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Posts Tagged ‘insurance news’
Thursday, May 16th, 2013
Insurance News Net reports:
“The first draft was as mind-numbing and complex as tax forms. Now the Obama administration is unveiling a simplified application for health insurance benefits under the federal health care overhaul.
Details to be released Tuesday include a three-page short form that single people can fill out, administration officials said. Medicare chief Marilyn Tavenner, also overseeing the rollout of the health care law, called it “significantly shorter than industry standards.”
(more…)
Tags: aurora, barack obama, Batavia, Carpentersville, Chicago, Chicagoland, Fox Valley, Government, Health Marketplace, Huntley, Individuals, insurance, insurance news, North West Suburbs, Northern Illinois, Northwest Suburbs, Oakbrook Terrace, Oswego, Palatine, PPO, premiums, Tax
Posted in Insurance Reform | No Comments »
Thursday, May 16th, 2013
Insurance News Net reports:
“A new HealthPocket consumer survey found that 34 percent of respondents are motivated to reduce their health plan costs versus keep their doctor. When survey takers were asked, “If changing from your doctor to another doctor could save you money on your health plan premium costs, how much would you have to save annually to make the switch?” over half of the 34 percent who would switch would do so for the lowest savings amount presented by the survey, $500 to $1,000 annually. Eight percent said they would switch for $1,000 to $2,000 and 7.5 percent for$3,000 or more.
(more…)
Tags: affordable care, Affordable Care Act, Chicago, Chicagoland, Crystal Lake, Elmwood Park, Fox Valley, Government, Harwood Heights, health insurance, Hinsdale, insurance news, North West Suburbs, Northern Illinois, Northwest Suburbs, Prairie Grove, Prospect Heights, Solon Mills, Stone Park
Posted in Insurance Reform | No Comments »
Monday, May 13th, 2013
Insurance News Net reports:
“Steady as she goes.
That was the case Wednesday with Aflac Inc. reporting first-quarter net income, or profit, of $892 million, an increase of nearly 14 percent from $785 million in the same period a year ago.
That translated to earnings of $1.90 per diluted share for the January-March timeframe, up from $1.68 a year ago.
(more…)
Tags: Aflac, Bensenville, Chicago, Chicagoland, Des Plaines, exchange, Forest Park, Fox Valley, Individuals, insurance news, McCullen Lake, McCullom Lake, Mental Health, North West Suburbs, Northern Illinois, Northwest Suburbs, Ringwood, Riverwoods
Posted in Voluntary Benefits | No Comments »
Monday, May 6th, 2013
Insurance News Net reports:
“If you’re overweight, have high blood pressure, smoke or are diabetic, your employer may soon require you to improve your health, get counseling on the issue or pay a fine, especially if you work for a large corporation.
In an effort to rein in soaring medical-insurance costs — now estimated at more than $12,000 per employee — big companies are increasingly turning from incentives to penalties to change their workers’ unhealthy habits.
The most recent example is CVS Caremark, which has ignited controversy by requiring its 200,000 employees across Florida and the nation to undergo screenings to record their weight, body fat, blood glucose and blood-pressure levels. If they don’t do so by May 1, they’ll have to pay an extra $600 for health insurance in the coming year.
(more…)
Tags: Bensenville, Carpentersville, Chicago, Chicagoland, DeKalb, Fox Valley, Hampshire, health care costs, health insurance, insurance news, Maple Park, Niles, North West Suburbs, Northern Illinois, Northwest Suburbs, Penalty, premiums, requirements
Posted in Heath Care Costs | Comments Off
Wednesday, April 10th, 2013
Insurance News Net reports:
“Millions of people who accept government subsidies to help buy health insurance next year could get stung by surprise tax bills later on. That’s if they don’t accurately project their income.
Starting next year, President Barack Obama’s health care law will offer subsidies to help people buy private health insurance. The subsidies are based on income. The lower your income, the bigger your subsidy.
(more…)
Tags: Bannockburn, Bartlett, Batavia, Chicago, Chicagoland, Elgin, Fox Valley, Government, health, health care law, health insurance, insurance, insurance news, North West Suburbs, Northern Illinois, Northwest Suburbs, Oak Park, ObamaCare, subsidies, Tax
Posted in Requirements | Comments Off
Tuesday, April 2nd, 2013
Insurance News Net reports:
“It isn’t every day that more than half the Democrats in the Senate vote to repeal part of President Barack Obama’s health care law.
But that’s what happened Thursday night when the Senate voted 79-20 to repeal a 2.3 percent sales tax on medical devices such as catheters, pacemakers and MRI machines, which was intended to help to finance coverage for the uninsured that starts next year.
(more…)
Tags: Affordable Care Act, barack obama, Batavia, Chicago, Chicagoland, Fox Valley, health care law, health insurance, insurance news, North West Suburbs, Northern Illinois, Northwest Suburbs, Saint Charles, Scams, Schaumburg, Schiller Park, Supreme Court
Posted in Insurance Reform | Comments Off
Tuesday, April 2nd, 2013
Insurance News Net reports:
“When health care reforms begin this year and new insurance starts next year, it will not be pretty, health experts said.
“This is going to be a mess,” said Jonathan Gruber, a health economist at theMassachusetts Institute of Technology, likening it to the bumpy launch of theMedicare Part D prescription drug program in 2006, which was “1/100th as complex” as the Affordable Care Act will be.
Most Americans who are insured through their employers probably won’t be affected, and only a small number are likely to see high premiums, he said.
(more…)
Tags: Affordable Care Act, Alden, Barrington Hills, Chicago, Chicagoland, Elgin, Fox Valley, Government, health care reform, health insurance, Hebron, Herbron, insurance news, insurance plan, Marketplace, Medicaid, North West Suburbs, Northern Illinois, Northwest Suburbs, Oakbrook Terrace, subsidies, young people
Posted in Insurance Reform | Comments Off
Tuesday, March 19th, 2013
Insurance News Net reports:
“Tina Nanos’ life was bogged down by her weight for years.
“I thought about it. I was overweight for a very large portion of my life,” said Nanos, who lives in Wallingford with her husband and two children, 13 and 5.
But when her weight “skyrocketed” after having her second son, so much so that sitting in an airplane seat and even walking were uncomfortable, she still didn’t change.
Then her employer and health insurer, UnitedHealthcare, offered her a cash incentive. She shed 101 pounds in two years and saved $1,200 on her annual premium.
(more…)
Tags: Affordable Care Act, Barrington Hills, Chicago, Chicagoland, Costs, Elgin, exchange, Fox Valley, insurance news, Marengo, medical expenses, North West Suburbs, Northern Illinois, Northwest Suburbs, premiums, Ringwood, South Elgin
Posted in Insurance Reform | Comments Off
Tuesday, March 19th, 2013
Insurance News Net reports:
The Federal Reserve yesterday released a report confirming that uncertainty and increased costs caused by the health care law are leading employers to lay off workers and slowing new job creation. The “Beige Book” – which summarizes economic conditions from twelve regions across the country, including Boston, New York, Chicago, Dallas and San Francisco – provides insight into employers’ thoughts on how the health care law’s increased regulations are forcing premiums and health care costs to rise, increasing burdens on job creators, and consequently, creating uncertainty that hurts job creation.
(more…)
Tags: Affordable Care Act, Chicago, Chicagoland, Fox Valley, health care costs, health care law, health insurance, insurance news, North West Suburbs, Northern Illinois, Northwest Suburbs, Oak Park, Oakbrook Terrace, Oakwood Hills, Oswego, Palatine, the affordable care act
Posted in Insurance Reform | Comments Off
Tuesday, March 5th, 2013
Insurance News Net reports:
“One percent.”
“I would be surprised if we see many, if any.”
According to most experts, the number is small. Not only is it small, it keeps getting smaller. We speak, of course, of the number of companies with 50 or more employees that will drop employer-sponsored insurance in 2014 – opting to send employees to state-run insurance exchanges and pay per-employee fines levied by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. After a McKinsey & Company study in 2011 famously concluded that 30% of employers would “pay” rather than “play,” survey after survey has revealed that fewer than 5% of employers plan to eliminate employee health benefits. Even the Government Accountability Office, which originally reported as much as 20% of employers would drop coverage, now has backed off to around 2%.
(more…)
Tags: affordable care, Affordable Care Act, Carpentersville, Chicago, Chicagoland, Consultant, exchange, Fox Valley, Government, health care benefits, health care costs, health insurance, health plan, insurance news, IRS, North West Suburbs, Northern Illinois, Northwest Suburbs, Patient Protection, Penalty, PPACA, Prairie Grove, public exchange, requirements, retirement, Riverwoods, Supreme Court, Villa Park, Woodridge, Woodstock
Posted in Requirements | Comments Off
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