Rural health insurance resources related to rural health and human services, with information provided by the Rural Assistance Center Copyright 2010 Rural Assistance Center http://www.raconline.org/info_guides/insurance/ Kaiser Health News reports that President Obama is delivering his "closing argument" for health care reform in St. Louis today as Democratic leaders strategize on moving the bill through the House and Senate. http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Daily-Reports/2010/March/10/health-Reform-Big-Picture.aspx Wed, 10 Mar 2010 10:23:22 CST http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Daily-Reports/2010/March/10/health-Reform-Big-Picture.aspx Kaiser Health News reports that the Senate is poised to consider a measure today that would include extending subsidies for COBRA benefits and unemployment insurance, prevent the Medicare payment cut for doctors and provide additional funding to state Medicaid programs. http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Daily-Reports/2010/March/09/COBRA-and-Pay-Fix.aspx Tue, 09 Mar 2010 10:36:58 CST http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Daily-Reports/2010/March/09/COBRA-and-Pay-Fix.aspx In a letter to the CEOs of UnitedHealth Group Inc., WellPoint Inc., Aetna Inc., Health Care Service Corporation and CIGNA HealthCare Inc., U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius called on the executives to publicly justify proposed health insurance premium increases. Sebelius letter comes after a meeting last week with these executives at the White House. http://www.raconline.org/news/news_details.php?news_id=13241 Mon, 08 Mar 2010 10:31:39 CST http://www.raconline.org/news/news_details.php?news_id=13241 Kaiser Health News article summarizes articles from several news sources that tells how Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius told a group of insurance executives during a White House meeting Thursday that insurance companies should disclose more information about how they spend money to justify their rate hikes. http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Daily-Reports/2010/March/05/Insurers-meeting.aspx Fri, 05 Mar 2010 10:12:50 CST http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Daily-Reports/2010/March/05/Insurers-meeting.aspx Washington Post, (DC) article reports that it may have taken over a year, but President Obama finally told Congress and the public Wednesday what he wants in a health care bill, when he wants it and how he thinks it should pass. http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/2010/03/rundown---030410.html?wprss=44 Thu, 04 Mar 2010 10:53:46 CST http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/2010/03/rundown---030410.html?wprss=44 According to a recently released Center for Rural Affairs' report, approximately one in three rural Americans living in communities with fewer than 2,500 residents will be uninsured by 2019. http://www.cfra.org/newsrelease/2010/03/02/one-three-small-town-residents-without-health-coverage-2019 Wed, 03 Mar 2010 09:39:01 CST http://www.cfra.org/newsrelease/2010/03/02/one-three-small-town-residents-without-health-coverage-2019 Washington Post, (DC) article reports that hundreds of thousands of unemployed workers faced an end to their jobless benefits Monday, and the federal government furloughed about 2,000 employees without pay, a result of one senator's efforts to block legislation that would fund $10 billion in federal programs. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/01/AR2010030103679.html?wprss=rss_politics Tue, 02 Mar 2010 11:00:10 CST http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/01/AR2010030103679.html?wprss=rss_politics Kaiser Health News article reports that Thursday's bipartisan health summit ended with the partisan rift intact, increasing the possibility that President Barack Obama will try to unify Democrats to pass legislation without GOP support. http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Daily-Reports/2010/February/26/health-Summit-morning-after.aspx Fri, 26 Feb 2010 11:01:15 CST http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Daily-Reports/2010/February/26/health-Summit-morning-after.aspx Kaiser Health News reports that the House passed legislation Wednesday (406-19) to strip health insurers of their federal antitrust exemption. http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Daily-Reports/2010/February/25/Antitrust-Vote.aspx?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+dailyreport+%28Kaiser+Health+News+-+Daily+Health+Policy+Report%29 Thu, 25 Feb 2010 10:09:01 CST http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Daily-Reports/2010/February/25/Antitrust-Vote.aspx?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+dailyreport+%28Kaiser+Health+News+-+Daily+Health+Policy+Report%29 Kaiser Health News reports that Anthem Blue Cross executives told California lawmakers Tuesday that they plan to go ahead with a rate hike of up to 39 percent for individual health insurance policies. http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Daily-Reports/2010/February/24/Anthem.aspx Wed, 24 Feb 2010 10:22:29 CST http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Daily-Reports/2010/February/24/Anthem.aspx The latest Kaiser Tracking Poll finds the public still split on health care reform legislation, with 43 percent in favor and 43 percent opposed, however, the poll also finds that majorities of Americans of all political leanings support several provisions in the health reform proposals in Congress and most attribute delays in passing the legislation to political gamesmanship rather than policy disagreements. http://www.kff.org/kaiserpolls/posr022310nr.cfm Tue, 23 Feb 2010 10:15:50 CST http://www.kff.org/kaiserpolls/posr022310nr.cfm Los Angeles Times, (CA) article reports that four days before his planned health summit with congressional leaders, President Obama on Monday morning unveiled his proposal to overhaul the nation's healthcare system, building on the gargantuan legislation developed by Senate Democrats last year. http://www.latimes.com/business/la-na-obama-healthcare23-2010feb23,0,6084606.story Mon, 22 Feb 2010 11:02:04 CST http://www.latimes.com/business/la-na-obama-healthcare23-2010feb23,0,6084606.story U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today unveiled a new report that highlights health insurance premium increases in states across the country and comes shortly after Anthem Blue Cross announced plans to raise rates on its California customers by as much as 39 percent, even after its parent company took in a profit of $2.7 billion in the previous quarter. http://www.raconline.org/news/news_details.php?news_id=13122 Fri, 19 Feb 2010 10:13:35 CST http://www.raconline.org/news/news_details.php?news_id=13122 Associated Press article via Seattle Times, (WA) reports that people who buy their own health insurance are seeing their premiums increases by 15 percent or more in four states, and those in others could be faced with the same. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/health/2011104559_apusinsuranceratesstates.html?syndication=rss Thu, 18 Feb 2010 10:25:57 CST http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/health/2011104559_apusinsuranceratesstates.html?syndication=rss Kaiser Health News reports that Anthem Blue Cross is agreeing to postpone until May a planned 39 percent rate hike for insurance policies that would have taken effect March 1. http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Daily-Reports/2010/February/13/anthem-rate-hike-delay.aspx Tue, 16 Feb 2010 10:59:52 CST http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Daily-Reports/2010/February/13/anthem-rate-hike-delay.aspx Los Angeles Times, (CA) article reports that California insurance regulators asked Anthem Blue Cross to delay controversial rate increases of as much as 39% for individual policies, hikes that have triggered widespread criticism from subscribers and brokers -- and now from the federal government. http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-fi-anthem-obama9-2010feb09,0,4564599.story Wed, 10 Feb 2010 11:24:30 CST http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-fi-anthem-obama9-2010feb09,0,4564599.story An analysis of projected national health care expenditures (NHE) through 2019. -- Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services http://www.cms.hhs.gov/NationalHealthExpendData/downloads/proj2009.pdf Fri, 05 Feb 2010 13:42:29 CST http://www.cms.hhs.gov/NationalHealthExpendData/downloads/proj2009.pdf Reviews the full range of individual state activity on health reform during 2008 and provides facts about the number and percent of uninsured Americans. -- Robert Wood Johnson Foundation http://www.academyhealth.org/files/publications/SCI_SoS09.pdf Wed, 18 Nov 2009 08:30:51 CST http://www.academyhealth.org/files/publications/SCI_SoS09.pdf Reports that rural residents have a higher uninsured rate than their urban counterparts, and describes health care reform initiatives that can help improve coverage of rural Americans. -- Rural Policy Research Institute (RUPRI) Rural Health Panel http://www.rupri.org/Forms/Health_ReformBrief_Oct09.pdf Fri, 30 Oct 2009 15:39:26 CST http://www.rupri.org/Forms/Health_ReformBrief_Oct09.pdf Argues through statistical analysis and research that health insurance reform will lower premiums for small businesses and lead to additional benefits. -- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services http://www.healthreform.gov/reports/smallbusiness2/smallbusiness2.pdf Fri, 30 Oct 2009 11:58:50 CST http://www.healthreform.gov/reports/smallbusiness2/smallbusiness2.pdf Describes how the economic downturn may increase many of the health and access disparities that are already a problem in rural communities. Presents possible health insurance reform solutions. -- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services http://www.healthreform.gov/reports/ruralamerica/ruralmorechoicesmorecoverage.pdf Thu, 29 Oct 2009 10:59:23 CST http://www.healthreform.gov/reports/ruralamerica/ruralmorechoicesmorecoverage.pdf A national coalition of public interest organizations that support effective insurance industry reforms to control skyrocketing insurance rates, reduced insurance coverage, arbitrary policy cancellations, mismanagement and other insurance industry abuses. http://www.insurance-reform.org/ Wed, 07 Oct 2009 16:49:10 CST http://www.insurance-reform.org/ Illustrates premiums and government assistance under the types of reform proposals being considered in Congress for people under age 65 who purchase coverage on their own in an exchange or gateway and are not covered through their employer, Medicare or Medicaid. -- Kaiser Family Foundation http://healthreform.kff.org/Subsidycalculator.aspx Wed, 23 Sep 2009 08:02:33 CST http://healthreform.kff.org/Subsidycalculator.aspx Data from the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey shows the critical role played by Medigap coverage, especially for low- and moderate-income beneficiaries, and those living in rural areas. -- AHIP Center for Policy and Research http://www.ahipresearch.org/pdfs/MedigapLowIncomeRuralReport09-11-09.pdf Mon, 14 Sep 2009 08:49:40 CST http://www.ahipresearch.org/pdfs/MedigapLowIncomeRuralReport09-11-09.pdf Provides the latest income, poverty, and health insurance data from the Current Population Survey. -- U.S. Census Bureau http://www.census.gov/prod/2009pubs/p60-236.pdf Fri, 11 Sep 2009 11:22:15 CST http://www.census.gov/prod/2009pubs/p60-236.pdf Explains how health insurance reform can work to ensure that older and senior women get quality, affordable health care. Includes information on women's health in rural areas. -- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services http://healthreform.gov/reports/seniorwomen/seniorwomenreport.pdf Thu, 03 Sep 2009 11:14:28 CST http://healthreform.gov/reports/seniorwomen/seniorwomenreport.pdf Reports that rural residents-particularly in the most remote rural communities-are in greater need of health reform, as demonstrated by an uninsured rate higher than that of urban residents. The rural-urban disparity in coverage is driven by higher uninsured rates among rural adults, a group that should be part of any strategic effort to improve coverage. Analyses are based on the 2004-05 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. -- Maine Rural Health Research Center http://muskie.usm.maine.edu/Publications/rural/pb/Rural-Health-Insurance-Profile.pdf Wed, 29 Jul 2009 11:11:03 CST http://muskie.usm.maine.edu/Publications/rural/pb/Rural-Health-Insurance-Profile.pdf Focuses on health insurance coverage among those with middle incomes its availability,affordability, and stability. -- Kaiser Family Foundation http://www.kff.org/healthreform/upload/7951.pdf Mon, 27 Jul 2009 10:35:48 CST http://www.kff.org/healthreform/upload/7951.pdf Reports that there are rural-urban and regionaldifferences in the race and ethnicity ofqualified-but-uninsured children; about 6 in 10 qualified-but-uninsured children have family incomes below the federal poverty level; children of all ages are qualified for Medicaid or CHIP but not enrolled. -- North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center (Cecil G. Sheps Center) http://www.shepscenter.unc.edu/research_programs/rural_program/pubs/finding_brief/FB91.pdf Tue, 21 Jul 2009 14:05:01 CST http://www.shepscenter.unc.edu/research_programs/rural_program/pubs/finding_brief/FB91.pdf Reports that rural residents are less likely than their urban counterparts to have private health insurance coverage. -- Maine Rural Health Research Center http://muskie.usm.maine.edu/Publications/rural/pb/Rural-Private-Health-Insurance.pdf Thu, 16 Jul 2009 14:34:08 CST http://muskie.usm.maine.edu/Publications/rural/pb/Rural-Private-Health-Insurance.pdf