Vermont lawmakers are expected to determine how the state will build its own health insurance exchange system by the end of this year. The state has been sluggish in its efforts to build an exchange due to some uncertainty and lack of guidance from the federal government. The Department of Health and Human Services, the agency that oversees the exchange effort throughout the country, has granted states with enough flexibility to establish an exchange in a way they see fit. Vermont’s slow pace may put the exchange effort at risk…
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Final simplification rules for insurance policies issued by the Obama administration this week
The Obama administration has issued the final rules regarding how insurance companies will make policies easier to understand this week. The government has been working on the rules since the passing of the Affordable Care Act in 2010. The endeavor aims to make the language of insurance policies more clear and straightforward. There have been some delays in the initiative as insurance groups asserted that some policies could not be simplified because they did not cover simple circumstances. Nonetheless, the final rules have been issued this week, requiring all insurers…
Read MoreNew Jersey a step closer to establishing a health insurance exchange
New Jersey has taken a major step toward establishing a health insurance exchange this week as the Health and Senior Services committee voted to approve a new bill that would make an exchange possible. The bill, A2171, aims to define what a health insurance exchange would be for the state. Each state is allowed to determine how it implements an exchange program and how it will be run. The legislation faced staunch opposition in its early days, but as the bill changed through a series of auxiliary provisions it gained…
Read MoreLegislation could exclude insurance agents from medical loss ratio provision of the Affordable Care Act
Two U.S. senators have drafted a new legislation that would exclude insurance agencies from the medical loss ratio provision of the Affordable Care Act. The provision requires insurers to spend no less than 80% of the money they collect from premiums on improving medical care. The provision would have dire implications for agents as it includes the money they collect from commissions. Senators Mary Landrieu, D-La., and Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., have introduced the legislation to the House of Representatives and hope that it will bring insurance agents the protections they…
Read MoreIdaho insurers will be able to participate in federally-run insurance exchange
In Idaho, the issue of a health insurance exchange has been a controversial one since the Affordable Care Act was passed in 2010. State lawmakers have been divided on the issue primarily due to their uncertainty about whether or not the state’s insurance companies could participate in the exchange program. Legislators had been concerned that if they chose not to build an exchange and allow the federal government to do it for them that the exchange would only be populated by large insurance corporations such as Blue Cross Blue Shield.…
Read MoreDepartment of Health and Human Services issues legal briefing regarding Affordable Care Act
As the Affordable Care Act continues its slow march toward the Supreme Court, the Department of Health and Human Services has issued a legal brief regarding the matter. The federal health care law has come under fire largely due to one of its provisions. The provision requires all U.S. citizens to purchase some kind of health insurance. 26 states have come together to combat this provision, along with some of the other aspects of the law. The HHS claims that if the individual insurance mandate is declared unconstitutional, the Supreme…
Read MoreMinnesota lawmakers clash over recommendations from health insurance exchange advisory task force
Legislators are clashing in Minnesota over recommendations regarding a health insurance exchange program. The recommendations come from a task force that had been commissioned by Governor Mark Dayton. The task force’s goal was to determine the necessity of a health insurance exchange program for the state. According to the group’s recommendations, the program would bring significant benefits to residents and could help improve the economy of the state, which is why the task force is now supporting plans to build and exchange. The task force was comprised of some of…
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