Louisiana has taken a bold step in promoting public health with a groundbreaking new law. According to this report, the aforementioned law mandates health insurance coverage for six months of smoking cessation treatment. Historically, the state has been lagging behind in terms of providing tobacco cessation treatments and removing barriers to accessing treatments. In its 2023 State of Tobacco Control report, the American Lung Association scored Louisiana an “F” in funding for tobacco prevention and cessation and a “D” in access to cessation services. What this law means for Louisianan…
Read MoreTag: Virginia
Data shows 87,000 people enroll for health insurance coverage in Virginia
Consumers in Virginia are finding coverage through the state’s insurance exchange Information from the federal government shows that approximately 87,000 consumers living in Virginia have found health insurance coverage through the state’s exchange marketplace. The open enrollment period for the exchange began on November 1 of this year and will run through January 31, 2016. Once the enrollment period began, many consumers flocked to the exchange either to find new policies or acquire coverage for the first time. Many more were automatically enrolled in the exchange for having purchased coverage…
Read MoreSmall businesses have worries about the rising cost of health insurance
Business owners voice their concerns to Senate committee about insurance costs Three small businesses recently spoke to the Senate Health Subcommittee on Primary Health and Retirement Security concerning the affect that the Affordable Care Act is having on the cost of health insurance coverage. According to these businesses, the federal role is riddled with problems that are making coverage extremely expensive. The growing costs of insurance coverage is making it more difficult for companies to provide coverage to their employees. It is less expensive to hire younger consumers due to…
Read MoreThousands could lose their health insurance by year’s end
Substandard insurance policies throughout the US are expected to be cancelled at the end of the year Thousands of people throughout the U.S. will be losing their health insurance coverage at the end of the year. Those that are losing their coverage have substandard policies that do not comply with federal regulations. These policies were initially meant to expire at the beginning of the year, but were granted a reprieve by the federal government. This reprieve is coming to an end and consumers may be forced to find new policies…
Read MoreCompetition begins heating up in the health insurance sector
Health insurance exchanges are boosting competition Health insurance exchanges throughout the U.S. have encountered many problems over the past month. When open enrollment began, exchange websites were flooded with traffic, leading to capacity problems and technical glitches with many exchange systems. In the weeks that followed, many state-based exchanges were able to overcome these issues, though technical difficulties still plagued the healthcare.gov website and enrollment system. As health insurance exchanges have begun growing more capable of handling demand, they are beginning to accomplish one of their primary goals: Increase competition…
Read More