Latest Health Insurance Headlines

All the headlines from our Health Insurance Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Okla. Lawmaker with Ties to Industry Blocks Insurance Bills

May 6 2008 // An Oklahoma lawmaker who has blocked legislation that would require health insurers to cover a variety of medical procedures and conditions has accepted thousands of dollars in donations from individuals or political...

Pennsylvania Malpractice Insurance Subsidy for Doctors Lapses

Apr 21 2008 // A five-year, $1 billion taxpayer subsidy to help Pennsylvania doctors buy medical malpractice insurance lapsed at the end of last month, forcing physicians to pay higher premiums unless Democrats and Republicans break an...

Pennsylvania Doctors Lose Malpractice Subsidy

Apr 2 2008 // A five-year, $1 billion taxpayer subsidy to help Pennsylvania doctors buy medical malpractice insurance lapsed Monday, forcing physicians to pay higher premiums unless Democrats and Republicans break an impasse over...

Supreme Court Permits Health Benefit Offset for Retirees on Medicare

Mar 26 2008 // The Supreme Court this week let stand a federal policy that allows employers to reduce their health insurance expenses for retired workers once they turn 65 and qualify for Medicare.The justices turned down an appeal by...

Michigan Senate Plan for Health Insurance Segment Coming Soon

Mar 21 2008 // A Republican in the Michigan Senate is expected to propose changes to rules guiding Michigan’s health insurance market for individuals who aren’t covered by employer or government plans. Senator Tom George...

Calif. Pet Insurer Notes UK Growth

Mar 11 2008 // Santa Ana, Calif.- based ensurApet, Inc. has issued a bulletin, which notes that “health insurance for pets in the United Kingdom is growing at a record rate.” CEO, Russell Smith stated: “According to...

Colorado Auto Rates Down, Study Shows

Mar 10 2008 // Car insurance rates for Colorado drivers on average have dropped 35 percent since the state changed its auto insurance system nearly five years ago, according to an independent study released by Gov. Bill Ritter’s...

States Stretch Family Health Policies to Cover Young Adults

Feb 27 2008 // Thomas Mahoney came out of a seizure last December surrounded by paramedics ready to take him to the hospital by ambulance. Mindful of the cost, he asked his mom and girlfriend to drive him instead, slipping in and out of...

Canceled Insured Awarded $9M Against Calif. Health Insurer

Feb 26 2008 // A woman who had her medical insurance coverage canceled as she was undergoing treatment for breast cancer has been awarded more than $9 million (euro6.06 million) in a case against one of California’s largest health...

U.S. Healthcare Spending Surge Expected in Next Decade

Feb 26 2008 // U.S. health-care spending will devour an expanding share of the U.S. economy during the next decade, almost doubling to about $4.3 trillion in 2017, government officials forecast Tuesday.Economists at the U.S....

Employers, Lawmakers Push Doctors to Adopt Electronic Prescriptions

Feb 22 2008 // Motivated by mounting medical costs, lawmakers and executives are urging doctors to embrace a seemingly simple way to save billions of dollars a year: prescribe medications online.Officials in the public and private...

Colorado Auto Rates Down, Study Shows

Feb 19 2008 // Car insurance rates for Colorado drivers on average have dropped 35 percent since the state changed its auto insurance system nearly five years ago, according to an independent study released today by Gov. Bill...

Mass. Health Insurance Law Lowering Emergency Room Visits

Feb 15 2008 // A new report shows that a key goal of the Massachusetts landmark health care law is being met.The law was designed to mandate health care for nearly all Massachusetts citizens, in part by offering subsidized insurance...

Wash. Regulator Gets More Authority Over Health Insurance

Feb 1 2008 // The state Senate approved the bill giving the insurance commissioner more authority over individual health insurance policies. The measure is also expected to pass the House. Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler requested...

N.H. Reports Patriot Health Insurance to be Liquidated

Jan 23 2008 // New Hampshire Insurance Commissioner Roger Sevigny announced that Patriot Health Insurance Co. which was placed in rehabilitation on Dec.12, 2007, will be liquidated in a proceeding supervised by the Merrimack County...

The National Alliance Adds Employee Benefits Course

Jan 16 2008 // Austin, Texas-based The National Alliance for Insurance Education & Research announced it has added a new course for insurance professionals: Employee Benefits – Health Insurance. The course aims to deliver...

Wash. Regulator Has Big Ideas for Health Care

Jan 15 2008 // Hoping to speed up the pace of health care reform, the state insurance commissioner has stepped from the bureaucratic supporting cast with a big idea: take over the market for “catastrophic” insurance,...

Ruling Affirms Employers May Factor Medicare into Retiree Benefits

Dec 28 2007 // Employers may continue the long-standing practice of taking Medicare into account when structuring the health care benefits voluntarily provided their retired workers, says the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in a...

OC Appeals Panel Rules on Cancellation by Health Insurer

Dec 27 2007 // A state appeals panel ruled that insurers cannot rescind health policies unless they can show policyholders willfully lied on their insurance applications or prove that companies investigated applications before issuing...

California Fines Health Insurer Blue Shield $12.6 Million

Dec 14 2007 // California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner is seeking $12.6 million in fines and penalties against health insurer Blue Shield for violations regarding healthcare rescissions and irresponsible claims processing.The...