Reeling from the impact of Hurricane Irene, South Carolina has not lost sight of opposing federal health care reform. Tony Keck, head of the state’s Health and Human Serviced Department, announced Thursday that the state would be rejecting millions of dollars in federal grants that would have been used to help the state build a health insurance exchange. The exchange would have helped residents of the state find affordable insurance coverage and, theoretically, reduce the overall cost of insurance policies within the state as insurers fought for customers. South Carolina…
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Study finds that health care reform will bring more insurance coverage to many, but at higher cost
Last year’s health care overhaul continues to be the most controversial legislations passed championed by the current administration. Confronted with concerns that the nations health care system was unbalanced and on the verge of cataclysmic collapse, President Obama and his compatriots sought to make changes that would improve the system overall. Though the health care reform aims to increase the number of people that have access to insurance coverage, how such a feat will be accomplished remains something of a mystery. Last year, soon after the notorious Affordable Care Act…
Read MoreStates that do not meet federal deadlines may still have a chance to run health insurance exchanges
The federal government has been relenting on its once strict mandates regarding health insurance exchanges, namely on the deadlines given for states to establish such programs. Originally, states that rejected the notion of exchanges outright would relinquish this responsibility to the federal government, who would then run the exchanges. In this scenario, state officials would have no say in the practices of the exchange programs. Spurred by complaints over the lack of guidance from the government, however, the Obama administration is relenting on these strict mandates and giving states another…
Read MoreConstitutional legality of health insurance mandate headed for the Supreme Court; President Obama is confident in its passing
Mere days after a federal appeals court in Washington declared that the individual insurance mandate posed by the Affordable Care Act was unconstitutional; President Obama has proclaimed his confidence that the Supreme Court would uphold the measure. Several states have questioned the constitutional legality of the Affordable Care Act, but only a handful have sought to fight the federal law in court. The matter will, indeed, be heading for the Supreme Court, but it may be several years before it can be resolved, especially with an election year rapidly approaching.…
Read MoreStates prepare for health insurance rate control struggles
As it is the states that have control over the healthcare and health insurance within them, and not the federal government, it is now up to state officials to get the most out of the Obama administration’s reforms to the healthcare system to keep insurance rates under control. The federal government has been pushing insurers to hold back large increases in their rates and will, starting in September, make it necessary for insurance companies to experience greater analysis before they will be permitted to increase their rates by 10 percent…
Read MorePart III – Official goals and challenges of U.S. health care reform – A hope for better care, delivery, and costs
We have journeyed through the aspirations of the up-in-coming reform of the U.S. health care system with cost cutting tactics, preventative procedures, incentivizing medical industry and now, in part three, we will review the last set of guidelines through measure and patients rights. Helping individuals to take control over their own medical needs Hospital-Acquired Conditions (HAC) – beneficiaries will be able to obtain information on the incidence of serious HACs as they occur at various hospitals. Hospitals will experience a decrease in payments if they have a high rate of HACs…
Read More26 states vs. Obama’s lawyers in health care reform law appeal
Twenty six states have argued against lawyers representing President Barack Obama in an appeal over the government’s healthcare reform law. This new law is one of the foundation elements of Obama’s presidency and has been met with significant controversy. The arguments were presented in Atlanta to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. According to Neal Katyal, senior administration lawyer, the main argument of the government is that the health care reform law is constitutionally sound for three primary reasons: Under the constitution, congress has the authority to regulate the interstate…
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