Insurance

March 24, 2009 -- TALLAHASSEE – Florida Governor Charlie Crist today announced the initial results of the first two months of enrollment in Cover Florida Health Care plans. He also encouraged businesses, health care providers and other organizations to help increase awareness about the affordable, quality health insurance coverage made available to Florida’s nearly four million uninsured applicants age 19 to 64. As of February 28, 2009, the health plans reported enrolling 952 Floridians – 82 percent of whom chose catastrophic coverage, and 18 percent chose preventive coverage.    » read more »

03/23/2009 -- California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today issued the following statement after the state Assembly unanimously passed unemployment insurance related legislation:

“There is no higher priority in California right now than helping our unemployed and creating jobs so Californians can get back to work. It’s very encouraging that Democrats and Republicans in the Assembly worked across the aisle in order to pass a bill that will allow California to tap into billions in unemployment insurance benefits available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Now, I urge our colleagues in the Senate to do the same. It’s what our economy needs.”    » read more »

March 23, 2009 -- Colorado Governor Ritter today announced that the Department of Regulatory Agencies' Division of Insurance has launched a new online guide designed to protect and educate consumers on insurance choices and to help them save money during this economic crisis.

"Rep. Primavera's 2008 House Bill 1385 called for this web guide, which is a part of our 'Building Blocks for Healthcare Reform' plan," said Gov. Ritter. "As we face this global economic crisis, we know that every penny counts and this website provides easy-to-use information to consumers so they can make the best choices for their budget."    » read more »

AMA calls on Congress to act on permanent reform in testimony to House Committee on Small Business

March 18, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – Permanent Medicare physician payment reform is needed this year to ensure long-term access to care for seniors, and the realistic forecast of future Medicare spending on physician services in the federal budget makes the reform economically feasible.

“The administration made clear in its budget that it does not expect Medicare physician payment cuts to occur, and we encourage Congress to seize this opportunity for permanent action to fix the physician payment formula,” said American Medical Association (AMA) Board Chair Joseph M. Heyman, MD in testimony today to the House Committee on Small Business.    » read more »

March 18, 2009 -- TRENTON - New Jersey Governor Jon S. Corzine today signed Kelley's Law, a measure that extends payment of accidental death benefits to survivors of members of the Armed Forces Reserve and National Guard who fall under the Police and Firemen's Retirement System (PFRS), the State Police Retirement System (SPRS), the Public Employees' Retirement System (PERS) and the Teachers' Pension and Annuity Fund (TPAF).

The bill, A-770/S-1392, is named for U.S. Army Reserve Major Dwayne M. Kelley, who was also a Detective Sergeant First Class in the New Jersey State Police. Major Kelley was killed by a bomb blast in Baghdad, Iraq on June 24, 2008.    » read more »

Washington, March 17, 2009 – President Obama met yesterday with the national commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S. to discuss the VFW's opposition to an administration proposal to bill veterans with private health insurance for the care they receive for their service-connected disabilities and wounds.

"The president told us that he would not go through with the third-party billing proposal if he felt the veterans' community didn't approve of it," said Glen M. Gardner Jr., who leads the nation's largest organization of combat veterans. "We made our opposition clearly known."    » read more »

03/17/2009 -- California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today sent the following letter to Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner to share his concern that a potential 27 percent pure premium rate increase would have an overwhelmingly negative impact on businesses, employees and California’s economy. The Governor has a strong record of working to reform the state’s workers’ compensation system, and those reforms have saved employers more than $40 billion so far.

Text of the letter:

March 17, 2009

Via facsimile: (916) 445-5280

The Honorable Steve Poizner
Commissioner
California Department of Insurance
300 Capitol Mall
Suite 1700
Sacramento, California 95814

Dear Steve,    » read more »

March 12, 2009 -- DEARBORN, MI – Today, Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle co-hosted the first Regional White House Forum on Health Reform with Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm and Melody Barnes, director of the White House Domestic Policy Council. As a leader in making health care affordable and available to all, Governor Doyle was invited to lead the forum. This discussion is the beginning of a process of determining how to lower costs, improve quality for everyone, and expand coverage to all Americans.    » read more »

Central New York Program Offers Small Businesses and Individuals Insurance Premiums 70 Percent Lower Than Average; Subsidiary of Greater Syracuse Chamber of Commerce Selected to Administer Healthy NY Pilot Project

March 12, 2009 -- New York Governor David A. Paterson today announced a Syracuse-based company has been selected to run the first Upstate Healthy NY pilot project, which will provide affordable health insurance to small businesses and individuals in Central New York. Benefits Specialists, a subsidiary of the Greater Syracuse Chamber of Commerce, will administer the program which will offer premiums with discounts as high as 70 percent, and will work to increase enrollment through outreach and education initiatives.    » read more »

San Francisco — March 12, 2009 -- Despite rising prices and tightening budgets, the enrollment season for 2009 brought little change to the core aspects of employers’ benefit offerings, according to a new nationwide survey by Wells Fargo Insurance Services. Employers absorbed most of the benefits’ cost increase this year while they added access to tools like Health Savings Accounts and wellness programs.    » read more »

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Provides funds to Help Maximize Children's Enrollment in Health Insurance

March 11, 2009 -- RICHMOND – Virginia Governor Timothy M. Kaine today announced that the Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services (DMAS) will receive $1 million in funding and support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) to increase enrollment and retention of eligible children in Virginia's health insurance programs, known as FAMIS and FAMIS Plus (children's Medicaid).    » read more »

Federal Economic Recovery Package Provides Subsidy for COBRA Health Insurance Premiums; Bill Will Give Eligible Individuals Who Previously Declined COBRA Coverage a Second Chance to Elect Coverage

March 11, 2009 -- New York Governor David A. Paterson today announced that he has submitted a bill to ensure that New Yorkers laid off by small businesses can qualify for federal benefits that pay up to 65 percent of Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) health insurance premiums. The subsidy, part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), is available to individuals who were involuntarily terminated on or after September 1, 2008.    » read more »

Tell lawmakers that reform will help jumpstart economy at AMA’s National Advocacy Conference

March 10, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – Physicians from across the nation are in Washington, D.C. today to meet with lawmakers and make the case that health care reform is crucial to jumpstarting the economy. Hundreds of physicians attending the American Medical Association’s (AMA) National Advocacy Conference will hear directly from Representatives Henry Waxman and Roy Blunt and the White House’s health care advisor Ezekiel Emanuel, MD about reform efforts. Physicians attending the meeting will also meet with members of Congress from their districts to urge them to act.    » read more »

Beneficiaries able to visit doctors after years without health care insurance

March 6, 2009 -- MIAMI – Continuing a two-day public awareness campaign focused on help available to Floridians during times of economic challenge, Florida Governor Charlie Crist today encouraged Floridians without health insurance benefits to learn more about the Cover Florida Health Care Access Program. The health insurance plans make affordable, quality health insurance coverage and access to health care available to Florida’s nearly four million uninsured applicants age 19 to 64.    » read more »

Van Roekel: health care reform is vital to economic recovery and crucial to public education

WASHINGTON - March 05, 2009 - NEA President Dennis Van Roekel today applauded President Barack Obama for holding a White House summit to jump-start a national dialogue about health care reform, calling the effort vital to the nation's economic recovery and a crucial ingredient for great public schools for all students.

President Obama placed reforming health care at the top of his domestic agenda along with modernizing the education system and stabilizing the economy. This week, he began a concerted effort to turn the nation's attention to this pressing issue, which includes 46 million uninsured Americans.    » read more »