Washington state Governor Christine Gregoire has now signed a bill into law, which now sets the rules in that state for insurance companies that are readying themselves for the online insurance exchange that is a part of the federal healthcare reform. The exchanges are a part of the President Barack Obama overhaul that began in 2010, and they must be ready to be put into place by January 1, 2014. They are designed to assist both individuals and small businesses to find proper and affordable health insurance coverage. Governor Gregoire…
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Gender gap continues to play an important role in health insurance premiums
According to the latest research issued in a report by the research and advocacy group, the National Women’s Law Center, women continue to pay higher premiums than men for the same health coverage. In 2014, when the new healthcare laws are fully implemented, the discrepancy between what men and women will pay for health insurance will cease, but at the moment, many states continue to see significant gaps between the premiums of men and women without any indication that the insurers intend to shrink them. The report will become available…
Read MoreThe Californian perspective of the Affordable Care Act
Though the Affordable Care Act (ACA) may be a federal healthcare system overhaul, each state is experiencing it in its own way, and though Californians have already started seeing some differences since the act went into effect in March 2010, there will be a great deal more by the time it has been fully implemented in January 2014. So far, Californian health care has seen a few important changes. These include: • Ensuring that no new health insurance policies can include lifetime caps on benefits, so that individuals who are…
Read MoreMillions of Americans may receive rebates from insurers this year
Before the summer draws to a close, millions of people across the United States will be receiving rebates from their insurers, due to the new federal healthcare reform requirements that have placed strict rules on the way that insurance companies spend their earnings. This regulation is not without opposition. The entire insurance industry, along with a large number of state officials, have been battling this rule for some time. Based on the federal regulations that went into effect at the end of 2011, health insurance companies are required to spend…
Read MoreReport shows interest increasing for individual and group health insurance exchanges
JD Power and Associates has released its 2012 U.S. Member Health Plan Study and it revealed that in the face of the impact of the reforms to healthcare, almost four in every ten members of an employee sponsored health plan have said that they would use a health insurance exchange to shop for their insurance coverage if the opportunity was available. This is now the sixth study of its kind, which measures the satisfaction among the members of 141 different health plans within 17 American regions by looking into seven…
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