Health Insurance News and Research

RSS

Preparing for the health law's second lap

With open enrollment fast approaching for the online insurance marketplaces, news outlets are examining the preparations that have been made in order to ensure a smoother process this time around.

13 Oct 2014

State highlights: Blue Cross Blue Shield dominant in Texas

A selection of health policy stories from Texas, New Jersey, Connecticut, Georgia, Missouri and New Mexico.

13 Oct 2014

Viewpoints: Effects of health law; conquering Ebola

In case you don't follow me on Twitter, here it is: The Affordable Care Act has already helped slow the rate of growth in health-care costs across the board, putting more money in Americans' pockets and bringing down projected deficits even as millions more people sign up for health insurance and receive access to Medicaid.

13 Oct 2014

Iowa premium increases affect small number

Less than 2 percent of Iowans will be affected by the steep premium increases announced this week, according to the Des Moines Register. Meanwhile, the Cover Oregon Exchange Board may drop plans to make a recommendation to the legislature this fall about the future of the state's insurance exchange, and Indiana officials continue discussing alternatives to Medicaid expansion.

12 Oct 2014

Viewpoints: Walmart and Obamacare; negative views continue of health law; Ebola preparedness

Walmart announced today that as of the beginning of next year it will be dropping health insurance for 30,000 employees who work less than 30 hours per week. Many liberals will react to the news by saying that it's just a profit-hungry corporation once again screwing over its employees. Conservatives are likely to say that this just shows what a mess Obamacare has created and why it should be repealed (Paul Waldman, 10/8).

10 Oct 2014

U.S. to step up Ebola screening at 5 major airports

Passengers arriving from West Africa will have their temperatures taken at the airports. Meanwhile, questions are emerging about the care given to Thomas Eric Duncan, the Texas Ebola patient who died Wednesday, including why he was initially released from the hospital.

10 Oct 2014

State highlights: Gubernatorial election outcomes will have big impact on health law's future

The deciding factor in the Senate races will be President Barack Obama's sagging approval numbers, he said, which are weighing down Democrats like Sen. Mary Landrieu in Louisiana and Sen. Mark Pryor in Arkansas. ... Mr. McAuliffe pushed Virginia legislators to expand the state's Medicaid program as part of the Affordable Care Act last summer, but Republicans wouldn't have it (Bauerlein, 10/8).

10 Oct 2014

Promises, predictions: In upcoming enrollment season, healthcare.gov will be faster, easier

According to Obama administration officials, the updated website includes a shorter insurance application form and is not expected to crash. Unlike last year, the site has been undergoing testing for more than five weeks.

10 Oct 2014

Coverage gaps still persist among some populations

The Star Tribune reports on how some American Indians -- even now that the health law is in place -- continue to struggle with costs and other challenges related to securing health insurance. Meanwhile, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch examines how state decisions to expand Medicaid impact residents' options.

10 Oct 2014

Candidates for Calif. congressional seat clash over health law

A Wednesday debate between Democrat Ami Bera and Republican Doug Ose was marked by tense talk about health policy issues and the economy. Additionally, Cover Oregon assigns Sen. Jeff Merkley, D- Ore., who earns $174,000 a year in the U.S. Senate, to Oregon's Medicaid plan -- reserved only for the poor. Elsewhere, Hillary Clinton sidestepped a tricky issue when delivering a paid speech to a trade group.

10 Oct 2014

States grapple with Obamacare premium increases, related issues

In California, voters are split over a ballot initiative that would give the state's insurance commissioners new powers to veto health insurance cost increases. Meanwhile, in Iowa, the insurance commissioner approves rate increases proposed by three insurers.

9 Oct 2014

International Biophysics files patent protection for revolutionary AffloVest

International Biophysics Corporation of Austin, Texas announces its filing of U.S. patent protection for its revolutionary AffloVest. The company has also recently confirmed exclusive ownership rights concerning the manufacture, sale and distribution of the AffloVest in its markets.

9 Oct 2014

Indian government health insurance program benefits health of the poor

A government program to provide health insurance for catastrophic illness to households below the poverty line in Karnataka, lowered both mortality rates and out-of-pocket expenses for the residents, according to a recent evaluation published in the leading global health journal The BMJ.

9 Oct 2014

Viewpoints: Walmart's cuts in insurance grow from health law; online marketplace still lacks transparency

Wal-Mart gave lawmakers a concise lesson in economics Tuesday when it disclosed that it would no longer offer health insurance to yet more of its part-time employees. ... I'll just argue that what we're seeing is the entirely predictable result of the employer mandate in the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act -- a mandate, by the way, that Wal-Mart lobbied for. The company was offering health benefits for most employees at the time, and may simply have been trying to force its competitors to do the same (Jon Healey, 10/7).

9 Oct 2014

In Mississippi, Medicaid expansion advocates continue to press their cause

Backers of expanding the low-income health insurance program say elected officials are turning their back on hundreds of thousands of poor Mississippi residents by refusing the federal funds that come with the expansion. Meanwhile, in Pennsylvania, insurers appear to be adding a wrinkle to Gov. Corbett's expansion plan. Also, election outcomes will play a big role in where such plans proceed.

9 Oct 2014

CMS directs insurers to begin testing healthcare.gov but maintain confidentiality

Testers are required to "acknowledge the confidentiality of the process" in order to gain access to the testing environment, according to The Wall Street Journal. Meanwhile, The New York Times reports on two studies that examine the health law's drug plans as a means to answer questions about how the overhaul is working.

9 Oct 2014

30,000 Wal-Mart part-time workers to lose health benefits

The world's largest retailer and largest private employer announced Tuesday that it would terminate health insurance coverage for employees who work fewer than an average of 30 hours a week.

8 Oct 2014

Revolutionary Hypo-tec Needlestick Injury Prevention Product enters North American market

V3 Healthcare Strategies, a Wisconsin-based Accountable Care Strategies company, announced the North American launch of the revolutionary Hypo-tec Needlestick Injury Prevention Product amidst an environment of infectious catastrophic diseases such as Ebola, Hanta & Hemorrhagic Fevers, while simultaneously protecting against all other infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis and more.

8 Oct 2014

Picwell to analyze potential impact of latest decision support systems on consumer health plan selection

Picwell, the most advanced predictive recommendation engine for health plan selection, today announced finalized agreements to conduct studies focused on the potential impact of latest generation decision support systems on consumer health plan selection.

8 Oct 2014

Viewpoints: Relatively few face insurance cancellations; new doctor payment site is 'impenetrable'

People are starting to get letters telling them their health insurance plans have been canceled because of the Affordable Care Act. Because the letters will go out just before the midterm congressional elections, they are likely to get a lot of attention. There have been several stories this past week. But the people affected will represent only a small fraction of the population with health insurance (Margot Sanger-Katz, (10/6).

8 Oct 2014

Health Insurance News and Research

Preparing for the health law's second lap

State highlights: Blue Cross Blue Shield dominant in Texas

Viewpoints: Effects of health law; conquering Ebola

Iowa premium increases affect small number

Viewpoints: Walmart and Obamacare; negative views continue of health law; Ebola preparedness

U.S. to step up Ebola screening at 5 major airports

State highlights: Gubernatorial election outcomes will have big impact on health law's future

Promises, predictions: In upcoming enrollment season, healthcare.gov will be faster, easier

Coverage gaps still persist among some populations

Candidates for Calif. congressional seat clash over health law

States grapple with Obamacare premium increases, related issues

International Biophysics files patent protection for revolutionary AffloVest

Indian government health insurance program benefits health of the poor

Viewpoints: Walmart's cuts in insurance grow from health law; online marketplace still lacks transparency

In Mississippi, Medicaid expansion advocates continue to press their cause

CMS directs insurers to begin testing healthcare.gov but maintain confidentiality

30,000 Wal-Mart part-time workers to lose health benefits

Revolutionary Hypo-tec Needlestick Injury Prevention Product enters North American market

Picwell to analyze potential impact of latest decision support systems on consumer health plan selection

Viewpoints: Relatively few face insurance cancellations; new doctor payment site is 'impenetrable'

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

Latest News