Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Many Taxpayers Overpaid Obamacare Penalty, Report Finds
More than 300,000 taxpayers have overpaid the IRS because they incorrectly indicated that they owed the Individual Shared Responsibility Payment (ISRP), the tax penalty related to the Affordable Care Act, on their 2014 tax return. This was discovered and outlined in a annual report by the National Taxpayer Advocate. When it sampled IRS tax return data, the NTA found that a large number of taxpayers didn't owe the penalty that they incorrectly indicated on their tax returns. (Martin, 7/24)
A group of Colorado nuns said Thursday they will go to the U.S. Supreme Court to appeal a ruling that allows their employees to receive birth control from a third party under the Affordable Care Act, fueling a combustible argument over contraception and religion ahead of next year's presidential election. Attorneys for Little Sisters of the Poor and four Oklahoma Christian colleges said last week's ruling from the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver violates their religious freedom, in an argument that goes beyond last year's Hobby Lobby case. (Riccardi, 7/23)
The Wall Street Journal reports on how some health law gambles are paying off big 聽-
Glenview Capital Management LLC made a bold decision when President Barack Obama鈥檚 health-care overhaul was rolling out: Bet on it. The result has been one of the most successful hedge-fund wagers in recent years. New York-based Glenview has realized and paper gains of more than $3.2 billion since it started making investments in hospitals and insurers four years ago, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of securities filings. (Benoit, 7/23)
And in terms of recent developments regarding states and Medicaid expansion -
A hearing for arguments on the constitutionality of a fee collected from hospitals to pay for an expansion of Arizona's Medicaid program has been postponed. The hearing had been scheduled for Friday in Maricopa County Superior Court but Judge Douglas Gerlach has reset it for July 30. The hearing is for arguments on motions for a pretrial judgment in a lawsuit filed by Republican legislators. They lost a 2013 legislative battle over expansion of coverage provided by the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System. (7/23)
