Tag: health insurance regulations

Consumers to receive comprehensive health insurance information

Marc
health Insurance guidelines

New regulation calls for clear and concise health insurance guides for consumers Beginning this week, U.S. health insurance companies are required to provide customers with user-friendly guides concerning the benefits they will receive through coverage. This is part of a provision of the Affordable Care Act, which aims to bring more transparency to the health insurance industry and provide consumers with the information they need to make educated choices concerning their health care. Employers offering health insurance benefits to workers are also required to provide use-friendly guides to policies. Benefits…

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Maine health insurance premiums continue to climb

S.Vagus
Health Insurance plans

Main health insurance premiums grow despite more accommodating laws Several states in the U.S. are preparing to adopt and comply with more stringent insurance regulations due to the Affordable Care Act. Maine, however, is breaking this trend by loosening its insurance rules. These rules are often cited for making Maine one of the states with the highest insurance premiums in the country. State officials hope that by being more lenient on insurance companies they will be able to encourage a reduction in premiums and make insurance coverage more affordable for…

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States to look for alternatives if the Affordable Care Act does not survive

Nordstrom
Arizona Health Insurance industry

Arizona claims health care reform should happen on the local, not federal, level Arizona is among the 26 states that have risen up to challenge the Affordable Care Act, the federal health care law often referred to as “Obamacare.” These states claim that the federal government has overstepped its boundaries in passing the law. These claims primarily concern a handful of provisions found within the Affordable Care Act, one of which makes health insurance coverage mandatory for all U.S. citizens. Arizona, in particular, believes that the key problem with the…

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AARP Arizona teams with insurance regulators to attempt to open up the state’s rate review process to consumers

Nordstrom

According to the Department of Health and Human Services, insurers in Arizona are pushing for double-digit rate increases. The matter has not escaped the notice of the state’s Department of Insurance, of course, and regulators are reviewing the rate proposals from the companies involved. AARP Arizona has begun engaging regulators on the behalf of consumers. The organization believes that consumers should have a larger role in the rate review process, especially since it is them who will feel the impact of higher insurance rates. AARP officials are working with the…

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Federal Insurance Office receives 150 comments on how to modernize the U.S. health insurance regulatory system

Marc

In October of last year, the Federal Insurance Office (FIO) issued a request for commentary on how to modernize health insurance regulations. The commentary period ended in December with the agency receiving more than 150 suggestions on what to do. Now, the FIO is using the comments it has received to help build a report regarding the regulatory system in the U.S. When completed, the report will be given to Congress and used to help plan a course of action for the future. Michael McRaith, director of the FIO, attended…

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Role of the Federal Insurance Office questioned at recent panel hosted by the U.S. Treasury Department

S.Vagus

As the insurance landscape begins to change and take a new form, the role of the Federal Insurance Office, a federal agency set up after the passing of the Affordable Care Act in 2010, is being questioned. Last week, the U.S. Treasury Department hosted a panel regarding new insurance regulations. At the panel, consumer advocacy groups, legislators and regulators offered their views of the Federal Insurance Office and what role it should play in the future’s insurance industry. The opinions given were varied, with many consumer groups claiming that the…

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New health care rule enacted assigned to oversee insurance industry changes

H. Cutner

A major provision of the Affordable Care Act is about to come into play. Beginning yesterday, September 1, health insurance companies will be subjected to stricter scrutiny when it comes to raising premiums. When proposing rate increases, insurers will now have to submit written justification for their want of higher rates. These justifications will be open to the public for the sake of transparency and insurance regulators will be able to reject rate proposals if the justifications are not satisfactory. The new rule is meant to curb the seemingly relentless…

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