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Illinois has Insurance Exchange Approved

The Department of Health and Human Services has granted conditional approval for Illinois’ plan for a health insurance exchange. The state will have an exchange that is a federal-state partnership. In this blog, I also have an update about what each state is doing with their exchange. On February 13, 2013, Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, announced that the state of Illinois has been granted conditional approval for their plan to operate a health insurance exchange. The state has decided to create a partnership exchange. This means it will be run, in part, by … Continue reading →

ACLU Ends Legal Challenge to Kansas Insurance Law

This is the end of a court case that had been going on for a very long time. The ACLU sued the state of Kansas over a law that would require health insurance companies to exclude coverage for abortion from policies. The case was scheduled to be heard in March. The settlement prevents the ACLU from raising the same claims in future cases. This particular insurance court case has been going on since 2011. The original judge assigned to the case passed away before the case could be heard. The case was passed to another judge, and then to a … Continue reading →

OFIR Warns Michigan Drivers About Fake Auto Insurance

The Office of Financial and Insurance Regulation (OFIR) is warning Michigan drivers about the potential that they may have purchased a fraudulent auto insurance policy. An investigation revealed another situation where someone was intentionally selling fake car insurance to unsuspecting drivers. If you live in Michigan, you might want to go check your auto insurance policy to make sure its is real. Every state requires that drivers purchase auto insurance. People tend to look around for a policy that isn’t expensive, yet covers what it is supposed to cover. It is a good idea to do some “homework” and make … Continue reading →

Sebelius Announces Countdown to Affordable Insurance

Kathleen Sebelius has written a very interesting post on HealthCare.Gov today. It is titled “Countdown to Affordable Health Insurance”. It gives exciting details about the upcoming health insurance exchanges, and how to access them. Some of you might be able to get help with the cost of coverage right now! Kathleen Sebelius is the Secretary of Health and Human Services. You have probably heard her name mentioned quite a lot in regards to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (which is also called Affordable Care Act or “Obamacare”). Right now, you can go to HealthCare.Gov to read her post … Continue reading →

Millions About to Lose Unemployment Insurance Benefits

You have probably heard at least some news regarding the “fiscal cliff”. In this blog, I will focus on just one part of that. If Congress doesn’t extend emergency unemployment insurance programs, it will result in 2.1 million Americans losing their jobless benefits on January 1, 2013. That’s an incredibly stressful way to start off the new year! Unemployment insurance benefits are incredibly important. This is what a family survives on after a “breadwinner” has been laid off, or has had their company close due to the economy. A person who loses a job, through no fault of his or … Continue reading →

Pennsylvania Will have a Federal Insurance Exchange

The Governor of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, has announced that Pennsylvania will have a health insurance exchange that is run by the federal government. Republican Party of Pennsylvania Chairman Rob Gleason has released a statement that applauds the governor’s decision. The Affordable Care Act requires all states to have a health insurance exchange. There were three options about how that exchange would be run. One option was to have a state-based health insurance exchange. The deadline for that option has now passed. Another option is to have an exchange that is run as a partnership between the state and the federal … Continue reading →

Idaho Chooses a State-Based Insurance Exchange

Yet another state has selected to have a state-based health insurance exchange. Surprisingly, the state is Idaho, which has a Republican governor and was among the states that sued to overturn the Affordable Care Act. Idaho’s plans for the state-based exchange have yet to be approved. The relationship between the Affordable Care Act and the state of Idaho has been contentious. Idaho was among the 26 states that were plaintiffs in the case heard by the Supreme Court in March of 2012 regarding the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act. The governor of Idaho is Butch Otter. He is a … Continue reading →

Six States have Insurance Exchanges Approved

A total of thirteen states (and the District of Columbia), have been working on creating a state-based health insurance exchange. This week, the Obama Administration gave conditional approval to the exchanges of six states. This is excellent news for the uninsured people living in those states. Part of the Affordable Care Act requires each and every state (and the District of Columbia) to have a health insurance exchange. The exchanges will be used by individuals and small businesses who are uninsured or who are seeking a more affordable health insurance plan. The exchanges will make it clear if a person … Continue reading →

Why Do Companies Offer Health Insurance to Employees?

There are plenty of companies that offer (at least some) of their workers an employer sponsored health insurance plan. Many have been doing so for decades. Why? It turns out that there are certain benefits that employers receive as a result of having insured workers. In the news lately, there have been some companies that openly stated that they will not be offering their workers an employer sponsored ealth plan. Right now, the majority of Americans who have health insurance coverage are able to afford it because it comes to them through their employer. It can be somewhat shocking to … Continue reading →

Will Your Health Insurance Cover a Flu Shot?

Now wouldn’t be a good time to catch the flu. All of us are so busy in December, and no one enjoys being sick. The CDC recommends that most people get a flu shot in order to prevent them from catching the current strain of flu. Will your health insurance cover the cost of a flu shot? This year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend that everyone 6 months and older get a flu vaccine. They point out that the flu shot is the most important step in protecting against the flu, which can be a very … Continue reading →