Competition Spurs 2 Oregon Insurers To Lower Proposed Rates
Maybe competition among health insurance plans can lead to lower rates. As soon as Oregon this week became the fourth state to publicly list health insurers’ proposed 2014 rates for individual and small group coverage, two plans moved to cut their suggested prices, the Oregonian reported Friday. Providence Health Plan and Family Care Health Plans […]
Four States That Snubbed Health Law Gaining Jobs From It
Four states that have snubbed the federal health law by defaulting to the federal government to build new online insurance marketplaces and not agreeing to expand Medicaid are getting new jobs at call centers that will help consumers understand their new coverage options this fall. Up to 9,000 jobs are expected to be created at call centers to support […]
Colorado Launches $2M Ad Campaign For New Online Marketplace
With less than five months until Colorado’s new online health insurance marketplace opens for business this fall, officials are concerned that few state residents have heard of it. This week, it became the first state to launch a public awareness campaign with television, print, radio and billboard ads that will cost $2 million and run two months. The […]
State Spending On Consumer Assistance Could Have ‘Huge Impact’ On Marketplace Enrollment
Some states with high uninsured rates get far less money to help people sign up for coverage under the health law.
Call Centers For Health Law Marketplaces To Create 9K Jobs
The federal health law derided as a “job-killer” by critics will create an estimated 9,000 jobs in 14 states this summer to handle consumer inquiries about new online insurance marketplaces. The jobs are through Vangent, a General Dynamics subsidiary, which was awarded a $530 million one-year contract by the federal government to set up call centers to […]
Vangent Gets $28 Million Contract For Health Marketplace Call Center
The federal government has awarded a $28.2 million contract to a General Dynamics subsidiary to run a call center to handle consumer questions about the new online insurance marketplaces that are slated to begin selling insurance policies Oct. 1. The call center will be responsible for all inquiries related to the insurance marketplaces in at least […]
With Time Running Out, Florida Medicaid Expansion Is In Doubt
House GOP leaders question whether feds can deliver on $50B promise to cover poor residents.
States Spend $28M, Then Leave Exchanges To The Feds
Late last year, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer announced that her state would not build its own online insurance marketplace, a pillar of the Affordable Care Act, because there were too many unknowns. What Brewer didn’t say was that her state had spent $9 million in federal money to reach that conclusion. Arizona was one of 10 […]
Insurers Battle Over Federal Employees’ Health Coverage
For-profit insurers ask Congress to open FEHB to greater competition from regional plans.
Funding To Enroll Uninsured In New Markets Called ‘Drop In Bucket’
Feds announce $54 million to hire ‘navigators’ in 33 states, but some say that’s too little to get job done.
Hospitals In 5 States Clamp Down On Delivering Babies Before 39 Weeks
When hospitals commit to stopping the delivery of babies before 39 weeks gestation unless there is medical cause to do so, they can dramatically lower rates that can put babies at increased risk for serious health problems. A study published Monday in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology showed a group of 25 hospitals in five states were able to cut their […]
GOP Members Call For Increased Spending To Cover Pre-Existing Conditions
Republicans who have spent the past three years blasting the health care overhaul as an overreach by the federal government said Wednesday the law didn’t allocate nearly enough money for a temporary program offering insurance coverage to those with pre-existing conditions. Citing financial concerns, the Obama administration last month stopped enrolling new people into the Pre-existing Condition Insurance […]
No Rate Shock Seen In Proposed 2014 Premiums In Vermont
After years of anticipation, Vermont became the first state Monday to publish proposed 2014 individual health insurance rates under the federal health law. Despite Republican and insurers’ predictions, there was no “rate shock” in the new premiums, according to the Vermont governor’s office and insurance representatives. That state may not be the best barometer of the impact […]
Why Uninsured Might Not Flock To Health Law’s Marketplaces
Florida programs show that convincing people to sign up for even low-cost coverage is no cinch.
Oregon Shows Costs Of Putting Medicaid Enrollees In Private Coverage
The Arkansas plan to expand Medicaid by paying for enrollees to buy private health insurance has been billed as a new option for states led by Republicans who are leery of the federal health overhaul. And it’s getting attention from Republican leaders in Florida and Ohio, among other states. However, the strategy is not new. […]
Connecticut Races To Reach Uninsured, Open Health Insurance Marketplace
Officials hope to ‘make history’ by signing up two-thirds of those without coverage after the marketplaces launch nationwide Oct. 1.
States Balk At Enforcing Health Law’s Insurance Protections
Florida regulators won’t penalize insurance companies that violate new health law consumer protections that take effect in January but will report them to the federal government, according to an agreement between the state and federal officials. Citing lack of money and legal authority, Pennsylvania’s top insurance regulator hasn’t decided whether his agency can enforce the provisions, […]
Health Insurers See Big Opportunities In Health Law’s Medicaid Expansion
Medicaid managed care plans prepare for as many as 10 million new members in 2014– and billions in additional revenue.
Idaho, Utah, N.M. Running Out Of Time To Set Up State Exchanges
Three western states which had gotten tentative go-aheads to run their own online health insurance websites — Utah, Idaho and New Mexico — are running out of time to be ready for an Oct. 1 launch and experts doubt they will get green lights from the federal government. “We are not seeing enough progress that these states can easily […]
Plans To Expand Florida Medicaid Welcomed And Feared
Doctors, consumer groups cheer expansion, worry that for-profit health plans may cut corners.
