Live Insurance News

Health insurance exchange in Missouri may still be state run

November 22, 2012April 30, 2013

Though the state may have said that it won’t be running its own marketplace, the issue drags on. The state of Missouri has already informed federal officials that it will not be creating its own health insurance exchange, but this has not closed the issue altogether. The extension of the deadline by the Department of Health and Human Services has encouraged further discussion. The state has now been talking about whether a health insurance exchange may be run by the state at some point in the future. The deadline change,…

Health insurance exchange for Missouri will be federally run

November 12, 2012April 30, 2013

The state’s governor has announced that they will not be capable of establishing their own marketplace. Missouri Governor Jay Nixon has recently released the latest health insurance news regarding the development of the exchange that is required under the Affordable Care Act, and has revealed that it will not be run by the state. This means that the federal government will be creating and running the online marketplace. In order to comply with the healthcare law’s overhaul, Missouri would have had to submit their blueprints for the health insurance exchange…

Missouri Insurance Department recovers funds amidst swarm of complaints

October 24, 2012April 30, 2013

Missouri Insurance Department fields 26,000 consumers complaints The Missouri Insurance Department is fielding some 26,000 consumer complaints concerning the coverage they receive through the state’s insurance companies. This week alone, the agency has received more than 10,000 complaints and inquiries regarding the practices of insurance companies. On average, the agency typically receives 16,000 complaints throughout the course of an entire year. Spurred by these complaints, the Missouri Insurance Department has reclaimed some $7.7 million that will be returned to the state’s insurance consumers. Common complaints involve health insurance The most…

Health insurance exchange in Missouri will face voters

October 16, 2012April 30, 2013

The residents of the state will decide whether the online marketplace will be run by the state or federal government. Next month, when voters head out to cast their ballots, those in Missouri will be asked to address an additional matter, which will involve whether their health insurance exchange will be operated by the state or by the federal government. Some are saying that these votes may not have a large impact on the final decision. It has been suggested that the votes of the citizens in Missouri may have…

Missouri Legislature overturns Senate Bill 749

September 14, 2012April 30, 2013

Lawmakers dismantle Senate Bill 749 The Missouri Legislature has overridden a veto from Governor Jay Nixon concerning legislation that would have allowed consumers and businesses to opt out of insurance coverage providing benefits for certain types of birth control. The legislation, called Senate Bill 749, could have required employers to provide coverage for abortions, sterilization, and other forms of birth control through their insurance company. The Legislature voted on overriding the legislation this week with a 26-6 vote from the Senate. Bill allows employers and individuals to opt out of…

Missouri postpones further health insurance exchange efforts

September 19, 2011 Julie Campbell

Following the voicing of concerns by several Republican senators, insurance officials from Missouri have taken a step back away from intentions to begin spending millions of dollars from the federal government on an investment into the computer technology that would be required to put a central element of the new federal health care law into place. In August, Missouri had been awarded a federal grant of $21 million to be applied to the preparation for the health insurance exchange to be created and run by the state and would allow…

Missouri residents in the highest risk group will have lower health insurance rates

August 11, 2011August 11, 2011 H. Cutner

Missouri officials have announced that they will be decreasing the rates for the high risk healthcare pool by 23 percent for both current and new participants in the program. In 2010, Missouri created a new health insurance pool for the highest risk group, but though it was anticipated that there would be about 3,000 people who joined the program, less than 600 have done so, as many claim that the premiums are simply too expensive. The reduction in the rates are being made possible by both federal funds and policyholder…