The future of health care is already here. One big sign of the transformed medical world came early this month with the re-election of President Barack Obama, which effectively preserved the controversial Affordable Care Act (ACA). The sweeping law has already reshaped the health care landscape. But now, with challenges to it essentially finished, medical…
In an Associated Press story, Gov. Nathan Deal suggested that he will not implement a Georgia health insurance exchange as part of the 2010 health care reform law. Deal told the AP on Wednesday that he wouldn’t disclose his decision until notifying federal authorities. But he noted that the state stopped planning an exchange. The…
Among the biggest winners in Tuesday’s elections was President Barack Obama’s signature legislative achievement. The Affordable Care Act may not be the most popular of laws. In fact, exit polls in several states Tuesday found about half the voters want the sweeping 2010 health care legislation repealed or changed, CNN reported. But Republican plans to “repeal…
This time of year, many of us with employment-related health insurance confront a dizzying maze as we choose a benefits plan. The insurance terms typically are confusing, and the types of coverage are hard to figure out. And sometimes, the changes from the year before can be profound, especially with increases in deductibles. A deductible…
A legal fight about a Georgia health insurance law pits doctors against insurers in a case that could have reverberations nationwide. At issue is a 2011 state law that requires insurers to pay doctors promptly for treating patients in self-funded employer health plans. The new Georgia law states that physicians treating such patients must be…
More than 20 states have decided what their benchmark health benefits should be under the 2010 reform law. Georgia, though, has chosen to leave it to the federal government to make the decision on those benefits, the state insurance department says. The Affordable Care Act requires insurance plans to offer a comprehensive set of benefits…
About a dozen state authorities or school districts have inquired about withdrawing from the state employee health plan due to higher costs, officials said Thursday. One state authority, the Georgia World Congress Center, with 487 employees, already plans to leave the state plan Jan. 1. The moves come as the Department of Community Health, facing…
Caroline Kulinski was diagnosed five years ago with multiple sclerosis, and she went from working as a software trainer to being in constant pain, needing a cane to walk. “I could no longer tie my shoes,’’ she recalls. But a drug that she tried, after four others proved unsuccessful, had an almost miraculous effect on…
Kaiser Permanente has once again been ranked No. 1 among Georgia’s commercial health plans by a major accrediting organization. It’s the eighth consecutive year that Kaiser Permanente Georgia has been rated tops in the state by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA). The NCQA, a leading managed care accrediting body, evaluates health plans based…
The U.S. Census Bureau reported Wednesday that the estimated number of Americans without health insurance in 2011 fell from almost 50 million, or 16.3 percent, to 48.6 million, or 15.7 percent. It’s the first drop in that uninsured number since 2007. Georgia’s three-year average of uninsured, meanwhile, has hit 19.7 percent, the fifth-highest rate in…