Recently the Seniors Sleep bill (HR 4695) gained two new cosponsors: Representative Scott Peters (D-CA) and U.S. Rep. C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD). The AASM thanks members Drs. Bart Sangal and Brian Bohner for requesting the Representatives to cosponsor the legislation. Their success shows that Members of Congress are most responsive to requests that they receive from their own constituents.

The Washington Post reported how employers expect to pay between 4 percent and 5 percent more for workers' health benefits in 2015, despite implementing numerous cost-saving measures. According to multiple surveys distributed to thousands of mid-sized and large companies, the projected cost increase is in line with previous years, but the continued pressure from the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and steadily increasing health care costs have required businesses to find new ways to cut overall health costs.

CMS issued final regulations affirming that the federal exchange will automatically renew health plans for 2015 if consumers have not made any modifications to their existing plan by Dec. 15.

The Hill reported that the Affordable Care Act's medical device tax generated $913.4 million in revenue in the first half of 2013, which is short of the $1.2 billion the Internal Revenue Service estimated it would receive, according to a report by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA). In order to help fund the ACA, a 2.3 percent tax was established for the sale of medical devices that are primarily used by physicians and hospitals.

Premiums for plans sold through the Affordable Care Act's health insurance exchanges will increase by 7.5 percent on average next year, according to a report by PricewaterhouseCoopers' Health Research Institute.

The Chest Physician and Family Practice News recently published an interview with President Dr. Timothy I. Morgenthaler discussing AASM’s advocacy efforts to pass H.R. 4695, also known as the Seniors Sleep bill. AASM’s Seniors Sleep Campaign aims to add an OSA screening tool to the Welcome to Medicare preventive visit. H.R. 4695 has the potential to reduce undiagnosed rates and increase early detection of OSA.

States that have fully embraced the Affordable Care Act have seen the most reductions in uninsured residents, according to a Gallup poll. According to the poll, the 10 states with the largest declines in uninsured rates both expanded Medicaid and established their own health insurance exchanges.

President Dr. Timothy I. Morgenthaler provides insight in a recent Sleep Review article regarding the AASM's Seniors Sleep effort and the importance of including a sleep apnea screening in the initial Welcome to Medicare physician visit.

As of May 1, 2014, an estimated 20 million Americans have gained health care coverage under the Affordable Care Act through its insurance exchanges and other coverage provisions, according to a Commonwealth Fund health policy report published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The authors warn that the sustainability of the ACA health care coverage expansion will depend largely on controlling the costs of care to prevent premiums from becoming unaffordable.