In February, the Mississippi House of Representatives voted for full Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act (commonly referred to as “Obamacare”). That plan went over like a lead balloon with Republican senators, who developed their own Medicaid expansion plan, one which stopped short of full expansion.
Proponents of Medicaid expansion in Mississippi have asserted two primary goals:
• Providing health insurance for “the working poor” who do not currently have access; and
• Addressing uncompensated care for hospitals.
The Senate’s plan is more narrowly tailored to the stated goals of proponents. (It should be noted that the stated goals…
Georgia Democrats on Capitol Hill are again expressing concern over the number of children losing their health insurance coverage during the nationwide Medicaid redetermination process, which has been ongoing since last spring after COVID-19 public health emergency protections ended.
As of last fall, roughly 150,000 Georgia children had their health coverage cut off, according to the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
The agency has repeatedly urged the state to do more to keep kids covered.
Now, Mon. Jon Ossoff and Rep. Lucy McBath has sent a joint letter urging Gov. Brian Kemp to improve the state’s…
Governor JB Pritzker joined doctors, patients, stakeholders, and legislators to highlight efforts to reform predatory health insurance practices and protect patients. The Healthcare Protection Act (HPA), first introduced in the governor’s FY25 Budget Address in late February, aims to put power back into the hands of patients by banning step therapy, banning prior authorization for crisis mental health care, improving network adequacy, and ending unchecked rate increases for large group insurance companies. HPA is targeting utilization management, which often forces consumers to obtain permission from their providers before receiving care that doctors have already determined is necessary. This increases profits…
The newly-introduced maternity insurance plans are reshaping the way individuals approach family planning and financial security. Traditionally, maternity coverage comes with substantial waiting periods, often spanning across two years.
LiveTV
However, with the advent of innovative insurance schemes, these barriers are rapidly diminishing.
The latest offerings in maternity insurance not only slash the waiting period to nine months but also introduce a revolutionary concept — the transferability of waiting periods to spouses.
This means that individuals who have fulfilled their waiting period can pass on this benefit to their partners, allowing for immediate coverage from day one of maternity insurance…
Sam Spector is a server at Wells Fargo Center, a field attendant at Lincoln Financial Field, and a bartender at Citizens Bank Park. She hasn’t been to the doctor since early in the COVID-19 pandemic, when she was forced out of work.
Once she got back to work, Spector, 43, made too much money for a government-assisted health-care plan, but not enough to buy health insurance for both herself and her 17-year-old daughter. Diabetes and heart problems run in her family, she said, and she worries that she could have health issues she doesn’t know about.
At the South Philadelphia…
If the contract ends, people covered by Cigna Insurance would be billed out-of-network costs at ProMedica facilities.
TOLEDO, Ohio —
ProMedica may soon end a contract with a health insurance company if the two parties don’t reach an agreement in negotiations over a new contract.
If Cigna Insurance and ProMedica are unable to reach an agreement, the contract will end on April 1. In a statement from ProMedica, the healthcare company says it entered a short-term agreement with Cigna in 2022.
The statement says ProMedica and Cigna have been negotiating for several months to reach a renewed contract, but have…
Listen to this article
This week in Newark federal court, Maria Cosentino, the owner of Bergen Alliance Counseling Services, admitted her role in a health care fraud scheme involving hundreds of false claims.
Cosentino, 60, of Garfield, owned the center. The business provided counseling services and mental health treatment to children, families, couples and adults.
Prosecutors from the US Attorney for the District of New Jersey’s office had charged Cosentino with participating in a health care fraud scheme. She pleaded guilty to the charges March 19 before US District Judge Katharine Hayden.
“She admitted that for years she submitted false…
US Postal Service employees and their dependents now know the health insurance that will be available to them next year as part of a new exchange.
Office of Personnel Management officials said on March 12 that the agency had conditionally approved 32 carrier applications to provide insurance coverage on the new Postal Service Health Benefits Program, with the plans servicing 1.9 million USPS employees, annuitants and eligible family members starting Jan. 1.
The PSHB, established by the 2022 Postal Service Reform Act, provides USPS employees, retirees and dependents their own health insurance exchange, while officially moving them off of the…