Health insurance law reforms still being resisted by Texas Republican leaders

Texas Governor Rick Perry health insurance

The GOP in the Lone Star State have no intention of easily complying with the healthcare reforms. Even though the Affordable Care Act is now safe from appeal, the Republicans in Texas have made it quite clear that the new laws for health insurance will not budge on the decisions that they made prior to the election. Some of the biggest issues in question involve the online marketplace and the expansion of Medicaid. According to the Governor of Texas, Rick Perry, “Nothing changes from our perspective.” He doesn’t feel that…

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91% of Texans to be insured by 2014, thanks to the Affordable Care Act

The Texas Medicaid Director, Billy Millwee, spoke to the House Public Health and Insurance committees this week regarding the Affordable Care Act. The director has been tracking the trends and effects that the federal health care law has birthed in the state and has come to a promising conclusion. Currently, 74% of the state’s residents have some form of health insurance coverage. Millwee claims that when the Affordable Care Act is fully enacted in 2014, this will jump to 91%. By that time, only 2.3 million Texans will have no…

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Texas insurance regulatory system may be seized by federal regulators if the state’s Department of Insurance is not granted more authority

The Texas Department of Insurance has been reviewing health insurance rate proposals since the Affordable Care Act was passed in 2010. Regulators have been scrutinizing any insurer that aims to raise rates by 10% or higher, but their efforts may be in vain. According to the Department of Insurance, regulators do not have the authority to block any rate proposal that they deem excessive. They also do not have the means to distribute information regarding rate hikes amongst consumers. This is because the state does not have the laws to…

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Report shows that employees in California will be paying more for their health insurance coverage

InstantHealthInsuranceQuotes.com, a premium aggregation website, has released a new report that shows how employees in California are beginning to pay more for their insurance coverage. The report suggests that employers are trickling down the cost of coverage to their employees in an attempt to offset the cost of insurance. This is largely due to the rate at which health insurance premiums are rising. Some employers claim that rates are rising to levels that they can no longer support without more help from workers. The company’s report is based on a…

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Texas consumers eligible for health insurance rebates may see a lower amount than originally thought

In Texas, some 690,000 consumers may receive approximately $160 million in insurance rebates in August. The money comes as part of the medical loss ratio provision of the Affordable Care Act, which dictates that insurers must pay at least 80% of the money they collect from premiums on medical care and if they cannot meet this standard they must return the money to policyholders. This may be good news for consumers, but state regulators are looking to cut the amount of rebates by three quarters. The state’s Insurance Department is…

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