insurance
Health reform brings down Aetna individual health premiums up to 19.5%
Aetna policyholders will enjoy 10% rate cuts on average for policies starting Sept. 1st because of national health reform. The national Affordable Care Act (ACA) set standards limiting how much insurance plans can spend on administration vs. medical care. The federal standards, requiring that insurers spend at least 80 to 85% of premiums on medical…
Read MorePublic hearings on health insurance exchanges
The state will be holding hearings on plans for creating a health insurance exchange for CT under national health reform. The exchange is meant to be a standardized, regulated, easy-to-understand marketplace for individuals and small businesses to purchase coverage and apply for assistance. Advocates have sent a letter to the state outlining our recommendations for…
Read MoreInsurance exchange planning meeting
CT’s Health Insurance Exchange Planning Group held its first meeting under the new administration. Filed legislation offers two very different views for CT’s health insurance exchange, particularly regarding the role of insurers and providers in developing standards and choosing health plans allowed to participate in the exchange. OPM reported on the RFP for development of…
Read MoreHealth in the News – long term care insurance, mandates, and Medicaid inpatient admissions up
Interest in the CLASS Act, part of national health reform, has focused attention on long term care insurance. All sides agree that something needs to be done, but is federally sponsored insurance sustainable? Issues around mandated insurance benefits are heating up again. Federal standards for the essential benefits package are being developed that may or…
Read MoreAetna begins tiered benefit offerings in CT
In a move to reduce costs, Aetna is now charging members in some plans based on the costs of the hospitals they choose, according to the CT Mirror. For example, in the program women who choose to give birth at Midstate Hospital will pay almost 35% of their bill in coinsurance; those who deliver at…
Read MoreFebruary webquiz – insurance offerings in CT
Test your knowledge of health insurance offerings by CT employers. Take the February CT Health Policy Webquiz.
Read MoreCT insurance premiums up more than 30% from 2003 to 2009
An analysis by the Commonwealth Fund finds that single health insurance premiums in CT grew 34% and family coverage by 39% from 2003 through 2009. Interestingly, the rise in premiums was greater for employees of large firms than for workers in small firms, both in CT and nationally. CT family premiums were the 7th highest…
Read MoreConsumers protest Anthem rate hike request
Consumer advocates demonstrated their concerns at a CT Insurance Dept. public hearing about Anthem’s request to raise premiums 20% or more. The consumers outlined the enormous economic burden this places on state residents and businesses while unemployment remains high and Anthem’s parent company made millions in profits last quarter. Policymakers questioned Anthem’s documentation to justify…
Read MoreNovember web quiz
Test your knowledge of CT managed care plan performance. Take the November CT Health Policy Web Quiz.
Read MoreCT managed care report card out and medical loss ratios
The CT Insurance Dept. has published this year’s comparison of health insurers with interesting comparisons across managed care plans. (Study up for next month’s webquiz). Near the end, on p. 48, medical loss ratios are reported across insurers. It is important to note that the MLR definition used for the report is stricter than the…
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