The New Health Care Bill Picked Apart by Lobbyist Groups in Health Reform

Now that the health care bill has been voted into law, lobbyists are changing their tactics, shifting from a focus either for or against the bill to one of interpreting the bill and implementing the new mandates in a way that helps their cause.

For example, the National Federation of Independent Business is currently working to make the tax cuts scheduled for small businesses easier to understand and receive. Many small businesses will be eligible for the cuts this year.

They are also asking …

How Will Health Care Reform Impact Group Health Insurance? in Health Care Reform

President Obama stated this week that the new health care bill has already helped millions of Americans, adding that many health insurance companies have begun allowing young adults to stay on their parents’ insurance plan ahead of schedule.

All major health insurance companies have also officially discontinued the practice of rescission – or canceling health insurance policies when people get sick – ahead of the September deadline that would have made it illegal to do so.

However, concerns regarding how the bill will play …

Some States Not Funding Insurance Pools in Health Insurance News

Health insurance pools for those with pre-existing conditions are due to become available to the public by September of this year. The pools themselves are mandated by the new health care bill, which passed over a month ago.

The high-risk pools were designed to allow those with pre-existing medical conditions – including cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and more. – to buy into medical coverage plans that will help them pay for expensive and life-saving medical care.

In most cases individuals with these conditions who don’t have access …

Top Health Insurance Companies Agree to Stop Practice of Rescission in Health Insurance News

This week health insurance companies WellPoint Inc., the parent company of Anthem Blue Cross, and Blue Shield of California agreed to stop using the controversial practice of canceling the individual health insurance policies of people who become sick.

The practice known as rescission has received a lot of negative press recently, culminating in 2008 when hairdresser Patsy Bates successfully sued Health Net for canceling her coverage after she was diagnosed with breast cancer.

Rescission has been used as a means of retroactively denying …

Applying the New Health Care Bill: The Next Battle in the War in Health Care Reform

While the struggle to pass or defeat health care legislation may have passed, it appears that a new battle has begun regarding the implementation of the bill in coming months and years.

And if the last 13 months seemed stressful, it appears we’re in for another long couple of years.

The implementation of the health care bill effects several major players in the health care debate, which comes as a surprise to those who assumed only health insurance companies were worried …

Health Insurance Companies Offer Extended Coverage for Grads for Student Health Insurance

There are many things college grads have to worry about – final exams, graduation, finding a job – but for some of them health insurance may not be on that list any more.

WellPoint Inc., parent company to Anthem Blue Cross, and UnitedHealth are offering to extend medical coverage for college grads who receive coverage through a parent’s policy until the age of 26.

The health insurance companies in question had been receiving bad press lately …

Who Will Pay the Health Care Penalty? in Health Care Reform

One month after its passing many Americans still aren’t sure how the new health care bill will effect them.

One common concern is the penalty that will be imposed on those who don’t get coverage. Questions still abound regarding how much it will be, when it will become law, and who will and won’t have to pay it.

According to the Congressional Budget Office, a nonpartisan think tank engaged in planning for the future of health care reform, in 2016 when all of the current health …

How Health Insurance Will Change for Workers in Health Care Reform

With the passage of the new health care reform bill local legislators have been inundated with calls from confused Americans who want to know exactly how their health insurance will be effected.

This goes double for workers, some of whom want to keep their current coverage, others who want better coverage, and still more who don’t get coverage from their employer at all.

The LA Times’ recent “Healthcare Q & A” addresses the common concerns workers have now that health care has been so dramatically changed.

One …

Health Care Bill Still Contested by Some Groups in Health Care Reform

President Obama’s health care bill may have passed, but the struggle to implement new medical coverage laws are attracting another set of special interest groups.

The Associated Press reports that “supporters and opponents alike” are hoping to influence the interpretation and implementation of the new health care bill so as to maximize the potential for their own benefit.

For example, health insurance companies are interested in protecting their bottom line now that insurance pools for those with serious medical problems will be arranged this year.

Once …

Massachusetts secures lower rates for small business insurance in Group Health Insurance

The economy has brought hard times to small business ventures as the downturn hurt sales, forced companies to lay off employees and steadily drove up health care costs for employer-sponsored health plans. In an effort to resuscitate local businesses in Massachusetts, state regulators have approved a program that seeks to provide affordable small business insurance for thousands of the state’s smallest enterprises.

Earlier in the week, the Board of Trustees of the Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector Authority voted to assume control over the …