Latest Health Insurance Headlines
All the headlines from our Health Insurance Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Tax Penalty to Hit 6 Million Who Don’t Buy Health Insurance by 2016
Sep 24 2012 // Nearly 6 million Americans — significantly more than first estimated— will face a tax penalty under President Barack Obama’s health overhaul for not getting insurance, congressional analysts said. Most would be...
Agents Cite Advance in Fight Against Medical Loss Ratio
Sep 20 2012 // A House subcommittee has advanced a bill that would exclude agency commissions from the formula that limits how much health insurers can spend on administrative and other non-medical costs. The U.S. House of...
Mississippi Challenge to Health Insurance Mandate Dismissed
Sep 18 2012 // Gov. Phil Bryant and other Mississippi residents were premature in their challenge to the federal law requiring people to buy health care insurance, a federal judge has ruled. District Judge Keith Starrett also knocked the...
IRS Says It Has No Role in Enforcing Health Insurance Mandate
Sep 12 2012 // The Internal Revenue Service on Tuesday assured congressional lawmakers that agents would play no role in enforcing the controversial requirement that Americans buy insurance under President Barack Obama’s healthcare...
Connecticut Moving Ahead With New Health Care Exchange
Aug 28 2012 // Connecticut officials are pushing ahead with plans to set up the new health insurance exchange, a marketplace where individuals and businesses can find affordable coverage, by next fall. The federal Center for Medicare and...
California Health Rates Initiative Qualifies for 2014 Ballot
Aug 24 2012 // The California Secretary of State announced on Thursday that a ballot initiative to require health insurance companies to publicly justify and get approval for rate increases before they take effect has qualified for the...
Aetna to Buy Rival Coventry Health for $5.6 Billion
Aug 20 2012 // Health insurer Aetna Inc. said on Monday that it would buy rival Coventry Health Care Inc. for $5.6 billion to increase its share of the fast-growing, U.S. government-backed Medicare and Medicaid programs. The purchase,...
Republican VP Pick Ryan Aims to Change Tax Break for Health Insurance Benefits
Aug 17 2012 // Mitt Romney wants to change the U.S. tax code’s treatment of healthcare costs, but his vice presidential pick is one step ahead: Paul Ryan has proposed a plan to scrap a generations-old tax break enjoyed by millions...
Despite GOP Governors, Feds Building Health Insurance Exchanges
Aug 8 2012 // Don’t look now: The feds may be gaining on GOP governors who’ve balked at carrying out a key part of President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul law. Opponents of the law say they won’t set up new...
Few Employers in New England Plan to Drop Health Insurance: Survey
Aug 3 2012 // A new survey says few employers plan to drop health insurance following the Supreme Court ruling upholding the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act — but most do plan to take steps to control costs. According...
16,000 W.Va. Customers Set to Receive Rebates From Health Insurers
Aug 3 2012 // Health insurance companies will give rebates totaling $2.7 million to more than 16,000 customers in West Virginia this year. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says most of the rebates will go people who buy...
Democrats, Republicans Offer Rival Views to Control Health Costs
Aug 2 2012 // Democrats and Republicans agree that the next U.S. president will have to contend with rising healthcare costs that pose a growing, destabilizing burden for families, employers and government budgets. But two articles...
Kansas Increases Scrutiny of Some Health Insurance Rates
Aug 1 2012 // Kansas insurance regulators are complying with part of the federal health insurance reform law that requires more scrutiny of health insurance rate increases above 10 percent at a time when Gov. Sam Brownback’s...
Former Sen. Frist Backs State Health Insurance Exchanges
Jul 23 2012 // Former Senate Majority Leader and heart surgeon Bill Frist is calling on states to get going on their health insurance exchanges. The exchanges are part of the Affordable Care Act and some Republican governors who oppose...
Health Insurance Rebates in Ohio to Total $11.3 Million
Jul 22 2012 // More than 81,000 Ohio families will be getting health insurance rebates this summer that will total $11.3 million across the state, a newspaper reported. The average refund will be $139, but some of the 81,500 families...
Plan for Mississippi Health Exchange Ready for After Election: Chaney
Jul 17 2012 // Mississippi Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney said work has been completed on a plan for an online marketplace for Mississippians to shop for insurance policies and nothing more needs to be done for now. Chaney spokesman...
‘One Way or Another’ Agencies See Growth in Group Health
Jul 16 2012 // “One way or another.” Is that the best way to describe a sound investment strategy nowadays? Yes. If you’re talking about the growing number of agencies investing in group health benefits...
Mississippi Insurance Chief to Build Health Exchange Despite Critics
Jul 13 2012 // Mississippi Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney said he’s going to continue with plans for a state-run insurance exchange, despite opposition from some in the Tea Party. More than 30 Tea Party members attended a...
Minnesota’s Gov. Dayton Affirms Plans for Health Insurance Exchange
Jul 11 2012 // Gov. Mark Dayton has reiterated his intention to continue developing a health insurance exchange for Minnesota. The Democratic governor wrote to U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sibelius confirming his...
Some South Central Agencies See Potential in Dynamic Health, Benefits Market
Jul 11 2012 // The South Central region of the country, particularly Texas, has been a hotbed of activity when it comes to mergers and acquisitions of smaller health and benefit agencies. The reason, according to agencies in the region,...
