When Gov. Gavin Newsom took office four years ago, the Democrats went after Republicans on the national stage as they sought to gut the Affordable Care Act. Key to his ambitious healthcare agenda: reinstating the fine on Californians who don’t have health coverage, which had been eliminated at the federal level.
It was a tough sell for a new governor, and Newsom needed strong allies among state Democratic leaders, who at the time, in 2019, voiced concern about essentially levying a new tax on Californians unable to afford the rising cost of healthcare. Democrats, who, then as now, controlled the…
aetna
Uninsured Rate Hits Record Low of 8.3%
WASHINGTON — The uninsured rate in the US has fallen to a record-low 8.3%, but that percentage is expected to gradually increase as insurance protections from the COVID-19 pandemic wind down, according to officials from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) .
The temporary policies enacted in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic “have contributed to a record low insurance rate in 2023 of 8.3% and record-high enrollment in both Medicaid and ACA [Affordable Care Act] marketplace coverage,” said Caroline Hanson, PhD, principal analyst at the CBO, during a briefing sponsored by Health Affairs. “As those temporary policies expire under current…
Aviva added more than 100,000 private health insurance customers in a year as the NHS struggled
Insurance firm Aviva has reported a 25% increase in the number of new health insurance policies taken out in the first three months of this year – as the NHS lists were lengthened and staff went on strike.
The Aviva boss was explicit in linking the rise in new policies to failings in the public health service.
The increase is “a consequence of what we’re seeing in the NHS and customers basically say that if they can take control over their health situation then they will,” chief executive Amanda Blanc said.
More individuals and companies are “attracted to the benefits…
State alleges Health Partners illegally denied mental health coverage, says the company is cooperating
Updated: 2:00 p.m
Minnesota officials hit Bloomington-based insurance and health care company Health Partners with a consent order for allegedly violating laws related to mental health parity.
State and federal laws prohibit health insurance companies from evaluating mental health diagnoses or treatments more stringently than they do for other forms of care.
“This is one example of our commitment to enforcing mental health parity laws and making sure that Minnesotans can get access to the coverage that they’ve paid for,” said Commerce Commissioner Grace Arnold. “We want to make sure that people have fewer barriers, and this is a way…
UnitedHealthcare says some NC customers affected by data breach
The health insurance provider sent notices to customers earlier this month.
CHARLOTTE, NC — UnitedHealthcare insurance customers in North Carolina will want to double check their mailboxes to see if their data was affected by a breach that happened earlier this year.
The provider said it identified suspicious activity on the UHC mobile application on Feb. 22, 2023 that may have led to the disclosure of member information. About two weeks later, UnitedHealthcare determined certain parts of customer information were likely to impact. However, the provider stressed Social Security Numbers and driver’s license numbers were not involved.
The information affected…
Achieving Prevention and Health, Rather Than More Healthcare
Newswise — If more people have access to health insurance, we have to be sure the death rates of those with certain chronic conditions are decreasing.
This is one of the statements by Gregory Peck, an acute care surgeon and associate professor at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, who will be researching on behalf of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) at the National Institutes of Health.
Funded by NIH grants totaling more than $1 million through a recent two-year award from the New Jersey Alliance for Clinical and Translational Science (NJ ACTS), a…