Category Archive - News

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Pennsylvania Insurer Wants Health Insurance Plan Rate Hikes

Wednesday, September 1st, 2010
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As of January 1st, your health insurance plan could become more expensive if you live in certain regions of Pennsylvania.

Blue Cross of Northeast Pennsylvania wants up to $10 million worth of premium hikes. For now, eight plans would be affected, including those targeted towards lower-income individuals–including a guaranteed issue policy for the recently unemployed. Some of the plans are subsidized.

Pennsylvania health insurance customers have one month to comment on the proposal before the state’s insurance department makes a decision on BCNEPA’s request..

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No Fee on Health Insurance Plans to Pay For Okla. Medicaid

Wednesday, August 25th, 2010
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Recently, the Oklahoma state legislature attempted to implement a one percent fee on the sale of health insurance plans. The proceeds were supposed to help pay for the state’s Medicare program.

However, the state’s Supreme Court just ruled that such a fee is unconstitutional, agreeing with Insurance Commissioner Kim Holland’s objections. Six out of nine justices decided that since the law was passed during the final week of the legislative session with less than three quarters of the legislature in favor, it could not stand.

The fee was to be charged to employers that offer health insurance coverage to their employees. It was supposed to raise $78 million for the fiscal year beginning July 1st.

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States Receive Grants To Implement Healthcare Reform

Tuesday, August 17th, 2010
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Affordable health insurance reform requires states to take the lead in regulating insurers. Many of them do not have the infrastructure or legal authority to do so. That is where $46 million in federal grants come in.

All but a handful of states, as well as the District of Columbia, will receive $1 million each for actions such as hiring actuaries to investigate rate increases and developing data systems for health insurance rate filings.

Which states are the holdouts? The following didn’t apply for the Department of Health and Human Services’ grant:

  • Georgia
  • Iowa
  • Alaska
  • Wyoming
  • Minnesota

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Health Insurance Scammers Prey on Healthcare Reform Confusion

Wednesday, August 11th, 2010
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Over the past several months, the American public has been wrestling with the advent of healthcare reform and what it will mean for them. For many, it will require them to purchase a health insurance plan.

Unfortunately, scammers in 24 states are taking advantage of this uncertainty. They are advertising medical discount plans as full-fledged health insurance, which they are not. Unlike standard insurance, these limited plans aren’t accepted by doctors and hospitals to cover most or all of a person’s medical bills.

The Federal Trade Commission has joined in the fight to crack down on these misleading marketing tactics. They hope to eliminate them before the mandate provision of the law goes into effect in 2014.

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Federal Grant To Review Illinois Health Insurance Premiums?

Tuesday, July 13th, 2010

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Over the past several years, Illinois health insurance rates have risen significantly. Like many other states, their insurance department has been overburdened and unable to investigate premium increases.

States have been criticized for rubber-stamping health insurers’ requests in the past. Illinois is looking for a $1 million federal grant from the healthcare reform law to analyze and collect information about health insurance premiums in the state. Their intention is to better determine which would be considered reasonable, and which should be deemed unconscionable–higher than both the medical inflation rate and national averages.

If the state’s application is approved, they’ll receive the funding next month.

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Missouri Launches Its Own Health Insurance Reform Lawsuit

Thursday, July 8th, 2010

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It started with Virginia. Then, Florida and 20 other states banded together. Now, another state has joined the ranks of those suing over the Obama administration’s health insurance reform law.

Republican Lieutenant Governor recently filed another similar lawsuit, which contends that requiring almost all residents to purchase Missouri health insurance (as one of the primary statutes does) is unconstitutional.

Why didn’t Missouri join the class-action suit? It is unclear; unlike Virginia, it doesn’t have its own separate law against the compelled purchase of health care that gives it separate standing–however, a measure to pass one is currently pending on their August primary ballot.

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Medicare & Medicaid Head Named Via Recess Appointment

Wednesday, July 7th, 2010

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One of the people most responsible for implementing the provisions of affordable health insurance reform is the administrator for the Center of Medicare and Medicaid Services. President Barack Obama nominated Dr. Donald Berwick for the role several weeks ago.

However, the Obama administration has had trouble getting Berwick approved by the Senate. Many senators fear that some statements Berwick has previously made indicate that he favors totally government-run socialized medicine, similar to that in the United Kingdom. As a result, Obama has used the controversial recess appointment to install Berwick.

A recess appointment is done through an executive order when Congress is on break. Despite its risks, effective healthcare reform that results in cheap health insurance rates requires that the post isn’t left open any longer than necessary.

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Florida Individual Health Insurance Controversy Rages On

Tuesday, July 6th, 2010

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Months after national healthcare reform passed, it is still a hot topic during state election primaries. Florida is a case in point. As expected, Democratic candidate Alex Sink supports it. Lawton “Bud” Chiles, an independent, is ambivalent; he thinks the law should stand with some modifications.

One of the Republican contenders for governor, Bill McCollum, is best known as the attorney general behind the class-action lawsuit against the law, which over 20 states have joined. He contends that the provision that serves as a Florida individual health insurance mandate is unconstitutional, because it forces residents to purchase the product. Obviously, he is highlighting his opposition as a campaign talking point.

The other man in the race, Rick Scott, is also against the law. In the 1990s, he ran a hospital chain that was accused of Medicare fraud. More recently, he spent $5 million of his own money to defeat the legislation. Scott also wants “Obamacare” repealed. We will see what happens during the 2010 election primaries next month.

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Health Insurance Company Harvard Pilgrim Agrees To Lower Rates

Monday, July 5th, 2010

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Regulators have been facing off with health insurance companies over proposed premium increases that the former consider excessive, and the latter think are necessary to continue doing business.

Apparently, compromise is possible. Harvard Pilgrim Health Care agreed to a settlement with the state of Massachusetts that limits their individual and small group health insurance rate increases. The decrease is insignificant: their initial requests ranged from 8% to 12%, while the new deal has increases of 7% to 11%.

Since earlier caps on premiums set by the state were rejected on appeal, the insurer could’ve kept fighting. However, they chose to move on instead–although they will still lose money under the agreement. Thankfully for consumers, Harvard Pilgrim (the second-largest insurance provider in the state) also agreed not to retroactively bill policyholders since April for the higher rates.

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Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan Has Launched!

Thursday, July 1st, 2010

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Today is the official launch date of one of the most heavily hyped elements of affordable health insurance reform: the temporary pools for up to 350,000 uninsured people with pre-existing conditions. Only citizens or legal residents who have lacked insurance for over six months are eligible to sign up.

29 states will run their own health insurance pools, while 21 others have left the responsibility up to the federal government’s Department of Health and Human Services. Those living in the latter states can apply today for coverage that begins next month, while others must wait until later this summer. Many of the latter were leery of supplementing their existing high-risk pools with another one that met the new requirements (that rates charged are similar to the rest of the market, etc.) However, the rates charged in each state will vary widely, based on several factors–including age.

These pools are intended as temporary solutions for health coverage, until reforms take full effect in four years. By 2014, these stopgap solutions should no longer be necessary, since health insurers will no longer be allowed to deny coverage to high-risk patients.

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