Health

All articles about health insurance or related to health insurance from Consumer Insurance Guide

Access to basic healthcare on the decline

By Consumer Insurance Guide Staff
Access to basic healthcare on the decline

The ability of U.S. adults to access basic health care services has declined in nearly every state over the last decade, according to two recent reports. Adults without health insurance saw larger declines in the ability to obtain basic health care services, compared to those with coverage. In 2010, almost half of uninsured adults (48.1 percent) had an unmet health need due to cost, compared to 11.2 percent of insured adults. One report, released by…

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White House Budget Director Claims Individual Mandate Is Not a Tax

By Loren Heal, The Heartland Institute
White House Budget Director Claims Individual Mandate Is Not a Tax

In response to questions from lawmakers, acting White House budget director Jeff Zients testified to Congress in March the individual mandate fine in President Obama’s health care law is not a tax, an admission which contradicted the claims the administration made before the U.S. Supreme Court. According to Galen Institute President Grace-Marie Turner, this is a sign the argument the Department of Justice is making before the Supreme Court is purely a delaying tactic designed…

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Under Pressure, New York Dials Back Medicaid Audits

By Kendall Antekeier, The Heartland Institute
Under Pressure, New York Dials Back Medicaid Audits

As Medicaid continues down a fiscally unsustainable path, states are searching for ways to lessen waste, fraud, and abuse in the system. The state of New York employed aggressive fraud-prevention efforts, but objections from providers have caused the state to alter its approach. In 2006, Republican Gov. George Pataki created the Office of the Medicaid Inspector General to crack down on misspending. The federal government granted the state $1.5 billion for the new office to…

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Nutella Forced to Pay $3.5 Million to People Who Confused it With Health Food

By Benjamin Domenech, The Heartland Institute
Nutella Forced to Pay $3.5 Million to People Who Confused it With Health Food

Surprise surprise: spreadable chocolate, while quite tasty, is not particularly good for your health. The “victims” in this case have filed suit in California, where the manufacturer of Nutella has been forced, thanks to fears of the food police, to settle for $3.5 Million to the trial lawyers. The Heritage Foundation’s Mike Brownfield writes: This latest example of the U.S. legal system run wild comes to us from California where two mothers filed suit against Ferrero…

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States Assess Obamacare’s High Medicaid Pricetag

By Kenneth Artz, The Heartland Institute
States Assess Obamacare’s High Medicaid Pricetag

In advance of the Supreme Court’s April hearings on the constitutionality of President Obama’s health care law, the Republican Governors Association released a new survey of estimates from state administrators highlighting the exorbitant cost of implementing the law, particularly the expansion of Medicaid mandated to all states. “President Obama’s federal health care takeover was enacted by Democrats in Congress over the objection of governors and with little regard for the costs to the states,” said…

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Health insurance rebates could surpass $1 billion

By Consumer Insurance Guide Staff
Health insurance rebates could surpass $1 billion

Millions of consumers and small businesses will receive an estimated $1.3 billion in rebates from their health insurance plans this summer, according to a recent study by the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan research group. A recent analysis by Goldman Sachs put the figure at $1.2 billion. The savings are the result of a provision in the Affordable Care Act that limits what insurers can charge for administration and profits. According to the Kaiser study,…

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Health insurance for the contract worker

By Lisa Shidler
Health insurance for the contract worker

As unemployment rates have risen, many people have found success as a contractor doing freelance, project or consulting work and in turn need to find their own individual health insurance policies. Buying an individual health insurance policy seems overwhelming but insurance experts say consumers can shape their own policy and also have more legal recourse than if they were enrolled in a group plan. Contract or Temporary worker health insurance tips· Meet with an insurance…

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House Republicans Introduce Comprehensive Medicaid Reform

By Caroline May, The Heartland Institute
House Republicans Introduce Comprehensive Medicaid Reform

By Caroline May, The Heartland Institute A group of Republican lawmakers in Washington, DC introduced a new plan to return more power to the states by combining Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program into a single block grant. The State Health Flexibility Act—sponsored by Indiana Republican Rep. Todd Rokita, with Republican Reps. Tim Huelskamp of Kansas, Georgia’s Paul Broun, and Ohio’s Jim Jordan, head of the Republican Study Committee, as lead co-sponsors—would give states…

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Report: Obamacare Could Increase Deficit by Over Half a Trillion Dollars

By Benjamin Domenech, The Heartland Institute
Report: Obamacare Could Increase Deficit by Over Half a Trillion Dollars

A new report by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University finds that contrary to promises by President Obama and others in arguing for the passage of his health care law, Obamacare actually adds to the deficit, as opposed to decreasing it. Much of this has to do with the double-counting of funding within the law, a complex issue explained by this new Mercatus video. The report, authored by Medicare trustee Charles Blahous, a senior…

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Under Budget Pressure, Wisconsin Hikes Medicaid Premiums

By Loren Heal, The Heartland Institute
Under Budget Pressure, Wisconsin Hikes Medicaid Premiums

The Wisconsin legislature’s Joint Committee on Finance has agreed on a plan to raise premiums for some working enrollees in Wisconsin’s Medicaid programs. The changes were needed to sustain the program after rapid expansion and demand which surpassed estimates. Facing a need to fill budget holes caused by the rising cost of Medicaid—called BadgerCare in Wisconsin—the Joint Committee on Finance, whose membership is divided between the Wisconsin Senate and General Assembly, approved the plan proposed…

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