Oklahoma shelves plans to build its own health insurance exchange

Oklahoma lawmakers have determined that the state will not work to build its own health insurance exchange. The exchange is mandated by the Affordable Care Act. Federal officials claim that insurance exchanges would give consumers access to affordable coverage and help reduce the cost of insurance premiums. Oklahoma legislators are not keen to take this as fact, however, and will wait until the U.S. Supreme Court has reviewed the federal law before they continue to work to comply with the federal government’s mandates. Oklahoma is one of many states that…

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Survey shows that health insurance is growing more expensive but also more restrictive

A new survey released yesterday by Towers Watson, a leading professional service and consulting firm, and the National Business Group on Health, a trade organization, claims that health insurance is getting more expensive, but is also covering much less than it used to. The survey, which targeted several large companies throughout the U.S., shows that employees are paying more for their coverage this year than they have in the past. They are also subject to more restrictions on their insurance and health care options, with many benefits being cut by…

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Growing number of young adults in Minnesota have health insurance coverage

The Minnesota and Massachusetts health insurance coverage rates are currently drawing attention as they have achieved rates of 98 percent and officials try to determine whether or not they have reached their highest possible levels. A Minnesota survey published in an article called “Many Minnesotans Still Without Insurance” has indicated that the segment of people within the state who are currently uninsured has not entirely returned to the levels that had been reached by the end of 2009. The uninsured rate last year had kept stable at 9.1 percent, regardless…

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Washington is one step closer to building its own health insurance exchange

Washington lawmakers have passed a bill that opens the way for a health insurance exchange to take root in the state. The bill will set up rules that will help the state prepare for the construction of the exchange and govern its operation for the foreseeable future. Legislators believe that this will help the state fully comply with the Affordable Care Act of 2010 and will help it adhere to federal deadlines. Currently, the exchange is expected to be fully operational by January 2014. The rules established by the bill…

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What type of insurance coverage should a college student consider?

If your child is already in college, or will be headed there within the next few months or years, then you may want to begin thinking about the different types of insurance coverage that may be important for him or her during this first time away from home. The odds are that he or she will remain free if incident throughout the entire time at college, but just in case some of those close calls go awry, it is best to be protected. The following are some of the types…

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