–More than half of Americans have packed on some pandemic pounds according to a healthinsurance.com national survey of 1,000 U.S. adults. Pandemic life left many stressed, drinking more alcohol, gaining weight and in need of a break. Pandemic Life Everyone has dealt with pandemic life in their own way, and it hasn’t all been healthy. 55% report gaining weight over…
Health/Employee Benefits News
May 15— With 53% of Missouri voters approving Medicaid expansion last year, many of them say they feel like their voices aren't being heard after the Republican-led Legislature refused to provide funding for the measure this week. The federal government pays for most of the cost to expand Medicaid, anywhere from 90 to 95%, but Missouri still would need to chip in…
Pandemic Accelerates Voluntary Benefit Offerings
The pandemic is driving more employers to offer voluntary benefits, with nearly all employers (94%) expecting these employee-pay-all or unsubsidized…
The president of Prudential Group Insurance said his company remains committed to helping find a way to provide paid family and medical leave to all U.S. workers.
On Tuesday, the governor directed the National Guard to help ensure the safety of residents, including transferring them to another facility if needed. Gen. Francis J. Evon Jr., the adjutant general of the Connecticut National Guard, to“ immediately call up a sufficient force of members of the armed forces of the state to support as needed the Department of Public…
Kansas lawmakers on Friday passed out Senate Bill 29, which could potentially expand usage of short-term health insurance plans. Currently in Kansas, such plans can only last either six or 12 months with one renewal allowed. In 2017, former President Donald Trump issued rules letting stop-gap insurance go up to three years, and the Senate bill would take…
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said the Office for Civil Rights will “interpret” discrimination prohibitions included in Title IX and Section 1557— which “prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability” in health care— to include “discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and discrimination…
May 4— Notices about a Blue Cross Blue Shield antitrust settlement being sent to current and former customers are legitimate, the result of a $2.7 billion class action lawsuit from last year. In the lawsuit, customers of the insurance service accused Blue Cross Blue Shield, a conglomeration of insurance firms, of conspiring to avoid competition between its 36…
One out of every six adult workers (16%) in the United States are staying in jobs they might otherwise leave…
President Biden ordered HealthCare.gov to reopen this year, citing shocks from the pandemic, while convincing Democratic allies in Congress to make Obamacare more attractive by approving bigger premium subsidies as part of their $1.9 trillion virus-relief package. But Mr. Biden embraced the idea and funded a public-awareness campaign as he tries to herd…
The rebates stem from the extra $214 million given to BlueCross in Tennessee after the Supreme Court ruled last year that insurers were not being adequately compensated by the federal government for the risk factors under the so-called Obamacare program during its first three years. The Chattanooga- based BlueCross and BlueShield is the biggest provider…
LAKEWOOD RANCH, Fla., April 30, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — A recent study from American Accounting Association finds health insurance companies are…
Feds Want Accused Medicare Fraudster Philip Esformes Confined Until Trial
Concerned that a convicted healthcare mogul freed by then-President Donald Trump might flee the country, Justice Department prosecutors urged a federal judge Tuesday to confine Philip Esformes to his South Florida home with an electronic ankle monitor and impose a $10.5 million bond.
Poll: Americans Support Long-Term Care Help
There’s a surprising level of bipartisan agreement on some proposals that could help make long-term care more affordable, according to the late March survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
–Roughly 3 out of every 4 small business 401 plans are being charged hidden fees by their provider, according to a study by Employee Fiduciary, LLC. “These hidden 401 fees are predatory and unacceptable,” says Eric Droblyen, President& CEO of Employee Fiduciary. In February, 2012, the Department of Labor began requiring 401 providers to disclose their fees in…
There's a surprising level of bipartisan agreement on some proposals that could help make that happen, according to the late March survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Still, Republicans lag Democrats in support of some policies, including the most far-reaching idea: Only 42% of Republicans favor a government long-term…
—California could become the only state to let adult children add their parents as dependents to their health insurance plans, a policy proposal aimed at increasing insurance coverage among low-income people living in the country illegally who aren't eligible for government-funded coverage. Now, California could do the same for older people who are…
Thirty-one percent of U.S. workers say they are fearful of workplace repercussions, such as getting fired, laid off, skipped over for a promotion/raise or reduced hours, if they take leave, and 29% believe there is a negative perception associated with taking leave.
Apr. 27— CLAYTON— Centene on Tuesday reported a 15- fold increase in earnings for the first quarter of 2021, but still disappointed some analysts. But some analysts expected profits of about $1.65 per share, and Centene stock had tumbled $3.26 or almost 5% to $62.74 by early afternoon in New York. Centene announced in January that it had entered into an agreement to…
Texas House Eying A Thursday Vote On Medicaid Expansion
As the Texas House takes up the roughly $250 billion state budget on Thursday, Democrats will propose an amendment to expand Medicaid coverage under the Affordable Care Act— and they could have the votes for it to pass.
Five Star Senior Living, the Massachusetts- based operator of the Meadowood complex in Bloomington, said this month it plans to close its skilled nursing unit, which would leave some families in the difficult position of having to move elderly loved ones with health problems into a new facility, and during a global pandemic no less. Bloomington resident Cara…
Missouri Medicaid Deal Withers In Senate, Sets Up Potential Lawsuit
A key Senate committee narrowly rejected a pared-down Medicaid expansion compromise Wednesday, setting the stage for a potential court battle over Missouri’s $34 billion spending plan.
March 2021 hearing data show that former workers with disabilities have vastly different appeal experiences depending on where they live, says Allsup, a nationwide provider of Social Security Disability Insurance representation and veterans disability appeal services. Longest wait time for a disability hearing: Hawaii, Nevada, Washington, Colorado,…
2021 APR 20– By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Health Policy and Law Daily– PITTSBURGH,“ Near-poor” Americans–people just above the federal poverty level but still well below the average U.S. income– who rely on Medicare for health insurance face high medical bills and may forgo essential health care, according to new research led by health policy…
