Freelancers Union to establish new insurance plans in New York, New Jersey, and Oregon

The Freelancers Union, a non-profit organization that represents freelance workers, has received a $341 million loan from the U.S. government. The money will help the organization set up health insurance plans in three states. New York, New Jersey, and Oregon are the states where the plans will take root once they have been finalized. The plans are meant to compete with those that come from for-profit insurance companies and may help lower coverage rates by bringing in more competition to the markets. The Freelancers Union owns its own insurance company…

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Health insurance forum coming to Florida, aims to advise small business owners on health care

Health insurance has been a hot issue for some time, even before the passing of the federal health care reform law. The insurance industry has been rife with controversy for years, much of which is focused around the issue of soaring premiums. While rate increases are not anything new, health insurers have been quick to raise rates on their coverage in recent years. The cause of the rate hikes is most often cited as being a way to mitigate the overwhelming cost of medical care. Whatever the case may be,…

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Forecast predicts a third of companies will cut health benefits

A new study from prestigious consulting firm McKinsey & Company suggests that as much as 30% of the nation’s employers will be making drastic changes to the insurance they provide to their employees. The firm suggests that the more these companies learn about upcoming insurance changes stemming from last year’s Affordable Care Act the more likely they are to make such changes. The study anticipates that these businesses will cease offering health care benefits or restrict access to such benefits to a select few in their service. If the study…

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California small group health options narrow for employees

Many California employers are making cuts to the health care providers that are listed with their insurance providers. Companies are attempting the stymie rising insurance premiums as their insurers attempt to mitigate the growing costs of medical care. Many are unwilling to outright discontinue their offering of medical benefits, however, and are opting instead for smaller scale networks that offer limited choices in terms of medical providers. This increasingly popular trend is netting some companies as much as a 25% saving in insurance costs. Nearly 21 million people are a…

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