HHS rejects Indiana request for medical loss ratio waiver

Indiana has finally received a response from the federal government regarding the state’s request for a waiver from the Affordable Care Act’s medical loss ratio provision. The provision requires insurance companies to pay at least 80% of the money they collect from premiums on improving medical care. Indiana had sought an exemption from the rule, claiming that it served as a detriment to the state’s insurance companies. The Department of Health and Human Services, however, has rejected the state’s request for a waiver. The state may have failed to obtain…

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Indiana to lose five different health insurers

Five individual health insurance companies, including two of the largest in the country, have chosen to stop selling their policies in Indiana, leading the Indiana Department of Insurance to ask that certain elements of the reform law of 2010 be phased in. The third and fifth largest health insurance companies in the United States, Aetna Inc., from Hartford, and Cigna Corp., from Philadelphia, have decided that they will no longer be taking part in the market for individual health insurance in Indiana. Moreover, American Community Mutual Insurance Co., from Michigan,…

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Aetna leaves Indiana individual policy market

Aetna, Inc., the third-largest health insurance provider in the U.S., has announced that it will be pulling out of the individual policy market in Indiana. The company is the latest in a wave of insurers that have been fleeing the Indiana market recently. The exodus is due, in part, to the waning competition in the state thanks to health insurance exchanges. Exchanges promise to bring affordable options to consumers, often at a price that insurers are unwilling or unable to match. The insurer notified the Indiana Department of Insurance in…

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Indiana to stop providing low-cost vaccines to children with medical insurance in July

Next month, Indiana will no longer be offering free vaccines for children that are currently covered through some form of medical insurance. State officials say that the move will relieve some of the financial burden weighing on families. The costs of providing free vaccines for children have been trickling down the families for several years. Now, parents will have to rely on their insurance companies and local pediatricians to obtain the necessary immunizations for their children. The controversial decision has received harsh criticism from both medical professionals and parents. As…

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