Health

By Joan Biskupic, June 30, 2014 WASHINGTON—A majority of Americans oppose letting employers, based on their religious views, exclude certain contraceptives from workers’ insurance coverage, says a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll ahead of a U.S. Supreme Court decision expected on Monday. In one of the most closely watched cases of the year, the nine-member court will weigh whether for-profit corporations may …

The Associated Press, June 26, 2014 More than 960,000 New York residents signed up for insurance under the state’s new health plan marketplace during its first enrollment period, according to a state report issued Wednesday. The analysis shows that 55 percent of the individuals enrolled in Medicaid and 38 percent — or 371,000 people — signed up for private insurances …

The Associated Press, June 19, 2014 The group most directly affected by the implementation of the Affordable Care Act’s insurance markets — those who buy insurance on their own directly from an insurer or through one of the exchanges — is a difficult group to survey. Those who purchase their own insurance make up just 1 in 10 people under …

In Part One, we looked at the overall dysfunction of the healthcare industry and the reasons for it. Here, we’ll continue to follow the money and look at the first two disconnects. Condition of the Existing Healthcare Industry At one time, individuals paid for treatment directly to the provider. Later, health insurance was offered as a means of spreading the …

By Anne Carrns, June 12, 2014 Employers are moving more quickly than forecasted to offer health insurance to their workers through private exchanges, according to new data from Accenture, a consulting firm. Three million people signed up for workplace health coverage for this year through private exchanges, Accenture said. That’s roughly three times the number of people the firm had …

Part 1 of 4: The Results of Dysfunction We are up to our necks in charts and graphs prepared by academic experts, government regulators, and industry marketing hype—all addressing or attempting to obscure, based on their various agendas, how the healthcare industry works in relation to the  money in and money out. It is incredibly obvious that dysfunction reigns. Transparency …

Being a sales trainer in the health insurance field, I’ve seen many agents who jump into the business when they’re not fully prepared to succeed. I’m going beyond obvious sales skills, such as qualifying, assessing needs, handling what most people call objections, closing and follow up. I’m also going beyond product knowledge. For the sake of time, I want to …

By Tom Murphy, May 26, 2014 The wild hikes in health insurance rates that blindsided many Americans in recent years may become less frequent because of the health care overhaul. Final rates for 2015 won’t be out for months, but early filings from insurers suggest price increases of 10 percent or more. That may sound like a lot, but rates …

By Tom Murphy, May 24, 2014 Customers who bought health insurance on the overhaul’s public exchanges can expect a flurry of reports about big price hikes and some decreases for 2015 as insurers finalize their rates over the next few weeks. But they shouldn’t give much weight to any of this. The actual change in a person’s policy will depend …

We last noted that the dust may have settled on the first round of PPACA enrollment and that the “who won and lost” discussions may be slowing down. However, the news since the last article’s publication appears to have still prompted more questions than answers: Do we NOW know how many have enrolled? The Obama administration tracked plans purchased on …