Kansas rejects health insurance exchanges, returns money to government

Kansas, on Tuesday, returned a large grant provided by the federal government to help the state establish a health insurance exchange program. The state has long opposed the health care reform instigated by the Obama administration and has taken steps to block the reform’s measures from affecting the insurance industry within Kansas. Several other states have railed against the reform, but Kansas is only the second to return money to the federal government. They money would have funded the majority of the insurance exchange, but now the state will have…

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Government hopes to see action on state insurance exchanges soon despite ambiguous guidelines

The federal government is hoping that states make moves on insurance exchanges soon. Several guidelines have been released by the government to lay the framework for how states should go about building and operating the exchanges, but few have been quick to take up action. Federal law requires that states must have a working exchange program established by 2014 or the control of this program will default to the federal government. The director of the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services,…

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Department of Health and Human Services softens 2013 deadline for insurance exchange plans

 Health care reform has been an issue for several states since its came to being back in 2010. The Affordable Care Act, which was meant to streamline both the insurance and health care industries, has been met with either extreme repulsion or lukewarm favor. Those of the former opinion have been keen to strike down the provisions of the law. One provision, however, has received almost universal acceptance. While the enthusiasm of this acceptance varies, the notion of a health insurance exchange program for each state has become popular. This…

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New legislation seeks to protect agency role in health coverage

With states making moves toward establishing health insurance exchanges, the role of agents has been a subject of debate – specifically whether they will still be necessary. In New York, new legislation has been introduced that will protect the role of insurance agents and brokers. The state is one of the leaders in pioneering insurance exchanges, but has not forgotten the importance of independent insurance agents. The bill guarantees that agents will continue to play their part parallel to the state’s exchange program. The bill was introduced by Senators James…

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Georgia eyeballs health care reform ramifications before jumping in

A new panel has been formed in Georgia to determine whether or not the state will benefit from creating a health insurance exchange. The panel is comprised of a group of legislators, health care experts and representatives of advocacy groups, all appointed by Governor Nathan Deal. The group will be tasked with examining how an exchange will impact small businesses in the state and if the program will reduce insurance prices as it promises to. Governor Deal asserts that no decision regarding whether the state should established an exchange should…

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