The Oregon Senate has given its overwhelming last minute approval for a measure toward the implementation of the state’s online health insurance exchange marketplace, which is the heart of the Obama administration’s healthcare reform and will provide individuals and small businesses a place to shop for coverage. The vote on Monday was for a measure that was championed by Governor John Kitzhaber, and was passed by 55-5 for the rules that will govern the exchange. This will give the state the ability to build an insurance marketplace ahead of the…
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Massachusetts insurance exchange awarded funds to help it fall in line with the Affordable Care Act
Massachusetts is currently one of the few states that has a working insurance exchange in place. The state’s online marketplace has been a boon for those looking for affordable health insurance policies but it does not comply with the standards established by the Affordable Care Act. Instead of requiring the state to scrap the project and start from scratch, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, and auxiliary arm of the Department of Health and Human Services, has awarded the state with funding to help legislators make necessary changes. He…
Read MoreDepartment of Health and Human Services issues legal briefing regarding Affordable Care Act
As the Affordable Care Act continues its slow march toward the Supreme Court, the Department of Health and Human Services has issued a legal brief regarding the matter. The federal health care law has come under fire largely due to one of its provisions. The provision requires all U.S. citizens to purchase some kind of health insurance. 26 states have come together to combat this provision, along with some of the other aspects of the law. The HHS claims that if the individual insurance mandate is declared unconstitutional, the Supreme…
Read MoreAmericans speculate regarding the outcome of the Supreme Court’s decision regarding the health care reforms
According to a poll performed by the Kaiser Family Foundation, the majority of people in the United States believe that the Supreme court will rule against the law at the center of the health care reform that would require Americans to purchase health insurance, and that it will deem this law to be unconstitutional. Slightly less than one third of Americans believe that the Affordable Care Act provision of the healthcare overhaul will be upheld by the Supreme Court. When the participants in the poll were asked whether or not…
Read MoreIdaho legislators debate health insurance exchange issues as new legislative session begins
The Idaho Legislature convened earlier this month for its latest legislative session and one of the main topics of discussion is whether the state will build a health insurance exchange program. The state has received a $20 million federal grant to help build the exchange, but legislators have yet to accept the funds as they still remain divided on the issue. Idaho is one of 22 states that have not reached a conclusion on what to do about an insurance exchange yet. Health insurance exchanges are part of the Affordable…
Read MoreNew Jersey working to make deadline for federal grants that would help the state build and insurance exchange
The state of New Jersey has just over six months to finalize plans for a health insurance exchange. The deadline concerns a federal grant that would help the state make progress toward the new insurance system. The grant, worth $5 million, would be used to hire new staff that will maintain the upcoming virtual insurance marketplace. It would also help the state purchase new equipment needed to operate the system and would fund marketing efforts to promote the exchange program. If New Jersey misses the deadline, it may not be…
Read MoreSupreme Court may delay ruling on Affordable Care Act until 2015
The Supreme Court is scheduled to begin hearing a case regarding the constitutionality of the 2010 Affordable Care Act on March 26. Many have assumed that the individual insurance mandate provision of the law, which requires all U.S. citizens to have some form of health insurance, would be among the first topics of discussion. The Court, however, has announced that the issue to be discussed will be whether a decision on the constitutionality of the law should be made now or delayed for the future. The Supreme Court may choose…
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