Report highlights the sluggish growth of health care spending due to U.S. recession

The worldwide recession has had a major impact on the health care system of the U.S. The effects are quite obvious in terms of insurance. As thousands of people throughout the country lost their jobs, they also lost their health insurance coverage. The recession, which lasted from late December 2007 to the middle of 2009, suppressed health care spending in the U.S. significantly, according to the federal government. The Obama administration released a report this week from the Department of Health and Human Services showing the impact of the recession…

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Aetna report shows that consumers are confused about insurance terms

Aetna Inc. has released the results of a new consumer survey as open enrollment for employer-offered insurance plans comes to a close. The results of the survey show that more than half of insured adults in the U.S. find the terms of their insurance policies confusing. This presents a major problem for both insurers and consumers as these adults general tend to accept any terms they are given as they believe that any insurance coverage, even if it is not appropriate to their needs, is better than no coverage at…

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Nebraska health insurance exchange needs 100k enrollees to be sustainable

The Nebraska Insurance Department has issued a new report to state lawmakers concerning the state’s health insurance exchange. Nebraska has been exploring its options on how best to execute the exchange program, hoping to find a way for the program to benefit both consumers and insurance companies. The state has yet to make any definitive action on the program apart from investigating how much it will cost and how it can be made self-sustaining. The new report may cast some doubt on the future of the program. According to the…

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Employment doesn’t guarantee health insurance

A new U.S. Department of Labor-funded report has indicated that employer-sponsored health insurance is rapidly on the decline for millions of Americans. According to the researchers from Iowa Policy Project, the nonprofit organization that released the report, employees are losing the jobs that provide health insurance through the employer, and are finding new employment through contract or that is part-time, which makes it much more challenging to find affordable coverage. Co-author of the report, Noga O’Connor, said that it has become less common and more expensive to receive health insurance…

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