The Kansas Department of Insurance has ordered an Internet business based in Washington to discontinue its references to the state’s currently non-existent health insurance exchange. The business – My HIX Insurance Exchange – claimed to sell insurance policies through the insurance exchange of Kansas. Insurance Commissioner Sandy Praeger has issued the cease and desist order, demanding that the site’s manager to remove all references of the exchange from the site. Commissioner Praeger fears that this misrepresentation may have done significant harm to the state’s already dubious plans to pursue and exchange.…
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ACLU files lawsuit over law banning insurance coverage for abortions
According to the ACLU, a Kansas law that bans health insurers from being able to provide coverage for an abortion is unconstitutional. In Federal Court, the ACLU stated that this law prohibits women from receiving coverage even if the fetus has miscarried and “has no chance of survival.” They added that the only reason that the law is in place is to make it harder for women to be able to have and afford abortion care. House Bill 2075 was signed into law on May 25, 2011 by Republican Governor…
Read MoreMassachusetts and Vermont residents pay the highest individual health rates
A recent analysis has shown that in 2010, the most expensive individual health rates in the country were in Massachusetts and Vermont, with premiums up to and higher than $400 per month per person, which is about twice the average of the country. The information was collected by the Kaiser Family Foundation, which drew the data from the insurance company filings to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners and discovered a significant discrepancy in the rates charged from one state to the next. The researchers are referring to their analysis…
Read MoreKansas rejects health insurance exchanges, returns money to government
Kansas, on Tuesday, returned a large grant provided by the federal government to help the state establish a health insurance exchange program. The state has long opposed the health care reform instigated by the Obama administration and has taken steps to block the reform’s measures from affecting the insurance industry within Kansas. Several other states have railed against the reform, but Kansas is only the second to return money to the federal government. They money would have funded the majority of the insurance exchange, but now the state will have…
Read MoreSteps towards health care reform insurance exchange programs
The Department of Health and Human Services has awarded $241 million to seven states to help fund their design and implementation of insurance exchanges. Awarded to “Early Innovator” states, the money will help establish the infrastructure needed to operate the exchanges. The HHS is encouraging that others follow the example set by these states when they begin building their own exchanges. The seven states, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, and Wisconsin, will share the funds – larger states will receive more than smaller states. They were selected based…
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