Latest Health Insurance Headlines
All the headlines from our Health Insurance Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Ga. House Passes SB 174, Small Employer Insurance Bill Offering Pared-Down Health Plans
Mar 30 2005 // Ga. Senate Bill 174, allowing small companies to offer employees pared-down health plans that do not comply with all state-mandated insurance requirements has been approved by the House of Representatives. The Senate...
Main Street Matters
Mar 21 2005 // New York is one of the worst; New Jersey is also poor; Virginia remains among the best; Massachusetts and Maryland are looking better and better; Connecticut is holding steady, while Pennsylvania has some catching up to...
Workers’ Comp Varies Widely; Reforms Slow to Enact, Enforce
Mar 21 2005 // Employer responsibility for the expense of accidents and in some cases occupational illnesses, varies from state to state. Em-ployers must provide reasonable information, rules, supervision, training and safety. The word...
Huge Opportunity Exists In LTC Marketplace For Trained, Savvy Agents
Mar 21 2005 // You may have read about a recent survey–the LTC IQ test–that over 60 percent of respondents failed. Almost 90 percent knew what long-term care was, but over 40 percent thought the government would provide...
Regulators Name Consumer Liaison Reps for 2005
Mar 15 2005 // The National Association of Insurance Commissioners recently named its funded consumer liaison representatives for 2005. Established in 1992, the program promotes consumer representation and interaction with NAIC members,...
Conn. Weighs Employer Health Fund Fee
Mar 9 2005 // Companies in Connecticut with 100 or more employees could be forced to pay a fee to help cover their workers’ health insurance expenses if they don’t already offer coverage, under a preliminary legislative...
S.C. Firm Lands Two-Year Medicare, Medicaid Contract
Mar 7 2005 // The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the federal government agency responsible for administration of the Medicare program, has awarded Palmetto GBA, a subsidiary of BlueCross BlueShield of South...
HEALTH INSURANCE DEAL REACHED:
Mar 7 2005 // Gov. John Lynch and a bipartisan group of state senators have reached a compromise on overhauling a health insurance law (S.B. 110) that made rates skyrocket for some small businesses. Lynch spokeswoman Pamela Walsh said...
‘Any Willing Provider’ Bill Passes Ark. House
Feb 24 2005 // Following emotional speeches about a lack of treatment options offered by managed health plans, the Arkansas House of Representatives voted to resurrect the state’s “any willing provider” law and open the...
LDI Releases SHIIP Guide for Seniors
Feb 23 2005 // The Louisiana Department of Insurance reported its Senior Health Insurance Information Program (SHIIP) has released the new 2005 Medicare Supplement Comparison Guide to help citizens over 65 shop for Medicare Supplement...
R.I. State Senate Bills Seek to Spur Competition in Health Insurance Market
Feb 22 2005 // Saying that a competitive insurance market is critical to making health insurance more affordable for Rhode Island consumers and businesses, Sen. Marc A. Cote has introduced a package of legislation aimed at attracting...
Study: Illness, Medical Bills Cause Half of Bankruptcies
Feb 2 2005 // Costly illnesses trigger about half of all personal bankruptcies, and most of those who go bankrupt because of medical problems have health insurance, according to findings from a new Harvard University study. Researchers...
Ohio DOI Pushes Plan Promoting Flexible Health Plans
Jan 27 2005 // The Ohio Department of Insurance has proposed a plan to help small business employees obtain more affordable health benefits. Key components of the plan, designed to provide small employers greater flexibility with health...
Delaware Gov. Minner Puts Workers’ Comp Reform, Health Purchasing Pools on Her Second Term Agenda
Jan 27 2005 // Delaware Democratic Gov. Ruth Ann Minner outlined her agenda for the coming year in the first state of the state address of her second term. Her agenda includes lowering workers’ compensation costs and improving...
R.I. Gov. Carcieri Nominates Medicaid-HMO Exec Koller as State’s First Health Insurance Chief
Jan 13 2005 // Rhode Island Gov. Don Carcieri has nominated Christopher Koller, chief executive officer of an HMO that serves primarily Medicaid recipients, to serve as the state’s first health insurance commissioner. The General...
Mass. AG Probes Municipal Health Insurance Buying
Jan 11 2005 // The Massachusetts attorney general is expanding his probe into the commissions that insurers pay insurance brokers who promote their products to include contracts with cities and towns. The investigation by Attorney...
HEALTH INSURANCE 'AFFORDABLE' IN NASHVILLE:
Jan 3 2005 // This Tennessee city ranks No. 15 among the 50 most affordable cities for families to obtain health insurance, according to a study by eHealthInsurance.com in Mountain View, Calif. The monthly premium for health insurance...
Medicare Looms as Budget Remains a Logistical Issue for States
Dec 20 2004 // A Medicare prescription drug benefit for senior citizens through private plans is still more than a year away. But for state lawmakers and health officials preparing to help administer the complex new law, crunch time is...
Survey Points to Public Blind Eye to Fake Insurance
Dec 14 2004 // According to the General Accounting Office, the number of fake insurance policies sold to consumers is on the rise, resulting in $252 million in unpaid health insurance claims alone. According to a survey conducted by the...
Report Says Ark. Has Fewer Children Without Health Insurance; Lower than National Average
Dec 13 2004 // A new report says the share of Arkansas children not covered by health insurance declined from 19.4 percent in 1996 to 11 percent in 2002—lower than the national average of 12 percent. Rhonda Sanders, director of health...
