According to a recent survey, a large percent of the 50 million people in the U.S. who are uninsured, have practically no savings. On the average, families with no insurance can only afford to pay off about 12 percent of their total hospital bill. The uncompensated cost of care (health care the uninsured can’t pay) is more than 70 billion dollars a year. Another survey shows that last year 75 million adults did not get health care they needed; they skipped doctor appointments, went without prescription medication, didn’t go to…
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The latest battle over Maine health insurance bill
As health care reform continues to be a hotly contested issue throughout the nation, Maine is embroiled in its own battle regarding the state’s health insurance regulations. Earlier this week, a bill was introduced that would seek to overhaul the current regulatory standard in the hopes of increasing competition in the state’s health insurance market, thereby driving down insurance rates. Introduced by Representative Jonathan McKane (R), the bill has received rigid opposition from Democrats who say that consumer protections are being put at risk. The promise that the bill will…
Read MoreHopes that new California health insurance law will speed up pain medication process
A new bill in California is seeking to help those with chronic pain disorders obtain medications through both Medi-Cal and private insurance companies. While the majority of the state’s insurers already provide coverage for pain medications, there is room for improvement according to legislators. California lawmakers believe that the process of trial and error that companies currently employ is unreasonable. The process leaves many chronic pain sufferers to deal with the pain while the companies try to figure out what is the most cost effective painkiller. Currently, insurers require that…
Read MoreNew Jersey: Government run health plan looking to close their doors
In New Jersey, hundreds of cities and school districts have saved a fortune by taking part in the state’s relatively unknown benefits program. For the past three years, an increasing number of people are dropping the insurance policies they bought from big name companies in favor of the state’s program. Some legislators are looking to change that by proposing a new bill that could severely inhibit the program. Stephen M. Sweeney, the State Senate president, is proposing legislation that would prohibit the state run insurance program from accepting new members.…
Read MoreCalifornia health insurer holds off on rate increase
WellPoint Inc., one of the nation’s top health insurers based in California, announced earlier this year that it would be raising premiums on individual policies by 16.4%. After increased pressure from state legislators and insurance commissioner Dave Jones, however, the insurer has proposed a new increase of no more than 9.8%. Furthermore, the company has heeded Jones’ call for delays on rate hikes and has announced that the increases will not take effect until July. According to Jones, the rate increases will affect more than 600,000 policyholders in the state.…
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