Earlier this week, I was asked to give our sales team a debriefing on the top issues and stories in healthcare this year. Because they are not reporters or editors, our sales team is a bit more removed from the healthcare news my team covers daily. To bring them up to speed, I meet wtih them every few months for an update. For our last meeting of the year, I decided to mix things up and quiz them on their healthcare knowledge. They did pretty well, and the results led to an exciting discussion on all the rulemaking out this year. I thought the quiz would be worthwhile to share, so readers can quiz themsleves, and perhaps their staffs, on some of the major healthcare happenings of the year. (Answers are listed at the bottom of this page).
What's Your Healthcare News IQ?
1. What is the full (and formal) name of the healthcare law passed by Congress and approved by President Obama in 2010?
2. The healthcare reform law mentioned above includes an "individual mandate" that goes into effect in 2014. What does the term "individual mandate" refer to?
3. What does HIPAA stand for?
a. The Health Information and Patient Accountability Act
b. The Health Information Protection and Accessibility Act
c. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act
4. This fall, President Obama received a lot of negative press after his promise that "if you like your insurance, you can keep it" fell short. What happened that led to this negative press?
a. Many employers stopped offering insurance to employees because they can now get it on the exchanges
b. Several health insurers that offer plans on the individual market announced they would no longer offer them
c. A New York Times report covered the story of several Americans who could no longer afford their current health insurance plans and had to switch to cheaper plans.
5. True or False: The healthcare reform law of 2010 includes financial incentives to hospitals and healthcare providers that implement electronic health records.
6. True or False: Employers with 50 or more employees will be required to provide insurance coverage to employees or face a fine in 2014.
7. By what date must all Americans obtain health insurance or face fine on their taxes?
a. Jan. 1, 2014
b. Feb. 15, 2014
c. March 31, 2014
d. Dec. 31, 2014
8. Which of the following organizations did NOT announce layoffs this year?
a. Mayo Clinic Health System
b. Vanderbilt University Health System
c. Cleveland Clinic
d. Scripps Health
9. Name the current secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.
BONUS: What was her job before this role?
10. What provision of the healthcare reform law of 2012 did the Supreme Court make optional in June 2012?
BONUS: Name a state that exercised this option.
Answers: 1. Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act; 2. The provision that requires all Americans to obtain health insurance in 2014 or face a fine; 3. c; 4. b, because the plans did not meet the essential benefit requirements under the PPACA. President Obama has since delayed compliance until 2015; 5. False, financial incentives for meeting meaningful use of electronic health records standards were included in the American Recover and Reinvestment Act of 2009; 6. False, The PPACA did require this, but the provision was recently delayed until 2015; 7. c, the date was recently pushed back from Feb. 15 to March 31; 8. d, 9. Kathleen Sebelius, former governor of Kansas; 10. Medicaid expansion, To see a list of states' decision on Medicaid expansion, click here.