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Californians Can Now Pay Cash For Health Insurance At 7-Eleven

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Many people who are eligible for federal health insurance subsidies don't have bank accounts, which makes it hard to pay premiums. A system in California lets them pay with cash at stores. Reported by NPR 7 minutes ago.

Californians Can Now Pay Cash For Health Insurance At 7-Eleven

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Many people who are eligible for federal health insurance subsidies don't have bank accounts, which makes it hard to pay premiums. A system in California lets them pay with cash at stores. Reported by NPR 1 day ago.

Aquarium set to reach NAPHIA Summit

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Anglo-American Aquarium Software Inc. has today confirmed that following its successful sponsorship of the North American Pet Health Insurance Association (NAPHIA) Summit in 2014, it will this year be lead sponsor when doors open on the 2015 Summit in Hollywood, Florida, from May 26-28.

(PRWEB) April 21, 2015

Anglo-American Aquarium Software Inc. has today confirmed that following its successful sponsorship of the North American Pet Health Insurance Association (NAPHIA) Summit in 2014, it will this year be lead sponsor when doors open on the 2015 Summit in Hollywood, Florida, from May 26-28.

Aquarium, a global player in the insurance technology sector and pet insurance technology specialist, sees the NAPHIA Summit as a stellar opportunity to discuss new pet insurance initiatives stateside, as potential investors are starting to sit up and take serious notice of the sector.

“The NAPHIA Summit is one of the most significant gatherings of North American industry leaders and we are proud to be the Presenting Sponsor of this year’s event,” said Mark Colonnese, Aquarium’s VP Sales and Marketing. “Aquarium is already a global business and our assets deployed in the US market reflect that. I am particularly looking forward to hearing what Simon Wheeler from Agria UK has to say in his talk on trends from the UK pet health insurance industry. NAPHIA remains a key plank of our US pet strategy as a consequence, and the growth of our US presence and the industry more generally both serve to further underscore the importance of the Summit.”

Pet insurance growth in the US in 2014 was triple the pace of accident and health coverage and what is a $600 million industry is seeing steady expanding. According to data compiled by NAPHIA, gross written premiums jumped 13% on average from 2009-13, compared to just a 3.5% rise in premiums for personal accident and health policies in the same period. Investors are now getting in on the act. Last year Fairfax bought Pethealth for $88 million, starting a consolidation process with big brands seeking greater recognition and market share. The market is already expected to be worth around $750million by the end of 2015.

Aquarium Software Inc. announced last year an ongoing trans-Atlantic partnership with leading pet insurance brand, Pets Plus Us. With a track record developing systems for UK insurers, Aquarium could offer Pets Plus Us an adaptable platform and cost-effective solution, aimed specifically at the complexities of the pet insurance market.

Spreading this good news will be a hot topic at the NAPHIA summit, because while data mining, anti-fraud and customer journey initiatives have been applied in regular insurance for years, it has not been widely applied to pet insurance - until now.

“There is an argument that pet insurance has been underestimated in terms of its potential both for growth and fraud,” added Mark. “It is becoming clear the product needs treating with the same intellectual rigour and methodology (and the same software) as any other GI line, now that is happening, the industry’s tails are up and investors are starting to prick up their ears. All in all, the NAPHIA Summit 2015 has a lot to talk about.”

“Our work with Pets Plus Us is based on ‘transactional revenues’ or ‘risk sharing’ but call it what you will, they are phrases the sector going to be hearing a lot more of,” added Mark. “Instead of a huge up-front fee and charging per user, the only cost is for volume of policies sold, renewed, or claims processed through the system. This way, our clients keep the vast majority of their capital intact and within their business.”

While not a new concept within GI, the introduction of transactional revenues into the pet insurance market is a revolutionary step in an industry with massive growth potential that is only now being fully appreciated. The pet insurance sector needs to integrate the best traditional insurance practices; with the next generation of pet policy and claims software. Offering intelligent, intuitive and cost effective solutions will be key. Integration with third party suppliers (vets & pharmaceutical) and cross referencing of claims must form the backbone of fraud reduction strategies and enhanced customer journey – all set to get tails wagging in Florida.

Mark Colonnese will be once again supported at the NAPHIA Summit by David B Goodnight, another of Aquarium’s pet gurus, stateside. For further information contact Aquarium Software on +44 (0)161 927 5620 or visit http://www.aquarium-software.com Reported by PRWeb 1 day ago.

Softheon Confirms Web Broker Entity (WBE) Status with the Centers of Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)

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STONY BROOK, N.Y., April 21, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Softheon, Inc., a proven leader in health insurance marketplace integration and business operation, has confirmed its status as a Web Broker Entity (WBE) with the Centers of Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).  Under this... Reported by PR Newswire 1 day ago.

Should You Spring for Pet Insurance? -- Savings Experiment

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Filed under: Personal Finance, Savings Experiment

We all love our pets, but when your furry friend gets hurt or sick, the medical expenses can be more than your budget can handle. Here we help you determine whether pet insurance is worth the investment.

Let's start with the three different types of coverage you can get. Accident coverage is the most common and every pet health insurance company should offer this, regardless of your pet's age. Meanwhile, illness coverage is more limited and becomes more expensive as your pet gets older. Finally, wellness coverage is for routine annual exams, and according to Consumer Reports and Checkbook.org, it's not generally worth the cost since an annual checkup is usually something you can safely cover on your own. In this case, paying your vet directly can help you to avoid the extra sales charges from the insurance company.

Next, do a little research to understand exactly what the insurance will cover. Coverage varies from policy to policy so pay close attention to the terms for each plan. In general, most policies will cover things like diagnostic tests, surgeries, medications and treatment. Dental work and preexisting conditions are usually not covered, so keep that in mind.

One last thing to consider are the factors that will affect the cost of your insurance. While most companies offer a variety of plans for every budget, how much you pay depends on factors like where you live, your pet's health history, breed, age and gender, the deductible and the amount of coverage. Watch out for premium increases, too, which can vary by state.

So, is pet insurance worth it? It really depends. Evaluate your financial situation and how much you're willing to pay for some peace of mind. Because when it comes to providing a long and happy life for your pet, a little financial planning can go a long way.
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Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments Reported by DailyFinance 23 hours ago.

HolaDoctor launches new Spanish tools to help Hispanics to buy health insurance outside of the official enrollment period

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MIAMI, April 21, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- The Health Insurance Marketplace shut its doors on February 15. However, it is still possible to acquire health insurance outside of the official enrollment period if certain conditions are met. HolaDoctor.com created an interactive tool that... Reported by PR Newswire 23 hours ago.

We Won't Be Calling It Obamacare in 2045. How About 'Americare'?

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Let's get a couple of things straight. I'm not talking about a new name for Obamacare because its actual contents are more popular than the name itself, which is what Kathleen Sebelius (remember her?) said last December when she suggested that the program needs rebranding. I'm simply thinking long-term.

Who knows what our healthcare system will look like in 2045? I'd like to think we'd have some form of single-payer, universal coverage. But let's say we don't, and that we still have some version of the healthcare exchanges, the premium subsidies for lower-income Americans, and the other basic elements of healthcare reform contained in the Affordable Care Act. Could you imagine, 30 years after President Obama left office, that people will still be talking about getting health insurance through "Obamacare?" Anyone who has read my posts knows that I think this president has had a strongly positive impact on our country's direction, so it's not like I'd be offended to do so. It would just be, well, odd.

There is a part of me that would like to see the name continued, if only to remind people just who is responsible for the benefits they are receiving. But to be realistic, having a program in 2045 whose name references a president first elected in 2008 would just sound dated, old-fashioned, like yesterday's news.

In the 2012 campaign, on the other hand, I thought it was brilliant for the president to reclaim the name Obamacare from his Republican opponents. For example, a month before the election, he turned the tables on them, declaring: "They call it Obamacare? I do care! You should care, too," and later the same day adding: "Folks go around saying Obamacare. That's right--I care. That's their main agenda? That's your plank? .... Making sure 30 million people don't have health insurance?" He was rightfully proud to embrace his signature domestic policy achievement.

President Obama has said that he has "no more campaigns to run." So the question becomes what makes sense in terms of the program's name going forward. Here's what I propose:
*Americare*
Americare may not be original, but the name parallels Medicare as well as Obamacare, so it will be easy for people both to remember and associate with health care. Most importantly in terms of impact, such a name change allows the program to transcend its partisan origins. Someday, red states will accept the Medicaid expansion authorized by the law, but it will be easier for them to do so if they have another name by which to call it (The Affordable Care Act isn't catchy enough either, even though that's the law's actual name). The people who'll benefit won't mind, and I suspect President Obama won't either.

The time to do this is now, so that some future president won't have to. It would be especially awkward for another Democratic president to make the change, thus giving the talking heads--not to mention Republicans--the chance to accuse him or her of insulting President Obama's legacy. Instead, Obama can just humbly announce the change by talking about how healthcare reform is bigger than one person. He can do so in the context of a larger address laying out all the ways in which the law has succeeded.

The five-year anniversary of the law's passage would have been a great opportunity to announce a name change, but there will be others. Whenever it makes the announcement, the White House can follow up by putting the word "Americare" all over the place at Healthcare.gov and making sure that every member of the administration as well as every elected Democrat and party official starts using the new name. Certainly, if Republicans can be organized enough to all refer to the "Democrat Party," Democrats can figure out how to use the name Americare.

This law isn't going anywhere. Republican Alf Landon ran against FDR in 1936 calling for the repeal of Social Security. He got crushed, and four years later, Republican nominee Wendell Willkie called instead for expanding it. While I don't know that something exactly like that will ever happen with Obamacare--oops, I mean Americare--the Republican Party will never succeed in repealing it, even if calls for repeal remain red meat for the right-wing base into the foreseeable future.

So the law will be around. Forget 2045. Think about 2095. In that year, Obamacare will be older than Social Security is now. I can't imagine talking about our "FDR pensions" or something like that, can you? I hope we have improved our healthcare system significantly by that date. I hope the for-profit healthcare industry has gone the way of the Edsel. But whatever system we have, it will need to be called something. I like Americare.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website. Reported by Huffington Post 22 hours ago.

A Half Century's Legacy at a Crossroads

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In 1965, the 89th Congress and President Lyndon Johnson produced landmark laws that made education more attainable, health care more affordable, voting more accessible, housing more available, immigration more equitable, and the environment cleaner. The results were dramatic. The poverty rate went down, and graduation rates went up. Citizen participation increased and our environment got cleaner. Our nation was reinvigorated by new immigrants, and the golden years of our senior citizens were enriched.

Fiftieth-year celebrations are known as golden anniversaries, but recent court decisions and legislative enactments have casted us into something that seems more akin to a gilded age. Although our economy is recovering for those at the very top, far too many hardworking Americans struggle to stay afloat. Although the Affordable Care Act extended health insurance to millions of Americans, millions more go uninsured as Republican-controlled legislatures around the country refuse to expand Medicaid out of partisan spite and zealous ideology. Although more young people are graduating high school and pursuing post-secondary education and training, college costs are skyrocketing and our elementary and secondary schools differ widely in quality. Although the value of new immigrants is clear and convincing, reforms to our immigration system remain blocked by Republicans hostilities.

We are at a crossroads. The Republican budget seeks to destroy the legislative legacy of 1965 that made great differences in the lives of so many ordinary people. Democrats must defend our proud legacy and fight against the efforts of those who seek to devalue the worth of hardworking Americans.

• Fifty years ago, Democrats launched Head Start, created the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and passed a Higher Education law. Today, Republicans in Congress are proposing to cut Head Start and Early Head Start by $19 billion between 2016 and 2024 and cut Pell Grants by $145 billion over this same period. Democrats are fighting to fully fund Head Start, expand universal pre-K, and make college education and training more affordable through student aid and Pell Grants.

• Fifty years ago, a Democratic Congress created Medicare and Medicaid to make health care available and affordable for millions of Americans. Five years ago, Democrats passed the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to expand that coverage for senior citizens and to people with pre-existing conditions. Today, Republicans repeatedly vote to repeal the ACA, undermine Medicare, and deny Medicaid to low-income citizens.

• Fifty years ago, Democrats in Congress honored the contributions of hardworking law abiding immigrants by eliminating discriminatory immigration quotas. Today, the Republican-controlled Congress continues to vilify immigrants while refusing to bring forth a bill to comprehensively reform our immigration laws and bring millions out of the shadows.

• Fifty years ago, Democrats passed the Voting Rights Act to prevent discrimination and expand access to the franchise. Today, while we continue to fight for protecting every eligible American's right to vote, Republican legislatures are passing laws to restrict access to the franchise and diluting minority votes by packing and bleaching legislative and Congressional districts.

• Fifty years ago, a Democratic-controlled Congress passed the Motor Vehicle Air Pollution Control Act and the Water Quality Act to clean up our air and water. Today, we continue to fight for the future of our planet while Republicans fight and pass laws against the Environmental Protection Agency and deny the basic science of climate change.

In addressing these challenges, the principles that guided us in 1965 remain as relevant as ever. The most fundamental of these is the belief that our country is stronger when more people participate in the democratic process. The right to vote is preservative of all other rights. The diversity of opinion in our country is best reflected in our government when all eligible Americans are able to register unrestrained, vote unencumbered and have their votes counted fairly and accurately.

Sadly, over the last several years, we have seen widespread and coordinated efforts to impede access to the ballot box. Onerous and unnecessary restrictive voting requirements and proof of citizenship requirements, curtailing early voting, and removing people from the voter rolls are just a few of the devious tactics that Republicans across the country are using to disenfranchise people of color, seniors, disabled, young and low-income people.

For fifty years, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 stood as a bulwark against these insidious schemes. But when the Supreme Court disabled Section 5 of the Act in 2013, the Justice Department was no longer able to stop voter discrimination before it went into effect. In response to this unfortunate circumstance, Democrats and Republicans crafted a bipartisan bill to restore the Voting Rights Act more than a year ago, but Republican Leaders have refused to bring it up for a vote.

In 1967, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote a book entitled, "Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?" I believe we stand at a similar crossroads today. Our country will not prosper to its fullest until all citizens are able to reach their fullest potential. By fighting for these timeless Democratic principles -- which are core American principles -- we will embrace America's future and pursue a more perfect Union for the next 50 years and beyond.James E. Clyburn is the House Assistant Democratic Leader and Chair of the Democratic Outreach and Engagement Task Force.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website. Reported by Huffington Post 22 hours ago.

Farmer's Union Insurance Sponsors Spring Extracurricular Activities for North Dakota High Schools

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The insurance company attends statewide high school athletic and extracurricular events to help further the goal of building strong communities.

Jamestown, ND (PRWEB) April 21, 2015

Farmer's Union Insurance of Jamestown, ND, is proud to be a Premiere Sponsor for the North Dakota High School Activities Association and is gearing up for another great spring sports and activities season right now. To help support high school athletics and extracurricular activities, the company will be sending an agents and managers to the statewide events planned for the spring.

Farmer's Union Insurance has been a sponsor of the NDHSAA for the past decade. The company had started off as a supporting sponsor, but they found that the community response to their affiliation with the NDHSAA was overwhelmingly positive and decided to become more involved with the organization by becoming the Premiere Sponsor.

The sponsorship has also created a wonderful activity for Farmer's Union Insurance agents to participate in within their communities. The company has approximately 80 locations throughout the many rural areas of North Dakota, so an agent or company employee is always present at each statewide high school event, including both sports and music and art events.

Agents fill a variety of different roles at these events, says sales and marketing manager Kevin Ressler. Assisting in state tournaments, passing out awards and sponsoring broadcasts, which reach thousands of viewers, are just some of the responsibilities that Farmer's Union Insurance agents have handled.

Right now, high schools are transitioning to spring and summer sports from the winter activities, which is often the biggest season. Winter sports that just finished up include wrestling, basketball, swimming and hockey.

As spring begins, Ressler says the company will be present at soccer, softball and baseball games and tournaments, as well as other high school activities.

Ressler says that Farmer's Union Insurance employees attend these events to display this commitment to rural American and youth as well as develop strong bonds within these communities. They also receive the chance to promote their products, which include farm and homeowner's insurance, car insurance, health insurance and other related services.

"We're a lot different from some of the other urban markets in the country," Ressler says. "We don't have pro sports, so high school sports is a lifeblood for communities we represent. People are actively engaged in high school sports here, and it's a big part of our culture."

This, says Ressler, is one of the reasons that Farmer's Union Insurance renewed their sponsorship late last year. Because the mission statement for Farmer's Union Insurance emphasizes building strong communities, being a premier sponsor helps them stay engaged throughout the state.

"Our goal is to make sure our communities remain viable," Ressler explains. "We view this as a corporate responsibility and it helps keep our agencies and agents in places where they are needed most -- it's a win for everyone."

About Farmer's Union Insurance

Farmers Union Insurance, with the motto "simply different," offers numerous insurance services, including farm and ranch, health, life/annuity, agri-business, homeowners and more. As a mutual company, Farmers Union Mutual Insurance is both owned and governed by policyholders. Not all products are underwriting by Farmers Union Insurance. To learn more, visit fumic.com Reported by PRWeb 21 hours ago.

Fitch Affirms Blue Cross of Idaho's IFS at 'A-'

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CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Fitch Ratings has affirmed Blue Cross of Idaho Health Service, Inc.'s (BCID) 'A-' Insurer Financial Strength (IFS) rating. The Rating Outlook is Stable. KEY RATING DRIVERS Fitch's rating on BCID reflects the company's very strong competitive position in the Idaho health insurance market, excellent risk-adjusted capitalization, solid balance sheet, and stable record of operating performance. The rating also reflects the company's limited geographic diversification, smal Reported by Business Wire 18 hours ago.

Do These Poll Ratings Mark A Turning Point For Obamacare?

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Favorable impressions of President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act have increased slightly in recent months, showing the highest positive rating in a key tracking poll since the autumn of 2012.

While the change is small, the reasons behind it hint at shifts in the political environment that may foreshadow better news for the ACA in the months and years to come.

The latest monthly survey conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation finds 43 percent of Americans reporting a favorable opinion on the "health reform bill signed into law in 2010." Forty-two percent reported having an unfavorable opinion, and 14 percent said they were unsure.

While some headlines emphasized the nominally net positive rating, "the [1-point] difference is within the survey’s margin of sampling error and is not statistically significant," according to Kaiser's report.

Far more important is the trend that shows views of the ACA narrowing to what the Kaiser analysts described as "the closest margin in over two years." Where negative views exceeded positive views by an average of 10 percentage points in KFF tracking during 2014 (47 to 37), the two categories have essentially drawn even over the past several months. This change represents a gain of roughly 5 percentage points in favorable opinions about the health care law as compared to those measured by the Kaiser Foundation surveys, on average, during 2014.Two caveats about these modest trends. First, it's possible that they simply represent a "regression to the mean" of perceptions of the law -- that is, a regression to the days before the notoriously flawed rollout of the Healthcare.gov website in October 2013. Prior to that, ratings of the law had averaged 40 percent favorable and 43 percent unfavorable in Kaiser's monthly surveys.

Second, the recent shifts have not altered the broad partisan divide, arguably the most important characteristic of public opinion regarding the health care law. In the latest survey, 70 percent of Democrats expressed a favorable opinion of the ACA compared to just 16 percent of Republicans, with independents in between at 42 percent. While the favorable ratings have increased slightly across all three groups, the pattern of partisanship has remained roughly constant.

Nevertheless, the modest uptick in perceptions of the ACA is statistically meaningful given the volume of data collected by Kaiser (roughly 1,500 adults surveyed per month).

Moreover, the gradual improvement matches up with findings from the weekly online Economist/YouGov polls that have, since 2013, tracked a gradual increase in the percentage of Americans who say they want the health care law "expanded" or "kept the same" rather than "repealed."

On average, in surveys conducted in February, March and April of this year, YouGov's surveys found nearly that half of Americans want to either expand the law (31 percent) or keep it the same (16 percent), up 10 percentage points from the average of surveys conducted in late 2013 (in which 24 percent said "expand," and 13 percent said "keep the same"). Over the same period, the percentage of those who favored repeal of the law fell 4 percentage points, from 45 to 41 percent.

A slightly different question concerning ACA repeal on the Kaiser Foundation surveys turns up a similar trend. The number of people who want a "repeal of the entire law" or a "scale back of what the law does" has fallen 5 percentage points, from 46 to 41 percent, since November 2014. Support for expanding the law or moving forward with implementing it has increased from 42 to 46 percent over the same period.

What's behind these changes? One obvious theory involves the experiences of the nearly 12 million Americans who are now covered by individual health insurance plans purchased from an ACA exchange, and the even higher number of Americans -- as many as 20 million -- benefiting from the law. Unfortunately, these people's reactions are difficult to disentangle in the polling, because those who "self-purchase" insurance directly (rather than being covered by an employer or by Medicare or Medicaid) represent just 11 percent of adults in Kaiser's most recent survey, not enough to allow for monthly tracking.

Nevertheless, Kaiser's polling has shown a gradual increase in the number of Americans overall who say the ACA has helped rather than hurt their families, from 14-15 percent in the summer of 2014 to 19 percent in March and April of this year. A larger number (22 percent on the most recent survey) continues to report that the ACA has made things worse for their families, but that number is down from 28 percent in July 2014.

A change in the political environment may be even more important. Part of the story is the increase in Obama's approval ratings over the past six months, accompanied by more positive views of the economy. But arguably more significant is the recent political dialogue about Obamacare itself -- or, perhaps, the lack thereof.

The ACA has been the subject of an intense political fight since Obama's first year in office. According to data shared with The Huffington Post by Kantar/CMAG, Americans have seen more than $600 million worth of anti-ACA political and policy advertising since 2009. That advertising was heaviest during the initial legislative battle and during the campaigns of 2012 and 2014, when many Republican candidates aired attack ads involving the health care law.

Since November, however, that pattern has reversed. The political ads stopped, as they always do following an election. Meanwhile, health insurance companies ramped up advertising aimed at the potential customers shopping for policies on the ACA exchanges. According to CMAG, insurers spent $229 million during the three-month open enrollment period, accompanied by another $80 million in promotion by the federal government. As CMAG's Elizabeth Wilner noted in a February column, those dollars were far in excess of the money spent by ACA critics between Labor Day and Election Day 2014.

The change in advertising patterns dovetails with a change in the debate over the ACA in Washington. "The Republican campaign to repeal the Affordable Care Act is essentially over," the Los Angeles Times reported this week. Republicans in Congress are now "focused on other issues, including trade and tax reform," and have "quietly incorporated many of the law's key protections into their own proposals, including guaranteeing coverage and providing government assistance to help consumers purchase insurance."

The slight uptick in Obamacare's popularity may yet turn out to be a temporary blip. But if the five-year partisan battle over the law is truly winding down, public opinion on the health reform law may continue to evolve in a more favorable direction.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website. Reported by Huffington Post 16 hours ago.

Rick Scott And Florida Republicans Are Throwing An Anti-Obamacare Tantrum

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An unusual and revealing political fight over health care has been unfolding in Florida.

It's unusual because it pits Rick Scott, the Republican governor, against some members of his own party. It's revealing because it lays bare the motives of the Affordable Care Act's most determined detractors.

Conservatives have plenty of genuine, intellectually honest reservations about the changes that came with Obamacare. They don't like the new government spending and regulation, for example. In some cases, conservatives object to the whole notion of government-sponsored insurance.

But the Florida dispute demonstrates that differences over policy can't, on their own, explain the fervor now on display. The law and its enactment have tapped into something deeper and more primal -- about what the law represents, or, perhaps, the president who signed it.

Those feelings are so strong that, in Washington, Republicans have tried dramatic and unprecedented measures, such as shutting down the government. And from the looks of things, the anger is not going away anytime soon, particularly with a Republican presidential campaign underway and a potentially devastating Supreme Court decision looming.

At issue in the Florida controversy is how the state provides health care to some of its lowest-income residents. Under the Affordable Care Act, states can modify their Medicaid programs, which have long provided insurance to the poor, so that anybody living in a household with income below or just above the poverty line can qualify for coverage. That's about $32,000 a year for a family of four. With Medicaid coverage, these people can actually pay medical bills, rather than rely on charity from doctors, hospitals, and other providers of care.

The Affordable Care Act's architects hoped that all states would expand their Medicaid programs right away, if not to help people get health insurance, then at least to bolster state economies. After all, the federal government finances nearly the entire cost of covering anybody who gets insurance under the broader eligibility guidelines.

One reason the Affordable Care Act puts up that cash is the health care law simultaneously reduces what Medicare and Medicaid are paying hospitals, in order to restrain government spending and overall health care costs. Getting previously uninsured people onto Medicaid is supposed to offset the impact of those cuts. It was a major reason that, back in 2009 and 2010, the hospital industry endorsed the legislation that eventually became the Affordable Care Act.

More than half of the states have expanded their Medicaid programs, just as the law's advocates anticipated. Florida has been among the holdouts, taking advantage of leeway a 2012 Supreme Court decision gave to states. Scott, whose position on the expansion has varied, depending upon the political conditions of the moment, currently says he wants no part of it. Republican leaders in the state legislature, particularly the House, have been consistently hostile.

But Florida's budget situation is about to change, in ways that make opposition more difficult for these officials to justify. Like many states, Florida hospitals have access to some special federal grants designed to offset the losses that they take when they provide discounted or free care to the poor. These grants date back to a Bush-era program, enacted before the Affordable Care Act was around to give those same people insurance. The federal government has discretion over when to make those grants and, last year, the Obama administration made clear it would not be renewing Florida's beyond 2015, now that the Affordable Care Act's Medicaid money is there for the taking.

Republicans in the state legislature understood the implications. They'd have a big hole in the budget to fill unless they came up with some other way to finance health care for the poor. Among the first things to go would be a tax cut that Republicans cherish. "It really puts everything at risk," Andy Gardiner, leader of the Senate Republicans, told The Washington Post's Greg Sargent, who's been following the story closely. "It jeopardizes the tax cuts, it jeopardizes increases in education funding, it jeopardizes our priorities."

Rather than give up on those, Senate Republicans passed a bill to expand Medicaid, albeit with a few conservative modifications. (The merits of those modifications, and what they'd do to Medicaid, are subjects for another day.) It's precisely the strategy that Republican officials in Arkansas and Michigan, among other states, have used. But Florida House Republicans, who met behind closed doors on Tuesday, aren't budging. And neither, it seems, is Scott. Instead, he's decided to sue the federal government -- on the theory that, by refusing to extend the special grant for hospitals, the Obama administration is engaged in unconstitutional coercion of a state.

Gardiner has called Scot's decision "difficult to understand." It's even more difficult to understand given the math.

A few years ago, the Kaiser Family Foundation published an analysis by researchers at the Urban Institute. It projected the cost of expanding Medicaid in each state and then broke down the implications for state budgets. The numbers for Florida were striking. Over 10 years, the researchers found, making Medicaid available to all low-income people would cost about $71 billion above and beyond what the state's Medicaid program would otherwise cost.

That's a lot of money, for sure. But roughly $66 billion of the total, the researchers found, would come from the federal government. That would leave Florida taxpayers on the hook for the remaining $5 billion, with at least some of that money coming back to them in the form of reduced spending on other programs.

To put it another way, expanding Medicaid in Florida would likely require a net investment by state taxpayers that, over the course of a decade, would work out to less than a half-billion dollars a year. That's without accounting for any additional growth and tax revenues that the huge infusion of federal dollars might provide. That's also without accounting for the more than $1 billion a year in that, without expanding Medicaid, Florida would probably have to scrounge up in order to help hospitals defray the cost of charity care.

In short, if the numbers were lopsided in favor of expanding Medicaid before, they are even more lopsided now. And it's not as if anybody is arguing seriously that those grants are a superior way of financing care for the poor. If anything, the opposite is true -- and it's one reason the editorial page of the Tampa Bay Times called Scott's position "indefensible." Other editorial pages, civic organizations, and business groups across the state have made similar statements.

In response, Scott has said he's just looking out for state finances, because the federal government might someday pull back on its Medicaid commitment and leave state government responsible for financing a much larger Medicaid program. But as another Kaiser report has noted, the federal matching rate for Medicaid has remained remarkably stable over time -- except for rare changes that, on balance, meant the feds were paying more.

Of course, conservative fervor to block or repeal the Affordable Care Act has always seemed a bit disconnected from reality, given that the law consists almost entirely of pieces that existed, without such fuss, long before Obamacare came along. The lone exception is the "individual mandate," the requirement that people carry insurance or pay a fee. And that's an idea that plenty of conservatives tolerated -- and some even supported -- less than a decade ago. In fact, it was a conservative expert at the Heritage Foundation who many historians credit with the idea.

No, the level of hostility to Obamacare makes very little sense -- unless it's about something beyond the policy particulars. It could be the fact that Democrats finally accomplished something big, for the first time in several decades, thereby expanding the welfare state at a time when conservatives thought they were on their way to shrinking it. Or it could be the idea that, on net, the Affordable Care Act transfers resources away from richer, whiter people to poorer, darker people. Or it could be the fact that "Obamacare" contains the word "Obama," whose legitimacy as president at least some conservatives just can't accept.

Who knows? The only thing certain is that, in Florida, turning down Medicaid has even weaker logic than it did before -- except for officials obsessed with Obamacare or determined to please the people who are. Rick Scott may belong in either category and he might just belong in both.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website. Reported by Huffington Post 13 hours ago.

PreferredOne part-owner Fairview could take majority stake

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Fairview Health Services, which already owns half of PreferredOne, has an option to buy a majority stake in the Golden Valley insurer. The Star Tribune has the details, reporting that the Minneapolis-based hospital network landed the option last year when it stepped in with a loan to help PreferredOne cope with losses from its bad bet on low-priced plans offered through MNsure, the state's health insurance exchange. PreferredOne dominated MNsure's first year by offering some of the cheapest premiums… Reported by bizjournals 3 hours ago.

WellCare Gives $5,000 to Create Safe and Positive Environment for Abused and Neglected Children in Louisville, Kentucky

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WellCare Health Plans, Inc. (NYSE: WCG), announced today that it gave $5,000 to Family & Children's Place to support their efforts to give abused and neglected children a safe and positive environment to visit with their families, while they work through the healing process.

TAMPA, Fla. (PRWEB) April 22, 2015

WellCare Health Plans, Inc. (NYSE: WCG), a leading provider of managed care services for government-sponsored health care programs, announced today that it gave $5,000 to Famly & Children's Place to support their efforts to give abused and neglected children a safe and positive environment to visit with their families, while they work through the healing process.

WellCare’s donation transformed a basic room into a fitness inspired center, which is now called the FIT Room, where children of all ages can engage in fun, physical activities. WellCare’s support provided a wide array of equipment, including bean bag chairs, ping pong and air hockey tables, an interactive video game system with large screen TV, and an outdoor basketball hoop.

“We have the greatest success in helping child victims of abuse and neglect when we support both the child and the family,” said J.T. Henderson, vice president of resource development for Family & Children’s Place. “With WellCare’s help, we were able to revolutionize our family visitation room to provide children and families with a positive environment where they can reconnect and heal through fun games and activities.”

“This is a serious issue with far reaching effects that extend beyond the family to the broader community that must also deal with the aftermath,” said Dr. Howard Shaps, medical director for WellCare of Kentucky. “WellCare is proud to support Family & Children’s Place efforts to help heal the familial relationships that are central to providing children and communities with the stability and security needed for long-term health and wellbeing.”

April is Child Abuse Prevention Month. To learn more about child abuse and neglect prevention awareness strategies, ideas and activities visit http://www.famchildplace.org.

As of Dec. 31, 2014, WellCare serves approximately 408,000 Medicaid members, 5,000 Medicare Advantage plan members and 21,000 Medicare Prescription Drug Plan members in Kentucky. To learn more about how we care for Kentuckians, watch Brandi’s story at http://youtu.be/YwOw5EgeSYo.

About WellCare Health Plans, Inc.
WellCare Health Plans, Inc. provides managed care services targeted to government-sponsored health care programs, including Medicaid, Medicare, Prescription Drug Plans and the Health Insurance Marketplace. Headquartered in Tampa, Fla., WellCare offers a variety of health plans for families, children, and the aged, blind and disabled. The company serves approximately 4.1 million members nationwide as of Dec. 31, 2014. For more information about WellCare, please visit the company's website at http://www.wellcare.com or view the company’s videos at https://www.youtube.com/user/WellCareHealthPlan. Reported by PRWeb 3 hours ago.

HealthCare.com Receives Nomination from The 19th Annual Webby Awards

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Health Insurance Search and Comparison Site is Finalist for “Internet’s Highest Honor” – Recognized For Its Content, Structure And Navigation, Visual Design and Overall UX Experience

New York, NY (PRWEB) April 22, 2015

HealthCare.com announced today it has been nominated as an Honoree for The 19th Annual Webby Awards. Hailed as the “Internet’s highest honor” by The New York Times, The Webby Awards is the leading international award honoring excellence on the Internet.

HealthCare.com is the leading privately-owned search engine and comparison tool for health insurance plans. With the largest database of plans online, HealthCare.com is a one-stop website for healthcare plans that include Obamacare health insurance, short term health insurance and other highly sought insurance products.

Honorees for the Health category include HealthCare.com, GoodRx, ZocDoc, TeenMentalHealth.org, Well+Good, Sonima, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Pot Help, Your Brain Matters and Vitamin Atlas.

“Honorees like HealthCare.com are setting the standard for innovation and creativity on the Internet,” said David-Michel Davies, Executive Director of The Webby Awards. “It is an incredible achievement to be selected among the best from the nearly 13,000 entries we received this year.”

“Our goal is to make healthcare simple, starting with health insurance. Our service is free to consumers and gives them an unbiased way to quickly and privately compare plan choices and options,” said Jeff Smedsrud, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of HealthCare.com. “This recognition from The Webby Awards is an extreme honor, and recognizes that we have valuable tools and content that helps consumers.”

About HealthCare.com
Privately-owned HealthCare.com is the nation’s leading unbiased search engine and comparison tool for health insurance plans. The website features over 120,000 plans, including virtually all of the state-based exchange plans, federal exchange plans and many private, off-exchange plans. Using powerful proprietary technology and tools, HealthCare.com continues to grow its technology, interfaces and services to help consumers compare health insurance costs and subsidies for free, and enable them to purchase their health insurance online, over the phone with a licensed advisor, or in person with an expert, local agent. The company’s website offers recommendations and a comparison shopping experience to simplify decision-making, allowing consumers to find the right health insurance plan that fits their lifestyle. It also offers online calculators and shopping tools to make buying health insurance easier and more efficient. With more than one million visitors each month, HealthCare.com partners, and integrates with industry-leading health insurance companies to help consumers enroll into healthcare plans. HealthCare.com has offices in Miami, Minneapolis, New York and Guatemala City. For more information, visit http://www.healthcare.com.

About The Webby
Hailed as the “Internet’s highest honor” by The New York Times, The Webby Awards is the leading international award honoring excellence on the Internet, including Websites, Advertising & Media, Online Film & Video, Mobile Sites & Apps, and Social. Established in 1996, The Webby Awards received nearly 13,000 entries from all 50 states and over 60 countries worldwide this year. The Webby Awards is presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences (IADAS). Sponsors and Partners of The Webby Awards include: Grey Goose, Vitamin T, Shocase, Engine Yard, Funny or Die, Advertising Age, Percolate, Mashable, Business Insider, Internet Week New York and Guardian News and Media. Reported by PRWeb 3 hours ago.

Zane Benefits Releases Quiz for Obamacare Rules For Small Businesses

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Quiz - Obamacare Rules for Small Businesses - test knowledge.

Salt Lake City, Utah (PRWEB) April 22, 2015

Zane Benefits now announces,“Quiz - Obamacare Rules for Small Businesses” on zanebenefits.com. Rules are different for small businesses than they are for larger employers and staying compliant is highly important. This brief quiz offers the most recent information on health care rules for small businesses, and offers a great way to test knowledge.

Because Zane Benefits is the leader in individual health insurance reimbursement for small businesses, the quiz covers necessary aspects of Obamacare, such as, individual mandate, the Health Insurance Marketplace, Premium Tax Credits, essential health benefits, reporting requirements, and premium reimbursement arrangements.

Use zanebenefits.com as a resource for mastering key Obamacare rules. Test knowledge and learn the facts about healthcare reform.

Learn more at Zanebenefits.com

Zane Benefits is the leader in individual health insurance reimbursement for small businesses. Since 2006, Zane Benefits has been on a mission to bring the benefits of individual health insurance to business owners and their employees. Zane Benefits' software helps businesses reimburse employees for individual health insurance plans for annual savings of 20 to 60 percent compared with traditional employer-provided health insurance. Zane Benefits' software has been featured on the front-page of The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and The New York Times. Learn more at http://www.zanebenefits.com. Reported by PRWeb 45 minutes ago.

Zane Benefits Releases Quiz for Small Business Owners: Determine Management Style

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Zane Benefits Releases New Quiz to Determine Management Style

Salt Lake City, Utah (PRWEB) April 22, 2015

Zane Benefits now announces,“Quiz - Determining Management Style?” on zanebenefits.com. This is a simple, easy to navigate quiz that helps determine how management style is affecting company culture. Simply take the quiz, then read on to find out results. It’s a helpful tool to realize how management style determines productivity.

From the quiz, determine what roles to take as a manger: directive-style, authoritative-style, affiliative-style, participative-style, pacesetting-style, or coaching-style. It’s a great way to help determine which direction to take leadership.

For more information, visit Zanebenefits.com.

Zane Benefits is the leader in individual health insurance reimbursement for small businesses. Since 2006, Zane Benefits has been on a mission to bring the benefits of individual health insurance to business owners and their employees. Zane Benefits' software helps businesses reimburse employees for individual health insurance plans for annual savings of 20 to 60 percent compared with traditional employer-provided health insurance. Zane Benefits' software has been featured on the front-page of The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and The New York Times. Learn more at http://www.zanebenefits.com. Reported by PRWeb 1 day ago.

Part-time 'slack' may be nearing its end as Fed debates hike

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Part-time 'slack' may be nearing its end as Fed debates hike By Howard Schneider

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. part-time employment is fast-approaching levels common since the 1970s in a sign that a key part of labor market slack may be almost gone, giving the Fed one less reason to delay hiking interest rates frozen near zero for more than six years.

Central bankers watch the part-time figures as a measure of labor market health. While current part-time numbers remain high compared to the hot job markets of the 1990s and early 2000s, they are closing in on the longer term average.

A Reuters/Ipsos online poll found a potentially modest gap between the hours workers want and what they can find. More than a third of those working fewer than 30 hours a week and asked how much they wanted to work for the same hourly rate were satisfied with their current hours or wanted to work less. While others wanted more hours, only 23 percent said they wanted to commit to a traditional 40-hour week.

Among those working more than 30 hours a week, there was a significant desire to scale back: almost a fourth of that group said they wanted to work between one and 18 fewer hours each week. (Graphic: http://link.reuters.com/tyb64w)

With the jobless rate of 5.5 percent near pre-crisis levels, Fed policymakers are studying other aspects of the labor market as they weigh whether to raise rates in June or wait for more evidence of an improving economy.

Government labor surveys show the share of employees who say they want to work full time but could only find part-time work was 4.5 percent in March, down from 6.5 percent at the end of the recession in 2009 and approaching the average of roughly 3.9 percent since 1975.

The share of those who choose to work part-time because of family and health constraints, lifestyle preferences, or other reasons, is around 13 percent, a level that has been relatively stable since at least the 1970s. In recent years that group has changed little in its demographics - about 60 percent female and skewed towards younger and older workers - and in the numbers who cite child care, medical or other issues as the reason for working part-time.

"It is striking how stable the relationships have been," said Ariane Hegewisch, a research director at the Institute for Women's Policy Research in Washington.

As it analyzes the steady fall in those forced into part-time work by the weak economy, the Federal Reserve now must judge whether the tight labor markets of the 1990s and early 2000s remain a good benchmark.

Some Fed officials say higher levels of part-time work might be the new norm because of changes in employment patterns.

"Some industries are moving towards more of a part time model," Atlanta Fed president Dennis Lockhart said this month. While he said he regards the more than 6 million people who work "part-time for economic reasons" as too many, he is not sure how low the figure can go. (Graphic: anatomy of part-timers: http://link.reuters.com/qez54w)

NEW NORMAL?

Fed governor Jerome Powell in a recent speech in New York said present levels of part-time work could well be a "new normal" because of the scars of the Great Recession/

For Michelle Paradis, 34, one of about 11,000 workers who responded to the Reuters/Ipsos poll, part-time work was neither quite an independent choice nor a clear sign of economic slack. She limits her work to 16 hours a week in a hair salon to stay under the federal $1,090 monthly earnings limit for social security disability recipients. "It adds up to a liveable wage," says the mother of three.

Fed officials and economists generally agree that more of the current part-timers could move into full-time jobs. The question is whether that potential involves millions more workers or the roughly 900,000 that would bring part-time levels back to their average since the 1970s - a target that may be just a few months away.

Andrew Levin, a former Fed economist and now a research fellow at the International Monetary Fund, argued in a recent paper that the economy's performance from 1994 to just before the recession was an appropriate yardstick and suggested a substantial "underemployment gap." Between 1994 and 2007 the involuntary part-time workers - those whose hours were cut or who could only find part-time work - made up about 3 percent of those employed.

Until inflation starts to rise, he said, there is still room for involuntary part-time work to fall.

"One view would be to say...Maybe we are done," absorbing part-time labor, Levin said. But "we have been persistently falling below two percent (inflation)...If you want price stability the best thing you can do is push employment to its maximum."

Others point to the tepid pace of wage growth, low labor force participation, and other data as evidence of continued slack.

Minneapolis Fed President Narayana Kocherlakota and some other policymakers argue, consequently, for delaying rate hikes until at least next year.

In Kocherlakota's district, Minneapolis resident Sivya Leventhal exemplifies the flux the Fed wants to understand. While her husband, laid off from a local TV station, looks for a full-time job, she works part-time at the preschool in her synagogue to help pay bills. Leventhal has a college degree and full-time experience, but wants to stay part-time until her son is older.

"Financially it would make more sense but we are committed to this," she says.

Behind some of the numbers are also career choices that may not have existed a few years ago.

Amanda Gay, 34, became a part-timer as part of a "career reset."

The 2003 University of Georgia graduate ditched a full-time management job with a non-profit, signed up for health insurance through a government-run exchange and used the web-based FlexJobs service to find part-time work teaching English online while she considers moving overseas.

"There is no one-size fits all choice anymore."

(Reporting by Howard Schneider; Editing by Tomasz Janowski)

Join the conversation about this story » Reported by Business Insider 22 hours ago.

Party Like It's 2016

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No, not quite 2016, but it is coming and now is the perfect time to start planning on next year's taxes so come New Year's you will have plenty of time to party. And, if you have not completed your 2014 taxes yet don't worry, you can do most of the work one time and be prepared for next year's taxes too.

Whether you use a spreadsheet, folders, or a shoebox, separate information and receipts into categories: charitable donations, medical expenses, job search related expenses, and education are good general categories to organize your tax information. So label a folder 2015 (and maybe even one for 2014) and gather up your receipts.

First things first, did you pay a penalty for not having health insurance in 2014? Enroll now during the special enrollment period for taxpayers who owed a penalty on their 2014 tax returns, but hurry up time is running out! The special enrollment period ends April 30. Not only will you avoid a penalty - up to three times higher next year, but you may also qualify for advanced credit payments to subsidize your premium costs and reduce your out-of-pocket expenses. Go to healthcare.gov to sign up.

Life events, like marriages, babies, and new houses can change your tax situation. Since most big life events are planned, you can get a jump on things if you take a look at how they will impact your taxes. Don't forget that if you receive advance payments of the premium tax credit it is important that you report life changes, such as higher income or increased family size, to your Health Insurance Marketplace. If you don't report your life changes to the Marketplace, you may have to pay some advanced credit back next year at tax time.

Now is a good time to think about how much in taxes you have taken out of your paycheck every pay period. Want what seems like an instant raise? Stop loaning Uncle Sam money all year and reduce your withholding. It's true that you may not get that giant refund next year, but you would be keeping more of your pay in your pocket when you earned it. To increase or decrease the amount of taxes you have withheld, you simply file a new Form W-4 with your employer. If you aren't sure what changes to make or how to make them, contact a Tax Pro, or use the IRS Withholding Calculator, to help you determine what your withholding should be.

The earlier you start planning for next year's taxes, the more control you take over your financial fitness. Athletes often say you cannot get ready for a race or competition in a short period of time. It takes time: training, practicing, and then actually competing. The same can be said for your taxes. Start earlier, do a little at a time, and be ready to get more of your money back when you file next year.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website. Reported by Huffington Post 20 hours ago.

HPA Publishes New Whitepaper About Employee COBRA Alternatives

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Whitepaper announcement that includes details about COBRA coverage alternatives. Employees, Employers and Brokers can review the different different perspectives of each option.

Birmingham, Alabama (PRWEB) April 22, 2015

Health Partners America (http://www.healthpartnersamerica.com), a company that provides training, tools, and technology solutions for insurance agents and employers who are navigating the health reform legislation, announces the release of its new white paper – What To Do When You Lose Your Group Coverage. This 13-page document was written to help health insurance agents and their clients understand what options are available after the loss of coverage under the Affordable Care Act.

As the paper points out, there are three options individuals should consider when they lose group coverage. While most employees have heard of COBRA, few know anything about it. Many believe it’s a special type of insurance, and almost everyone thinks it’s too expensive. However, many people are unaware of the other options besides COBRA. “Employees will begin to learn though,” explains Kate Murphy, Vice President & General Manager of Health Partners America.

“Employers are actually required to notify employees of these three options,” says Murphy, “not just when they lose coverage, but when they start working for their company.”

HPA’s new white paper is intended to make those options easier to understand, explaining each notice and how they affect the employer and employee. It also discusses how the associated special enrollment periods work. In short, those who lose group coverage will have options besides COBRA coverage. Primarily, possible cheaper individual coverage made available due to the ACA.

Perhaps the most important point the paper makes is the fact that the individual market has been made available to everyone when there is a loss of coverage primarily because all individual plans are now guaranteed issue. “This is great news,” explains Murphy, “people have more choice. The fact that there are other options encourages them to shop for coverage, and when they do, they may discover that there is cheaper coverage and financial assistance may be available. That helps a lot with the cost.”

Health Partners America specializes in setting up private exchange sites that allows brokers to offer individuals and families a wide range of qualified plans.

About Health Partners America
Founded in 2007, Health Partners America provides insurance brokers with the tools, training and technology to help businesses deliver quality health coverage using affordable solutions. The company offers the industry’s first broker-friendly private health insurance exchange, allowing advisors to provide custom solutions to employer groups, associations, and other organizations.

If you’d like more information about this topic or about HPA, please contact Doug Foshee at 205-443-2186 or visit http://www.healthpartnersamerica.com. Reported by PRWeb 20 hours ago.
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