Health insurance program in Oklahoma set to expire

Oklahoma Health insurance

Oklahoma health insurance program waiver denied by federal government Nearly 5,000 Oklahoma employers are to be notified that the state’s Insure Oklahoma program will expire at the end of this year. State officials had reached out to the federal government in order to receive a waiver for the program, but the federal government has denied this request. According to the Department of Health and Human Services, the waiver was rejected due to the new health insurance opportunities that would be created through the Affordable Care Act next year. Small businesses…

Read More

Health insurance law finds opposition in Oklahoma

Oklahoma Health insurance

Oklahoma refuses to take action on health insurance law Controversy has ignited in Oklahoma, where Insurance Commissioner John Doak has announced that the Oklahoma Insurance Department refuses to enforce the Affordable Care Act. The state agency is meant to ensure that the numerous provisions of the federal law are enacted throughout the state, such as the establishment of a health insurance exchange. The Affordable Care Act has been meeting strong resistance in Oklahoma, which may mean that the federal government will be taking over the enactment of the health care…

Read More

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…

Read More

Oklahoma legislative panel suggests building a health insurance exchange

A legislative panel commissioned to determine whether Oklahoma should pursue building its own health insurance exchange system has finally reached a conclusion. The panel released a report to the state’s Legislature recommending action be taken on building an exchange in order to avoid the federal government taking charge and establishing its own. The state has had a rocky history with the concept of the exchange and has been slow to adopt legislation that would make the program possible. The panel is now stressing the importance of building an adequate system…

Read More

Study shows that states could see major benefits from establishing health insurance exchanges

A new study from the Urban Institute, an organization that investigates social and economic problems in the U.S., suggests that Oklahoma, as well as 14 other states, could see major benefits from establishing a health insurance exchange. The study shows that, at this point, Oklahoma has done the least to make progress on the project, apart from states that have refused the law completely. A health insurance exchange would have a significant economic impact for the state and its peoples, according to the Urban Institute. Over the past year, three…

Read More

Massachusetts 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 More

Oklahoma sends more than a message back to capital hill

The Oklahoma Insurance Department is sending back more than $1 million in funding to the federal government. The money would have been used to review the state’s health insurance premium regulations. It will never be used for its intended purpose as Insurance Commissioner John Doak asserts that “Oklahomans do not want the federal government making decisions about their health care.” The funds have yet to make their way back to the government – the state is awaiting federal officials to retrieve the money. The money is being returned along with…

Read More