Dear Dan,

The Marketplace is Sending "Failure to Reconcile Recheck Notices"

The Marketplace is conducting FTR Recheck, a process where the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) verifies the tax filing status of enrollees who were previously identified as failing to file and reconcile advance payments of the premium tax credit (APTC). FTR occurs when enrollees who have Marketplace coverage with APTC don’t file their federal income tax return and reconcile their APTC. 

In mid-April, (Sorry, they just notified us) the Marketplace will begin sending notices to enrollees identified as being in FTR status. These will be sent either through an indirect notice sent to the enrollee or a direct notice sent to the household tax filer, or both.

If an enrollee or tax filer receives an FTR Recheck notice, they should immediately file their federal income tax return and reconcile APTC for the applicable tax years listed on their notices. Enrollees who have failed to file and reconcile for two consecutive tax years are at risk of losing their APTC as soon as this summer.

President Trump Signs Executive Action to Lower Drug Prices

President Trump signed an executive action Tuesday intended to lower prescription drug prices for Americans. A White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told reporters ahead of the signing that the move would include "delivering lower prices to seniors" and improve the Medicare Drug Pricing Negation Plan. This executive action intends to accomplish:

1 Expanded Medicare Drug Price Negotiation and Importation Initiatives: The administration plans to build on Biden-era savings by expanding Medicare drug price negotiations—targeting 15 additional drugs in 2025—and reviving low-cost programs for insulin and epinephrine. It also directs the FDA to expedite state drug importation programs and streamline the approval of generics and biosimilars to lower costs.

2 Delayed Consumer Impact and Potential Tariff Risks: Although the initiatives aim to reduce prices, consumers won’t see savings until at least 2026–2027. Meanwhile, a federal investigation into pharmaceutical imports may lead to tariffs, which could drive up costs for many medications despite ongoing cost-saving efforts.

3 Addressing Pricing Imbalances Between Pills and Biologics: The executive action highlights a disparity in Medicare’s negotiation timelines—7 years for pills versus 11 for biologics—leading to investment skewed toward expensive injectable drugs. The administration seeks legislative collaboration to fix this imbalance without increasing Medicare spending, while also aligning Medicare drug payments with hospital acquisition costs across care settings.

Medicare States Iowa has 13 "Cleanest Hospitals" in the US

Medicare's Patient survey hospital database listed hospital ratings based on the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems surveys. This is a national, standardized survey of hospital patients about their experience during a recent inpatient hospital stay. The surveys were completed between April 1, 2023, and March 31, 2024. The data was most recently updated Jan. 8. Below is a list of the 13 Iowa hospitals. View Complete List Here

Iowa Specialty Hospital-Belmond 

Jones Regional Medical Center (Anamosa)

Compass Memorial Healthcare (Marengo)

Regional Medical Center (Manchester)

Kossuth Regional Health Center (Algona)

Orange City Area Health System (Orange City)

Van Diest Medical Center (Webster City)

Jefferson County Health Center (Fairfield)

Greater Regional Medical Center (Creston)

Floyd Valley Healthcare (Le Mars)

WinnMed (Decorah)

Buena Vista Regional Medical Center (Storm Lake)

Cass County Memorial Hospital (Atlantic)