A new law that will expand the authority of the Pennsylvania Department of Insurance has taken effect this week. The law was introduced last year and won approval from the state’s legislators. Governor Tom Corbett signed the bill, Act 134, into law late last year, with an enactment date of March 21, 2012. The law is nearly identical to similar legislation in California that gave regulators more authority over rate proposals coming from insurance companies. Legislators believe that new authority granted to the Department of Insurance will help protect consumers…
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New guidelines concerning federal Insurance Verification law published by federal agencies
The Department of Labor, Department of Health and Human Services, and the Internal Revenue Service have released new guidelines for the federal “Insurance Verification” law that will be enacted in September of this year. The law, often referred to as “One Nation, One Verification,” aims to make verifying health insurance less problematic. The law exists to augment to Affordable Care Act. The federal health is meant to make attaining insurance coverage easier for Americans, but this ease of access could create administrative nightmares as consumers purchase policies that will allow…
Read MoreAetna makes a statement in the industry
At this year’s Health 2.0 event, Mark Bertolini, the CEO of Aetna, gave a very positive outlook for the future of health insurance in his company as a result of the current and upcoming changes to the healthcare system in the United States. The reason is that the insurer has reinvented itself by providing a unique healthtech startup company exit opportunity after having made more than $1.5 billion in acquisitions in 2011. Those acquired companies are playing an important role in assisting healthcare organizations to make their first steps into…
Read MoreMillions of Americans may receive rebates from insurers this year
Before the summer draws to a close, millions of people across the United States will be receiving rebates from their insurers, due to the new federal healthcare reform requirements that have placed strict rules on the way that insurance companies spend their earnings. This regulation is not without opposition. The entire insurance industry, along with a large number of state officials, have been battling this rule for some time. Based on the federal regulations that went into effect at the end of 2011, health insurance companies are required to spend…
Read MoreSurvey shows that challenges facing states in building health insurance exchanges
A new survey conducted by the KPMG Government Institute, an analysis organization that focuses on government policy and legislative trends, provides some insight on some of the challenges facing states in their efforts to build a health insurance exchange. The survey draws upon information provided by 80 state officials from throughout the country. These officials offered information on why health insurance exchanges seem to be such a troublesome issue. The common consensus boils down to cost. The survey suggests that insurance exchanges may be too expensive for some states, even…
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