Florida legislators are looking to launch a new health care plan for small businesses in July 2012. The Florida Health Choices program, which was first built by lawmakers in 2008, aims to bring affordable health care policies to small businesses as an alternative to those offered by private insurance companies. The program has been in the development phase for several years partly because legislators want to make certain the program is being built correctly. The Florida Health Choices board says that the program is as ready as it will ever…
Read MoreTag: Aetna health insurance
Aetna report shows that consumers are confused about insurance terms
Aetna Inc. has released the results of a new consumer survey as open enrollment for employer-offered insurance plans comes to a close. The results of the survey show that more than half of insured adults in the U.S. find the terms of their insurance policies confusing. This presents a major problem for both insurers and consumers as these adults general tend to accept any terms they are given as they believe that any insurance coverage, even if it is not appropriate to their needs, is better than no coverage at…
Read MoreSurvey shows workers often misinformed about costs of employer health insurance
A national survey conducted for eHealthInsurance between the months of September and October 2011, by Kelton Research, has shown that only 47 percent of participants who had employer-sponsored coverage are capable of stating with confidence the amount of their health insurance premiums that is covered by their salary and how much is paid by the employer. The survey also showed that 35 percent of the respondents who had employer-sponsored coverage were able to state how much the annual deductible for their plan was, and only 33 percent of the participants…
Read MoreIndiana 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,…
Read MoreAetna 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…
Read MoreHealth insurance rates dropping in light of health care reform
In a strange twist of fate, more health insurance companies are making requests to reduce their premiums. This comes in stark contrast of the trend that has been dominant in previous months where major health insurers sought to increase rates exponentially. Several small companies have been lowering their rates, but big companies are following suit, some seeking permission from insurance regulators to reduce their premiums by as much as 20%. While this move may seem uncharacteristic for the industry, some experts are saying that it is not as altruistic as…
Read MoreNew Jersey: Government run health plan looking to close their doors
In New Jersey, hundreds of cities and school districts have saved a fortune by taking part in the state’s relatively unknown benefits program. For the past three years, an increasing number of people are dropping the insurance policies they bought from big name companies in favor of the state’s program. Some legislators are looking to change that by proposing a new bill that could severely inhibit the program. Stephen M. Sweeney, the State Senate president, is proposing legislation that would prohibit the state run insurance program from accepting new members.…
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