Latest News + Info
The latest information relating to the health insurance industry.
Preventive Services Covered by Private Health Plans under the Affordable Care Act
A PDF containing what will be looked for can be found here The Kaiser Family Foundation reports: "The Affordable Care Act created new requirements that private insurers cover preventive services, including routine immunizations, screenings for conditions such as...
Insurers, Small Businesses Launch Campaign Against Health Tax
Insurance News Net reports: "Health insurers, in partnership with a small business advocacy group, have launched a campaign to repeal an industry tax included in the health reform law. The Affordable Care Act subjects insurers to an excise tax set at $8 billion...
Savings power of HSAs appears to wane
Indianapolis Insurance Journal reports: "As consumer-directed health plans become more prevalent, their power to save money for employers is waning, according to the latest survey by Indianapolis-based United Benefit Advisors, a network of health insurance brokers....
The individual mandate cheatsheet
Benifits Pro reports: "From the time President Obama signed the Patient Protection and AffordableCare Act, one of the most controversial components of the law was the individual mandate. This provision requires every American who can afford insurance coverage to...
Overhaul may push employee benefits shift
Benifits Pro reports: "Obama administration expects to see rise in employer-sponsored health insurance, not a decline" "Nearly one of every 10 midsized or big employers expects to stop offering health coverage to workers after insurance exchanges begin operating in...
Majority of Large Employers Revamping Health Benefit Programs for 2012, National Business Group on Health Survey Finds
National Business Group on Health reports: "Employers Projecting Costs to Increase 7.2% Next Year; Nearly Two-Thirds Expect to Increase Employee Share of Premiums WASHINGTON, DC, August 18, 2011 -- With the cost of employee health care benefits expected to increase...
HHS approves 106 three-year mini-med health plan waivers
Business Insurance reports: "WASHINGTON—The Department of Health and Human Services said it has approved 106 three-year waivers from so-called mini-med and other limited health care plans from meeting a health reform law requirement that restricts annual dollar limits...
5 ways to get cheaper medical care
CNN Heath reports: "It was the worst possible news at the worst possible time. In summer 2009, photographer Joel Maus learned he might go blind if he didn't get a procedure to treat a cornea condition. But there was no way he could afford the $15,000 doctor's fee --...
Will Health Care Reform Survive the Courts?
The New York Times reports: "The legal battle over the constitutionality of the health care reform law will determine how far government can go in helping to improve people’s lives. Ultimately, the Supreme Court will have to decide this question. Until then, the...
New Illinois Health Laws
Recently, Illinois has had a Legislate Session. The resulting laws that have been signed are outlined here. These laws are particularly important if you are: In or starting Clinical Cancer Trials or using an Oral Cancer Drugs Recently diagnosed with Diabetes At a high...