Health junction

Government Oversight of Private Insurance: What it Means for the Cost of Your Health Insurance The plethora of health care laws passed in 2010 under the Affordable Care Act,include provisions for �rate setting� and monitoring of private sector insurance plans on a federal level. The ruling applies to all insurance plans which participate in any government funded health care program, including Medicare, Medicaid, and the soon-to-be-deployed regional insurance exchanges. This article explains how this differs from present rate monitoring and premium-setting and the ultimate impact on the consumer. The Rules Health & Human Services is charged with establishing a health insurance rate oversight committee, to assess the reasonableness of proposed health insurance rate increases starting in 2014. Since health insurance premiums have continued to grow at a rate in excess of inflation and increased 41% between 2003 and 2009, according to a Commonwealth Fund study , affordability is a conce...

How Insurance Companies, Employers, and Insureds will fare under the PPAC Act Some of the legislators think the healthcare reform bill, signed by President Obama is a catastrophe, but from this angle it looks like a big win for the insurance industry. Though lots of things are missing from the bill, such as cost containment, this is the single biggest health care reform since Medicare was enacted in 1965. This article reviews how the current Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act impacts the insurance industry and its offerings. Top 10 changes to the Insurance Industry with the PPACA law 1. Creation of the Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust, funded through a panoply of new taxes to provide subsidies and expansion of health insurance programs, both government and private sector for the uninsured. 2. Medical insurance is now required for most U.S.A. residents (AKA lots of new customers!!!) 3. Removal of excessive waiting periods prior to commencement of insurance coverage ...