What should you expect from the healthcare reform today, tomorrow, and into the future?

No matter what you may think about the reforms from the Affordable Healthcare Act of 2010, the changes are already under way and they will continue on until they are required to be set in place in 2014. By that time, Americans will all be required to have some form of healthcare insurance coverage. However, there are still a large number of people in the country who are not yet fully aware of what the changes entail and how they – and their families – will be effected by them.…

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Senate in Oregon gives its last minute approval to state health insurance exchange

The Oregon Senate has given its overwhelming last minute approval for a measure toward the implementation of the state’s online health insurance exchange marketplace, which is the heart of the Obama administration’s healthcare reform and will provide individuals and small businesses a place to shop for coverage. The vote on Monday was for a measure that was championed by Governor John Kitzhaber, and was passed by 55-5 for the rules that will govern the exchange. This will give the state the ability to build an insurance marketplace ahead of the…

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Washington is one step closer to building its own health insurance exchange

Washington lawmakers have passed a bill that opens the way for a health insurance exchange to take root in the state. The bill will set up rules that will help the state prepare for the construction of the exchange and govern its operation for the foreseeable future. Legislators believe that this will help the state fully comply with the Affordable Care Act of 2010 and will help it adhere to federal deadlines. Currently, the exchange is expected to be fully operational by January 2014. The rules established by the bill…

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91% of Texans to be insured by 2014, thanks to the Affordable Care Act

The Texas Medicaid Director, Billy Millwee, spoke to the House Public Health and Insurance committees this week regarding the Affordable Care Act. The director has been tracking the trends and effects that the federal health care law has birthed in the state and has come to a promising conclusion. Currently, 74% of the state’s residents have some form of health insurance coverage. Millwee claims that when the Affordable Care Act is fully enacted in 2014, this will jump to 91%. By that time, only 2.3 million Texans will have no…

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Several states await Supreme Court decision before driving forward with insurance exchanges

A number of states have indicated that they aren’t yet pushing ahead on their creation of the insurance exchanges that are required by the Obama Administration’s healthcare overhaul until the Supreme Court has made its decision regarding whether or not that element of the reform is overturned or repealed. The primary concern with this tactic, though, is that by that point, it may be too late to begin working on the insurance exchanges in order to have them in place by the deadline. The Obama Administration will be making the…

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