A $48 billion deal that would create the nation’s largest health insurer inched closer to completion after shareholders of both Anthem and Cigna voted in favor of a buyout. Continue reading
WASHINGTON — Health spending in the United States last year topped $3 trillion — an average of $9,500 a person — as five years of exceptionally slow growth gave way to the Affordable Care Act’s expansion of Medicaid and private insurance coverage, and as prescription drug prices resumed their sharp climbs, the government said Wednesday. Continue reading
Earlier in 2015 when we filed our taxes for 2014 with our tax adviser, either in person or online, we were asked if we had individual medical insurance. Everyone was on the honor system; the individual mandate of the law states you will have to pay an annual fee or fine for not having health coverage. The penalty or fee is related to gross wages and family size. However, the IRS had no way to track this information until now. Welcome to the filing requirements under the ACA. Continue reading
Small businesses report that the cost of benefits is the number one operating challenge, and close to 90 percent of employers are prepared for insurance costs to rise each year. These facts suggest that a way to offer health insurance without concern about rising costs can be a huge benefit to any business – regardless of the size. Continue reading
The passing of the Affordable Care Act (otherwise known as Obamacare) usheredin an era of all Americans being put in charge of their own health insurance. Those without insurance are now required to purchase it, and some are eligible for help from the government. The real question for small businesses is how does Obamacare affect us? For small and medium-sized businesses, the following facts may be important to you. Continue reading
WASHINGTON — Obama administration officials, urging people to sign up for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act, have trumpeted the low premiums available on the law’s new marketplaces. Continue reading
The nation’s insurance commissioners are recommending sweeping new standards to address complaints from consumers about limited access to doctors and hospitals in health plans sold under the Affordable Care Act. Continue reading
If you have gone online recently to pay a hospital bill, request a prescription refill, or look at lab results, you are among the minority of people across the U.S. using technology to monitor your health.
Moving patient health records from a paper-based system to an electronic one has long been a dream and a goal of doctors, hospital administrators and policymakers, but the effort has been anything but seamless, according to a recent Government Accountability Office report. Continue reading
