered on exchanges and how potential buyers of those plans are deemed eligible for those plans.  The major changes include: Permitting insurers to offer catastrophic plans with terms of either one year or multiple consecutive years, up to ten years. Repealing standardized plan options and related limit requirements. Permitting low-deductible plans [...]

2026-02-11T12:46:23-05:00February 12, 2026|Affordable Care Act, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services|
Read More

CMS Axes 340B Model

Following two defeats in federal court, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has ended its 2025 attempt to launch its 340B Rebate Model Pilot Program.  The program, which would have introduced a new approach to the 340B prescription drug discount program under which a limited number of pharmaceutical companies would pay rebates to 340B-eligible entities after they purchase drugs instead of offering discounts for the purchase of those same drugs, as has been the practice since the 340B program’s launch in 1992. Late last year a federal court ruled against the imminent introduction of the model, doing so largely [...]

2026-02-11T08:22:39-05:00February 11, 2026|340b|
Read More

Docs Not Always Caring for Medicaid Patients

More than a quarter of all doctors enrolled to serve Medicaid patients in 2021 did not serve any Medicaid patients at all while another ten percent treated fewer than 10 Medicaid patients, according to a new Health Affairs study. Among different types of doctors, primary care physicians and cardiologists were most likely to care for higher numbers of Medicaid patients while Medicaid patients seeking the services of psychiatrists were mostly out of luck. Many of the doctors who care for Medicaid patients, and especially those who do not, cite reimbursement that is lower than – and often much lower than [...]

2026-02-05T16:51:38-05:00February 10, 2026|Medicaid|
Read More

Non-Profit Hospitals Face Near-Term Challenges

The end of Affordable Care Act enhanced health insurance premiums will pose a financial challenge for many of the nation’s non-profit hospitals. The challenge to hospitals will be greatest in states that did not take advantage of Affordable Care Act Medicaid expansion and those with especially large concentrations of rural hospitals that also lack a robust health care safety net. On safer ground will be hospitals in states that do have strong health care safety nets or that have taken recent steps to attempt to fill the void left by the expired insurance premium subsidies. Learn more about the challenges [...]

2026-02-05T15:07:41-05:00February 9, 2026|Affordable Care Act, hospitals, Medicaid|
Read More

Federal Health Policy Update for February 5

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for January 30 through February 5.  Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Congress On Tuesday Congress passed, and the president immediately signed, a package of appropriations bills that, among other government operations, funded the Department of Health and Human Services for the rest of federal FY 2026.  Major provisions include: The extension of telehealth flexibilities through the end of 2027. The elimination of $8 billion cuts in Medicaid disproportionate share (Medicaid DSH) allotments to the states for both FY 2026 and FY [...]

2026-02-05T14:56:42-05:00February 5, 2026|Accountable Care Organization, ACO, Affordable Care Act, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, CMMI, Congress, hospitals, Medicaid, Medicaid disproportionate share, Medicaid DSH, Medicaid DSH allotments, Medicaid managed care, Medicaid regulations, Medicare, Medicare regulations, Medicare reimbursement policy, Telehealth|
Read More

Demise of Enhanced Tax Credits Drives Lower ACA Plan Enrollment

The end of enhanced tax credits for Affordable Care Act health plans has led to a five percent decrease in the number of people who enrolled in ACA plans during the open enrollment period that ended on January 15. According to federal data, about 23 million Americans signed up for such plans this year, down 1.1 million from last year – a significant decline, although not as great as predictions that enrollment could fall as much as 30 percent. Because of the loss of the enhanced premiums tax credits, insurance premiums doubled for some applicants, putting them out of the [...]

2026-01-29T15:49:01-05:00February 2, 2026|Affordable Care Act, Congress|
Read More

© 2023 DeBrunner & Associates, All Rights Reserved.

Go to Top