| Small Business Health Insurance Pools Approved By House
Des Moines, Iowa - Making good on another promise outlined in their Plan for Prosperity, the Iowa House overwhelmingly approved a bill today to allow small businesses to pool their purchasing power to get better rates on health insurance for their employees.
"One of our top priorities this year was to help small business with rising health care costs and I'm pleased we've made progress today," said State Representative Dawn Pettengill, who helped craft the bill and managed it through the House. "Many small businesses struggle with rapidly rising health insurance costs or cannot even offer health care coverage because it will put them out of business. I believe the proposal we passed today will provide some relief."
House File 790 allows businesses with 2-50 employees to join a group health insurance plan through an association.
Blue Cross of California Keeps Promise to Members: Enhanced ...
THOUSAND OAKS, Calif., March 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Blue Cross of California (Blue Cross), through its affiliate BC Life & Health Insurance company, is now offering new health plan options for employers and individuals that will change the way consumers think about health care, helping them to lead healthier lives while also helping them gain control over the rising cost of care. These new consumer-driven health plan (CDHP) products and services are now available to large and small businesses as well as individuals. Previously, these products were offered only to national employers' members. "Our customers who choose these consumer-driven products will have new opportunities to lead healthier lives," said Blue Cross president Brian A. Sassi. "Our suite of Lumenos CDHP products puts consumers in control of their health care dollars and offers them an incentive to spend wisely and demand better health care quality and value." Blue Cross will offer the following core CDHP products: -- Lumenos Health Reimbursement Account -- Lumenos Health Savings Account -- Lumenos Health Incentive Account -- Lumenos Health Incentive Account Plus Consumers who choose Lumenos products will be eligible for extensive preventive care and personal health coaching, as well as smoking cessation and weight management programs.
Small Business Owners Turning to HRA Plans to Reduce Health ...
Small business owners are turning Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRA) plans as a way to help their employees obtain affordable health insurance. Fort Collins, CO (PRWEB) March 27, 2007 -- HSA for America, the nation's leading provider of Health Savings Accounts and HSA-qualified health insurance plans for individuals and families, reports record numbers of small employers signing up for Health Reimbursement Arrangements. Employers are using HRAs as a way to legitimately reimburse individual health insurance premiums to their employees, saving 50% over group rates. HRAs are special employer-funded accounts set up to reimburse specific medical expenses directly to employees. They came into being when the IRS issued Notice 2002-45 and Revenue Ruling 2002-41.
BestWeek: UnitedHealth’s $2.6 Billion Buyout of Las Vegas-Based ...
OLDWICK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--UnitedHealth Group's pending $2.6 billion acquisition of the Las Vegas-based Sierra Health Services is a strategic move affording it access to among the fastest-growing markets in the United States. In an exclusive article in this week's BestWeek, industry observers speculate about more managed-care mergers ahead and note the smaller Sierra offers UnitedHealth a business model the other large publicly traded companies may find hard to match. UnitedHealth wants to be big everywhere, and because it was lacking in size in the Nevada area, the deal makes sense, said Donald Light, a senior equity analyst with Celent. With Sierra, UnitedHealth becomes the dominant player in Nevada's employer market, he said. Also featured is Best's Insurance Composite Index, which finished the week of March 15, 2007 at 1,295.24, up 6.79% from a year ago.
Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report Highlights Health Issues In ...
Alabama: In his March 6 speech, Gov. Bob Riley (R) said he will propose allowing small businesses to deduct from their taxes twice the amount they pay for health insurance premiums, while allowing small businesses' employees to deduct twice the amount they contribute toward their health insurance. In addition, Riley said, "We've made prescription medicines more accessible to our seniors through an expansion of our Senior RX program, and that will continue. Now, we must help our seniors and all Alabamians afford the nonprescription medicines they need." He added that he would work to eliminate the sales tax on all over-the-counter medications (Riley speech text, 3/6).
Florida: In his March 6 speech, Gov. Charlie Crist (R) said the state "must raise the profile of all children's issues, from education to health." He added, "That is why I support the creation of a 'Children's Cabinet' to coordinate state services and oversee child welfare issues." Crist also asked the state to support his proposal to allocate $20 million to "make Florida a national leader in the research of adult, amniotic and umbilical cord stem cells." He said, "Stem cell research holds the promise of unlocking the secrets to cure diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's and many others, and Florida should champion this research" (Crist speech text, 3/6)
Illinois: In his March 7 speech, Gov.
Blagojevich questions Jackson's opposition to tax plan
ROCKFORD (AP) - Businessman Duntai Mathews knows it's important to have healthy employees at his small woodworking company, it's finding the money to pay for their medical insurance that's the problem.So Mathews and his family go without insurance and he doesn't offer it to his 11 employees either."I need it," said Mathews, who is backing Gov. Rod Blagojevich's $7.6 billion business tax plan to make access to health care affordable in Illinois and generate money for schools and property tax relief.Mathews said private insurance companies want to charge him $6,200 a month to cover his employees and Blagojevich's plan to offer low-cost health insurance for workers would do it for $2,800 a month.But Blagojevich's tax plan has outraged many other business owners, who predict it would force them to raise prices and cut jobs.
Most small companies fret over insurance
Small-business owners are increasingly concerned about rising health-care costs and are looking to government more and more to find legislative relief. That's according to a new poll of small-business owners nationwide who say they simply can't afford to offer health insurance because revenues are too uncertain and many of their employees can't afford their share of the costs. The poll, which was conducted by the National Federation of Independent Business, is based on a random survey of its members, 10,000 business owners. A vast majority, 95 percent, said the most important issue facing their business is rising health-care costs, said William Dennis, chief economist for the trade group, which has an office in Columbus and headquarters in Washington, D.C.
HealthMarkets Announces Newest Advisory Panel Members
NORTH RICHLAND HILLS, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 2, 2007--HealthMarkets announced today the appointment of two new members to the Company's Regulatory Advisory Panel. Joining the panel are Susan Stead, a former Ohio Department of Insurance Assistant Director who has served in key roles at the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, and former Texas Insurance Commissioner Jose Montemayor. Stead will serve as the panel's chairwoman. HealthMarkets is a leading provider of affordable health and life insurance to the self-employed, individuals and small businesses through its subsidiaries, The MEGA Life and Health Insurance Company, Mid-West National Life Insurance Company of Tennessee and The Chesapeake Life Insurance Company. Stead and Montemayor join current advisory panel members Tommy Thompson, former Secretary of the U.S.
Small-firm health care at issue
Lawmakers unveiled legislation Monday that aims to protect small businesses and their workers from drastic health insurance rate hikes. The proposal is one of several pending this session to increase health coverage in Colorado while a commission studying comprehensive reform completes its work. The newest bill, by Reps. Anne McGihon, a Denver Democrat, and Rep. Tom Massey, R-Poncha Springs, would prohibit health insurance companies from using the health history of workers in setting rates for businesses with 50 employees or fewer. "It's not often in the arena of health reform that we see a clear problem with a clear solution, but this is one of those rarities," said McGihon. "This proposal will prevent insurance companies from increasing that burden just because of an individual employee's health issues," Massey said.
Deborah Oliver: Let's take control of Dirigo
As a small-business owner and entrepreneur, I am writing to urge the Maine legislature to pass LD 431 — An Act to Enable the Dirigo Health Program to be Self-Administered, sponsored by Rep. Jill Conover of Oakland. I appeared in November at the Bureau of Insurance public hearing in Gardiner regarding the outrageous rate increase Anthem was then requesting for the Dirigo product. I left that hearing mystified by Anthem's reluctance to answer questions. I am convinced from what I heard and saw that Anthem is no friend to the Dirigo plan or its subscribers. DirigoChoice is thriving as a viable, affordable health insurance plan for Mainers. Before I quit a full-time job in Maine to start my own business, I carefully investigated health insurance options for my husband and me. Policies available to us as nongroup subscribers were exorbitant; premiums for policies approximating the coverage offered by my then-employer were well over $1,000 a month.
Blagojevich fights for business tax plan
Businessman Duntai Mathews knows it's important to have healthy employees at his small woodworking company. It's finding the money to pay for their medical insurance that's the problem. So Mathews and his family go without insurance and he doesn't offer it to his 11 employees either. "I need it," said Mathews, who is backing Gov. Rod Blagojevich's $7.6 billion business tax plan to make access to health care affordable in Illinois and generate money for schools and property tax relief. Mathews said private insurance companies want to charge him $6,200 a month to cover his employees, and Blagojevich's plan to offer low-cost health insurance for workers would do it for $2,800 a month. But Blagojevich's tax plan has outraged many other business owners, who predict it would force them to raise prices and cut jobs.
President of Health Insurance Agency Advises Businesses on What ...
There are so many types of plans available to small businesses today. Knowing how to chose the right one should not be hard if a logical approach is used, according to Chuck Mondrus, President of American Health Insurance, a top-producing agency in the United States. (PRWEB) March 15, 2007 -- Chuck Mondrus, President of top-producing insurance agency, American Health Insurance, says buying quality self employed health insurance coverage that's right for any stage of business growth with an eye to the future, is easy to do. An employer may be the only employee of the company but still needs the peace of mind provided by a quality insurance plan. Before the employer ask for a self employed health insurance quote, though, look at these three business growth scenarios.
Kan. Legislature Advances Bill to Help Poor Buy Insurance
Thousands of poor Kansans would get the state's help in paying for health insurance under a proposal endorsed earlier this week in both the House and Senate, as legislators moved closer to finishing a modest package of health care initiatives. The proposal would create a new program eventually providing $77 million a year in benefits to about 24,000 adults by 2012. While the program's details aren't spelled out, supporters expect the state to spend about $3,200 per person. The House approved, 117-5, a bill creating the new program. The Senate gave its own bill first-round approval on a voice vote and planned to take final action Tuesday. Both measures had bipartisan support. The House bill tied the new program to proposals to allow the state to make no-interest loans to help small businesses form associations and start health plans, and allow more Kansans to set aside money tax-free to cover health expenses.
Governor touts health plan, gross receipts tax during Decatur stop
DECATUR - With the rising cost of health care, Barry Geogehegan struggles to pay more than $700 a month for insurance for himself and his son. Providing his employees with health care coverage at his small business, Barry's American Cycles, is currently out of the question.Geogehegan shared these challenges with Gov. Rod Blagojevich at Barry's American Cycles on Thursday afternoon in an effort to push for the governor's recent budget proposal."We have to start somewhere with health care; if people have health care problems, it turns to bankruptcy," Geogehegan said. "If the governor can make that better around the state, that's a great thing."Blagojevich's stop through Decatur was one of the last visits of his four-day Investing in Families Bus Tour to promote his Investing in Families initiative, which includes Illinois Covered.The proposed Illinois Covered plan is designed to ensure that everyone has access to affordable health care coverage.
Health bills simmer, should boil
With the Colorado legislature due to adjourn May 9, a pair of well- meaning health care bills seem unlikely to suvive the traffic jam that develops in the session's final weeks. One measure, House Bill 1355 by Reps. Anne McGihon, D-Denver, and Tom Massey, R-Poncha Springs, would ban insurers from using the health history of workers to raise rates in businesses with 50 or fewer employees. The bill is awaiting action. Another proposal, Senate Bill 193 by Lois Tochtrop, D-Thornton, would have required all automobile insurance policies sold in Colorado to have included at least $25,000 in medical benefits. Tochtrop withdrew her bill last week but may re-introduce it later in the session. The McGihon-Massey bill is aimed at solving a problem faced by small businesses that provide health benefits.
Pruned health-insurance plans advanced by House
Arizonans will have access to stripped-down health insurance plans if the Senate and the governor approve a House plan. The House voted 32-25 on March 13 to allow insurance companies to offer pruned health plans to individual policyholders and more small businesses. The vote came amid claims by supporters that many Arizonans don't purchase health insurance because the only options are unaffordable. House Bill 2757, dubbed by Rep. Kirk Adams, R-Mesa, as "mandate lite," would eliminate some of the coverages lawmakers previously said all policies had to include. The vote came as legislators are increasingly focused on how to get coverage for the perhaps 1.1 million Arizonans who do not have health insurance. .
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