The Supreme Court is scheduled to begin hearing a case regarding the constitutionality of the 2010 Affordable Care Act on March 26. Many have assumed that the individual insurance mandate provision of the law, which requires all U.S. citizens to have some form of health insurance, would be among the first topics of discussion. The Court, however, has announced that the issue to be discussed will be whether a decision on the constitutionality of the law should be made now or delayed for the future. The Supreme Court may choose…
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New insurance fee to pay for medical treatment studies
Beginning in 2012, there will be a new federal fee applied to health insurance policies which will be applied to research studies that will help to determine which types of treatments, tests, procedures, and drugs are the most effective. The purpose of these medical studies is to identify whether new tests and treatments truly are as effective as their less expensive generic counterparts. This is a portion of the Obama administration’s health care law that has not received as much hype as other elements such as the state insurance exchanges.…
Read MoreMaryland health insurance exchange board submits recommendations to state legislators on how to build an exchange program
Maryland lawmakers are scheduled to consider recommendations from the Board of the Maryland Health Benefit Exchange regarding how the state should construct and insurance exchange system. The board introduced their recommendations to the General Assembly on Tuesday, but legislators will not decide what to do until the beginning of next year. The state is required to establish an insurance exchange system by federal law, but Maryland legislators have been slow in passing any new laws that would make the program a reality. The insurance exchange board was formed to guide…
Read MoreHHS upholds medical loss ratio provision, changes some aspects of the overarching law
Despite daunting opposition, the Department of Health and Human Services has remained firm on the medical loss ratio provision of the Affordable Care Act. The medical loss ratio provision requires that insurers pay no less than 80% of premium money on improving medical care. The provision has gained rabid opposition from the nation’s health insurance companies, who have been fighting to have administrative expenses and independent insurance broker fees removed from the mandate. The HHS, however, has issued a final ruling on the matter, claiming that most of the nation’s…
Read MoreInsurance brokers speak out against commissions rule in healthcare overhaul
Insurance producers are fighting the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act’s (PPACA) element that excludes commissions from the calculations of the minimum medical loss ratio. The PPACA states that health insurance companies in the large group market must spend a minimum of 85 percent of premiums on healthcare services, and those in the small group and individual markets much spend at least 80 percent on healthcare services. Broker and agent groups are battling on Capitol Hill to remove their commissions from the requirement. They had hoped that the cause would…
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