HHS reports 6 million people received health insurance on the New Year

Health Insurance rate increases

6 million new policies go active The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has announced that nearly 6 million people now have active health insurance due to the provisions of the Affordable Care Act. Approximately 2 million people have received coverage from private insurers while 4 million have received coverage through government programs. The agency claims that this represents a major victory for the health care law and shows that insurance exchanges have managed to perform well despite their initial problems. 2 million people find coverage through exchanges According…

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Health insurance competition low in South Carolina

South Carolina Health Insurance

South Carolina health insurance market lacks competition A new report from the American Medical Association suggests that South Carolina may have one of the least competitive health insurance marketplaces in the U.S. The state falls behind Alabama, Hawaii, Michigan, Delaware, and Alaska in terms of a lack of competition in its insurance market. Despite the existence of the state’s health insurance exchange, competition among insurers remains low, limiting the options that state residents have regarding the coverage they have access to. Blue Cross Blue Shield boasts of majority of the…

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Health insurance premiums 14 percent higher for smokers

nonsmokers homeowners insurance

A report has also shown that obese adults are paying 22 percent more for their medical coverage. The results of an eHealth, Inc., study have been released in a report that functions as an addendum to the one that it issued two months ago, called “November 2012 Cost and Benefits”, and has shown that smokers and obese individuals are paying higher monthly health insurance premiums than their non-smoking and lower BMI counterparts. On average, these individuals are shelling out a significantly larger amount due to their increased risk factors. According…

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Hospitals could suffer if insurance mandate is abolished, says Moody’s

Health care reform news

Special report highlights the impact Supreme Court ruling could have on hospitals Moody’s Investors Services, often referred to as Moody’s, has released a special report concerning the insurance mandate provision of the Affordable Care Act within health care reform. The mandate has been at the heart of the controversy surrounding the federal law. According to the law, American citizens must purchase and maintain some kind of health insurance policy. Many states have accused the federal government of overstepping its boundaries by requiring people to purchasing health insurance. As a result,…

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Report shows that 9 million adults lost their health insurance coverage in the wake of the Great Recession

A new report from the National Bureau of Economic Research shows that the recession of 2007-2009 had a major impact on the number of adults who had health insurance in the U.S. The report notes that the recession was the most severe and disruptive financial crisis faced by the U.S. in recent history. The economic impact of the crisis was widely felt and its affects linger today. In the health insurance industry, the recession claimed more than 9 million health care policies, leaving former policyholders without insurance coverage for the…

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