Tag: texas health insurance
Health Care Costs Increase 7.3 Percent In 1 Year
Last week, Milliman released its annual Milliman Medical Index, and it shows that the average American family’s medical costs have doubled in less than nine years and increased 7.3 percent from 2010 to 2011. The results also show that hospital spending, which accounts for 48 percent of total health care […]
Health Insurance Exchange & Reform Updates
Congress returns from a two-week recess Monday, and the federal budget is again expected to quickly become the focus of attention. Just prior to recess, the House passed a budget resolution that proposes to cut the deficit with significant changes to Medicare and Medicare. The latter would essentially be transformed […]
States Resisting Health Insurance Overhaul
ARIZONA: A bill that would require Arizona health insurance carriers to provide written claim reports to plan sponsors up to twice a year, upon request, has been favorably amended in the House to make compliance less onerous. Modeled after a Texas law enacted in 2007, the bill originally required the […]
Health Insurance Reform State Changes April
Governor Jan Brewer has signed a state budget that includes $1.1 billion in spending cuts and the elimination of programs that Democratic legislators say will have a disproportionate impact on the poor and children of the state. The budget eliminates $385 million from the Arizona Health Insurance Cost Containment System […]
Texas Health Insurance Exchange
Rep. John Zerwas, the Republican legislator who has filed legislation to implement a key element of federal health care reform, said his bill may be permanently stuck. Zerwas proposed establishing a Texas health insurance exchange not because he approves of federal health reform but because he fears the federal government […]
Texas Health Insurance Charts Own Path
In an effort to address skyrocketing Medicaid costs, Texas State Senator Jane Nelson filed legislation to allow Texas health insurance to chart its own path for health care policies and programs. The bill would authorize Texas to participate in a multi-state effort to secure the consent of Congress for those […]
Health Insurance Reform Issues Student Health Insurance
With a law as complex as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), unintended consequences are always a concern. Last week The Wall Street Journal reported that the physician community is witnessing the emergence of a significant unintended consequence — since tax-advantaged flexible spending accounts can no longer be […]
States Fight Back On Health Care Reform
When the nation’s governors came calling at the White House last week, President Obama greeted his guests with the offer of new flexibility toward implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). The President said he is willing to give states an earlier opportunity to opt out of […]
Very Busy Week In Individual Health Insurance Reform
If you’re keeping score, three federal judges have now ruled in favor of the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) while two have ruled against it. The latest to weigh in was a federal judge in the District of Columbia who last week upheld the constitutionality […]
Individual Health Insurance Reform Intense Debate
When House Republicans voted Friday to block funding for health care reform implementation (see below), it was with the knowledge that most Americans disapprove of the tactic. A new CBS News poll shows 55 percent of Americans disapprove of the defunding effort while just 35 percent support it. The poll […]
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