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…
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Survey shows that challenges facing states in building health insurance exchanges
A new survey conducted by the KPMG Government Institute, an analysis organization that focuses on government policy and legislative trends, provides some insight on some of the challenges facing states in their efforts to build a health insurance exchange. The survey draws upon information provided by 80 state officials from throughout the country. These officials offered information on why health insurance exchanges seem to be such a troublesome issue. The common consensus boils down to cost. The survey suggests that insurance exchanges may be too expensive for some states, even…
Read MoreSupreme Court to begin litigation on Affordable Care Act this month
This month, the U.S. Supreme Court will begin litigation on the controversial Affordable Care Act. The federal law seeks to radically change the structure of the country’s health care industry and introduces new insurance regulations that are aimed at benefiting consumers. The Act was signed into law in 2010 and has since been a point of contention for political leaders and legislators throughout the U.S. Many states have backed the Affordable Care Act, but others have filed lawsuits against the federal government, accusing the law of being unconstitutional. The Supreme…
Read MoreWhite House to use upcoming Supreme Court healthcare law arguments to shape public opinion
The White House has started the use of an aggressive campaign that it hopes will help to shape the opinion of the public about the healthcare law that is the heart of the debates for the White House and Congress, by using arguments that will come up very soon in the Supreme Court. Last week, officials from the White House summoned the leaders of dozens of different nonprofit organizations that are firm backers of the healthcare reforms, in order to help them to develop their strategy for press conferences, a…
Read MoreWhat should you expect from the healthcare reform today, tomorrow, and into the future?
No matter what you may think about the reforms from the Affordable Healthcare Act of 2010, the changes are already under way and they will continue on until they are required to be set in place in 2014. By that time, Americans will all be required to have some form of healthcare insurance coverage. However, there are still a large number of people in the country who are not yet fully aware of what the changes entail and how they – and their families – will be effected by them.…
Read MoreWashington is one step closer to building its own health insurance exchange
Washington lawmakers have passed a bill that opens the way for a health insurance exchange to take root in the state. The bill will set up rules that will help the state prepare for the construction of the exchange and govern its operation for the foreseeable future. Legislators believe that this will help the state fully comply with the Affordable Care Act of 2010 and will help it adhere to federal deadlines. Currently, the exchange is expected to be fully operational by January 2014. The rules established by the bill…
Read MoreSeveral states await Supreme Court decision before driving forward with insurance exchanges
A number of states have indicated that they aren’t yet pushing ahead on their creation of the insurance exchanges that are required by the Obama Administration’s healthcare overhaul until the Supreme Court has made its decision regarding whether or not that element of the reform is overturned or repealed. The primary concern with this tactic, though, is that by that point, it may be too late to begin working on the insurance exchanges in order to have them in place by the deadline. The Obama Administration will be making the…
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