The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) gathered this week to vote on a controversial resolution that would have drastic effects on a consumer protection clause of the Affordable Care Act. The provision would have saved consumers nationwide approximately $1 billion in premiums while offering them protections from future rate hikes. The provision is also part of the controversial medical loss ratio provision of the health care law – which requires insurers to pay no less than 80% of their premium money on medical care. Regulators have been divided on…
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Georgia receives waiver for medical loss ratio provision of the Affordable Care Act
While many provisions of the Affordable Care Act have been submerged in controversy, one provision, in particular, has garnered the ire of the insurance industry. The new federal law requires all health insurers to spend at least 80% of the money the collect from premiums on improving medical care for patients. If insurers cannot meet the standard, they are required to return the money to policyholders. This single provision has major financial implications on the nation’s insurers, both big and small. Insurers have been petitioning state lawmakers to obtain a…
Read MoreWisconsin to seek waiver from controversial Affordable Care Act measure
Wisconsin is seeking to obtain a waiver from the federal government that would provide the state’s insurance companies with immunity against a new health care law that would require them to pay at least 80% of the money collected from premiums on medical care. The law is part of the controversial Affordable Care Act, which, as a whole, has been met with varying degrees of opposition from the nation’s insurance industry and legislators. Governor Scott Walker claims that the waiver is necessary for insurers to remain competitive, and hopes to…
Read MoreWisconsin insurance regulators seek 80 percent rule exemption
Insurance regulators for the state of Wisconsin have expressed their worry over the impact of a new federal rule, which may make it impossible for some health insurance companies from being capable of providing coverage to individuals who purchase their own health coverage as opposed to receiving it through their employers. In Wisconsin, the insurance commissioner’s office has made a request to federal officials to gradually ease into their new rule, which would necessitate that health insurance companies spend at least 80 percent of the premiums they collect on actual…
Read MoreDigital Insurance Inc. offers complimentary healthcare reform webinar
The top employee benefits agency for speed of growth, Digital Insurance Inc., has sent out invitations for a free webinar that they have entitled “The Agency of the (Not So Distant) Future”, which will be held on Thursday, November 3, at 2 pm. The chief marketing officer and executive vice president of Digital Insurance, Mike Sullivan, will be using the seminar to make a presentation of his vision of the successful agency of tomorrow, and to go over the type of knowledge and infrastructure that will be required in order…
Read MoreInsurance brokers’ role in new health care system is still unclear
With health care reform on the horizon, the role of the insurance broker is likely to change along with the shifting environment of the health system. Federally mandated health insurance exchanges are going to play a bigger part in people’s search for coverage. The exchanges will, essentially, give consumers the ability to find their own health care policies and purchase these policies electronically. While this will be a popular trend amongst the average consumer, it may also be one that health care professional’s follow, which puts brokers and agents on…
Read MoreIdaho health insurance exchange, Insurance Commissioner notes that it may cost insurance agents their jobs.
The debate on whether to pursue federally mandated health insurance exchanges continues in Idaho. The state has stood divided on the issue since Congress passed the Affordable Care Act back in 2010. Opponents of the health care overhaul say that the changes to health care are unconstitutional and have resisted efforts to establish an insurance exchange in the state. Many have gone so far as to reject monetary aid from the government for the initiative. Governor C.L. Otter, backed by several lawmakers, now says that time is growing short and…
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