Health

Investors.com, May 21, 2014 Bailouts: Last Friday, the Obama administration quietly expanded an insurance industry bailout program that it publicly insisted never existed. In exchange, Obama wants a big political favor from insurers. Last week, the administration promised insurers it would use “other sources of funding” to protect their profits “in the unlikely event” that ObamaCare costs more than expected. …

Headlines related to the Affordable Care Act and the new healthcare and insurance landscape seem to change more often than the weather. But one thing seems certain in its uncertainty: The future of Medicare Advantage plans. A recent online article stated that, “Because of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, seniors enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans are paying higher …

I am not an agent. I don’t work for an insurance carrier, and I’m not affiliated with a brokerage or wholesaler of any kind. However, I do consider myself to be a valuable component of the insurance industry as a whole. When our family business came to Texas in 2001, it was to provide technology and operations workflow beginning with …

These days, so much of our everyday exchanges happen online. Sure, it’s convenient, but not always the most appropriate venue for an insurance sale to take place. I happen to work with Medicare Supplements, and I find that phone calls are vastly underrated in terms of a way to close those sales. Initiating applications by phone actually makes great sense …

By Liz Neporent, May 8, 2014 Under the Affordable Care Act, insurance companies can charge smokers and other tobacco users up to 50 percent more than non-smokers for a health insurance policy. But where do e-smokers fit in? E-cigarettes are battery-operated nicotine inhalers that consist of a rechargeable lithium battery, a cartridge called a cartomizer and an LED that lights …

By Henry J. Aaron, May 7, 2014 Open enrollment for 2014 insurance coverage under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) ended on March 31. When the White House reported that enrollment had reached the targets, one could almost hear sighs of relief from supporters and gnashing of teeth by opponents. In truth, meeting the enrollment targets made clear only that the …

By Neil Irwin, May 1, 2014 The days of Americans getting health insurance through their employers may be numbered — and the change could be just as profound as the shift of employers forcing employees to manage their own retirement savings. As the Affordable Care Act goes from thousands of pages of legalese to actual, real-life public policy, the future …

The Associated Press, 4/28/2014 HARTFORD, Conn. — A bill that attempts to buffer the effect of rising long-term care insurance policy rate increases is heading to Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s desk. The House of Representatives on Monday voted 142-0 in favor of legislation requiring insurance carriers to spread premium rate increases of 20 percent or more over at least …

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 …