Latest Health Insurance Headlines

All the headlines from our Health Insurance Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Aetna CEO Says Public Option Lacks Necessary Poltical Support

Sep 16 2009 // Support is lacking, particularly in the U.S. Senate, for a government-run health plan that would compete in the private marketplace, the chief executive of health insurer Aetna Inc said Tuesday. Democrats as well as...

Senate Panel’s 10-Year, $856 Billion Healthcare Plan Excludes Public Option

Sep 16 2009 // Senator Max Baucus unveiled his plan for a 10-year, $856 billion healthcare overhaul Wednesday that would revamp insurance rules but does not include a government-run option backed by liberal Democrats. Baucus, the...

Text: Sen. Baucus Introduces to Senate Financial Committee Health Bill

Sep 16 2009 // The following announcment was released by the office of Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D,Mont.). Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D,Mont.) today introduced the America’s Healthy Future...

Text: Senate Finance Committee’s America’s Healthy Future Act of 2009

Sep 16 2009 // Chairman’s Mark America’s Healthy Future Act of 2009 Scheduled for Markup By the Senate Committee on Finance On September 22, 2009 America’s Healthy Future Act of 2009 TITLE I—HEALTH CARE...

Missouri to Study Timeliness of Health Insurers’ Reimbursements

Sep 14 2009 // Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon has ordered the state Department of Insurance to determine whether health insurance companies in Missouri are withholding reimbursement payments to health care providers for unreasonable lengths of...

Health Insurance Isn’t Really Insurance, Researcher Says

Sep 11 2009 // Lost in the debate over a public option health insurance plan, says a University of Iowa insurance expert, is the fact that health insurance differs in many ways from other types of insurance. “Insurance manages...

Health Insurer Under Fire From North Dakota Insurance Department

Sep 10 2009 // An audit by the North Dakota Department of Insurance found that Noridian Mutual Insurance Company, doing business as Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota (BCBS), racked up tens of thousands of dollars in excessive...

Senate Health Proposal Includes Insurer Tax, Co-ops; Excludes Public Option

Sep 9 2009 // Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus has circulated a healthcare reform proposal he hopes will win support from both Democrats and Republicans. The proposal is based on weeks of intense negotiations by a bipartisan...

Alabama Uncertain If Small Business Tax Break Is Boosting Health Insurance

Sep 8 2009 // Craig Bacheler is able to offer the employees at his small Alabama IT firm health benefits because of a new state law, but some who helped push for the law say it is too early to measure its benefits. Small companies,...

Private Health Insurance Competition Weak in Many U.S. Markets

Aug 24 2009 // One of the most widely accepted arguments against a government medical plan for the middle class is that it would quash competition — just what private insurers seem to be doing themselves in many parts of the...

Family Health Insurance Premiums Seen Rising 94% by 2020

Aug 20 2009 // Nationally, family premiums for employer-sponsored health insurance increased 119 percent between 1999 and 2008, and could increase another 94 percent to an average $23,842 per family by 2020 if cost growth continues on...

Consumer Opinions of Car Makers, Brokerages, Banks, Health Insurers Fall

Aug 18 2009 // Unsurprisingly, the industries whose reputations have been most badly hurt in the last 12 months are car manufacturers (down 31 points), banks (down 24 points), and investment and brokerage firms (down 27 points),...

Insurers in Crosshairs of U.S. Health Care Reformers

Aug 11 2009 // The debate over reforming the U.S. health care system has zeroed in on one main target: insurance companies. Democrats and the Obama administration plan to spend August battling to win popular support to expand health care...

Health Insurance Mandate Will Kill Jobs

Aug 3 2009 // Congress is about to take up legislation that would have profound and long-lasting effects on 17 percent of our nation’s economy — our health care system. Most Americans agree that the system is broken and...

Study: Health, Life Insurers Ignoring Younger Generations

Jul 31 2009 // Age may determine how much health and life insurance companies spend trying to get people onboard. A new study shows health and life insurers pay much more attention to Baby Boomers than they do to Generation X and...

Report Claims Public Option Would Not Drive Out Private Health Insurers

Jul 28 2009 // Democrats in the House pounced on a congressional budget analysis to bolster their plan for a government-run health insurance option Monday, as party leaders said they were closer to agreement on healthcare reform. The...

White House Study: Small Businesses Pay 18% More for Health Coverage

Jul 27 2009 // President Barack Obama, citing a new White House study suggesting that small businesses pay far more per employee for health insurance than big companies, said Saturday the disparity is “unsustainable —...

Survey: Tennessee Small Businesses Struggling with Health Insurance Costs

Jul 27 2009 // With Congress debating how to reform Athe nation’s health care system, a new survey report reveals that 79 percent of Tennessee’s small business owners, including the self-employed, are struggling to afford...

Health Insurance Agents’ ‘Fly-In’ Has Impact on Capitol Hill, But Is It Enough?

Jul 22 2009 // Health insurance advisors, independent agents and brokers, consultants and employee benefit specialists combined forces again recently to voice their concerns over the single most important issue for insurance providers...

At U.S. Dirt Race Tracks, Money Goes Into Cars, Not Insurance

Jul 6 2009 // The last thing short-track driver Tim McCreadie remembers, he was leading in the semifinal qualifier at the Chili Bowl in Tulsa, Okla. When he awoke, he had two problems. His back was broken and he didn’t have health...