Category: Health Care Reform

America’s health care system is undergoing many changes – it’s hard for insurance professionals to keep updated let alone consumers. Here we make it easy and publish daily articles on the changes and challenges that health care reform has ahead.

Online health insurance marketplaces reopen following Biden executive

Julie Campbell
Online health insurance -US President Joe Biden Signs Orders to Reopen Obamacare Enrollment, Review Trump Health Policies - YouTube

The new US president signed the executive order saying that he was undoing “damage” from Trump. US President Joe Biden signed an executive order at the end of last week reopening the online health insurance marketplaces for people without coverage through employers. This move restores access to the healthcare.gov insurance exchange from February 15 to May 15. According to President Biden, the order to open a new online health insurance marketplace window was meant to undo the “damage” his predecessor Donald Trump had done, said a Reuters report. This executive…

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Nearly 3 in 10 Americans lost health insurance last year, says study

H. Cutner
Lost health insurance - person wearing mask looking distressed

A ValuePenguin study revealed that 29 percent lost their plans in 2020, and many remain uninsured. Twenty-nine percent of Americans lost health insurance coverage during 2020, say the results of a ValuePenguin healthcare study. Among those who did lose their coverage, more than half continue to be uninsured in 2021. It should be noted that the study was a limited one, involving only 2,000 participants. Therefore, the accuracy of its representation of nationwide trends has been called into question. That said, the research suggested that 45 percent of consumers seeking…

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The 2021 average annual cost of health insurance for Americans will fall by 1.59 percent

Marc
Annual cost of health insurance - medicine - money

According to a recent study, the average yearly premiums to be paid across the US will be $5,952. As Americans look to their 2021 coverage options, a recent ValuePenguin study shows that the average annual cost of health insurance will be falling. The amount individual households will pay will vary from one state and one home to the next. The study showed that Americans, on average across the country, will be paying nearly $500 per month for their plans. The annual cost of health insurance as a national average was…

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The percentage of kids without Pennsylvania health insurance is rising

Nordstrom
Pennsylvania health insurance - children sitting on bench

The trend had been steady in 2018, but the segment of uninsured children in the state has climbed. In 2018, Pennsylvania health insurance data showed that the rate of uninsured kids had been holding study. However, last year, showed that the trend broke and more children were going without coverage. There are concerns that this situation could worsen as families face COVID-19 pandemic fallout. The Pennsylvania health insurance uninsured rate among children aged 18 years and younger hit 4.6 percent. That grew by 0.2 percent from 2018 and 2019, according…

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High health care costs still “catastrophic” to millions despite insurance coverage

G. Turner
High health care costs - hospital - money - calculator

High price tags for services and drugs remain a problem, despite widening ACA cover, says study. High health care costs can be detrimentally high for millions of Americans, even when they are already covered by insurance plans, says a new study. The price of medical necessities such as an insulin kit, for example, often make them cost-prohibitive. The study was recently published in JAMA and showed that even with insurance coverage, worries about high health care costs remain in place. Even as the Affordable Care Act (ACA) continues to gain…

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Health insurance plan coverage for 5 million Californians at risk

Logan B.
Health insurance plan coverage - statue of Lady Justice

Legal experts indicate that the ACA is likely to survive but a ruling may not occur until spring 2021. If the US Supreme Court decides to overturn the Affordable Care Act (ACA), health insurance plan coverage among Californians could face the biggest risk in the country. Millions of people across the state rely on billions in federal funds to afford their policies. The state has implemented a spectrum of forms of health insurance plan coverage and programs since Obamacare went into place. These include initiatives that expand well beyond the…

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Health insurance plan enrollment has shifted due to the pandemic

Marc
Health insurance plan enrollment - pandemic - American flag on face mask

As is the case with everything else, signing up for coverage has been impacted by COVID-19. As has been the trend with virtually everything in 2020, health insurance plan enrollment has been impacted by the presence of the pandemic. The coverage and benefits have altered due to the impact of the pandemic on health care. As insurers, employers, and even Medicare have seen the needs of policyholders change throughout the pandemic, they have made changes to coverage in an effort to better respond COVID-19. Consumers are also taking a closer…

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