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Healthcare Finance
Week two of open enrollment shows an eight percent drop in the number of people signing up for Affordable Care Act coverage.
From Sunday, Nov. 4 to Saturday, Nov. 10, 804,556 people selected a plan through Healthcare.gov, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Of these, 185,631 are new consumers.
CMS measures enrollment Sunday through Saturday.
Last year, from Nov. 5 to 11, 876,788 people selected plans, a 72,232 increase over this year.
Health Leaders Media
Spending on branded specialty and patent-protected drugs is up four percent since 2016 and continues to outstrip spending on generic drugs by nearly $80 billion a year, the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association says in a new report.
Nationally, BCBS commercial plans spend more than $100 billion each year on drugs, which account for 20 percent of overall healthcare spending for the payers. Branded prescription drugs represent 17 percent of the total prescriptions filled by BCBS commercial plans, but they account for nearly $80 billion of the total spend, BCBSA said.
Star-Tribune
As Medicare Cost Plans disappear next year across much of Minnesota, more than 300,000 people in the state find themselves shopping for new coverage this fall in the midst of a national debate.
Is it a good thing that more seniors are getting their government benefits via Medicare Advantage plans from private health insurers?
Or, would people be better off with the traditional Medicare program, which consumers often supplement with Medigap and Part D drug coverage from private insurers?
American Medical Association
A group of national medical associations is calling on a federal court to block the expansion of short-term insurance policies that put buyers and the individual health care coverage market at risk. The AMA and other organizations representing nearly a million physicians and other health professionals submitted an amicus brief supporting a preliminary injunction against the Trump administration's 2018 final rule on short-term, limited-duration insurance (STLDI). Critics charge the rule creates an unlawful permanent alternative to individual coverage compliant with the original provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA).
KTVZ
The Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services has issued a cease-and-desist order against Helen Kyung Lee and Joany Inc., also known as Impact Health Inc., for forging consumers' signatures on insurance documents, which violates the Oregon insurance code.
The department, through its Division of Financial Regulation, is pursuing fines and seeking to revoke the licenses of Lee and Joany Inc.
Lee and Impact Health Inc. offered consumers a $50 gift card for filling out an insurance survey through either Facebook or Craigslist.
Insurance Business Magazine
Don't expect the threat of hacking to peter out in 2019. Cyber attacks have beat out terrorism, weapons of mass destruction, and extreme weather as the top concern for business leaders in North America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific Region, according to a new report from the World Economic Forum, done in partnership with Zurich Insurance Group and Marsh & McLennan Companies. Those concerns match up with the threats that cyber experts are finding having an impact on commercial clients and their insurance brokers today.
NBC News
By Jan. 1 of next year, those covered by the "Bay and Saginaw Health Plans" will have to have new health coverage in place and that's because...
"Recently the boards voted to discontinue the medical, pharmacy and dental benefits for individuals," said Barbara MacGregor; Executive Director for both Bay and Saginaw Health Plans. MacGregor says it comes down to the money and bottom line is they simply can't afford to pay for the plans anymore.
Bloomberg
Fewer Americans lack health insurance.
In the first six months of 2018, 28.5 million Americans were uninsured — 20.1 million fewer than 2010, the year the Affordable Care Act was signed into law by then-President Barack Obama, according to data from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Among U.S. adults aged 18–64, about seven in 10 were covered by private health insurance plans in the first six months of 2018.
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NAHU Newswire is a daily brief featuring the latest news of interest to healthcare agents and brokers, selected from thousands of sources by the editors of MultiView. NAHU personnel, in accordance with internal policies, do not approve all stories selected. Any comments regarding content of this publication should be emailed to NAHU. It should not be understood or inferred from the presence of advertisements that NAHU endorses any products or services advertised. Similarly, NAHU is not responsible for the quality of journalism reflected in the articles: it should not be understood or inferred that NAHU supports the information provided. MultiView and NAHU are not liable, for any delays or inaccuracies in the information contained in this brief, nor for any actions taken or outcomes resulting from relying on the information provided herein. |
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