Health Care Reform Archives ~ Live Insurance News

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…

American health care turned on its head by Amazon, JPMorgan and Berkshire Hathaway

February 1, 2018February 1, 2018 G. Turner

The three companies are entering into a partnership to address medical care issues for their US employees. Amazon, JPMorgan Chase and Berkshire Hathaway have announced that they will be working together to discover ways to improve American health care for their U.S. employees. The goal will be to boost their worker satisfaction while lowering costs related to illness and care. The three giants will be looking to offer better American health care to their employees by way of an independent company. That firm will be free from incentives and restrictions…

Minnesota and New York file Trump administration lawsuit over health care funding cuts

January 29, 2018January 27, 2018 Nordstrom

Minnesota Health Insurance Trump Administration Lawsuit

The states have sued the administration for having slashed federal funding for their low-income populations. The state of Minnesota has filed a new Trump administration lawsuit, challenging the decision to cut federal funding for the state’s public health care program. The program is designed to assist those who are employed but who remain below the poverty line. Attorney General Lori Swanson first announced the legal action at the end of last week. The purpose of Minnesota’s Trump administration lawsuit is to stop the federal government for being able to put…

Local health centers left to struggle even as GOP funds CHIP

January 25, 2018January 24, 2018 Logan B.

The Children’s Health Insurance Program finally has its funding but kids may still find health care challenging. At the same time that Congressional Republicans and Democrats are patting themselves on the back for approving funding the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) for the next six years, many local health centers continue floundering. CHIP had been in dire need of having its funding restored after it was allowed to expire on September 30. At the same time that lawmakers are celebrating passing the CHIP funding, which already had bipartisan support, it…

US government shutdown leaves CHIP without funding

January 22, 2018January 20, 2018 G. Turner

Senate failed to pass the House-sponsored continuing resolution (CR) to the president on Friday. The Senate was unable to advance the House-sponsored CR ahead of a US government shutdown last week. It left the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) unfunded, placing many states at risk of losing their medical coverage for kids from low income families. The “Cadillac tax” has also failed to move forward, as the government shutdown began at midnight on Saturday. The six year extension of CHIP funding had bipartisan support. Both Republicans and Democrats were in…

Category: Health Care Reform