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By JAY HANCOCK, KHN Staff Writer— Consumer-driven medical spending may be the second-biggest story in health care, after the Affordable Care Act. As employers give workers more “skin in the game” through higher costs from purse and paycheck, the thinking goes, they’ll seek more efficient treatment and hold down overall spending. But consumers may not […]
Continue reading …By MICHELLE ANDREWS, Kaiser Health News— For some people, the promise of employer-provided health insurance plan is reason enough to take a job or stay put in one. But unexpected events – a corporate bankruptcy or sale, for example – can undermine the security of on-the-job coverage and leave both employees and retirees with few affordable […]
Continue reading …By JAY HANCOCK, KHN Staff Writer— The attraction of the 2010 health care law for insurance companies is obvious: Millions of new customers and billions in new spending. Those dollars will flow through state exchanges, online marketplaces where customers can shop for insurance. “This is the largest expansion since the Medicare program in 1965,” said […]
Continue reading …By PHIL GALEWITZ, KHN Staff Writer— California and Washington state will require coverage of acupuncture. Arkansas wants prevention counseling for women at high risk of breast cancer but not coverage of expensive infertility treatment. Oregon opted against covering bariatric surgery for obesity but insurers will have to cover cochlear implants for hearing. These are some […]
Continue reading …By PAULINE BARTOLONE, CAPITAL PUBLIC RADIO– As states work to comply with the federal health care law, many are designing their insurance exchanges, where people will be able to shop for coverage. But just the word “exchange” sounds to many like off-putting government-speak, and some states are eager to come up with a more appealing […]
Continue reading …Under the Affordable Care Act, health insurers and group health plans will provide the 180 million Americans who have private insurance with clear, consistent and comparable information about their health care plan benefits and coverage. Specifically, the regulations will ensure consumers have access to two forms that will help them understand and evaluate their health […]
Continue reading …By SHEFALI S. KULKARNI, KHN— High-deductible health care plans are no longer a health care insurance novelty—they are becoming mainstream. According to the industry trade group America’s Health Insurance Plans, the number of people with high-deductible health plan coverage reached more than 11.4 million in January 2011, up from 10 million in January 2010. A survey from the […]
Continue reading …By Michelle Andrews, Kaiser Health News– The fall health insurance open enrollment season is when many people consider changes to their health coverage. This year, premiums will rise, although perhaps not as much as last year, and dependent coverage may be noticeably more expensive than in the past. Comparing plans may be easier, though, thanks […]
Continue reading …By Mary Agnes Carey, KHN Staff Writer– The Supreme Court Thursday, 28 June 2012, upheld the 2010 federal health care reform law, dismissing the challenge by states to the law’s requirement that individuals get insurance. The justices, however, did give states the right to opt out of a critical provision requiring them to expand Medicaid […]
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