Latest News + Info
The latest information relating to the health insurance industry.
From Aetna Health Reform Weekly
ILLINOIS: The legislature is set to begin debating several measures that would mandate coverage of certain benefits or access to certain providers. H.B. 120 and H.B. 122 would require coverage of intravenous feedings and prescription nutritional supplements. S.B. 97...
New CMS rules boost consumer protections in exchange plans
Modern Healthcare Reports: "The CMS Friday issued final market rules for 2016 (PDF) for the state and federal insurance exchanges. The regulations include stronger requirements for insurers to provide accessible, reliable information about provider networks and drug...
Employer Shared Responsibility
Generally, under Employer Shared Responsibility (ESR), applicable large employers (generally, employers with 50 or more full-time employees, including full-time equivalents) face a potential penalty if they don’t offer minimum essential coverage to full-time employees...
Even U of C Medicine and Rush have health insurance problems
Crain's Chicago Business reports: "Proving that no one is immune to the changes sweeping the health care industry, two of Chicago's most prestigious teaching hospitals are being dinged by insurance companies trying to control costs. Humana is ending a 20-year...
Medicare Spending Peaks at Age 96
The Wall Street Journal reports: " More and more attention is being paid to end-of-life care. But much less attention is going toward what care is appropriate for the very old who are chronically ill but not in their last year of life. My Kaiser Family Foundation...
Staples threatens to fire employees who work more than 25 hours a week
Yahoo Finance reports: "Wikimedia Commons A Staples storefront. Part-time Staples workers are furious that they could be fired for working more than 25 hours a week. The company implemented the policy to avoid paying benefits under the Affordable Care Act, reports...
Insured, but Not Covered
The New York Times reports: "WHEN Karen Pineman of Manhattan received notice that her longtime health insurance policy didn’t comply with the Affordable Care Act’s requirements, she gamely set about shopping for a new policy through the public marketplace. After all,...
Ailing Obamacare co-op has an improved diagnosis
Crains Chicago Business reports: "The first year for Illinois' only co-op health insurance program could be charitably termed as troubled. Established as part of Obamacare, Land of Lincoln Healthaimed to increase competition on the state's new health insurance...
Medical Debt Still a Problem Under Health Law — Despite Protections
Kaiser Health News reports: "Elizabeth and Britt Harmon struggled for years to have a child, and were thrilled when their son Orin was born in February 2013. But they were unprepared for the medical problems that then upended the Brooksville, Maine couple’s lives....
Government Blinks Again on Obamacare
Bloomberg View reports: "If you got health insurance subsidies last year, and you're worried that you got too much in federal tax credits and will be faced with a huge tax bill for repayment, then you can worry a little less: The IRS says that people who are liable...