A.M. Best Co. has issued a briefing that provides a revision on its initial outlook for the United States Health Insurance sector in 2012, raising it from being negative to being stable. Last year at this time, A.M. Best had confirmed its negative forecast for that sector, primarily over worries about the capability of that sector of the insurance industry to be able to put into place and maintain the various requirements for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), in addition to concerns over the chance that there…
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Families in Ireland may soon have trouble paying for health insurance
The insurance industry in Ireland is facing troubling times, which may translate into higher rates for consumers. The Irish Patients Association has spoken out about the coming health insurance rate increases coming from several insurance companies. The IPA claims that rates are rising so quickly that they may make it impossible for families to hold on to their policies. The consumer advocacy organization says that if the problem is not addressed legislatively, health insurance will become unaffordable within the next few years. This week, Aviva Health Insurance and VHI Healthcare…
Read MoreFederal government releases Medicare information to insurance, consumer and employer groups
The federal government has made an ambitious change to its Medicare health care program this week. Now, Medicare information will be at the disposal of employers, insurance companies and consumer advocacy groups. This information will allow these groups to issue reports on local health care professionals and hospitals. In this way, groups can rate health care providers based upon their performance within the Medicare system. Patient information will remain confidential. The decision was made based upon the variances in performance amongst doctors nationwide. Without an adequate method of rating these…
Read MoreFederal insurance regulators reject rate increase proposal from Everence Insurance of Pennsylvania
The Department of Health and Human Services has exercised one of the new authorities it has been granted under the Affordable Care Act this week. The agency has denied a rate proposal request from Everence Insurance of Pennsylvania. This marks the first time the agency has made use of its new authority over the nation’s insurance companies. Everence Insurance must now rework their rate proposal so that it aligns with what the HHS defines as reasonable. Earlier this year, Everence submitted a rate increase proposal to the Pennsylvanian Department of…
Read MoreObama administration requests lower rate increase from health insurance company
The Obama administration has used a new tool from their healthcare overhaul to pressure a health insurer with intentions to increase its rates in Pennsylvania reduce the size of this hike. Department of Health and Human Services officials have announced that they feel that it was “unreasonable” for Everence Insurance Co. to plan a 12 percent increase in the rates for approximately 5,000 individuals employed by small businesses within the state. According to Kathleen Sebelius, the Health and Human Services Secretary, the intended rate increase was not adequately justified by…
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