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Update 11/17/11

November 17th, 2011

November 16, 2011 Legislative Update

High Court to Hear Health Care Law Case
The Supreme Court announced Monday that it will review the Affordable Care Act this term. The justices combined requests from 26 states, the National Federation of Independent Business and the Justice Department.

As part of its review, the court will examine whether the health care reform law’s requirement that all citizens buy health insurance (called the “individual mandate”) and the required expansion of Medicaid are constitutional. In addition, the court will consider which pieces of the law should be struck if the individual mandate is determined to be unconstitutional. A new twist to what the court must consider is whether tax law – the Anti-Injunction Act – requires delaying the decision on the individual mandate until 2015, after people have paid the tax penalty for not having insurance.

While it was widely anticipated that the court would agree to hear the health care law case, the decision to review whether Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act is constitutional was not expected. Equally surprising is the amount of time the justices have allowed for oral arguments in the case – an unprecedented five and one-half hours.
 
Arguments will most likely begin in March and a decision is expected by June. We will provide additional information as it is available.

Update 10/27/11

October 27th, 2011

October 26, 2011 Legislative Update 

New Legislation Extends Health Coverage Tax Credit for Trade Workers
On Friday, President Barack Obama signed into law legislation that extends the Health Coverage Tax Credit (HCTC) provisions of the federal Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) program.

The TAA Health Coverage Tax Credit (HCTC) is a federal tax credit program for trade-affected workers under all TAA and North American Free Trade Act (NAFTA)-TAA certified petitions. It is administered by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

As you may recall, in 2009 the president’s jobs bill, called the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), made changes to the HCTC program, including making the tax credit 80 percent instead of 65 percent. This subsidy was extended to expire Feb. 13, 2011. After that date, the TAA program, including the HCTC, reverted back to the provisions that were in effect prior to enactment of ARRA. 

This new law, the Trade Adjustment Assistance Extension Act of 2011, extends the subsidy until expanded coverage opportunities under the Affordable Care Act begin in 2014, and is retroactively applied beginning Feb. 12, 2011. The Act increases the tax credit from 65 percent to 72.5 percent.

The law also expands the eligibility to workers in the service industries. Previously, only trade workers in manufacturing were eligible.

The IRS says it is currently working to determine the law’s effect on eligible taxpayers as well as current participants in the HCTC program, and will provide guidance as it becomes available.  Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas (BCBSTX) will share this update via our newsletters with employer groups who may have affected former employees, as well as members who may qualify.

 

Update September 28

September 29th, 2011

September 28, 2011 Legislative Update

Affordable Care Act Credited for Huge Gains in Health Care Coverage Among Young Adults
The Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) announced Sept. 21 that one million young adults secured health insurance during the first quarter of 2011. Data from the National Health Interview Survey, which is published by the National Center for Health Statistics, show the percentage of adults between the ages of 19-25 with health insurance increased by 3.5 percentage points, up from 66.1 percent in 2010 to 69.6 percent in 2011. 

These results are consistent with a newly released Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index Survey. This survey shows a similar increase in rates of insured adults ages 18-25, from 71 percent in the first quarter of 2010 to 75.2 percent in the first quarter of 2011 and 75.1 percent in the second quarter.

HHS indicates the substantial growth among insured young adults is largely due to the dependent coverage provision of the Affordable Care Act, through which children are allowed to remain on their parents’ health insurance coverage until age 26.