North Carolina’s efforts to establish a health insurance exchange program may have come to a halt. The State House and Human Services Committee ruled this week to make changes to a proposal that would have set up the exchange, prompted by the results of an oversight panel that showed that business interests far outweighed those of consumers. The stalling of the plan has put many on edge, baffled at how businesses could be considered more important that consumers. Health insurance exchanges are a provision of the Affordable Care Act, passed…
Read MoreTag: insurance news march 2011
Hawaii’s hurricane fund in jeopardy of being drained
Hawaii may lose their state hurricane fund in an attempt to balance a 232 million dollar deficit. The fiscal year ends in three months and state officials are scrambling to find a way to balance the budget. One approach that is being considered is to use part of, or all, of the 117 million dollars sitting in the hurricane relief fund. The state fund was started after the 1992 disaster from hurricane Iniki, which caused most insurers to stop writing policy coverage for hurricanes and related damage. It took 10…
Read MoreMichigan: New fees being charged on car insurance
Michigan drivers will be facing assessment fees to be instituted by the Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association (MCCA) beginning this summer. These fees are meant to help insurance companies cover the cost of disastrous injuries resulting from auto accidents. The MCCA claims that the fee is necessary to offset the huge financial loss facing insurers who provide coverage for victims of accidents whose care exceeds $500,000. There has been some scrutiny in the past over the MCCA’s actions, much of which has been focused on the organizations lack of accountability and…
Read MoreU.S. Nuclear Plants…how exposed are we?
The people of Japan knew they were at risk for a large scale earthquake, and even a tsunami. They took painstaking measures to prepare for this possible, “once in a lifetime” event. We watched the tragedy and devastation that was taking place, in one of the most prepared countries in the world. One hundred twenty seven million people experienced an event of historical proportions. All the planning and scenarios had been done for a “worst case disaster.” But as one disaster turned into two, and then two turned into three,…
Read MoreNew health insurance survey reveals an alarming rate of uninsured Americans
A new health insurance survey shows that more than 9 million adults lost their health insurance coverage due to job loss in 2010. The Commonwealth Fund 2010 Biennial Health Insurance Survey, which was released Wednesday, estimates that 57% of people in the country become uninsured because of the recession. It paints a grim picture for millions of families reporting who have been stricken by job loss. The ailing economy had made it difficult to find work, particularly employment that offers benefits. Despite a recovering economic climate, families are still at…
Read More