• Both the House and Senate recessed early this week in anticipation of Hurricane Florence, delaying votes on several legislative issues that NAHU is closely monitoring.
• The House postponed a vote on H.R. 3798, legislation that combines restoring the 40-hour workweek, further delaying the Cadillac/excise Tax and providing employer reporting relief. The House will be on recess next week, returning September 25 through early October.
• The Senate has tentatively rescheduled a vote on its opioid response package for next week. The chamber will be in session potentially throughout October, as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) suggested scrapping the planned pre-election campaign break.
• The House voted 377-20 and the Senate voted 92-5 to pass a “minibus” spending package that would fund the government through December 7, at which point they could pass more extensive appropriations during the lame-duck session that may serve as the basis of a comprehensive end-of-year legislative vehicle.
• Registrations are still available for next Thursday’s NAHU member-exclusive Compliance Corner webinar on COBRA.

This morning CMS Deputy Administrator and CCIIO Director Randy Pate hosted a roundtable with agents and brokers to discuss improvements and challenges that agents and brokers, and their clients, have experienced with healthcare.gov. NAHU staff and members were present at the roundtable, along with... Read More

Earlier today, several NAHU members and staff participated in an agent and broker roundtable with CMS Deputy Administrator and CCIIO Director Randy Pate. On this week’s episode of the NAHU Healthcare Happy Hour, former NAHU Legislative Council Chairman David Mordo joins NAHU’s Vice President of Government Affairs Marcy M. Buckner to discuss the major takeaways from the roundtable and the Trump Administration’s latest efforts to improve the marketplace experience for agents and brokers. Read More

Citing the anticipated landfall of Hurricane Florence this weekend, both chambers of Congress recessed early, cancelling planned votes on several of NAHU’s legislative priorities. This includes a comprehensive package that combines... Read More

More than 4,000 Arkansas residents in the Medicaid program have lost coverage after failing to meet work requirements approved by the Trump Administration this past June. This is the first time individuals have been dropped from Medicaid due to... Read More

Head over to the Compliance Cornered blog to check out our latest post: Flexible Spending Accounts – Different Strokes for Different Plans. Flexible spending accounts (FSAs), also called Section 125 plans after the relevant section of the Internal Revenue Code, are commonplace benefits. But, perhaps because they are common, some employers and employees don’t understand some of the regulations that apply to these plans... Read More

Compliance with COBRA has been hissing at employers since it became law in 1986. This month’s installment of NAHU’s member-exclusive Compliance Corner webinar series will review the basics of COBRA as well as the more complicated COBRA compliance issues... Read More

NAHU affinity partner SyncStream Solutions will be hosting a free webinar on Tuesday, September 18, and Tuesday, September 25, both at 2:00 p.m. Eastern, on how to help your clients who receive IRS 226J letters. The webinar will cover how to interpret the letter and subsequent... Read More

All agents and brokers must complete the federal marketplace registration and training in order to assist consumers with enrollment through HealthCare.gov beginning on November 1. Agents and brokers who successfully completed plan year 2018 registration can only assist consumers through... Read More

The final 2018 primaries took place this week, with races in New Hampshire, Rhode Island and New York... Read More

We’re sending our thoughts to our extended NAHU family in the Carolinas who are impacted by Hurricane Florence. If you know anyone in the affected areas, please be sure to share Healthcare Ready’s free, interactive RxOpen map on open and closed pharmacies in the area... Read More