Blue Cross Insurers look to expand into the Medicaid market

Independence Blue Cross, one of Southeastern Pennsylvania’s largest health insurance companies, is looking to expand into the Medicaid market. The company has been spending millions of dollars in the effort to carve out a larger share of the market. The Medicaid market has become a popular target for health insurers looking to offer affordable coverage to those that have fallen on hard economic times. Independence Blue Cross already holds a prominent place in this particular market, but is looking to further its hold as the market grows more lucrative. Michigan’s…

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Medicare costs return to spotlight following deficit debate

Controversial proposals regarding Medicare expenses have moved back into the forefront of discussions as a result of the federal deficit debates, leading many to voice concerns regarding the increase of hundreds – if not thousands – of dollars to the medical bills of seniors.  It has not yet been determined whether any of these new proposals will be enacted in 2011, considering the current impasse faced by the government regarding its spending.  The Republicans are currently demanding these proposals so that trillions can be hacked from the federal budget.  However,…

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Federal officials ready to debate health insurance rate increase of 10% or more

U.S. officials are getting ready to debate whether or not increases in the rates for health insurance of 10 percent or more were excessive within seven states which have rate review processes that have been labeled ineffective.  The rate review systems for Louisiana, Alabama, Montana, Arizona, Wyoming, Idaho, Missouri, as well as four territories have been deemed to be insufficient by the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight (CCIIO). The CCIIO is a branch of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.   According to the CCIIO, federal officials, under…

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Senior beneficiaries of medicare and social security seeking soverage boost

Healthcare coverage and Medicare are currently a prime topic for discussion in Washington, and senior citizens, who are wondering what tomorrow holds in terms of their own medical needs, are taking out supplemental health insurance plans to help to compensate for what is currently lacking and what may go missing in the future. Seniors who are beneficiaries of Social Security and Medicare are wondering what the changes that the government is making to the healthcare system will do to their ability to receive the products and services that they require…

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Judges uneasy with individual health insurance requirement law

Three judges from a federal appeals court have questioned the element of President Obama’s health care changes that would require almost every American to obtain health insurance in order to avoid penalties.  At hearing held on June 8, 2011, three 11th Circuit Court of Appeals judges in Atlanta who had been on a panel debating whether keeping the new health care law should lead to the adoption of other wide reaching economic mandates by Congress, expressed concerns about the new requirements.  The ruling on a lawsuit filed by 26 states…

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