Rising Awareness Regarding Health Insurance Policies To Drive The Market

Feb. 18– OKLAHOMA CITY– A Senate bill seeking to expand the‘ Insure Oklahoma’ program advanced out of committee on Monday morning. Greg McCortney, R- Ada, directs the Oklahoma Healthcare Authority to implement“ the Oklahoma Plan” within Insure Oklahoma. If passed by the full Legislature and signed into law, McCortney said it could cost Oklahoma about $141 million to…

Sherrod Brown took aim at Democratic presidential contenders who favor government insurance for all Americans, warning it would cause “angst and anguish” for millions of people to give up their health plans provided by their employers or purchased by themselves. During an interview Sunday on CNN’s State-of-the-Union, Brown, D- Ohio, attempted to separate…

Feb. 17– LAS CRUCES– When Elizabeth “Libby” Leask, 61, listed her Las Cruces home for sale early in February, she described it as a surrender. Since the sudden death of her husband in 2016, Libby Leask has been seeking her late husband’s pension. Steven Leask was 66 when he died on Nov. 1, 2016.

TALLAHASSEE- Months after health care sharply divided Democratic and Republican candidates in last fall’s campaigns, Florida lawmakers are considering wide-ranging changes to what a GOP leader derides as the “hospital-industrial complex.” Americans for Prosperity, the organization funded by the conservative Koch brothers, fought Medicaid expansion in…

While there’s now some hope that Congress might start meaningful discussions about restoring solvency to Social Security, that’s only one leg of the retirement tripod— Social Security, employer pensions or retirement plans, and personal savings— that needs some work. Now, legislation in the state Senate could expand access to retirement savings by…

Perhaps both traditional and Roth IRAs can play a part in your retirement plans. Traditional IRAs, created in 1974, are owned by roughly 35.1 million U.S. households. And Roth IRAs, created as part of the Taxpayer Relief Act in 1997, are owned by nearly 24.9 million households.1.

We read a shocking story on The Intercept the other day, “Top Nancy Pelosi aide privately tells insurance executives not to worry about Democrats pushing’ Medicare for All.'” It is a long piece of detailed reporting that we urge you to read for yourselves. It can be scabrous about both Democrats and Republicans, and also, now and then, essential. He gave it to executives…

Aware Asset Management got started in January 2018, but Blue Cross officials spent the year building the business internally before marketing started last month. As the state’ s largest nonprofit health insurer, Blue Cross charges premiums today to cover the cost of medical claims incurred down the road. The asset management office at Blue Cross has the job of…

The annual long-term care insurance price index for 60-year-old couples was released by the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance. The organization shared money saving strategies that can benefit millions of older Americans.

Feb. 07– Attorney General Josh Shapiro accused UPMC on Thursday of violating its obligation as a public charity and asked a state court to intervene in its breakup with rival Highmark by forcing it to accept out-of-network patients at affordable rates. “The consent decree modifications would do three things: First, require UPMC and Highmark to work together;…

Feb. 06– A new survey of public pensions suggests the financial health of California’s largest pension system is roughly in line with that of the majority of funds around the country. The National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems, a trade association, released a survey Tuesday of 167 state and local government pension funds.

Mr. Trump said he wants to end HIV transmission in the U.S. by 2030 by directing resources to places with high transmission rates and at-risk populations. It’s a shift from Mr. Trump’s first address to Congress in 2017, when he focused on his plea to replace Obamacare with a plan to increase choices, lower costs and provide better care, warning his predecessor’s law…

_ Genworth Financial Inc. on Tuesday reported a fourth-quarter loss of $329 million, after reporting a profit in the same period a year earlier. The Richmond, Virginia- based company said it had a loss of 66 cents per share. For the year, the company reported profit of $119 million, or 24 cents per share.

Feb. 04– Massachusetts residents have become accustomed to watching local school budgets increase over the years. In 2017, health insurance for active and retired school employees cost $1.9 billion, accounting for 12 percent of the $15.7 billion spent overall on schools. Amy O’Connor, chairman of the Swampscott School Committee, said Swampscott Public…

Californians increased their support of taxes for a single payer universal healthcare system from 59% in November 2018 to 61%…

Robert E. Latta, R- Ohio, issued the following news release:. Latta originally introduced this legislation last Congress after constituents who had been affected by the issue reached out to the Congressman’s office. Under current law, once an individual begins to collect Social Security benefits, both they and their spouse are automatically enrolled in…

California signed up roughly the same amount of Obamacare customers for 2019 as it did last year, officials said Wednesday, though they blamed a sharp drop in new enrollees on the GOP’s decision to gut the “individual mandate” to hold insurance. California officials said those states successive drops in signups over the past few years, “putting their decrease on…

The Saver’s Credit, also referred to as the Retirement Savings Contributions Credit by the Internal Revenue Service, is available to eligible taxpayers who are saving for retirement. The Saver’s Credit is a non-refundable tax credit that may be applied up to the first $2,000 of voluntary contributions an eligible worker makes to a 401, 403 or similar…

“It’s pretty clear that most nursing homes are struggling,” said Sandra Mahoney, administrator at Christopher House. Christopher House posted a slight deficit in 2018 after making a slight profit in 2017, according to the nonprofit’s tax returns. Francis Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Worcester, agreed with Ms. Mahoney.

One of the major advantages of the IRA rollover is that your beneficiaries can create a “stretch IRA.” This option is available for nonspouse designated beneficiaries. Ed Slott recommends that the best option to guarantee the stretch IRA for children or grandchildren is to roll the company plan funds over to an IRA as soon as possible after retirement.

Steve Smitherman, a native of Pendleton, is Indiana president of the Indiana Market for Dayton, Ohio- based CareSource. He also serves on the board of directors and the finance committee of Covering Kids& Families of Indiana. Vincent Immediate Care, 7408 W. Indiana 28, Elwood, where she signed the student in under her son’s name so she could use her Anthem Blue Cross/…

A study of health insurance marketplaces in 10 states showed more insurers participated in the exchanges and premium increases began to level off. Researchers found that insurers were more willing to enter new markets in time for the 2019 enrollment season, a big change from 2018.

Voya Financial’s newest product is a suite of health saving and spending accounts to be offered as optional workplace benefits.

The average cost of a private room in a nursing home is more than $100,000 per year, according to the Genworth Cost of Care Study. A year in an assisted-living facility averages $48,000, and the average cost of a home health aide working a 44- hour week adds up to more than $50,000 over the year.

One in five caregivers – an estimated 15 million people – is “unbanked,” meaning they do not have a savings or checking account at an insured banking institution, LIMRA research found.

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio issued the following news release:. NEW YORK– Mayor Bill de Blasio was joined by Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Dr. Herminia Palacio today to sign an executive order requiring City agencies to provide New Yorkers with information on health insurance options and encourage them to enroll in a plan.

In August, Steven P. Gibson, 30, admitted that he had engaged in a scheme to defraud federal health care benefit programs and private insurance companies out of $630,000. According to a news release from the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Gibson submitted almost 1,000 false and fraudulent claims in the names of his family members and…

“Health policy tends to be more polarizing in the national landscape, and states play a large role in health care,” says Paul Nolette, a Marquette University political scientist and author of a book on AGs and their evolving role called Federalism on Trial. The most consequential example of this is the case currently in court that could overturn the Affordable…

High-deductible health plans are going the way of corporate wellness programs and disease management programs – consumers don’t like them and are pushing back against them, says one health care expert. Benefits brokers are going to have to evolve much like stockbrokers did 20 years ago.

The Department of Defense has released final numbers on military folks, by branch of service, who switched into the new Blended Retirement System during a year-long, opt-in period that ran through Dec. 31. A total of 84,324 active duty Marines, 59.4 percent of its eligible population, opted into the BRS. Opt-in numbers for the others were: Army 89,729; Air Force…

Andy Biggs, R- Ariz. has introduced the Responsible Path to Full Obamacare Repeal Act to “repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010.”. Matt Gaetz, R- Fla., Thomas Massie, R- Ky., and Paul Gosar, R- Ariz. It was jointly referred to the House Energy and Commerce, Ways and Means, Education and Labor, Natural…

LIMRA research points out that retirement plan access is the top reason American workers start saving for retirement. Nearly 4 in 10 of all workers said they began to save for retirement because their employer offered a retirement savings plan.

US stocks are little changed in early trading as weak results from Morgan Stanley weigh on banks, but health care and communications companies move higher. The Chinese government said top trade negotiators will meet U.S. counterparts later this month, a possible sign of progress toward resolving the dispute between the two countries. A day ago, the Wall Street Journal reported that the US might file criminal charges against Chinese tech giant Huawei.

–Corporate Insight announced the winners of its annual Monitor Awards, recognizing digital innovation and best practices within the financial services and healthcare industries. “In 2018, we saw a host of exciting innovations in digital financial services and healthcare,” said Michael Ellison, president of Corporate Insight. Morgan made significant…

Plus, find out about the partial shutdown’s impact on health coverage for veterans and government employees.

A Trump administration order requiring hospitals to publicly list their prices took effect this month, but the move, aimed at providing transparency, may be causing more confusion than clarity.

DEERFIELD, Ill., and REDMOND, Wash.– Jan. 15, 2019– Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. and Microsoft Corp. have joined forces to develop new health care delivery models, technology and retail innovations to advance and improve the future of health care. “Improving health outcomes while lowering the cost of care is a complex challenge that requires broad collaboration…

Benefits were paid on more than 303,000 policies and passed the $10 billion mark for the first time. According to a trade association, in 2017, total claims amounted to $9.2 billion paid to about 295,000 individuals.

States are expected to pick up the ball on regulation after a December federal court decision ruled the Affordable Care Act “invalid.” A judge determined that the 2017 tax cut bill knocked the constitutional foundation from under the health care bill by eliminating the individual mandate penalty.