Insurance
Study: Health premiums up 95 percent since 2000
Here's a new health expense number that has a certain horror-movie quality, even to those of us who have followed the business for decades. According to a new study nonprofit advocacy group Families... Read more...
Observers puzzled over Obama's failure to appoint CMS head
Though President Obama has repeatedly said that Medicare and Medicaid costs are the "biggest threat" to the nation's financial future, to the surprise of everyone in politics, he still hasn't named a... Read more...
SPOTLIGHT: Dem Senators prep reform plan with government-option
So, wherefore the public health plan option? Apparently, the Democrats on a pivotal Senate committee have a plan ready to roll that includes a government-run insurance option and a $750-per-worker... Read more...
SPOTLIGHT: Health plan association head in spotlight
If you've been around a while in healthcare, one can hardly miss Karen Ignani, head of the America's Health Insurance Plans. Of late, she's become even more visible, as health plans are deeply... Read more...
Agreement would channel $80B to Medicare, Medicaid drugs
Pharmaceutical makers may soon fund brand-name drugs for lower- and middle-income seniors stuck in the Medicare's "donut hole" under a deal emerging in negotiations with the White House; the deal... Read more...
Spending cuts, tax increases highlight newest attempt at reform compromise
In case you haven't noticed, reforming healthcare in the United States is no easy task. Government-backed healthcare has received criticism on several different fronts, and it is doubtful that a... Read more...
Supreme Court asked to kill San Fran employer healthcare mandate
Under a program that began two years ago known as Healthy San Francisco, employers with at least 20 employees there were required to either provide health insurance, offer health spending accounts or... Read more...
Kerry bill would bar health plans from charging women more
Right now, a 25-year-old woman can pay up to 45 percent more than a 25-year-old man for the same health coverage, and a 40-year-old woman can pay up to 48 percent more than a 40-year-old man,... Read more...
Small businesses, health insurers team to make coverage affordable
Last Friday, the health insurance industry and lobbies for small businesses reached an agreement that reportedly will make coverage more affordable. After years of friction, leading health insurance... Read more...
Grassley: 'Public option' a 'deal-breaker'
Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-IA) said yesterday that he hopes he and Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) can introduce a health bill to congress by the summer that would allow congress to set minimum standards for... Read more...
