Americans speculate regarding the outcome of the Supreme Court’s decision regarding the health care reforms

According to a poll performed by the Kaiser Family Foundation, the majority of people in the United States believe that the Supreme court will rule against the law at the center of the health care reform that would require Americans to purchase health insurance, and that it will deem this law to be unconstitutional. Slightly less than one third of Americans believe that the Affordable Care Act provision of the healthcare overhaul will be upheld by the Supreme Court. When the participants in the poll were asked whether or not…

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Wisconsin to return federal money meant for insurance exchange

Governor awaits the fate of the Affordable Care Act to continue work on the project – Wisconsin decided this week to return federal money that would have helped the state establish its own health insurance exchange. The state had been given more than $38 million in federal grants for the project last year. Since then, legislators have been working on how to establish and exchange and whether or not one would actually exist in the state. Governor Scott Walker has been an opponent of the federal Affordable Care Act, the…

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Idaho legislators debate health insurance exchange issues as new legislative session begins

The Idaho Legislature convened earlier this month for its latest legislative session and one of the main topics of discussion is whether the state will build a health insurance exchange program. The state has received a $20 million federal grant to help build the exchange, but legislators have yet to accept the funds as they still remain divided on the issue. Idaho is one of 22 states that have not reached a conclusion on what to do about an insurance exchange yet. Health insurance exchanges are part of the Affordable…

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New Jersey working to make deadline for federal grants that would help the state build and insurance exchange

The state of New Jersey has just over six months to finalize plans for a health insurance exchange. The deadline concerns a federal grant that would help the state make progress toward the new insurance system. The grant, worth $5 million, would be used to hire new staff that will maintain the upcoming virtual insurance marketplace. It would also help the state purchase new equipment needed to operate the system and would fund marketing efforts to promote the exchange program. If New Jersey misses the deadline, it may not be…

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Some states making major progress on insurance exchanges, while others lag behind

Throughout the U.S., progress on setting up health insurance exchanges is accelerating. As of December, 2011, 13 states had fully functional exchange programs. Several other states have legislations pending that would allow for the building of the exchanges. While many states oppose the overarching Affordable Care Act, only Arkansas and Louisiana have chosen not to build insurance exchanges of any kind. According to the law, all states must have an operational exchange program in place by 2014. As of now, 20 states are making major progress toward establishing exchanges. The…

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