California Insurance Regulators Want Authority to Reject Rate Increases
April 25th, 2011
A bill was advanced on Tuesday by California legislators hoping to give regulators the authority to reject excessive rate increases proposed in health insurance policies. While disagreements ensued between legislators, mostly along party lines, the bill eventually received the 12 votes needed to move it out of the assembly health committee.
Regulators Want the Right to Reject Rate Increases
Health insurance companies have been known for attempting to impose high rate hikes on their customers. Th
Tags: Increases, Rate Increases
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(Mis-)Using the Tax System to Subsidize Health Spending
April 24th, 2011
Health reform created the opportunity to redirect tax incentives to promote greater equity, efficiency, and choice in insurance markets. The opportunity, however, has largely been lost. First, tax credits for insurance will be available only through new health insurance exchanges, not to workers with coverage through their employers, which discriminates against one group of low-income people over another based on where they work, not what they can afford. Second, the “Cadillac” tax on high-cost insurance is intended to improve incentives for efficiency in the health system, but it is only a half step that also creates new inequities. Thi
Tags: Health, Health Spending
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Health Reform To Make Health Insurance Affordable For Nearly All Families
April 24th, 2011
Ninety percent of American families living above the federal poverty level will be able to afford health insurance under the Affordable Care Act, according to a new Commonwealth Fund report by Jonathan Gruber and Ian Perry of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The report finds that new subsidies available through health insurance exchanges established under the law will make premiums affordable for most families. But the authors also warn that high out-of-pocket costs will likely mean some families will still be unable to afford health-related expenses. Read full post…
Tags: Families, Health Insurance
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Airing Grievances with ObamaCare
April 23rd, 2011
Thank you very much, Grace-Marie, Jim, Bob, and all the other folks at our respective institutions and to HarperCollins for making this wonderful book project possible. Id like to thank the Obama Administration and the last Congress for making this necessary, but I dont want to. So lets just continue our collective Heimlich maneuver to dislodge whats stuck in our throats. Our books written to provide you with a firm foundation and understanding of the serious consequences of the un-Affordable Care Act, or aka-ACA, for Americans in various slices of life.
I think we do that in a clear and accessible manner, at least my co-authors did. But
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Are Americans More Willing to Pay for Plastic Surgery Than Prescriptions?
April 22nd, 2011
The ability to pay for healthcare is an ongoing issue for many Americans, especially as health costs continue to increase. But a recent study conducted by Thomson Reuters found that Americans feel more optimistic about their ability to pay for their healthcare than they did at the end of 2010.
This is especially true in the area of elective surgeries, something more people are willing to pay for than they were in 2010. But what’s interesting in the study is that there was a decline in the number of people expecting to pay for their prescriptions. D
Tags: Pay, Pay Plastic
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Study Finds High-Deductible Health Plans Pose No Special Risks To The Medically Vulnerable
April 21st, 2011
People who are medically vulnerable – those with low incomes or chronic health problems – who enroll in high-deductible health plans are at no more risk for cutting back on needed health care than other people who enroll in the plans, according to a new RAND Corporation study.
The findings, from the largest national study to examine the affects of high-deductible health plans, contradicts some of the earlier small studies that found medically vulnerable individuals cut back more than other people enrolled in the health plans.
The project examined the first-year experiences of more than 360,000 families nationwide who enrolled in high-deductible health plans offered by their employers from 2003 to 2007. Read full post…
Tags: Health Plans, Medically Vulnerable, Vulnerable
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Obama Plans to Reduce Spending in Medicare and Medicaid
April 18th, 2011
President Barack Obama plans to make a speech on Wednesday that addresses numerous debt issues, including that of the Medicare and Medicaid programs. Media reports predict his discussion will lean towards reducing spending in both programs to contribute to reducing a $4 trillion deficit over the next 10 years.
Cutting Excess Health Care Spending a Must
Some say the president is placing the need to cut excess health care spending in the nations biggest benefit programs at the top of his agenda on Wednesday as he proposes ways to reduce the deficit.
While some of his plans contrast the $5 trillion in cuts his Republican opponents proposeincluding his push to increase taxes for the wealthysome worry his proposal to make cuts in Medicaid and Medicare fall too closely in line with Republican ideas.
Currently, he is expected to make changes to the programs, but there is no official word beyond speculation of what those changes will be.
Republican Suggestions for Medicaid and Medicare
On the Republican side, lawmakers pushing their $5 trillion deficit reduction proposal also want to make cuts in the benefits programs.
Tags: Medicaid, Obama Plans
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South Carolina Bankrupty Laws
April 17th, 2011
While bankruptcy relief is a federal process, some laws such as those regarding income qualification and asset exemptions apply specifically to South Carolina residents. Most people who file personal bankruptcy in the state choose a partial debt repayment plan in Chapter 13 or request forgiveness of approved bills in Chapter 7.
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Bankruptcy Basics
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You must have lived in South Carolina for at least six months to file bankruptcy as a resident of the state.
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Tags: Laws, South Carolina
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