Tag: health insurance trends

Health insurance coverage could increase ER visits

G. Turner
health insurance coverage emergency room ER visits

A study has suggested that those who are newly insured may start visiting emergency rooms more often. A Massachusetts Institute of Technology economist has indicated that previous predictions that the reduction in the cost of heading to the ER through a rise in health insurance coverage rates would cause the number of visits to increase, have not lost their relevance. Research has now indicated that the newly insured among the poor are more likely to head to the ER. The research was conducted in the Boston area and offered evidence…

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Health insurance through state exchanges still not a firm deal for many Americans

H. Cutner
health insurance confusion

Two out of three people still haven’t decided if they will insure themselves under the new law. Even though it is full steam ahead for the Affordable Care Act, many Americans still don’t entirely understand what they need to do in order to comply with it or they simply have not yet decided whether or not they will choose to purchase the health insurance that is needed under the so-called individual mandate. A recent study has indicated that almost two thirds of Americans has not yet made its decision. The…

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Health insurance for employees is on the rise in Massachusetts

G. Turner
Health Insurance benefits

Employer sponsored coverage is becoming more common among workers within the state. According to the data in a recent report, the percentage of employees in Massachusetts who are opting to take part in their employer’s sponsored health insurance coverage instead of taking home a larger amount of pay has increased since 2006, when the state overhauled its medical coverage system. The report also suggested that the federal Affordable Care Act may replicate this same result. The share of employees who have health insurance through their employment increased from having been…

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Health insurance trends among employers defining themselves across the country

health insurance companies profits

Though the overall direction seems to be a decline, this is not so in Massachusetts. The results of a newly released report on health insurance sponsored by employers from one state to the next, has revealed some interesting trends occurring across the country as well as in some specific states. The data has indicated a change in direction for much of the country, though not in some states. The State Health Access Data Assistance Center’s study, which was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, showed that while employer sponsored…

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WellPoint purchases stake in private health insurance exchange

S.Vagus

WellPoint Inc., along with two non-profit insurance companies, has obtained the majority stake in a private health insurance exchange based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The exchange, called Bloom Health Corp., was founded in 2009 and has helped employers in the state find insurance plans that are right for their business and employees. The exchange is one of the first in the country to see any degree of success and has become something of a standard by which other insurance exchanges can be modeled after. WellPoint, Health Care Service Corp. and Blue…

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