health care reform timeline Archives

Pennsylvania health insurance exchange may just be wishful thinking

October 15, 2012October 15, 2012 S.Vagus

Pennsylvania health insurance exchange may not make federal deadline Pennsylvania has been slow to warm to the concept of the Affordable Care Act. The federal health care law has been steeped in controversy for the past two years, after having been passed in 2010. The federal government had anticipated that some of this controversy would diminish due to the Supreme Court upholding the law earlier this year, but this has not happened. Now, Pennsylvania is expected to miss a federal deadline laid out by the health care law concerning the…

The health care reform timeline for rebates

May 23, 2012May 23, 2012 Julie Campbell

Estimates say that 2012 will see a total of $1.3 billion but that there is a wide variety among states. An analysis performed by the Kaiser Family Foundation has estimated that there will be rebates totaling $1.3 billion for consumers and businesses by the end of August this year. This money will come from insurance companies that spent more than the maximum allowed on non-care expenses. The Affordable Care Act states that only 20 percent of the income taken in from premiums can be spent on administrative and other costs…

Washington Governor Gregoire signs state insurance exchange bill

March 26, 2012April 30, 2013

Washington state Governor Christine Gregoire has now signed a bill into law, which now sets the rules in that state for insurance companies that are readying themselves for the online insurance exchange that is a part of the federal healthcare reform. The exchanges are a part of the President Barack Obama overhaul that began in 2010, and they must be ready to be put into place by January 1, 2014. They are designed to assist both individuals and small businesses to find proper and affordable health insurance coverage. Governor Gregoire…

Supreme Court to begin litigation on Affordable Care Act this month

March 15, 2012 S.Vagus

This month, the U.S. Supreme Court will begin litigation on the controversial Affordable Care Act. The federal law seeks to radically change the structure of the country’s health care industry and introduces new insurance regulations that are aimed at benefiting consumers. The Act was signed into law in 2010 and has since been a point of contention for political leaders and legislators throughout the U.S. Many states have backed the Affordable Care Act, but others have filed lawsuits against the federal government, accusing the law of being unconstitutional. The Supreme…

Report shows interest increasing for individual and group health insurance exchanges

March 14, 2012March 14, 2012 Julie Campbell

JD Power and Associates has released its 2012 U.S. Member Health Plan Study and it revealed that in the face of the impact of the reforms to healthcare, almost four in every ten members of an employee sponsored health plan have said that they would use a health insurance exchange to shop for their insurance coverage if the opportunity was available. This is now the sixth study of its kind, which measures the satisfaction among the members of 141 different health plans within 17 American regions by looking into seven…

Obama administration issues new rules for state healthcare exchanges

March 14, 2012April 30, 2013

The Obama administration has released a new set of rules for the states that involve broad new operating regulations for their healthcare exchanges. These state-run health insurance exchanges make up the heart of the system’s overhaul from 2010, which will be facing hearings in the Supreme Court before the end of the month. These rules, which were issued by the Department of Health and Human Services, have been long awaited by the states, and are designed to provide their officials and lawmakers with greater flexibility on the federal deadlines that…

Washington is one step closer to building its own health insurance exchange

March 7, 2012April 30, 2013

Washington lawmakers have passed a bill that opens the way for a health insurance exchange to take root in the state. The bill will set up rules that will help the state prepare for the construction of the exchange and govern its operation for the foreseeable future. Legislators believe that this will help the state fully comply with the Affordable Care Act of 2010 and will help it adhere to federal deadlines. Currently, the exchange is expected to be fully operational by January 2014. The rules established by the bill…