Gender gap continues to play an important role in health insurance premiums

According to the latest research issued in a report by the research and advocacy group, the National Women’s Law Center, women continue to pay higher premiums than men for the same health coverage. In 2014, when the new healthcare laws are fully implemented, the discrepancy between what men and women will pay for health insurance will cease, but at the moment, many states continue to see significant gaps between the premiums of men and women without any indication that the insurers intend to shrink them. The report will become available…

Read More

The Californian perspective of the Affordable Care Act

Though the Affordable Care Act (ACA) may be a federal healthcare system overhaul, each state is experiencing it in its own way, and though Californians have already started seeing some differences since the act went into effect in March 2010, there will be a great deal more by the time it has been fully implemented in January 2014. So far, Californian health care has seen a few important changes. These include: • Ensuring that no new health insurance policies can include lifetime caps on benefits, so that individuals who are…

Read More

Millions of Americans may receive rebates from insurers this year

Before the summer draws to a close, millions of people across the United States will be receiving rebates from their insurers, due to the new federal healthcare reform requirements that have placed strict rules on the way that insurance companies spend their earnings. This regulation is not without opposition. The entire insurance industry, along with a large number of state officials, have been battling this rule for some time. Based on the federal regulations that went into effect at the end of 2011, health insurance companies are required to spend…

Read More

Supreme Court to begin litigation on Affordable Care Act this month

This month, the U.S. Supreme Court will begin litigation on the controversial Affordable Care Act. The federal law seeks to radically change the structure of the country’s health care industry and introduces new insurance regulations that are aimed at benefiting consumers. The Act was signed into law in 2010 and has since been a point of contention for political leaders and legislators throughout the U.S. Many states have backed the Affordable Care Act, but others have filed lawsuits against the federal government, accusing the law of being unconstitutional. The Supreme…

Read More

Obama administration issues new rules for state healthcare exchanges

The Obama administration has released a new set of rules for the states that involve broad new operating regulations for their healthcare exchanges. These state-run health insurance exchanges make up the heart of the system’s overhaul from 2010, which will be facing hearings in the Supreme Court before the end of the month. These rules, which were issued by the Department of Health and Human Services, have been long awaited by the states, and are designed to provide their officials and lawmakers with greater flexibility on the federal deadlines that…

Read More