Health Care Reform

The Department of Health and Human Services is offering grants to ambitious states that can be the first to produce consumer-friendly technology for health care exchanges.

Restaurants fear new reform mandates will jeopardize their ability to offer affordable health insurance to part-time and full-time hourly workers that participate in a limited medical plan.

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners, Washington, D.C., recently approved a medical loss ratio reporting blank that contains broker commission costs into the administrative expense total - and brokers are reacting.

47 percent of executives say the PPACA may have a financial impact on their business. Most of them - 70 percent - have begun reviewing their health care benefit plans.

A 10 percent cost increase is projected for many popular health plans in 2011, as a number of health care reform provisions go into effect for employer plans.

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners on Thursday approved the model regulation containing the definitions and methodologies for calculating medical loss ratios.

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners filed a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on Wednesday, highlighting issues that have come up as they get closer to concluding work on medical loss ratio definitions.

When it comes to complying with health care reform, meeting medical loss ratio requirements, acquiring and retaining the best risk, establishing cost-effective distribution channels and working with exchanges are U.S. payers' top priorities.