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May 10 2013 New data shows significant variation across the country and within communities in what hospitals charge for common inpatient services. Also, HHS made approximately $87 million available to...
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May 10 2013 Republicans renew call to repeal the entire healthcare law while the Obama administration is providing $150 million for health centers to offer Affordable Health Care (AHC) enrollment... more ›
May 6 2013 Now a new series of shorter and easier applications have been released by CMS. Stinging from criticism that the new Health Care applications were too long and too complicated, the Obama...
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May 1 2013 Agents and brokers will play a critical role in helping consumers access health insurance coverage through Affordable Insurance Exchanges or Health Insurance Marketplaces, according to an...
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Apr 23 2013 Test your knowledge on key items from The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). The health reform law promises to deliver big changes in the U.S. health care system. But, as...
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Apr 23 2013 Confused about how the new health reform law really works? Get answers in just 9 minutes by watching this animated movie from The Henry J Kaiser Family Foundation. Click
Health Reform Hits... more ›
Apr 8 2013 A free replay of the webinar "
Health Care Reform: Strategies to Help Control Costs, Mitigate Risk, & Decrease Penalties," has been made available by
ADP ®, a leading provider of...
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Apr 1 2013 The federal government will pay 100 percent of the cost of certain newly eligible adult Medicaid beneficiaries effective January 1, 2014. The final rule was announced today by Health and...
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Mar 27 2013 Health claim costs per member, per month for non-group individual health insurance plans will increase 32% under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is a key finding in the Society of Actuaries...
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Mar 13 2013 Idaho Governor C.L. "Butch" Otter needs citizen support in his battle for a state-based Health Exchange. After winning a hard fought battle in the Idaho House on Wednesday, the legislation...
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Feb 26 2013 A final rule that implements five key consumer protections from the Affordable Care Act were issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). "Because of the Affordable... more ›
Feb 22 2013 Final rules for "essential" health benefits were announced by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The rule outlines health insurance issuer standards for a core package of...
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Feb 1 2013 Only 11 of the 50 US states have moved to implement new consumer safeguards under President Barack Obama's healthcare law according to this
Reuters report posted today by
Insurance Journal....
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Jan 29 2013 Governor Butch Otter is appealing to all Idahoans for help passing legislation for a state based health insurance exchange. Facing opposition from far-right legislators Otter has taken the...
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Dec 13 2012 Only 15 U.S. states so far plan to operate health insurance exchanges under President Barack Obama's reform law, leaving Washington with the daunting prospect of creating and operating the...
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Nov 29 2012 It appears that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) is here to stay. It survived the constitutional challenge in the US Supreme Court and the electoral challenge with the...
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Nov 25 2012 The Obama administration moved forward to implement provisions in the health care law that would make it illegal for insurance companies to discriminate against people with pre-existing... more ›
Aug 7 2012 Basic premiums for Medicare prescription drug plans, on average, are projected to remain constant in 2013, Health and Human Services Secretary (HHS) Kathleen Sebelius announced today. The...
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Aug 3 2012 Women are getting access to eight new prevention-related health care services free beginning Aug. 1, 2012 announced Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. The new...
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Jul 18 2012 The first Medical Loss Ratio rebate checks were mailed to small groups insured by Regence BlueShield of Idaho on July 16th. This is a rebate on their 2011 premium under the Affordable Care...
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Jun 19 2012 More than 13.5 million Americans are now covered by Health Savings Account (HSA)-eligible insurance plans, a more than 18 percent increase since last year, according to a
new census...
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Jun 15 2012 Three different physician events saw national doctor groups calling for less medical care. In a bold and unprecedented announcement, they say doctors need to use clinical evidence to make...
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May 30 2012 Skyrocketing costs for opioid pain management and abuse is damaging the health care and workers compensation systems. Dan Reynolds, managing editor of Risk & Insurance writes "
An... more ›
May 23 2012 The newly formed Health Care Cost Institute (HCCI) compared data from 2009 to 2010 showing that pure price increases for care rather than increased utilization is driving spending higher....
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May 17 2012 Washington and Oregon were among the six new states to take Health Exchange grants to implement the new health care law. Idaho, a highly conservative and Republican majority state, snubbed...
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May 15 2012 Obesity now accounts for almost 21 percent of U.S. health care costs -- more than twice the previous estimates, reports a revised Cornell University study. The research, originally done in...
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May 15 2012 A typical American family of four receiving healthcare through an employer-sponsored preferred provider organization (PPO) plan now pays $20,728. This according to the latest study by...
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May 3 2012 1 in 3 U.S. adults-an estimated 68 million of us-have this and it is the "silent killer". Untreated high blood pressure, also called hypertension can damage the heart, brain, and kidneys...
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Apr 19 2012 What is the status of the Idaho Health Insurance Exchange? The US Supreme Court will be making its decision in June whether all, part or none of the Affordable Care Act will stand as...
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Apr 13 2012 Ten states including Washington State received grants to provide early childhood support and home visits to families who volunteer to receive these services, Health and Human Services (HHS)...
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Apr 11 2012 A proposed rule that would establish a unique "health plan identifier" under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) was announced today by Department of...
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Mar 13 2012 New rules released today will offer states substantial flexibility as they design a health insurance exchange marketplace that works for their residents. The Idaho Legislature said "no...
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Mar 6 2012 The maximum benefit limits under medical insurance plans for an individual's lifetime have been eliminated under the Affordable Care Act. "For years, Americans with lifetime caps imposed on... more ›
Feb 16 2012 Don't forget you have free preventative services to use in 2012! "Americans of all ages can now get the preventive services they need, like mammograms and the new Annual Wellness Visit,... more ›
Feb 10 2012 Do you have trouble understanding health insurance? People in the market for health insurance will soon have clear, understandable and straightforward information on what health plans will...
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Dec 16 2011 In a surprise move, the Obama Administration has announced that each state can decide what "essential health benefits" will be offered in their state Health Care Exchanges beginning in 2014.... more ›
Dec 11 2011 The US Supreme Court has agreed to decide the constitution issues of the Affordable Care Act. The court will hear oral arguments in March and then is expected to render a decision in June...
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Dec 1 2011 Idaho is one of 13 new states to receive grants to help them create Health Insurance Exchanges. The
Affordable Care Act mandates that every state have a Health Insurance Exchange, either a...
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Nov 15 2011 The Affordable Care Act became law on March 23, 2010. The law's provisions are being implemented on a timeline through January 1, 2015. There are four new items being added in 2012. A brief...
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Nov 2 2011 Physicians have faced steep payment cuts annually because of a flawed 1997 law according to Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Secretary...
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Oct 28 2011 Medicare Part B premiums in 2012 will be lower than previously projected and the Part B deductible will decrease by $22 according to an announcement by the U.S. Department of Health and...
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Sep 29 2011 The Obama administration is asking the US Supreme Court to decide the fate of the Affordable Care Act . Political battle lines were drawn since the Act was signed into law in March 2010. As...
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Sep 15 2011 This year marks an important change in Medicare's annual open enrollment, the time period during which people can choose to change plans or shift from Medicare Advantage to Traditional...
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Aug 2 2011 Historic new guidelines that will ensure women receive preventive health services at no additional cost were announced today by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)....
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Jul 15 2011 The median premium cost per employee was $400 per month under private-sector group health insurance plans in 2010 according to a survey just released by the US Dept of Health & Human...
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Mar 25 2011 March 23rd marked the one-year anniversary of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). The date was marked with numerous events on Capitol Hill and around the country, some...
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Mar 10 2011 Employers are taking bold action to manage health care costs and offer affordable care according to the National Business Group on Health Survey just released by Towers Watson. Over the...
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Feb 28 2011 Oregon is one of seven states awarded "Early Innovator" grants to design and implement the Information Technology (IT) infrastructure needed to operate Health Insurance Exchanges as part of...
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Jan 24 2011 Every business owner will be impacted by the troubles brewing in workers compensation insurance
. Among the top trends identified to watch are - medical costs continue to rise, injured...
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Nov 12 2010 The number of uninsured rose sharply in 2009, reaching 50 million people. Decreasing the number of uninsured is a key goal of the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which will...
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Nov 5 2010 If you have a health claim denied in Idaho you have the right to the have the decision independently reviewed. This independent review process was instituted as part of Idaho's Health...
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Oct 25 2010 The area's only free medical clinic is serving the uninsured and medically needy of the Lewiston-Clarkston valley. The Snake River Community Clinic (SRCC) has limited hours on Tuesday and...
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Oct 21 2010 Higher auto insurance rates for New Yorkers is blamed on rampant fraud by unscrupulous medical providers. Health care costs for automobile accident victims in New York increased 42 percent...
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Oct 13 2010 Hospitals and physicians should prepare for increasing liability costs, according to the 2010 Hospital Professional Liability and Physician Liability Benchmark Analysis created by Aon Risk...
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Oct 6 2010 Tens of millions of dollars are being spent by insurance companies to comply with Health Care Reform. September 23rd was a major deadline, ushering in new health benefits for consumers...
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Aug 16 2010 Idaho, Washington and Oregon receive $1M each to police unjustified health insurance premium increases. The Department of Health and Human Services announced the award of $46 million in...
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Aug 3 2010 On average there is nearly one medical liability claim for every physician. This is one cost driver of higher medical fees passed on to consumers. The
AMA reports the high number of claims...
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Jul 20 2010 President Obama signed into law on March 23, 2010
H.R. 3590, the
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. This sweeping and controversial reform law includes many provisions that will...
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