Health care reform puts pressure on state’s insurance initiative

Children’s Health Insurance Program kids

Pennsylvania insurance program manages to find new life despite health care reform provisions Pennsylvania has been fighting to keep its Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) intact as federal health care reform provisions begin to be enacted. The state program is considered one of the most successful insurance initiatives in Pennsylvania and it has provided insurance coverage for children and their families for some time now. The state is, however, being pressured to expand its Medicaid program, which would make insurance coverage more accessible to those that currently receive coverage through…

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Study shows that states could see major benefits from establishing health insurance exchanges

A new study from the Urban Institute, an organization that investigates social and economic problems in the U.S., suggests that Oklahoma, as well as 14 other states, could see major benefits from establishing a health insurance exchange. The study shows that, at this point, Oklahoma has done the least to make progress on the project, apart from states that have refused the law completely. A health insurance exchange would have a significant economic impact for the state and its peoples, according to the Urban Institute. Over the past year, three…

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Low enrollment in federal insurance program spurs a drop in premiums

Earlier this year, the federal government expanded the eligibility of a federal health insurance program to include those with preexisting conditions. The initiative was originally slated to take effect in 2014, along with the rest of the Affordable Care Act, but the Department of Health and Human Services enacted the new rules in an effort to ensure more people were receiving health insurance. The program, however, has been fraught with low enrollment, spurring the HHS to lower premiums by an average of 18% throughout the nation. The HHS hopes that…

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