Learn more about how insurance companies interact with the third-party administrator of a prescription drug program.
The Mental Health Parity Act (MHPA) was signed into United States law in 1996, mandating that any annual or lifetime dollar limits imposed on mental health benefits must be at least as high as the limits for physical health benefits.
When evaluating the risk, where does your insurance company stand with IUL policy offerings?
Learn what the true cost of employee health insurance is for the employer and the policyholder.
Learn more about the recent Labor Department proposal that will impact the gig economy and potentially change the requirements for health insurance offerings.
What to know about employer group health insurance in 2022.
This is a guide to the basics of commercial health insurance, detailing some of the most important components.
Here are the most interesting things to know about the health insurance underwriting industry.
How can health insurance predictive modeling help your business stay afloat in the industry? Read on to learn more.
What does the current PHE extension mean for insurance companies and how long will it last?
Learn more about the importance of ACA and adverse selection
The rising cost of long term care increasing the same time that more people than ever need long term care services, which can be a burden for seniors and their families.
Find out how moral hazards and adverse selection are connected and how they impact health insurance.
Let's dive into the most recent health insurance trends and how they could impact the industry as a whole as we move into the middle of 2022.
Learn more about what risk transfer is and why it is an important management strategy for insurance companies.
From chronic disease management and improving care for patients, insurance providers benefit from fully understanding the Medicare chronic care improvement program.
Medicare Advantage prescription drug (MAPD) plans are a kind of Medicare plan that includes prescription drug coverage for its participants.
Adverse selection negatively affects both the policyholder and the insurance company, so it is beneficial to understand how to mitigate the companies exposure.
More clients may fall back on gap health insurance and it is important to guide them through the process, from what is covered to what will need to be paid out of pocket.
A Medicare fee schedule is a tool that is used by physicians, ambulance services, clinical laboratory services and other medical service workers.
Despite federal laws enforcing mental health insurance coverage, some populations are commonly left out of mental health coverage.
There have been few issues in the national conversation more prominent in the past decade-plus than the rising cost of health care and coverage, and that's not likely to change any time soon.
Lawmakers and consumers alike have expressed frustration and concern about the rate at which prescription drug prices have been rising, but there is seemingly no end in sight for these increases.
Millions of Americans lost their health insurance during the pandemic as a result of also losing their jobs, and this issue has not gone away despite government efforts to help people find coverage.
Millions of Americans lost their health care over the course of the past year as a result of job loss amid the recent economic downturn.
In recent years, there has been a large national conversation about the ways in which the U.S. health care system excels, and those where it lags behind those of similar countries.
Health care costs have been front of mind for millions of Americans in recent years, and the economic issues surrounding the novel coronavirus pandemic have likely compounded these concerns for millions.
The national rollout of the COVID-19 vaccines in the U.S. continues apace and at this point, hundreds of millions of people have received at least one dose.
Among the ins and outs insurers must comply with under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is paying out rebates to policyholders when they do not meet preset medical loss ratio thresholds.
After a shaky start, the national rollout of the three novel coronavirus vaccines approved for public use in the U.S. is starting to pick up some serious steam.
The U.S. isn't particularly close to being out of the woods when it comes to getting the novel coronavirus pandemic under control, but the nation is certainly getting there.
The novel coronavirus pandemic forced some unfortunate realities on people who lost their jobs, suffered adverse health issues or were just rocked by their way of life turning completely on its head.
The economic fallout from the novel coronavirus pandemic is still unfolding in the U.S. and around the world, and one of the biggest points of concern for millions of people has been job loss.
Over the past several years, experts have continually raised alarms about the rising cost of health care and coverage.
The average American now relies on multiple prescription drugs in their daily life, and that's an issue that seems to only be growing more prevalent as time goes on.
It's certainly no secret that health insurers have been looking for clarity and certainty amid the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Tens of millions of people across the country have lost their jobs since the onset of the novel coronavirus pandemic, which likely also resulted in losing their health insurance coverage.
The full impact of the novel coronavirus pandemic has yet to be fully understood, but there are plenty of indicators of the difficulties that have come in the months - and even years - ahead.
The ups and downs of the coronavirus pandemic seen at the state, national and even global levels aren't over, and already many are projecting big changes for the insurance and health care landscapes.
It should come as no surprise to anyone who's seen the national unemployment statistics over the past several weeks that the job market has become increasingly dire.
By now, just about everyone has seen the headlines: The recession brought on by the novel coronavirus pandemic has already resulted in tens of millions of Americans losing their jobs.
The cost of coverage and care has been growing rapidly on an annual basis in the health care industry for more than a decade at this point, and there aren't many signs of slowing down.
It goes without saying that many aspects of the health care industry have been fundamentally altered by the outbreak of coronavirus.
In recent years, many Americans have come to recognize that the current health insurance system can cause major problems for consumers.
Perhaps the biggest frustration consumers have with their health insurance these days is cost.
Americans are justifiably concerned about the cost of health care and insurance coverage.
The various legal ups and downs around marijuana use that arose over the past few years have impacted a number of major industries.
Since the turn of the century, the amount of money Americans contribute to their health care each year has increased dramatically and that trend shows little sign of slowing down.
In the last installment on the Lewis & Ellis blog, the issue of what Americans spend on their health care each year was examined at length.
Any American with private health insurance has likely seen their costs rise sharply in the past several years, even as laws intended to slow the rate of premium increases have largely been effective.
The vast majority of senior citizens are eligible for enrollment in Medicare, a low-cost, highly valuable health insurance option that makes it easier for millions to make ends meet.
While people often express concern about the rising cost of their health insurance, there is also plenty of evidence to suggest that part of their frustration with coverage arises from a lack of familiarity with industry basics, as well.
It is no secret that more health costs are being shifted away from employers and onto workers seemingly every year, forcing people to pay thousands of dollars more for their health care and insurance than they did even a few years ago.
Almost regardless of background, political affiliation or any other demographic breakdown is the understanding that certain aspects of the national health care system need to be reformed.
The issues around health care have been in the news a lot over the course of the last decade.
As one might suspect, having access good dental coverage is a key component of strong health overall, but the American health care system keeps these two issues quite separate in many cases.
Observers who have paid any amount of attention to health care costs in recent years has likely spotted the biggest driver in annual growth: prescription drug prices.
For millions of Americans, the costs and uncertainty around health care and health insurance are growing all the time.
Millions of baby boomers have either surpassed the age at which they begin to qualify for Medicare benefits, or are rapidly approaching that point.
Millions of Americans have gained broader access to health insurance as a result of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, but costs continue to rise at least somewhat sharply for many of them.
Over the past few years, there have been numerous efforts to pick away at the various rules that made up the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act as it was first passed.
It should come as no surprise that, given how health care costs have risen since the turn of the century, the issue now occupies a lot of how people view their financial situations overall.
Costs for health care and insurance coverage have been a major focus for consumers, business leaders, advocacy groups and government officials for years now.
The ways in which the health insurance landscape has shifted in recent years cannot be overstated.
Across the U.S., millions of people have been able to gain health insurance coverage over the past several years as a result of various provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
Over the past several years, the number of people who are covered by health insurance has grown slowly but steadily.
The cost of health insurance premiums have become a major talking point for everyone from consumers to the nation's top lawmakers over the past few years.
The ways in which the health care landscape has shifted nationwide in the past several years has been significant, but the alterations are really ramping up in 2018.
One of the biggest issues in the country over the past few years, for everyone from lawmakers and businesses to individuals, has been the rate at which costs for health care have been rising.
For some time now, the cost of health care has been rising sharply each year, to the point that it is becoming a major point of concern for many employers.
Older Americans have a lot of issues to consider when it comes to their health insurance and care needs as they age.
Since the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was passed in 2010, the rate at which health care costs have increased each year has, generally speaking, been slower than before it was implemented.
Every spring, millions of college students graduate from school and enter "the real world" for the first time.
It's no secret that health care costs have been rising sharply for years now and, even after slowing down somewhat since the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, growing costs remain a significant point of concern.
There is plenty of recent data to suggest that the health care industry as a whole is seeing costs rise to potentially unwieldy levels, leading to more difficulty for consumers.
The current health care landscape in the U.S. is such that there are many workers being hired every month to meet demand, and the industry is keeping up - for the most part.
Across the country, millions of Americans have faced difficulties in dealing with their health insurance over the past several years, as benefits shrink and both premiums and out-of-pocket rise.
The issue of health insurance costs have been a thorny one for many parties over the past several years.
Issues surrounding health insurance have been a point of concern for many Americans for years.
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act placed a requirement on all Americans to have some sort of health insurance coverage.
With so much stated concern about the "stability" of the health insurance sector coming to the fore in recent months, it should come as little surprise that more is being done on the supply side of the market to address the issues at play.
Health care organizations - such as insurers and care providers - are often seen as rich targets for identity thieves because they protect so much information belonging to a large number of people.
The way in which the health insurance industry operates on a continual basis has changed a lot over the past several years, and more changes are in the offing as health care reform remains a big issue in Washington.
One of the big impacts of current legislative efforts to alter the health care landscape that is broadly agreed upon by industry experts is that any attempts to change the federally run marketplaces will likely result in significantly higher costs for many Americans.
Federal legislators and other policymakers have been working feverishly for some time to overhaul the way in which health care works in the U.S., especially when it comes to insurance coverage.
One of the biggest issues in the U.S. health care sector these days is that Americans spend far more money on coverage and treatment than other major developed nations, but typically get worse health outcomes anyway.
While an apple a day keeps the doctor away, the tech giant bearing the same name typically hasn't had a role to play in consumers' health care.AAAAAAAAA
Millions more Americans have health insurance coverage - often for the first time in years - as a result of the broadening availability of coverage via the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act's exchanges and Medicaid expansion.
While the national health care picture remains rather unclear going forward, lawmakers in a number of states are taking matters into their own hands when it comes to providing residents with legal protections.
The national health care landscape changed a lot over the course of 2017 and 2018 looks to be no different, with more uncertainty about the future of care and the legislative wrangling surrounding it now looming.
The federal government significantly scaled back efforts to enroll millions of Americans in the ACA's health insurance marketplaces for 2018, shortening sign-up windows and scaling back marketing.
The way in which the health care landscape has changed over the past year seems to be resulting in declining enrollment in state- and federally run insurance exchanges.
Over the past several years, the cost of health care in the U.S. has been rising.
The federal program that helps provide millions of children with low-cost or free health insurance has been a political bargaining chip in recent weeks, leading to concern and consternation among consumer advocates and health care professionals.
Over the past decade, the issue of rising care and insurance coverage costs has been a driving force in the difficulties Americans faced in dealing with the health care industry as a whole.
Over the past several months, there have been many changes to the health care landscape.
A rumored deal that would allow one of the nation's largest drug store chains to acquire one of its largest health insurers recently passed from rumor into reality.
Many Americans have difficulties navigating the ins and outs of today's health care landscape, which can often be confusing and costly simultaneously, even if they have good insurance policies.
There has been a significant amount of focus on the many potential changes to the health care landscape that have been expected for much of the year, but now lawmakers in Washington seem to have shifted their attention to reforming the tax code.
Nationwide, a lot of attention has been paid - and understandably so - to the expected massive increases in health insurance premiums for people who buy their coverage through government-run exchanges.
Today, there is a lot of uncertainty about the changing health care landscape and what it might mean for the millions of Americans who have been able to get health insurance in recent years thanks to expanding availability.
The national health care industry has certainly experienced some ups and downs in recent months, thanks in large part to the uncertainty surrounding the potential repeal - in whole or in part - of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
Throughout the health care and insurance industries, adults in their 20s and early 30s are often referred to as "Young Invincibles."
Over the past several months, there has been a lot of understandable confusion about the state of the health insurance marketplace for 2018.
The open enrollment period for consumers to sign up for health insurance through federal or state-run exchanges is now underway, but consumer advocates say there are some potential hurdles that didn't exist before.
The uncertainty over the future of health care and health insurance has been looming over both industries for some time now.
Over the past several years, the various mechanisms put in place by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act helped to ensure millions of Americans signed up for individual health insurance.
The nation's health care laws have been through some serious ups and downs over the past several years to say the least.
Across the U.S., many states have been announcing the expected changes to health insurance premiums for 2018 enrollment, and for the most part, those costs are on the rise.
The national laws pertaining to health care and health insurance have been a massive topic of conversation for years at this point, but one fact is undeniable: Millions more people have coverage now than they did just a few years ago.
Millions of Americans have health insurance coverage of some kind and put it to good use over the course of each year.
Health care has been in the national headlines for some time, and there's plenty of reasons for consumers and experts alike to be a little uncertain about where the industry is headed in the months and years ahead.
While the uncertainty seen in the health care industry over the past several months is certainly pervasive, and not just for companies in that field.
Late summer is the time of year when many states begin releasing details about what consumers can expect to pay for their health insurance for the coming year.
Given the uncertainty now surrounding the future of the national health care landscape, it should come as little surprise that Americans have real concerns about their ability to afford coverage as rates creep even higher.
As the health care debate rages in Washington, and tens of millions wait to find out what will become of their health insurance coverage, a new consensus among many Americans seems to be emerging.
While the number of people across the U.S. who are covered by some sort of health insurance has skyrocketed in recent years, there are still some groups that remain disproportionately uninsured.
The ways in which the changing health care landscape will affect people's ability to obtain - and retain - health insurance has been a significant issue in recent months.
While more Americans have some level of familiarity with health insurance than they likely ever have before, major issues still linger when it comes to the ways in which people actually understand the coverage they buy.
It's no secret that the cost of health insurance and treatment has been on the rise for decades.
Across the U.S., most people are dealing with changing conditions that might impact their lives if Congress passes changes to federal health care laws.
The cost of health care has been on the rise for years, and much of that has been driven by large increases in the price of prescription drugs.
For some time now, health insurance providers have been trying to incentivize adoption of healthy lifestyles by giving consumers benefits if they start wearing fitness trackers and report the associated data.
The rising cost of health care has been in the news a lot lately, and many parents may be particularly concerned about how these changes will affect their abilities to afford treatment for their children.
Across the U.S., the effects of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act's coverage mandate and expanded options for health insurance access have been obvious.
Millions of people have been able to get some form of health insurance coverage since the implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
Over the past few years, the number of people able to obtain health insurance - often for the first time - due to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act has skyrocketed.
The changing political realities in Washington, D.C., and elsewhere across the country could soon lead to many people losing the health insurance they obtained via the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act's mandated exchanges.
The changes to the health care landscape seen in the past several years have been significant, and that often requires consumers to know more about various aspects of their health insurance coverage than they used to.
It's no secret that health insurance premiums have risen sharply in recent years as other costs related to health care and management have skyrocketed.
Millions of Americans have seen their health insurance bills rise sharply in recent years for a number of reasons.
Though the public health insurance exchanges run by state and federal agencies nationwide only launched a few years ago, they have become increasingly popular in each successive open enrollment period.
Across the country, the rising cost of health insurance is leading many Americans to question how they can properly afford to get affordable care for themselves and their family members.
Over the past several years, the number of people buying health insurance coverage through the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act's mandated exchanges has risen sharply, with millions getting involved.
Over the past few years, the way people interact with their health insurers on a regular basis has changed dramatically.
Young adults are important to success of the healthcare exchanges and keeping the premiums affordable for all ages.
A lot of the recent attention for the health insurance industry has been focused on the speed with which those who buy coverage through the ACA's mandated exchanges are seeing their premiums rise.
While the government-run health insurance exchange sites allow millions of Americans to buy subsidized coverage, there are millions more who also buy through those marketplaces without a subsidy.
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act brought a lot of relief to consumers concerned about not being able to get coverage at an relatively low price.
Since the coverage mandate of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was put into place, millions of Americans have been able to get health insurance for what could have been the first time in their lives.
Over the past few years, the cost of insurance has continued to rise, albeit at a slower pace than had been experienced across much of the previous decade.
Rising health insurance costs have been front and center for millions of Americans over the past decade-plus, and are in fact what led to the implementation of many aspects of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
Since Congress passed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in 2010, the number of people who go without health insurance each year has fallen slowly but steadily.
Over the past few years, the number of people who have been able to get health insurance for the first time has increased significantly, adding millions of Americans to the rolls of those who have coverage.
Tens of millions of Americans make critical decisions about their health insurance each year, whether they're buying coverage on the exchanges or changing plans they receive through their employers.
Each year, millions of Americans are hit with slightly higher costs for their health insurance coverage.
The changes to national health care laws that came with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act have largely been good for millions of Americans who gained the ability to obtain low-cost coverage for the first time.
Over the past few years, a lot of attention has been paid to the machinations in the health insurance industry as they related to a number of the industry's biggest participants joining forces.
Many aspects of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act were supposed to bring health insurance options to younger adults in particular, and in many ways the health care law has succeeded in that effort.
In the wake of the implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act's individual coverage mandate, health insurance premiums have ticked up each year, but usually at rates well below pre-recession norms.
Since the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act started requiring Americans to have health insurance a few years ago, millions of people who'd never had such coverage have been able to obtain it.
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act has helped bring health insurance coverage at a relatively low cost to millions of people nationwide.
For decades, older Americans who leave their jobs for retirement have relied upon Medicare to help them cover the various medical costs they incur.
Over the last decade or more, health care prices have surged, and with them, so have premiums and other costs for health insurance.
One of the big concerns about the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in recent years has been related to the ways in which the law sets minimum requirements for the benefits of health insurance policies.
In the past few years, millions of Americans have flocked onto the health insurance exchanges mandated by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
People who signed up for coverage in the 2014 and 2015 open enrollment periods generally tended to have higher risk of certain diseases than those who were on individual plans prior to those years.
The point of health insurance is to help insulate consumers from the often high cost of medical treatment, but it doesn't necessarily always work out that way.
Across the country, many states have seen the number of residents who are able to get health insurance rise over the last few years, and that's a trend that has continued into 2016.
Millions of Americans have gained access to health insurance in the wake of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act's coverage mandate, but issues still linger for many of those people.
Many Americans may unfortunately suffer traumatic brain injuries that can significantly or entirely impede their ability to maintain a job.
The rising cost of health insurance and treatment has been a part of the national conversation for years now, especially since the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
One consequence of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which has been extremely beneficial to millions of Americans, is that the health care law expanded Medicaid.
One of the big ideas behind the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was that it would bring millions of Americans out of being uninsured and provide them with at least some sort of safety net in the event of a catastrophic illness or injury.
While many aspects of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act are certainly controversial, a number of states have indeed made greater efforts to get health insurance coverage for some of the most vulnerable members of society.
Over the last few years, several of the nation's major health insurance providers have decided to merge for a number of reasons.
Over the last several years, one of the big issues in the health care industry as a whole is that people have been buying the coverage they're required by law to have, but they aren't often tapping it.
Since 2014, millions of Americans have been able to sign up for low-cost health insurance coverage they otherwise would not have had, as a result of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
Millions of Americans who are eligible to either renew their health insurance coverage through Healthcare.gov or sign up for the first time are now eligible to do so for the 2016 calendar year.
Millions of Americans have signed up for health insurance coverage under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act over the last few years, giving them access to far more reasonably priced treatments when needed.
The standard line of thought has been that if consumers see their health insurance plans involve higher deductibles, they would be more likely to shop around for the most affordable coverage and care possible resulting in reduced health-care costs.
The state of Texas now has the highest rate of adults without health insurance in the U.S., according to a new report by the Baker Institute for Public Policy and the Episcopal Health Foundation at Rice University.Â
An overwhelming number of people have signed up for health insurance offered under the Affordable Care Act.
Over the past few years, millions of Americans have gotten health insurance coverage through the state and federal exchanges mandated by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
Surveys over the last few years show that millions of Americans may have a lot of work to do when it comes to fully understanding their options where health insurance and care is concerned.
Each year, millions of Americans face the prospect of health insurance costs that rise more quickly than their salaries or inflation, and it's an issue so severe that parts of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act were included to deal with it.
In the last few years, one of the things that the health insurance requirement from the federal government seems to have accomplished is getting more people to carry such coverage, even if they do so grudgingly.
Over the past few years, many Americans have become aware that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act mandates a fine for those who go without health insurance coverage, to be applied to their year-end taxes.
Millions of Americans should be able to get some federal assistance when it comes to paying for their health insurance, as a result of the subsidies allowed by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
Because of the various provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the millions of Americans who do not have health insurance even now are required to either seek it or pay growing fines each year.
Over the past several years, there has obviously been a lot of attention paid to the ways in which consumers are able to afford their health care overall.
The world of health insurance is changing rapidly these days, in no small part due to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act's various regulatory changes.
Plenty of data has suggested that the number of people going without health insurance is declining sharply since the implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act's coverage mandate and associated exchanges.
Consumers in the state of Michigan tend to face high insurance costs in their everyday lives because the cost of auto coverage there typically exceeds the national average by a few thousand dollars per year.
Over the last several years companies have sharply increased the importance they place on robust data security and preventing data breaches.
At this point, it should come as no surprise to industry experts or consumers alike that health insurance rates are rising from one year to the next.
For some time now, the federal government, tax professionals, and those in the health insurance industry have been warning millions of Americans about a major potential risk they might face.
In the last few years, millions of Americans have been able to get health insurance for what could be the first time ever thanks to the insurance exchanges that were opened by state and federal governments.
Over the last few years, the ways in which health insurance can be bought online has been in the news quite a bit.
Across the country, millions of people have been able to get health insurance for what could be the first time ever as a result of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act's coverage mandate and both state- and federally run exchanges.Â
For decades, the ways in which companies large and small obtained health insurance coverage for their employees didn't change very much.
In the last few years, millions of Americans who never had health insurance before were able to obtain it thanks to various requirements in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.Â
One of the biggest issues that many Americans have encountered when buying coverage through the ACA's exchanges is that eligibility is dependent on their incomes and tax filing statuses.
Over the last few years, millions of Americans have had the experience of shopping for health insurance on the federally mandated exchange websites, and found plans that fit their needs as a result.
Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a number of important decisions, the most impactful of which will likely be the case of King v. Burwell, which involved federal subsidies for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
The case before the U.S. Supreme Court that might have put millions of Americans at risk of losing their access to health insurance has instead turned into a resounding win for the Obama administration.
In recent months, there has been a lot of talk about major mergers for some of the top health insurance providers in the U.S.
The way certain aspects of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act are set up, many Americans may be toeing a line between being eligible for Medicaid, and not having to find their own coverage.
One of the biggest concerns many Americans may have when they need to undergo a common health care procedure is the cost associated with it.
Over the past few years, many Americans have been perturbed to find that the health insurance they carried for years prior to the mandates of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act went into place had to be canceled.Â
One aspect of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that leans more toward the "protection" aspect is that health insurance plans must now come with minimum coverage standards for all consumers, even those buying the least expensive policies.
Over the past few years, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act has obviously been a major concern for a lot of people nationwide.
Today, millions of Americans receive their health insurance through the marketplaces mandated by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, but many experts wonder how good this coverage actually is for the people who use it.
For many years, students who arrived at college without some sort of health insurance plans of their own could often count on their schools to provide at least some basic coverage.Â
Over the last several years, the issue of affordability when it comes to health insurance has been a major concern for millions of Americans, especially as the cost of care rises but the benefits of their health insurance plans do not.Â
Federal law these days mandates that all Americans have to be covered by some sort of health insurance, whether they receive it privately or through public exchanges, or via government programs like Medicare and Medicaid.Â
Over the past several years, the ways in which people across the country are covered by health insurance has obviously been a major topic for many lawmakers.
Those who pay attention to the national picture when it comes to implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act's health insurance mandate, have likely seen the various hiccups the roll-out experiences regularly.
Health insurance companies have been through a lot in the last few years, as the various machinations of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act have been enacted at different times.Â
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act - better known to millions of Americans as Obamacare - has certainly proven controversial for many reasons, not the least of which is the apparent price tag it will carry for years to come.
This is the first tax season in which people across the country will have to provide the Internal Revenue Service with proof that they had health insurance for all or part of the previous year, and while most people will not experience any difficulties in doing so, many will still be affected by errors on their documentation.
Things haven't been easy for the health insurance industry of late, especially in terms of complying with government mandates.
In the last few years, there has certainly been more of a focus on the rising cost of health insurance and what people can do to keep their expenditures on this kind of coverage down.
Over the last several years, the amount of money people pay for their health insurance has been a major point of contention, and was in fact a big driver behind the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
The health insurance sector has, of course, changed dramatically in the last few years for a number of reasons, and whether that's for the better overall really hasn't been determined at this point.
The various aspects of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act have been controversial for some time, and some of them have even been tried in court
It should come as no surprise to those in the health insurance industry that rising costs have weighed on consumers' home finances for some time now, and many are starting to feel rather concerned about this type of increase.
Nationwide, the number of people who do not have health insurance continues to dwindle precipitously, thanks to many of the provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
Across the country, millions of Americans have been able to get affordable health insurance as a result of the various provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. However, Congress's action or inaction on the CHIP program funding may affect health insurance coverage options for low-income children that are eligible for the current CHIP program.
The health insurance landscape has changed markedly since the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act several years ago, and those alterations to the coverage people have faced for decades continue to happen even now.
Last year, millions of Americans signed up for coverage through the health insurance exchanges mandated by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, but largely did so in the final days before the extended deadline.
On Nov. 15, the federal government opened its small business health insurance exchange websites, over a year later than initially scheduled. However there have been relatively few visitors to the business side of Healthcare.gov.
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was designed to make it easier for millions of Americans to better deal with their health insurance options and find coverage that worked for them.
When it comes to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, it seems as if the broader access to health insurance it granted to many younger Americans in particular is likely to have a significant positive impact on mortality rates when dealing with instances of cancer down the road.
For many Americans, the idea behind the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was that, as the name implied, it would allow them to potentially reduce their health insurance costs by a significant amount every year.
One of President Barack Obama's promises related to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was that if you like your plan, you can keep it.
In recent months, it was reported that a healthy percentage of the people who signed up for - and were granted access to - the health insurance exchanges put into place by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act were later flagged for documentation issues that might have rendered them ineligible.
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act mandate for businesses finally goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2015, meaning that many companies across the country will have to start making hard and fast decisions about the ways in which they will approach insuring - or not insuring - their employees going forward.
Over the past few years, two of the biggest controversies on a national level have been the health insurance coverage mandate and same-sex marriage.
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was, at its core, intended to do two things: Make sure more people have health insurance, and reduce the cost of care.Â
One of the most common predictions made by experts in the wake of the business coverage mandate of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act seems to now be coming true.
Over the past few months, there have been repeated warnings that potentially hundreds of thousands of Americans could lose their health insurance coverage, and now those cancelations seem to be nigh.
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act has already served to change many of the ways in which Americans view the concept of health insurance.
Across the country, workers of all stripes have likely seen their health insurance costs increase substantially over the last decade or more, but the problems that arise from that issue are not spread uniformly.
One of the biggest concerns many consumers may have, even after the implementation of many of the various Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, is that the cost of buying their coverage remains quite high, especially if they have lower incomes. However, it now seems as though some health care providers in Florida might be trying to help them deal with those costs.
The health insurance field is a competitive one, with many different companies trying to connect with consumers who, these days, are becoming more aware of the benefits of such coverage.
The vast majority of Americans with health insurance get their coverage through their employers, a fact which was not changed by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act's coverage mandate that went into effect last year.
It's a well-known fact that Americans spend a lot of money on health care every year - $2.9 trillion, in fact - but the amount of care each individual gets for every dollar they put into that massive pot can vary significantly based upon a number of factors.
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act brought with it a requirement that companies with 50 employees or more had to provide those workers with some type of health insurance option, and that has proven controversial to say the least.
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act has been controversial to say the least since it was signed into law a few years ago.
One of the biggest problems that many consumers have faced in the last few years with regard to their health insurance coverage is that they often did not know what they were paying for, or how much their costs would increase from one year to the next.
The various parts of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that extended new avenues for health coverage to many economically disadvantaged Americans was controversial, but as far as actually getting the previously uninsured enrolled in plans, it seems to have done its job quite well.
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act brought health coverage to millions of Americans through its mandated exchanges and expansion of individual states' Medicaid programs, but the improvements in enrollment numbers have varied significantly from one part of the country to the next.
Over the past year, many Americans have seen their insurance premiums increase - potentially significantly - as a result of the changes to the health care laws that came with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act's coverage mandate.
Government officials tried to build a feature into the Healthcare.gov website that would have allowed consumers to have a bit of an easier time when it comes to renewing their coverage through the government-run insurance exchanges.
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act's mandated health insurance exchanges helped to reduce consumers' costs by giving them subsidies. In general, those were extremely beneficial to many qualifying Americans.
There were a number of rather notable developments and controversies surrounding the implementation of the health insurance exchanges mandated by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act over the last year-plus.
When it comes to the amount of data companies in all industries are using these days to streamline their processes, health insurers seem to be ready and willing adopters of these new methods overall.
One of the big questions that many industry analysts had when it came to health insurance coverage provided by employers under the new Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act mandates - which go into effect next year - was simply how smaller companies in particular might react.
Health care costs have been rising for some time now, and as a result, so too has the amount consumers spend on it.
These days, millions more Americans have health insurance than they did just a few years ago, but at the same time, there is still a potentially significant part of the population that could be affected by a lack of coverage: baby boomers who retire early.
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act's coverage mandate only went into effect this year, but the impact the law has had on the health care and insurance industries was profound long before that.
The rollout of the health insurance exchange websites mandated by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was infamously rocky, and left the Obama administration vulnerable to criticism while also potentially costing millions of Americans the chance to find affordable health insurance options as early as possible.
These days, when Americans need to sign up for health insurance, they may think they're only able to do so through the well-known online exchanges run by state or federal governments.
Millions of Americans were able to successfully apply for health insurance coverage as part of the Obama administration's various efforts ahead of the sign-up deadline earlier this year.
One of the biggest issues that many consumers faced this year, as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act's coverage mandate was put into place and brought millions into the health insurance pool, is that premiums for such plans took appreciable steps forward.
The state and federal health insurance exchanges have largely been hailed as successful in the last few weeks, as the Obama administration announced it reached and then easily surpassed its initial enrollment goal of 7 million.
It stands to reason that a healthier population, generally, is one that tends to live longer, but there has been some debate about exactly how much of an impact broader access to health insurance would have for consumers nationwide.
When the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was first announced, one of the things President Barack Obama promised was that "If you like your plan, you can keep it."
Medicaid expansion is a key component of the coverage mandate in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). States were offered a chance to expand their Medicaid programs - with the federal government providing almost all of the funding - to ensure that coverage can be provided to the vast majority of state residents.
Millions of Americans were able to enroll in some sort of health insurance plan ahead of the federal deadline for doing so, but many more were left unable or unwilling to do so for various reasons.
Many Americans have been worried about the potential impact of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act on their wallets for some time now, and the latest federal data shows that the amount of money consumers are spending on health care in general is on the rise.
In the run-up to the final deadline by which consumers could sign up for health insurance through the federally mandated exchanges, there was significant interest on the part of millions of Americans.
Large numbers of people across the country may have experienced delays in getting signed up for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act's mandated health insurance exchanges, and as such the Obama administration recently allowed for those who went through such difficulties to take a little extra time beyond the March 31 deadline to get signed up.
Now that the health insurance enrollment deadline has passed, many Americans may think that the ways in which they'll have to deal with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act may no longer be significant, but that's not the case.
The latest cost projections released by the Congressional Budget Office suggest that health insurance costs under the ACA may be cheaper than once expected.
Today, millions of Americans are already receiving some sort of long-term health care as they age, and even more are likely to need it in the coming years and decades.
March 31 has now passed, and that means that the millions of Americans who signed up for the federal or state-run health insurance exchanges before that date were able to successfully avoid facing a fine for going without.
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was intended to reduce health insurance costs for millions of Americans, but it seems that the youngest age group may have been left behind in this regard.
The deadline for Americans to sign up for the health insurance exchanges ahead of the date by which they would have been hit by a fine for not doing so has now come and gone, but it seems that millions of people made the effort to get in under the wire, fulfilling goals set by the Obama administration.
In the final days before the federally mandated March 31 deadline by which all Americans had to be covered by some sort of health plan, many were in the throes of trying to sign up for insurance policies that will help them avoid fines.
In general, people who have health insurance are in a far better position to obtain the best possible care when they need it, but that isn't always the case.
Under federal law, the date by which consumers must be signed up for some kind of health insurance coverage is less than two weeks away, but it seems that many Americans are still not signed up at all.
One of the biggest criticisms of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act's various machinations was concern among consumers, experts, and policymakers alike that it might lead to higher costs for health insurance for some parts of the population.
After recent expansion of insurance markets resulting from the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, consumers across the country are finding they have more health insurance coverage options available to them.
The deadline for signing up to obtain health insurance without incurring a federal penalty is set for March 31, but many experts say that the number of people who have enrolled in the government's health insurance exchanges is still lagging.
One of the biggest issues that many consumers face when they get health care is that they do not know exactly how much it might end up costing them, even if they have health insurance.
The Affordable Care Act's mandated health insurance exchanges have been running effectively in the past few months after a start that was shaky to say the least, but many experts note that enrollment among the people deemed most critical to the marketplaces' success - those who are young and healthy - has lagged behind considerably.
State and federal agents are making the final push to get people of all ages enrolled in the health insurance exchanges mandated by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act before the March 31 sign-up deadline.
Many employers have wondered about just how the various aspects of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will end up impacting their bottom lines, and one of the largest concerns that many companies may have is whether they will be hit with a tax penalty which would be applied specifically for their providing workers with high-value health insurance.
The health insurance exchanges created by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act are now largely in place, and millions of Americans are shopping on those exchanges.
Part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that was designed to actively encourage consumers to seek out health insurance was a fine that will be applied to their taxes if they go without any sort of coverage, but it seems that - at least for this year - many are willing to take the financial hit if it means they don't have to buy a plan.
Consumers worried about the rising cost of health care may have even greater reason for concern these days, as a result of a new study that shows just how much increases in body mass affect how much people pay annually for treatment - even at relatively low levels.
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was designed to help consumers find low-cost or even free health insurance through a number of different sources, and new evidence suggests that with the mandate, a large number of people nationwide who did not have it before recently gained coverage.
After years of preparation, tough roads, and well-publicized failures, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act's coverage mandate is now finally in place, meaning that all Americans are now required to have some sort of health insurance plan.
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was designed to help millions of Americans receive reliable coverage to which they may not have had access before.
The Affordable Care Act's coverage mandate goes into effect at the start of next year. Because of this looming date, many are now turning their attention to young people's reaction to the idea that they have to carry insurance policies, which most do not currently have.
The economy has certainly helped to shape many consumers' attitudes toward insurance coverage of all kinds. Many are now looking for cut-rate deals on life insurance, or discontinuing it altogether, and likewise now trying to find the most affordable healthcare coverage available to them.
The decision to delay implementation of the business exchange mandate of the Affordable Care Act was made in part to accommodate government agencies that may have been a little behind schedule, but also to encourage companies to continue their hiring efforts seen in recent months. For a number of businesses nationwide, though, the announcement came a little too late.
The Affordable Care Act's controversial coverage mandate goes into effect at the beginning of next year, with enrollment starting in just a few months. Now, another estimate shows that health insurance costs will likely rise under the new law.
The ways in which the federal government is set to introduce and implement the health insurance exchanges put in place by the Affordable Care Act has come under significant scrutiny in recent months as the deadline for enrollment to begin approaches. Now, a nonpartisan government agency indicates these problems may be very troubling to properly giving consumers and companies alike access to the marketplaces.
The Affordable Care Act is changing the ways in which even small businesses are required to provide health insurance plans to their workers. This news may be welcome for part-time workers in particular, due in large part to the fact that relatively few have such coverage now.
The Affordable Care Act requires companies with 50 or more employees to offer coverage to those working at least 30 hours per week beginning January 1, 2014 or face a penalty. But many businesses may be looking for ways to minimize the cost of compliance.
The Affordable Care Act was intended to help make health insurance more affordable for millions of people across the country, as well as small businesses, but now many are worried that a provision of that law will actually lead to far higher costs going forward.
As companies continue to consider the ways in which the Affordable Care Act will change their methods for dealing with employee healthcare needs, it might be important to note just how financially unprepared many workers may be to cover their hospital bills in the event of a medical emergency.
While health insurance providers are still somewhat uncertain about ultimate fate of the insurance exchanges that will be run by state and federal governments, more are now seeing opportunity in private marketplaces that are also being developed.
Various provisions of the Affordable Care Act are slowly being implemented nationwide ahead of the January 1, 2014, date on which the majority of Americans will be mandated to have health insurance coverage.
Experts have long expected that there would be significant changes under the Affordable Care Act's reforms which fully go into effect on January 1, 2014. New estimates show just how costly some aspects of the law may be.