“Starting in 2019, you’ll no longer owe a fine to the IRS if you don’t have qualifying health insurance coverage. While the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, imposed a tax penalty for those who opted out of coverage, the mandate was eliminated with the tax reform law passed in late 2017.
Posts Tagged ‘Park Ridge’
Why You Still Absolutely Need Health Insurance Despite the Death of the Penalty
Monday, May 20th, 2019Tags: Affordable Care Act, health insurance, health insurance coverage, Marketplace, Oswego, Palatine, Park Ridge, Pingree Grove, Plato Center, the affordable care act
Posted in Health Insurance News | Comments Off on Why You Still Absolutely Need Health Insurance Despite the Death of the Penalty
A Rare Loss for U.S. Pharma Lobby Will Cost the Industry Billions
Monday, April 9th, 2018“Deep in a budget deal Congress passed earlier this year — just 118 words in Section 53116, a little before passages on prison reporting data and payment yields for seed cotton — was a hit to pharmaceutical companies that will cost them billions, and could signal more losses to come. (more…)
Tags: doctors, Donald Trump, enroll, Health and Human Services, Medicare, Obama care, ObamaCare, Obamacare regulation, Oswego, Palatine, Park Ridge, seniors, Will
Posted in Medicare | Comments Off on A Rare Loss for U.S. Pharma Lobby Will Cost the Industry Billions
Illinois insurers seek premium increases of up to 45%
Tuesday, August 2nd, 2016The Chicago Sun Times reports:
“Health insurance premiums for Illinois residents who buy coverage through the Affordable Care Act’s marketplace could increase by as much as 45 percent according to proposals submitted by insurers and made public Monday.
The leading insurer on Illinois’ exchange, Blue Cross Blue Shield, is proposing increases for 2017 ranging from 23 percent to 45 percent for individual health care plans, according to proposals posted by Healthcare.gov. Another insurer, Coventry Health Care of Illinois, proposed rate increases as high as 21 percent.
Tags: Affordable Care Act, Blue Cross, Chicago, Marketplace, Oswego, Palatine, Park Ridge, Patient Protection, Pingree Grove, Plato Center, UnitedHealthcare
Posted in Health Insurance Cost | Comments Off on Illinois insurers seek premium increases of up to 45%
Obamacare Encounters Another Bump in the Road
Thursday, April 28th, 2016According to News Max Finance:
” Well, the hammer has fallen: The largest health insurer in the U.S. has started pulling out of select Obamacare exchanges.
Five months ago UnitedHealth, which had been singing sunny songs to investors about its bright future on the exchanges, abruptly began crooning the blues. In an earnings call barely a month after executives assured investors that all was going swimmingly, they confessed that they were losing a ton of money on their Obamacare policies and described a pattern that sounded as if consumers were gaming the system — signing up for a few months, using a ton of services, and then canceling their policies. If this continued, they said, they would have no choice but to pull out of the exchange business. (more…)
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Posted in Affordable Care Act, Exchange, Health Insurance News, Insurance Reform | Comments Off on Obamacare Encounters Another Bump in the Road
Coming soon to your mailbox: An Obamacare tax form
Tuesday, January 26th, 2016According to The CT Mirror:
“Even if you don’t get your health insurance through Obamacare, you’re likely to get something related to the health law in the mail in the coming weeks: A new tax form.

The 1095-A form exchange customers will receive. Others will get different versions, depending on the source of their health care coverage.
Known as Form 1095, it’s part of the way the federal government verifies whether people are complying with the mandate that requires nearly all U.S. residents to have health care coverage. This year is the first time most people will be getting those forms, and officials are anticipating a fair amount of confusion. In part, that’s because what you need to do with that form depends on the type of coverage you had.
Here’s what you need to know. (more…)
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Posted in Affordable Care Act, Health Insurance News, Heath Care Costs | Comments Off on Coming soon to your mailbox: An Obamacare tax form
Humana to Record 2016 Obamacare Shortfall, Membership Drops
Tuesday, January 26th, 2016According to Bloomberg Business:
“Humana Inc. is the latest insurer to run into trouble in Obamacare’s individual health-insurance markets.
The health insurer said that it probably won’t collect enough money to cover costs for some customers who bought individual plans, and will set aside what’s known as a premium deficiency reserve. The shortfall is for 2016 plans that comply with new rules under the Affordable Care Act, Louisville, Kentucky-based Humana said Friday.
UnitedHealth Group Inc., the biggest U.S. health insurer, said in November that it might stop participating in the Obamacare next year after taking losses. One analyst predicted that Humana would follow suit.
(more…)
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Posted in Affordable Care Act, Health Insurance News, Individual Health Insurance | Comments Off on Humana to Record 2016 Obamacare Shortfall, Membership Drops
Feds tighten when people can enroll in Obamacare plans
Tuesday, January 26th, 2016According to USA Today:
“Bowing to pressure from insurers, federal officials on Tuesday tightened the conditions under which people can sign up for plans on the HealthCare.govexchange outside open enrollment.
The move by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services comes after complaints by health insurers that it was too easy for people to wait until they were sick to sign up and to drop coverage after they got treatment. Earlier Tuesday, UnitedHealth announced a 19% drop in profit and downgraded its earnings forecast citing concerns about its Obamacare enrollment and the flexibility people had to change insurance plans. (more…)
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Posted in Affordable Care Act, Health Insurance News, Open Enrollment | Comments Off on Feds tighten when people can enroll in Obamacare plans
Here’s What Medicare Part B Costs and Covers in 2016
Tuesday, January 26th, 2016According to The Motley Fool:
“Learn how this part of the Medicare program works.
Retirees rely on Medicare to help them with their healthcare expenses, but getting a better understanding of how the program’s different components can be challenging. Medicare Part B plays a key role in the everyday aspects of healthcare, and below, you’ll learn more of the specifics of how much Part B costs and what it covers.
What Medicare Part B costs
Medicare participants pay a monthly premium to get Part B coverage, but one of the more confusing things about the program in 2016 is that different participants pay different amounts. The standard charge for most new participants this year is $121.80 per month. But because of a law that ties Medicare increases to cost-of-living adjustments for Social Security, the majority of existing participants will pay the $104.90 monthly premium they paid in 2015. (more…)
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Posted in Medicare | Comments Off on Here’s What Medicare Part B Costs and Covers in 2016
CMS Proposes Health Insurance Exchange Changes for 2017
Monday, January 11th, 2016California Healthline Reports:
“On Friday, CMS released a proposed rule that would require minimum network standards for health plans sold through the federal exchange in 2017, Modern Healthcare reports.
Proposed Rule’s Network Standards
Under the rule, states would be required to implement CMS-approved quantitative measures to ensure that individuals with exchange plans have adequate access to health care providers. States could either:
- Adopt default network adequacy standards set by CMS; or
- Draft their own network adequacy standards and submit them for HHS approval.
Such standards could measure a plan’s network adequacy based on policyholders’ maximum travel distances and times to access providers. According to CMS, minimum adequacy standards for the plans will be determined at a later date. HHS would then notify insurers of the standards in each state (Herman/Dickson, Modern Healthcare, 11/20). (more…)
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Posted in Affordable Care Act, Health Insurance News, Open Enrollment | Comments Off on CMS Proposes Health Insurance Exchange Changes for 2017
With Michigan Closure, More Than Half of Obamacare CO-OPs Have Now Failed
Monday, January 11th, 2016“WASHINGTON, DC – The number of failed Obamacare CO-OPs grew to one dozen today as Michigan became the latest to announce it was closing. To date, 12 of the original 23 CO-OPs have closed, bringing the total cost to taxpayers at more than $1.23 billion. This Thursday, the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations will hold a hearing on “Examining the Costly Failures of Obamacare’s CO-OP Insurance Loans.” (more…)
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Posted in Health Insurance Cost, Health Insurance News, Heath Care Costs | Comments Off on With Michigan Closure, More Than Half of Obamacare CO-OPs Have Now Failed