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	<title>Ken Mensio, CEBS &#187; PPACA</title>
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	<link>http://www.csibenefits.us/blog</link>
	<description>Current Topics in Employee Benefits</description>
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		<item>
		<title>9 out of 10 business owners: no gov’t health insurance for us!</title>
		<link>http://www.csibenefits.us/blog/health-insurance/9-out-of-10-business-owners-no-gov%e2%80%99t-health-insurance-for-us/#utm_source=feed&#038;utm_medium=feed&#038;utm_campaign=feed</link>
		<comments>http://www.csibenefits.us/blog/health-insurance/9-out-of-10-business-owners-no-gov%e2%80%99t-health-insurance-for-us/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 01 Dec 2011 15:45:16 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Ken Mensio</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Health Care Insurance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Health Care Reform]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[independent business owners]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[PPACA]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sentiment Survey]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Small Business Authority]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.csibenefits.us/blog/?p=903</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Based on a November poll of more than 1,000 respondents, the Small Business Authority Market Sentiment Survey reveals concerns of independent business owners. Only 9% of respondents believe they will have to purchase health insurance from the government while 53% believe the cost of health care is going to increase in the next two years. <a href="http://www.csibenefits.us/blog/health-insurance/9-out-of-10-business-owners-no-gov%e2%80%99t-health-insurance-for-us/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.csibenefits.us/blog/health-insurance/9-out-of-10-business-owners-no-gov%e2%80%99t-health-insurance-for-us/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>House Panel Votes to Repeal CLASS Act</title>
		<link>http://www.csibenefits.us/blog/health-care-reform-2/house-panel-votes-to-repeal-class-act/#utm_source=feed&#038;utm_medium=feed&#038;utm_campaign=feed</link>
		<comments>http://www.csibenefits.us/blog/health-care-reform-2/house-panel-votes-to-repeal-class-act/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 18 Nov 2011 16:20:55 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Ken Mensio</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Health Care Reform]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Long-Term Care]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[CLASS ACT]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[long-term care]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[LTC]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[PPACA]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.csibenefits.us/blog/?p=888</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Members of the health subcommittee at the House Energy and Commerce Committee today passed H.R. 1173, a bill that would officially kill a federal voluntary long-term care (LTC) benefits program, by a voice vote.
H.R. 1173, the Fiscal Responsibility and Retirement Security Act bill, would repeal the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) program provisions that were part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (PPACA).
 <a href="http://www.csibenefits.us/blog/health-care-reform-2/house-panel-votes-to-repeal-class-act/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.csibenefits.us/blog/health-care-reform-2/house-panel-votes-to-repeal-class-act/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Gang of Six: Kill CLASS; Cut Social Security, Health Spending</title>
		<link>http://www.csibenefits.us/blog/health-care/gang-of-six-kill-class-cut-social-security-health-spending/#utm_source=feed&#038;utm_medium=feed&#038;utm_campaign=feed</link>
		<comments>http://www.csibenefits.us/blog/health-care/gang-of-six-kill-class-cut-social-security-health-spending/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 21 Jul 2011 18:36:31 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Ken Mensio</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Health Care]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Health Care Reform]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[CLASS]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[PPACA]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.csibenefits.us/blog/?p=810</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[One specific recommendation calls for eliminating the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports Act (CLASS Act) long term care program. The CLASS Act is supposed to create a voluntary, worker-funded LTC program. Critics have argued that the program would be actuarially unsound and eventually would have to charge higher and higher rates as healthier workers began to avoid it.
The proposal would encourage Congress to reform or replace the Medicare Sustainable Growth Rate formula and offset the cost with savings on other health care expenditures. A parenthetical note in the proposal seems to suggest that drafters believe that move could save $298 billion over 10 years.
The drafters say the government also should seek $202 billion in additional health savings while maintaining the essential health care services on which the poor and elderly depend. 
 <a href="http://www.csibenefits.us/blog/health-care/gang-of-six-kill-class-cut-social-security-health-spending/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Legal Alert: Employers&#8217; concerns over PPACA carry some weight</title>
		<link>http://www.csibenefits.us/blog/health-care-reform-2/legal-alert-employers-concerns-over-ppaca-carry-some-weight/#utm_source=feed&#038;utm_medium=feed&#038;utm_campaign=feed</link>
		<comments>http://www.csibenefits.us/blog/health-care-reform-2/legal-alert-employers-concerns-over-ppaca-carry-some-weight/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 14 Mar 2011 15:06:59 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Ken Mensio</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Health Care Reform]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[PPACA]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.csibenefits.us/blog/?p=717</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[By Kate Bongiovanni March 11, 2011 It appears that employers can be optimistic that federal agencies are reviewing and considering their public comments on regulatory guidance under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. In November 2010, the Departments of &#8230; <a href="http://www.csibenefits.us/blog/health-care-reform-2/legal-alert-employers-concerns-over-ppaca-carry-some-weight/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.csibenefits.us/blog/health-care-reform-2/legal-alert-employers-concerns-over-ppaca-carry-some-weight/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>Vinson Declares PPACA Unconstitutional</title>
		<link>http://www.csibenefits.us/blog/health-insurance/vinson-declares-ppaca-unconstitutional/#utm_source=feed&#038;utm_medium=feed&#038;utm_campaign=feed</link>
		<comments>http://www.csibenefits.us/blog/health-insurance/vinson-declares-ppaca-unconstitutional/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 02 Feb 2011 20:55:18 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Ken Mensio</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Health Care Insurance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Health Care Reform]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Judge Roger Vinson]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[PPACA]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.csibenefits.us/blog/?p=677</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Vinson, a judge in the U.S. District Court in Pensacola, Fla., says in a ruling on State of Florida et al. vs. United States Department of Health and Human Services et al. (Case Number 3:2010-cv-00091-RV), that Congress has no authority under the commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution to enforce the “minimum essential coverage provision” in PPACA.
The PPACA minimum coverage provision would require individuals to buy health coverage. If the provision takes effect as enacted, it will require many people with incomes above a certain level who do not get health coverage from their employers to buy a minimum level of health coverage or else pay a penalty. The provision, set to take effect in 2014, provides exceptions for individuals with religious objections to owning health coverage and for some individuals who cannot find affordable health coverage. 
 <a href="http://www.csibenefits.us/blog/health-insurance/vinson-declares-ppaca-unconstitutional/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.csibenefits.us/blog/health-insurance/vinson-declares-ppaca-unconstitutional/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>PPACA: The Bad Nuts and the Bad Bolts</title>
		<link>http://www.csibenefits.us/blog/health-care/ppaca-the-bad-nuts-and-the-bad-bolts/#utm_source=feed&#038;utm_medium=feed&#038;utm_campaign=feed</link>
		<comments>http://www.csibenefits.us/blog/health-care/ppaca-the-bad-nuts-and-the-bad-bolts/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 26 Jan 2011 23:39:49 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Ken Mensio</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Health Care]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Health Care Reform]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[afforadable Care Act]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[PPACA]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.csibenefits.us/blog/?p=673</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[By Allison Bell Some parts of the Affordable Care Act simply don’t work for small employers, a New Jersey business owner testified today at a House Ways and Means Committee hearing. Rep. Dave Camp, R-Mich., the new chairman of the &#8230; <a href="http://www.csibenefits.us/blog/health-care/ppaca-the-bad-nuts-and-the-bad-bolts/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.csibenefits.us/blog/health-care/ppaca-the-bad-nuts-and-the-bad-bolts/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>Projection: PPACA to have “moderate effect” on health spending growth rates</title>
		<link>http://www.csibenefits.us/blog/health-care/projection-ppaca-to-have-%e2%80%9cmoderate-effect%e2%80%9d-on-health-spending-growth-rates/#utm_source=feed&#038;utm_medium=feed&#038;utm_campaign=feed</link>
		<comments>http://www.csibenefits.us/blog/health-care/projection-ppaca-to-have-%e2%80%9cmoderate-effect%e2%80%9d-on-health-spending-growth-rates/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 14 Sep 2010 14:54:08 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Ken Mensio</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Health Care]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Health Care Reform]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[CMS]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Health care reform]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[HHS]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[PPACA]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.csibenefits.us/blog/?p=526</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[U.S. health spending is expected to reach nearly $4.6 trillion by 2019, growing at an average annual rate over the next decade of 6.3%, as opposed to a 6.1% rate anticipated before reform, according to economists at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

By 2019, health care is predicted to account for nearly one of every five U.S. dollars spent or about 19.6% of the gross domestic product, 0.3 percentage points higher than projected previously.

"In the aggregate, it appears that the Affordable Care Act will have a moderate effect on health spending growth rates and the health care share of the economy," says Andrea Sisko, lead author of the study and economist at CMS.

At the same time, she explains that "differences in spending patterns, by year and by payer, reflect reform’s many major changes to health care coverage and financing." <a href="http://www.csibenefits.us/blog/health-care/projection-ppaca-to-have-%e2%80%9cmoderate-effect%e2%80%9d-on-health-spending-growth-rates/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.csibenefits.us/blog/health-care/projection-ppaca-to-have-%e2%80%9cmoderate-effect%e2%80%9d-on-health-spending-growth-rates/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<title>Debunking the W-2 scare: lessons learned</title>
		<link>http://www.csibenefits.us/blog/health-care/debunking-the-w-2-scare-lessons-learned/#utm_source=feed&#038;utm_medium=feed&#038;utm_campaign=feed</link>
		<comments>http://www.csibenefits.us/blog/health-care/debunking-the-w-2-scare-lessons-learned/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 10 Sep 2010 21:35:15 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Ken Mensio</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Health Care]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Health Care Reform]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Aggregrate Costs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Health and Human Services]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[HHS]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[PPACA]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[W-2s]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.csibenefits.us/blog/?p=522</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Because of health care reform, starting in 2011 employees will no longer be permitted to receive group health insurance from their employers on a tax-free basis, and employers will lose any corporate deductions they might have with respect to employer-provided health care benefits.

Sound bad? You bet, and it would be, especially if it were true. But it's not true. Not even close. <a href="http://www.csibenefits.us/blog/health-care/debunking-the-w-2-scare-lessons-learned/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<title>Health-reform regs overhaul claims appeals process</title>
		<link>http://www.csibenefits.us/blog/health-care/self-insured-health-plans/health-reform-regs-overhaul-claims-appeals-process/#utm_source=feed&#038;utm_medium=feed&#038;utm_campaign=feed</link>
		<comments>http://www.csibenefits.us/blog/health-care/self-insured-health-plans/health-reform-regs-overhaul-claims-appeals-process/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 27 Jul 2010 21:02:14 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Ken Mensio</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Health Care Reform]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Self Insured Health Plans]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Appeals process regulations]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Health care reform]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[PPACA]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.csibenefits.us/blog/?p=472</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The Obama Administration released interim final regulations aimed at creating a system of checks and balances for the internal and external appeals processes of health claims.

Governed by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the interim final rule requires group health plans and insurers to establish a comprehensive appeals processfor patients who appeal decisions on coverage, services and claim payments. The interim final regulations apply to self-funded health plans, but not to grandfathered plans under the PPACA.

The Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor and the Treasury issued the interim final rule, which will take effect on Sept. 21, 2010. <a href="http://www.csibenefits.us/blog/health-care/self-insured-health-plans/health-reform-regs-overhaul-claims-appeals-process/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.csibenefits.us/blog/health-care/self-insured-health-plans/health-reform-regs-overhaul-claims-appeals-process/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<title>Report: Costs of PPACA exceed previous estimates</title>
		<link>http://www.csibenefits.us/blog/health-insurance/report-costs-of-ppaca-exceed-previous-estimates/#utm_source=feed&#038;utm_medium=feed&#038;utm_campaign=feed</link>
		<comments>http://www.csibenefits.us/blog/health-insurance/report-costs-of-ppaca-exceed-previous-estimates/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 20 Jul 2010 16:19:14 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Ken Mensio</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Health Care Insurance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Health Care Reform]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Costs of PPACA exceed previous estimates]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[impact on employers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[PPACA]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.csibenefits.us/blog/?p=460</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Two integral provisions of the health care reform legislation, “dependent eligibility” and “affordability,” will likely result in much higher health care costs for employers than previously estimated by government officials and other industry consultants, according to a new report.

The bswift Special Report on the Impact of Health Reform on Employers analyzes the 2010 benefits premium, contribution and dependent data of 242 bswift client organizations. The sample includes mid-sized and large employers with 50 to 15,000 employees representing a variety of industries, including retail, manufacturing and professional services.

“The bswift Special Report highlights the dramatic differences in impact of PPACA among employers. For some, the impact is negligible. For many others, PPACA may increase costs substantially for 2011 and may also require a complete overhaul of the organization’s health strategies in the next three years,” says bswift CEO Rich Gallun. <a href="http://www.csibenefits.us/blog/health-insurance/report-costs-of-ppaca-exceed-previous-estimates/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
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