Georgia is outspoken in its opposition to the federal health care reform, as are many other Southern states. Despite the efforts of these states to have the law declared unconstitutional, the law remains in place and states are still required to establish health insurance exchange programs. Unwilling to allow the federal government to take charge of the exchange if it cannot make the 2014 deadline, Georgia has launched a new panel of insurance experts and legislators to explore how an exchange would serve the people of the state. In terms…
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Entire country’s health insurance premiums are skyrocketing
Nationwide statistics about health insurance premiums between 2003 and 2010 have shown that every state’s costs have been soaring. The state-by-state analysis was performed by a nonprofit health policy foundation called the Commonwealth Fund. What the research discovered was that within that span of seven years, the family coverage premiums soared by an average of 50 percent. The report about the findings predicted that if premiums continue to rise at the same rate, then the average premium paid by a family will explode to almost $24,000 per year by 2020.…
Read MoreAmerican Medical Association seeks open market-style health insurance exchanges
The American Medical Association has started to apply pressure to the states in order to send the system in a direction that would permit all health insurance companies of meeting the minimum standards to take part in the insurance exchanges that will be created by 2014 as a part of the healthcare overhaul. This significant doctors organization has announced that it will be putting its full support behind the health insurance exchange structure that allows for an open marketplace instead of the “active purchaser” style alternative. That latter technique would…
Read MoreEmployer-sponsored health insurance on the decline, according to Gallup
A new study from the Gallup Organization, a research and performance-management consulting firm that monitors public opinion, shows that employer-sponsored health insurance is on the decline. Gallup, well known for its studies and polls concerning the insurance industry and federal government, says that the number of people receiving health insurance from their jobs has fallen nearly 2% from the level it was at a year before. The study suggests that the decrease may be due to high levels of unemployment and new insurance regulations that make it more costly for…
Read MoreElectronic medical records present high risk to insurance industry
As per new federal laws, the nation’s medical records will soon be stored electronically. These new electronic records will be a part of the state-run health insurance exchange programs that are designed to help consumers find affordable health care. Insurers participating in these programs will have access to a person’s medical records to help price insurance policies. Going electronic has some major risks, however, and these risks have never been more apparent than they are today. While the advancement of technology has brought many benefits to humanity as a whole,…
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