Federal government takes over health insurance program in California

health care reform

California health insurance program now under federal control California’s high-risk health insurance program is set to be taken over by the federal government in the coming weeks. The state’s Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan was established to ensure that state residents with serious and chronic medical issues were able to find the health insurance coverage they needed. The program itself has been somewhat successful in this endeavor as it provides coverage for some 17,000 Californians. There had been concerns, however, that the program would not be able to last for the…

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Low enrollment in federal insurance program spurs a drop in premiums

Earlier this year, the federal government expanded the eligibility of a federal health insurance program to include those with preexisting conditions. The initiative was originally slated to take effect in 2014, along with the rest of the Affordable Care Act, but the Department of Health and Human Services enacted the new rules in an effort to ensure more people were receiving health insurance. The program, however, has been fraught with low enrollment, spurring the HHS to lower premiums by an average of 18% throughout the nation. The HHS hopes that…

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