Individual Health

By Sandhya Somashekhar, April 25, 2014 The government left the door wide open for millions of Americans to be excused from the Affordable Care Act’s requirement that most people must carry health insurance or pay a fine, but so far relatively few have asked for such a pardon. About 77,000 families and individuals have requested exemptions from the health-care law’s …

By Tami Luhby, April 21, 2014 Wonder why some doctors grumble when a Medicare patient walks in the door? It’s likely because the government program typically pays only 80% of what private insurers do. Medicare has the bad rap of being a big, bloated government program, but it’s not because it’s overpaying doctors. CNNMoney analyzed the “allowed charges” for five …

By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, April 7, 2014 WASHINGTON — A growing share of Americans got health insurance as sign-up season for President Barack Obama’s health care law came to a close last month, a major survey released Monday has found. The Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index provides independent validation for White House claims that the law is expanding access, particularly for working people …

By Chacour Koop, March 6, 2014 SPRINGFIELD — While a child advocacy group’s report shows that more Illinois kids now have health insurance, it also warns that health disparities related to income and race could intensify if there are program cuts to Medicaid and social services as the state faces a large dip in revenues next year. The yearly report …

By Gigi Douban, January 23, 2014 When you think of the healthcare marketplace, you think of options and choices. But since the rollout of the Affordable Care Act, one thing’s been clear: Options are not a given. Alabama is among a dozen or so states where every county has just one–or maybe two– insurers. Experts are noticing a pattern: Folks in …

By Jeffrey Young, January 10, 2014 Red tape and echoes of Obamacare’s early technological failures have created a potentially life-threatening crisis for a Connecticut woman forced to postpone surgery because her insurance coverage is in doubt. K.C. Handler, 43, of New Canaan got troubling news from her doctor in early December: Tests revealed a growth on her left lung that …

By Carla K. Johnson and Tom Murphy, January 21, 2014 The health care overhaul’s reach stretches far beyond the millions of uninsured Americans it is expected to help. It also could touch everything from the drug choices to doctor bills of people who have insurance through work. The law isn’t expected to prompt sudden, radical changes for workers. So you …

By Angela Perkey, 1/15/2014 The latest report on Obamacare enrollment indicates that a relatively small number of young adults under 35 have signed up for health coverage. This isn’t surprising at all. However, it’s not for the reasons that are often cited. Those of us who fall into this generation are generally not lazy. We also don’t think we’re invincible, …

Whew! The initial Obamacare enrollment is behind us, and we were able to assist our clients with coming into compliance with the new laws. Now what? ACA enrollment war stories? Did anybody else receive a call to help with coverage for the first of the year, “so I won’t be arrested for not signing up?”  Did anybody else receive an …

By Charlie Weston – 02 December 2013 A SECOND health insurer is to push up prices from the first day of the new year. Aviva will hit families renewing their policies from January 1 with rises averaging 5.2pc, with some plans going up by 11pc. It comes just days after similarly sized premium increases were announced by GloHealth. Now the …