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The New York Times (9/18, B6, Konrad) reported in Patient Money that “the government this year is offering a tax credit to companies with fewer than 25 full-time workers and average wages of less than $50,000 a year” in order to help cover the costs of health insurance. “To qualify, employers must pay at least [...]

While some carriers may continue to offer child-only policies, other carriers have dealt with this lack of clarity by choosing to discontinue new business sales of their child-only policies.  Some have cited the lack of an effective mandate for individuals to obtain coverage, as well as ongoing market uncertainty.  Unfortunately,  this has created an unlevel competitive [...]

Last week, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced the first round of nearly 2,000 companies and other organizations approved for the Early Retiree Reinsurance Program. This is a federal program that was created as part of the health care reform law. The program reimburses employer-sponsored health plans for part of the cost [...]

Each fall beneficiaries can disenroll from, switch, or enroll into an MA plan or Part D plan during the Annual Election Period (AEP). Since 2005, the AEP has been November 15 to December 31. Beginning Fall 2011 (for the 2012 plan year), the AEP will be October 15 to December 7. The earlier start and [...]

Janet Trautwein, CEO of National Association of Health Underwriters writes in Kaiser Health News (9/9), “The supposed demise of the insurance agent has been greatly exaggerated. … And with the new health reform law set to make the insurance market even more complicated, consumers will need the expert advice of agents and brokers more than [...]

The Chicago Tribune (9/5, Japsen) says the federal healthcare overhaul’s focus on quality “implies that consumers will get better care because doctors and hospitals will be measured against the best performers, but there may be an unintended consequence: It could leave patients with fewer choices of medical care providers, depending on which health plans they [...]

Labor Day is just around the corner. I´m looking forward to spending some quality time with my family and letting my gas grill do some labor for a change! So here´s a heartfelt Labor Day greeting from my family to yours! Have you ever wondered how we came to celebrate a holiday with the odd [...]

Politico (8/31, Haberkorn) reported that a Kaiser Health Tracking Poll of 1,203 adults conducted August 16-22 (+ / -3%) found “that public support for healthcare reform dropped sharply in August,” down seven percentage points “to 43 percent — while opposition rose 10 points to 45 percent.” Politico characterized the results as “a dagger in Democrats’ [...]