“The Trump administration earlier this year issued a regulation that expands the availability of “short-term” health insurance plans that do not have to comply with any of the rules in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) for plans sold in the individual market. Specifically, the regulation allows short-term plans to be offered for up to 364 days and renewed at the discretion of the insurer for up to three years. Short-term plans are also expected to be more attractive now that ACA’s individual mandate penalty has been repealed, since people previously enrolling in these plans were liable for the penalty.
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Why Do Short-Term Health Insurance Plans Have Lower Premiums Than Plans That Comply with the ACA?
Friday, November 2nd, 2018Tags: affordable care, Affordable Care Act, health insurance, Insurance Reform, Lincoln Park, Mental Health, premiums, subsidies, the affordable care act, West Dundee
Posted in Short Term Insurance | Comments Off on Why Do Short-Term Health Insurance Plans Have Lower Premiums Than Plans That Comply with the ACA?
Amazon Takes Aim at Disrupting the Healthcare Industry
Thursday, February 1st, 2018“The e-commerce giant becomes the latest corporation trying to tackle the high cost of employee medical care
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Blue Cross warns GOP repeal bill ‘undermines’ pre-existing condition rules
Wednesday, October 11th, 2017“The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association warned against a new GOP ObamaCare bill on Wednesday, saying it would “undermine” protections for pre-existing conditions.
“The bill contains provisions that would allow states to waive key consumer protections, as well as undermine safeguards for those with pre-existing medical conditions,” the association said in a statement.
Tags: ACA, health insurance, health plan, Hospital, Marketplace, ObamaCare, premiums, West Chicago, West Dundee, Westchester, Wheaton, Wheeling, Will County, Wilmette, Winfield, Wood Dale
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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
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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Blue Cross, UnitedHealthcare return to Illinois Obamacare exchange
Monday, January 11th, 2016Crain’s Chicago Business Reports:
“Aetna is returning to sell plans on the Illinois health insurance exchange after taking a year off.
Also returning are giants Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Illinois, the dominant insurer in the state; UnitedHealthcare, which is affiliated with Minnetonka, Minn.-based UnitedHealth Group, and Chicago-based Land of Lincoln Health.
Mostly familiar faces are returning to the exchange for enrollment that begins Nov. 1, according to the Illinois Department of Insurance. Other companies that received federal approval to sell plans include:
—Health Alliance, based in downstate Urbana.
—Celtic Insurance, which is part of St. Louis-based Centene Corp.
—Coventry Health, part of Hartford, Conn.-based Aetna.
—Harken Health, of which UnitedHealth Group is an investor.
—Humana, based in Louisville, Ky.
Tags: 2015, 2016, ACA, ACA requirements, Advocate Heath Care, affordable care, Affordable Care Act, affordable health insurance, Albany Park, Algonquin, Andersonville, Atena, aurora, Barrington, Bartlett, BCBS, BCBSIL, Blue Cross, Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, Bucktown, buffalo grove, Burlington, buy health insurance, buying insurance, care reform legislation, Carol Stream, Carpentersville, Chicago, Chicagoland, Cook, Cook County, coverage plan, Crystal Lake, DeKalb, DeKalb County, departments of health and human services, Dundee, DuPage County, Elgin, employer health insurance, enrollment, exchange, Forest Park, Fox River Grove, Fox Valley, Glenview, government regulations, group health plan, Harwood Heights, Health and Human Services, health care benefits, health care costs, health care law, health care reform, health care system, health exemption, health insurance, health insurance costs, health insurance coverage, Health insurance exchange, health insurance marketplace, health insurance premiums, health insurance reform, health plan, health savings account, healthcare reform, healthcare.gov, Humana, Huntley, IL, Illinois, Illinois Department of Insurance, Illinois health insurance exchange, Insurance benefit consultant, insurance broker, insurance industry, IRS, Kane, Kane County, Kendall, Lake County, Lake in the Hills, Lake View, Long Grove, Marengo, Marketplace, McCullen Lake, McHenry, McHenry County, Naperville, North Barrington, North West Suburbs, Northern Illinois, Northwest Suburbs, Oakwood Hills, Obama care, ObamaCare, Obamacare regulation, Palatine, Park Ridge, Pingree Grove, Prairie Grove, Ringwood, Rolling Meadows, Saint Charles, Schaumburg, Skokie, small businesses, South Barrington, South Elgin, the affordable care act, United Health Care, United Healthcare, UnitedHealthcare, Village of Lakewood, Wasco, West Chicago, West Dundee, Wicker Park, Will, Will County, Wood Dale, Woodridge, Woodstock
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The ‘Affordable’ Care Act, another Christmas bah-humbug
Monday, January 11th, 2016“‘Tis the season for giving—and for the Affordable Care Act, it’s become the season for giving bad news. For the third year in a row, open enrollment has given millions of hardworking Americans news that their health insurance will have higher premiums, fewer choices, and more out-of-pocket costs—if their insurance will even exist after the holidays are over.
But this sad reality won’t be found in the flowery rhetoric of the law’s supporters. From President Obama to Hillary Clinton to many candidates for both the U.S. Senate and House, politicians are claiming the law is a smashing success. This might make for a good stump speech for the base, but these claims carry huge political risks: They sound woefully disconnected from the struggles millions of Americans are suffering under this law.
Tags: ACA, ACA requirements, Advocate Heath Care, affordable care, Affordable Care Act, affordable health insurance, Albany Park, Algonquin, barack obama, Barrington, Barrington Hills, Bartlett, BCBS, BCBSIL, Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Bucktown, budget cuts, buffalo grove, buy health insurance, buying insurance, care reform legislation, Carol Stream, Carpentersville, Changeing Health Care, Chicago, Chicagoland, Cook, Cook County, Costs, coverage plan, Crystal Lake, deductibles, DeKalb, DeKalb County, departments of health and human services, East Dundee, Elgin, employer health insurance, enroll, enrollment, exchange, family plan, Forest Park, Fox River Grove, Geneva, Government, government regulations, health, health care benefits, health care costs, health care law, health care reform, health care system, health exemption, health insurance, health insurance costs, health insurance coverage, Health insurance exchange, health insurance marketplace, health insurance premiums, health insurance reform, Health Marketplace, health programs, health reform, healthcare reform, healthcare.gov, Huntley, IL, Illinois, Illinois Department of Insurance, Illinois health insurance exchange, insurance news, insurance plan, Insurance Reform, IRS, Kane, Kane County, Kendall County, Lake County, McHenry, McHenry County, Midterm Election 2010, Mr. Obama, new health care, New health insurance law ACA, North West Suburbs, Obama care, ObamaCare, Obamacare regulation, open enrollment, premiums, Schaumburg, state health insurance, Streamwood, taxpayer dollars, the affordable care act, U.S. Senate, West Chicago, West Dundee, Wicker Park, Will County, Woodstock
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Canadian Health Care: Patients Waiting Longer Than Ever For Treatment
Monday, January 11th, 2016Investors Business Daily Reports:
“Socialist Medicine: Canadians love their hockey and have historically been happy with their government-run health care system. Hockey is thriving. The country’s health care system, though, is a wreck and getting worse.
It could be said the words “Canada” and “health care” really don’t go together because some Canadians never make it to the doctor.
Too many die untreated due to extended wait times to see a doctor, and those wait times have increased again this year. They are now almost twice as long as they were in 1993, the year Hillary Clinton tried to force government health care on Americans. (more…)
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Posted in Affordable Care Act, Family Health Insurance, Health Insurance News, Heath Care Costs | Comments Off on Canadian Health Care: Patients Waiting Longer Than Ever For Treatment
Illinois Medicaid enrollment jumps under Obamacare
Wednesday, September 16th, 2015Crain’s Chicago Business reports:
“ Illinois is among a dozen states where the number of new enrollees surpassed projections for the expansion of Medicaid under Obamacare. While the surge in signups lifts the number of insured people, it has also stoked worries about the future cost to taxpayers.
Illinois and Cook County eventually will have to bear 10 percent of the cost of expanding the safety-net insurance program for the poor. The federal government agreed to pay all costs for the expansion through 2016, but it will begin lowering its share in 2017.
Tags: Chicago, Consultant, Cook County, enrollment, Government, Medicaid, ObamaCare, West Dundee, Will County, Wilmette, Winfield, Wood Dale, Woodridge, Woodstock
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