Live Insurance News

Health care reform may be finding success

January 17, 2014January 14, 2014 Logan B.

Number of people enrolling in exchanges increases Over half of the 2.2 million people that have purchased health insurance coverage from federal and state-run exchanges are over the age of 45, according to data released by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). According to the agency, some 1.2 million people enrolled for private insurance coverage through an exchange between October 1 and December 28 of 2013. That number has grown in January, suggesting that health care reform may be accomplishing its goal of making insurance coverage more accessible…

Affordable Care Act sparks uncertainty over the future of health care

January 4, 2014January 4, 2014 Note From The Editor

Minnesota Health Insurance Exchange Progressing

Uncertainty quickly becoming a staple of the Affordable Care Act The U.S. health care landscape is facing a great deal of uncertainty due to the provisions of the Affordable Care Act. The federal law was passed in 2010, and later upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court, but the law’s most significant provisions have only taken effect over the past year, with more to come throughout 2014. The law aims to change the way health insurance coverage works and introduce new regulations designed to govern the health care industry, but these…

Affordable Care Act may not be the cause of rising health insurance costs

December 23, 2013December 19, 2013 Marc

Research discovers that federal law may not be causing premium spikes It has become common for the Affordable Care Act to be blamed for rising health insurance costs in the U.S., but the federal law may not actually be the problem. According to a new analysis from the Commonwealth Fund, an organization that conducts independent research on health policy, the Affordable Care Act actually has a relatively modest impact on insurance costs. The organization has analyzed the reasons that insurance companies provide to regulators when they are seeking rate increases…

Less than 1% of consumers to pay more for health insurance after cancellations

November 28, 2013November 25, 2013 Logan B.

Health insurance cancellations may not actually be a costly problem Families USA, a health care advocacy group, has released a new study that focuses on the costs associated with the Affordable Care Act. Recently, the health care reform law has received harsh criticism due to insurance companies cancelling certain policies. According to the federal law, insurers must cancel health insurance policies that do not comply with the standards of the Affordable Care Act. Critics of this provision suggest that consumers are being forced to purchase new policies that are vastly…

Health insurance companies express worry over profits

October 7, 2013October 5, 2013 S.Vagus

Health insurance providers predict impact to profits Despite the partial shutdown of the U.S. federal government, the Affordable Care Act will continue to be enacted on schedule. This has created some worry among some health insurance companies and their ability to make a profit. Large companies have warned since 2010 that the federal health care law would cause a spike in health insurance rates due to provisions calling for higher expenditure on administration and requirements for insurers to spend the majority of the money they collect through premiums on improving…

Health insurance could cause a shutdown of the federal government

September 30, 2013September 30, 2013 Marc

Health insurance industry news federal government

Health insurance remains a divisive issue Complete enactment of the Affordable Care Act looms in the U.S., but the controversy surrounding the federal law has yet to dissipate. Since the law was passed in 2010, politicians throughout the country have been working to repeal it. Those opposing the law typically align with the Republican Party and have expressed concerns that the federal law will make the cost of health insurance and medical care skyrocket. The issue has become so problematic that it has threatened to shut down the federal government…

UPS drops health insurance coverage for 15,000 working spouses

August 27, 2013August 24, 2013 Logan B.

UPS makes health insurance cuts citing financial concerns The United Parcel Service (UPS) of the U.S. has announced that it will be cutting the health insurance coverage it provides to approximately 15,000 spouses of full-time employees. The company is one of the largest employers in the country, but has been expressing concern regarding how the health insurance sector will be affected by the Affordable Care Act. According to UPS, the move is due to the rising costs of health care in general as well as the provisions associated with the…