Health Care Reform Archives ~ Live Insurance News

Colorado health insurance will continue to protect those with pre-existing conditions

June 18, 2018June 17, 2018 G. Turner

Colorado health insurance continues to protect those with pre-existing conditions - man in wheelchair

As Americans across the country return to struggling for coverage, Coloradans will be spared. Colorado health insurance will maintain its coverage of individuals with pre-existing conditions, despite the Trump administration’s recent moves. The president shocked the health care industry earlier this month when the Department of Justice announced it wouldn’t be defending certain central components in the Affordable Care Act. This announcement may mean that Americans with pre-existing conditions could once again lose coverage. That said, Colorado health insurance law will make certain that residents of the state will continue…

95 percent of US healthcare groups opposed Trump’s new health insurance rules

June 1, 2018May 31, 2018 H. Cutner

US Healthcare Groups - Opposed to Changes - Hand stopping dominoes

Nearly every group that submitted formal comments officially panned the strategy the president proposed. Over 95 percent of the US healthcare groups that submitted formal comments regarding President Trump’s strategy to dismantle the Affordable Care Act were opposed to his efforts. They either criticized the new health insurance rule strategy or flat-out opposed it. The health insurance industry isn’t impressed with the president’s efforts to cut apart Obamacare. A new L.A. Times review of the thousands of comments formally submitted by US healthcare groups to federal agencies showed heavy criticism…

Could health food insurance support preventative medicine and natural treatments?

May 29, 2018May 28, 2018 G. Turner

Health food insurance - fruits and vegetables

Doctors and healthcare providers are increasingly pursuing food-based interventions. Health food insurance could one day be on its way to American plans. Just as health plans currently cover some prevention, prescriptions, procedures and doctor visits, they may one day cover certain foods. The idea is that food-based interventions can effectively prevent or treat certain conditions. The food-based intervention trend is rapidly expanding across the United States. In this way, doctors are recommending that patients prevent conditions by eating right. Similarly, some conditions can be treated more effectively when a patient…

Florida health insurance program drops nearly 2k dependents without authentication

April 30, 2018April 27, 2018 G. Turner

Florida Health Insurance Program - Medical - stethoscope

Governor Rick Scott has required that state employees provide more documentation to qualify for coverage. A $950,000 investigation into the Florida health insurance program has caused 1,825 dependents to lose their coverage. The audit required state employees to submit birth certificates in order to verify a child’s eligibility. Moreover marriages required an IRS tax return transcript for authentication. Nearly two thousand people have been taken off the state-employee health insurance program as a result. As workers failed to provide the necessary child birth certificates and tax documents, their dependents were…

Health plan premiums could rise by $2,000 for older Americans under Trump proposal

March 26, 2018March 23, 2018 Nordstrom

The Trump administration has proposed a rule to allow short-term policies to provide longer coverage. Trump’s proposal regarding short-term policies could drive health plan premiums skyward. Older American adults would be the most affected by this change. The proposal involves allowing 364 days of coverage instead of the current cap at 3 months. Short-term health policies typically come with smaller premiums than full one-year plans The short term policies are sold not through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) insurance exchanges. They come with lower health plan premiums because they don’t…

Health insurance expenses bring stress to uninsured American adults

March 5, 2018March 4, 2018 H. Cutner

Colorado Mental Health Insurance - Stressed Adult

A new report shows uninsured people are hesitant to purchase a policy due to anticipated rising costs. Approximately 71 percent of uninsured American adults who were aware of the open enrollment period chose not to purchase a plan due to expected increasing health insurance expenses. They risk failure to comply with the Affordable Care Act to sidestep rising costs. This represents a potential shift in the level of confidence that the ACA will stay in effect. The research was conducted by the Commonwealth Fund. The results were published in a…

Nevada’s new health insurance enrollment system to stop next year

March 1, 2018February 28, 2018 H. Cutner

las vegas nevada health insurance enrollment system

The state’s technical problems with the system have forced it to need to shut down in 2019. The original Nevada health insurance enrollment system put into place by the end of 2014 had serious glitches. Those glitches caused many people to suffer unnecessary additional health care expenses. The problem with the original health plan enrollment service was in its record keeping. Thousands of people across Nevada complained that their policies were not kept up to date through the health plan enrollment service. Their coverage was cancelled for non-payment, despite the…

Health insurance plan coverage reaching all but 7 percent of Californians

February 27, 2018February 24, 2018 Nordstrom

A new nationwide study conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics examined uninsured rates. Nearly 29 million Americans across the country currently lack a health insurance plan. This is a considerable reduction in the uninsured rate. In 2010, almost 49 million Americans didn’t have health insurance coverage. Californians are faring even better than the rest of the country in terms of their coverage rates. That said, on the other end of the spectrum, Texans are the Americans least likely to have a health insurance plan. In that state, 20…

Idaho autism insurance reform in spotlight from advocate group

February 12, 2018February 9, 2018 Marc

This is one of only four states in the country without a mandate requiring coverage for those on the spectrum. A new Idaho insurance reform effort is underway as a result of an advocate group that wants to bring the state up to the national standard. There are only four states left in the country that do not require private insurance companies to provide autism treatment coverage. The new movement is designed to encourage reform in autism health insurance coverage. Over the weekend, advocates for Idaho autism insurance met in…

Abortion insurance bill moves through Washington Senate

February 6, 2018February 7, 2018 Marc

abortion insurance bill Woman Using Her Mobile Phone

The measure is now on its way to the state House, in which previous years have passed it. The Washington Senate recently passed an abortion insurance bill, sending it forward to the House. Should the measure become law, it would mean that insurance companies in the state that offer maternity care would also be required to provide coverage for contraception and elective abortions. Senate Bill 6219 passed the Senate with a vote of 26-22, including the vote of one Republican. In this vote, Senator Joe Fain (R) voted along with…