Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Big Business Reports Few Problems From Health Law
The biggest entitlement legislation in a generation is causing barely a ripple in corporate America. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act -- otherwise known as Obamacare -- is putting such a small dent in the profits of U.S. companies that many refer to its impact as 鈥渘ot material鈥 or 鈥渘ot significant,鈥 according to a Bloomberg review of conference-call transcripts and interviews with major U.S. employers. (Cortez and Wayne, 2/19)
If you're among the roughly 20 million people affected by the Affordable Care Act -- either because you bought insurance through health exchanges or will be subject to penalties or exemptions for failing to get coverage -- filing a tax return just got a lot harder. Indeed, potentially millions of people who never before had to file tax returns will now need to file as the result of the health law. (Kristof, 2/19)
Other reports look at聽health law effects on providers --
There's no question that the Affordable Care Act has been transformative for the health care industry. For health care providers, new forms of health insurance available through the exchanges are changing things. Specifically, narrow networks, offered by many of the exchange's health plans, are increasing pressure on providers to reduce costs and provide high-quality care. (Wilson, 2/18)
Hospitals take more formal surveys from Medicare very seriously because the Affordable Care Act ties some hospital payments each year to how patients rate the facilities. Medical Park [in Winston-Salem, N.C.] received a $22,000 bonus from Medicare in part because of sterling patient satisfaction surveys. Novant Health is Medical Park鈥檚 parent company, and none of their dozen or so other hospitals even come close to rating that high on patient satisfaction. Figuring out why Medical Park did so well is complicated. (Tomsic, 2/19)