Recent Articles
Illinois General Assembly puts health exchange bill on back burner
Democratic and Republican leaders in the Illinois General Assembly have agreed to shelve a bill that would establish an Illinois health insurance exchange amid uncertainty created by the constitutional challenge to the federal health care overhaul before the U.S....
2013 HSA Changes
The maximum contributions that can be made to health savings accounts in 2013 will rise slightly. The following data for 2013 was recently released by the IRS for Health Savings Accounts (HSAs): The maximum contribution that can be made to an HSA in 2013 is $3,250 for...
Health Insurers To Pay $1.3 Billion In Rebates
(Reuters) - U.S. health insurers will pay $1.3 billion in rebates to consumers and employers this year under a provision of President Barack Obama's healthcare reform law that penalizes plans that devote too little of their premium revenues to health services, an...
BlueCross & BlueShield of Illinois parent tops $1 billion in net profits for 2nd straight year
The parent of Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Illinois booked more than $1 billion in net income in 2011, the second straight year that the Chicago-based company has crossed that milestone.
2012 Healthcare Reform Changes
A summary of health reform initiatives which become effective in 2012.
Study Finds Ending Individual Mandate Would Not Dramatically Hike Insurance Prices
A new RAND Corporation study concludes that eliminating a key part of health care reform that requires all Americans to have health insurance would sharply lower the number of people gaining coverage, but would not dramatically increase the cost of buying policies...
Big Changes In Healthcare Could Return In 2013
(Reuters) - The breakdown of deficit talks in Congress will exact little pain on the U.S. healthcare industry, but it's a temporary reprieve from steeper cuts that could be put back on the table in 2013. The failure of the congressional "super committee" to reach a...
BCBSIL Introduces Renewal Rate Cap for New 51-100 Segment Groups
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois (BCBSIL) announced a first year renewal rate cap of 9%* for groups with 51-100 employees. New groups with 51-100 insured employees sold with Jan. 1, 2012 – July 1, 2012 effective dates can take advantage of this offer if they...
BlueCross BlueShield profits drop 23% in 2nd Quarter
(Crain's) — After surging earlier in the year, profits of the parent of Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Illinois dropped sharply during the second quarter, to a still hefty $270 million, as benefits rose and membership shrank. Chicago-based Health Care Service Corp's net...
Federal COBRA Premium Subsidy Expired August 31, 2011
On August 31, 2011, the COBRA continuation premium subsidy ended. Former employees who want to maintain their COBRA coverage during any remaining COBRA continuation coverage period will now be responsible for the full 100 percent of their premium payments. The...