Insurance Regulators Wrestle With Definition Of ‘Unreasonable’ Rate Increases
State and federal officials are wrestling with how to define "unreasonable" premium increases, a thorny issue Congress has handed regulators.
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State and federal officials are wrestling with how to define "unreasonable" premium increases, a thorny issue Congress has handed regulators.
This week featured more legal and political challenges to the new health law as the Obama adminstration issued rules to extend insurance coverage to young adults on their parents' plans.
Now that the health care bill is law, an array of groups -- representing doctors, insurers, small businesses and others -- have switched to their post-passage game plans. Among their top goals: Helping shape the all-important regulations being written by the Obama administration.
How many times have you heard President Obama say, "Health insurers won't be able to drop your coverage just because you get sick?" Or Kathleen Sebelius? Or the Democratic leadership in Congress? Or the mainstream news media? You would think that the private health insurance industry was being revolutionized.
The new health law mandates that insurers cannot pay less for emergency care in "out-of-network" hospitals and eases consumer worries about having to pre-authorize an emergency room visit.
Want to understand how the new health law might affect you? Be prepared to spend some time online.
The thinking behind the individual mandate is that, in the absence of a government-run "single payer" insurance program like Canada's, the only way to achieve universal health insurance is to require people to obtain coverage on their own, with government assistance for those who can't afford it. An excerpt from a new book, Landmark: The Inside Story of America's New Health Care Law and What It Means for Us All, by The Washington Post.
A simple rule lies at the heart of the new health law: Starting in 2014, almost every American will need to carry health insurance or pay a fine. An excerpt from a new book, Landmark: The Inside Story of America's New Health Care Law and What It Means for Us All, by The Washington Post.
Companies that provide health insurance to retirees who are too young for Medicare may get some financial relief due to a new $5 billion federal program.
Business and consumer groups are sparring over rules that might allow existing health plans to sidestep some patient protections in new health care law.
Today, we begin a new Friday afternoon feature: a wrap-up of the week's major health policy news coverage.
You might think the fight over mental health parity - the requirement that health insurance plans not handle coverage for mental ailments any differently than coverage for any other disorder - would be over. You would, however, be wrong.
A searing recession that left nearly 10 percent of the American workforce unemployed, plus a time when health care costs continue to soar, equals fertile ground for health insurance swindlers.
In discount health plans, consumers pay a fee for access to a network that offers reduced charges for doctor visits and other care, but the patient is responsible for paying all costs up front. State officials and consumer groups say some of the plans are not legitimate.
The federal government says current law will likely keep it from following the lead of some private insurance companies that will begin offering coverage this year to young adults.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce says the tax credit offered to small business owners to cover their employees could be a burden; others say it will help them afford insurance for their workers.
Gaps in insurance policies make oral drugs too pricey for some cancer patients.
Cancer patient Jere Carpentier would prefer taking a pill to having intravenous chemotherapy in a doctor's office. But she
Among the many goals of the new health law is one that hasn't received much attention: to improve women's experiences in the health insurance world.
This year's crop of college graduates may have trouble finding a job, given the state of the economy. But some of them will have a much easier time keeping health insurance while they look.
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