Latest News + Info
The latest information relating to the health insurance industry.
White House: No Subsidies For Union Health Plans
Insurance News Net reports: "Low-income workers on union health plans are not eligible for the same federal subsidies available to those who buy insurance in the new state health care marketplaces, the White House said Friday. The decision is a disappointment for...
Nearly Half Of U.S. Births Are Covered By Medicaid, Study Finds
Kaiser Health News reports: "About half the births in the United States are paid for by Medicaid — a figure higher than previous estimates – and the numbers could increase as the state-federal health insurance program expands under the Affordable Care Act, according...
The Tax Implications Of ACA
Insurance News Net reports: "The Economic Policy Institute issued the following news release: In a new article in the September issue of Health Affairs, the leading journal of health policy, a team of researchers recommend expanded educational efforts to ensure that...
10 years on, tort reform sees suits, payouts drop
Merced Sun-Star reports: "Ten years after the Texas Legislature capped damages in the state's medical malpractice lawsuits, the number of suits and the amounts paid out have fallen sharply. The Austin American Statesman reported (http://bit.ly/15rYYMk ) Sunday that...
Questions and Answers on the Individual Shared Responsibility Provision
The IRS reports: "Basic Information 1. What is the individual shared responsibility provision? Under the Affordable Care Act, the federal government, state governments, insurers, employers and individuals are given shared responsibility to reform and improve the...
Self Employed? What You Need to Know About Individual Shared Responsibility Starting in January 2014
US Small Business Administration reports: "Under the Affordable Care Act, the government, insurers, employers, and individuals share in the responsibility to improve the availability, quality, and affordability of health insurance coverage. The individual shared...
ACA Out-of-Pocket Max Clarity
Flex Benefits reports: "The Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires non-grandfathered plans to impose limitations on out-of-pocket expenses for essential health benefits starting in 2014. The out-of-pocket limitations will be capped next year at $6,350 for single coverage...
Health Plans Dropping Spouses; Are Children Next?
Insurance News Net reports: "A growing number of companies are looking to clamp down on rising health care costs by dumping coverage for their employees' working spouses. Others are requiring their workers to pay extra money to cover a spouse who could get health...
More High-Deductible Plan Members Can’t Pay Hospital Bills
Kaiser Health News reports: "As employers and insurance companies shift more health costs into workers’ pockets, hospitals are making a discovery. The pockets aren’t bottomless. “The number of accounts that we’re seeing that relate to these high-deductible plans has...
UPS blames PPACA, to slash 15,000 spouses from coverage
Benefits Pro reports: "The number of employers whose company health benefits plan cover the working (elsewhere) spouses of their employees has just been reduced by one — and it’s a big one, too. UPS announced in a memo to employees that it would cut up as many as...