As the New Year starts, a new collaboration has been made between the Mississippi Department of Finance and Administration (DFA) and the UnitedHealthcare. The healthcare company will take charge of the Mississippi Division of Medicaid (DOM)-administered Mississippi Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) for four years, with an option by the state to renew for a fifth year.

Last Jan. 1, approximately 67,000 children already enrolled in the program which is passed on to UnitedHealthcare of Mississippi. It has a healthcare provider network of 133 hospitals and almost 10,000 healthcare professionals, including Federally Qualified Health Centers and rural health clinics. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Mississippi had serviced the program for nearly…

Good news to all clients of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas! Last Monday, the health insurance company has announced that they will be implementing a new program in five North Texas counties to lay more emphasis on wellness and manage diseases.

The insurer has created this so-called medical home program with two physician groups, Medical Clinic of North Texas and Village Health Partners, which provide care for more than 20,000 members in Dallas, Denton, Tarrant, Collin and Johnson counties.

This program refers to a coordinated system of primary care physicians, specialists and pharmacists sharing a patient’s information electronically. As of the moment, the health care system in Texas is mostly incoherent.…

In a recent report, Pennsylvania Insurance Department announced that the premiums for people on the waiting list to purchase the adultBasic state health insurance will double soon. The agency said that this need to increase the rates is based on the higher medical service use, escalating health care costs, and limited state funding.

“If we didn’t adjust the adultBasic premium and benefit package, a portion of individuals enrolled in the program would have lost coverage,” Insurance Commissioner Joel Ario said. “People who come to adultBasic have been without coverage and so are generally in need of costly care.”

Currently, there are 369,112 Pennsylvanians on the waiting list for adultBasic coverage. That’s more…

Indeed, labor unions have been some of the strongest supporters of healthcare reform. That’s because during the negotiations and debates, officials have agreed to remove tax on high-cost health insurance plans. Thus, they are able to benefit from such plans, which are more comprehensive from most basic plans.

Weeks ago another provisional settlement was made and that concerns unions getting a national health insurance exchange market with subsidies, along with stricter penalties imposed towards employers that do not offer health insurance. In return, they must agree to the tax on high-cost health insurance plans.

The discussions seem to be going well until the recent win of Republican Scott Brown. Most officials thought…

Without a doubt, almost all Americans get their health insurance coverage through their employees. However, with so many plans to choose from regarding health insurance, business owners sometimes have a difficult time making a decision. So should you happen to own a small business, here are some guidelines which you can take note of.

When researching health insurance, you should consider numerous insurance companies. Once you have chosen a carrier of health insurance, you can now take a look at the different types of plans that are available. Generally, there are two major types of health insurance: HMO or PPO plans. You can also choose health insurance through different government agencies.…

Based on a study, about one-third of Americans are overweight and another one-third are already obese. Now you’re probably wondering how that concerns your individual health insurance. Actually, that specific detail can alter one’s health insurance premium big time. As you know, these insurance companies base individual rates on one’s current medical conditions. Since obesity can result serious health problems including Type 2 diabetes and heart disease, buying health insurance can become very costly.

There are rare occasions when an insurance company provides for obese individuals. Yes, there are some who are fortunate to be able to acquire a health plan nonetheless, these people face health insurance rates that are 20%…

They thought their business can carry on without getting the attention of the authority. But have they lost their mind and forgot about their supposed clients? Good thing the Missouri regulators are now working hard to shut down over a dozen companies that promise health plans but have allegedly left consumers with thousands of dollars in unpaid medical bills.

Currently, there are 14 companies and 12 individuals summoned by the consumer affairs division of the Missouri Department of Insurance. The companies have been ordered to appear at a hearing on Feb. 17 to respond to the charges and could face cease-and-desist orders and a $250,000 fine. In totality, the department has…

In a recent report, it was told that there is currently a pricing issue between BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina and Carolinas HealthCare System that has affected a number of top physician groups in York County. This imperative issue also forced thousands of patients to pay more or look for a new provider.

Both companies already apologized to all patients who are caught in the middle. Although both parties are still trying to work out this issue and are still in negotiations, the argument has already made nine practices in York, Lancaster and Chesterfield counties be out of network. Until now, no settlement has been made.

BlueCross has offered what they believe…