Latest News + Info
The latest information relating to the health insurance industry.
Institute of Medicine Issues Recommendations on Essential Health Benefits
News from the Blues reports: "The Institute of Medicine (IOM) today publicly released its final report titled “Essential Health Benefits: Balancing Coverage and Cost.” This report details the findings and recommendations of the IOM regarding the benefits that most new...
Health-care law benefits must be limited to ensure affordability, panel says
The Washington Post reports: "An advisory panel of experts on Thursday recommended that the Obama administration emphasize affordability over breadth of coverage when it comes to implementing a key insurance provision of the 2010 health-care law. Obama officials...
Ryan expects health reform to cause cost “death spiral”
CBS reports: Republican Rep. Paul Ryan, a key voice in the GOP on the issue of health care, said Thursday he expects the Supreme Court to strike down a key element of President Obama's health care reforms -- the "individual mandate," which requires every American to...
Average Costs for Senior Care
The average costs for senior care varies from state to state, but you can use the following information as a general guideline when budgeting for future care needs: Assisted Living: $106 per day, $3286 per month In-Home Care: $19 per hour Home Health Care: $21 per...
Did health reform drive up insurance premiums? Depends on the plan.
When a survey earlier this week found that health insurance premiums had risen 9 percent this year, the usual suspects made their usual arguments. “As this survey shows, the president’s promise that his partisan health law would lower costs was just empty rhetoric,”...
Health reform lawsuit appears headed for Supreme Court
Politico reports: "The Obama administration chose not to ask the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals to re-hear a pivotal health reform case Monday, signaling that it’s going to ask the Supreme Court to decide whether President Barack Obama’s health reform law is...
Request for Average Annual Number of Employees
News from the Blues Blue Cross and Blue Shield reports: "We will be asking targeted employers – those with 25 to 125 subscribers – for assistance to meet an Affordable Care Act (ACA) requirement. Health insurance companies are now required to report their medical loss...
Survey: Health Insurance Premiums Jumped 8-9% in 2011, vs. 3-5% in 2010
Forbes reports: "There’s never a slow news day in health-care land. Today, the Kaiser Family Foundation and the American Hospital Association’s Health Research and Educational Trust released their annual Employer Health Benefits survey, which showed that insurance...
Health care reform law penalties for employers not yet set
Business Insurance reports: "Employers will not face health care reform law penalties if they do not offer affordable coverage to employees' dependents and they may not even have to extend coverage to dependents, depending on the outcome of regulatory guidance.Under...
Internal Revenue Service Helps Small Businesses With Health Care Tax Credits
Insurance News Net reports: "As the filing extension tax deadlines approach, the Internal Revenue Service, in partnership with the Department of Health and Human Services, is encouraging small businesses to review the Health Care Tax Credit to see if they are...