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Industry Updates

This broad category includes articles concerning health insurance costs, carrier and health plan news, changing benefits technology, and surveys by the Kaiser Family Foundation and others on employee benefits.

Amid Uncertainty, Covered California Appeals to Insurers’ Bottom Lines

With ongoing uncertainty around the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the board that oversees California’s health care marketplace took action to stabilize the exchange on Thursday. Their goal was to convince insurance companies to continue offering health plans through Covered California.

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The IRS Is Still Enforcing The Individual Mandate, Despite What Many Taxpayers Believe

Taxpayers who do not have minimum essential coverage (through an employer, a government program, or individual insurance) or qualify for an exemption must pay an individual responsibility tax.

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California Lawmakers Try Again to Confront High Prescription Drug Prices

Less rowdy than the sputtered push for single-payer healthcare and less fraught than the battle over Obamacare’s future, the concern over the cost of prescription drug prices has been overshadowed for the past year by the marquee healthcare battles gripping Sacramento and Washington.

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McConnell: Path on Healthcare “Murky”

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) acknowledged Monday that Congress's next steps on healthcare are unclear after Republicans failed to repeal ObamaCare. 

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Anthem’s Exit Leaves Thousands With No Choice Of Health Plans

For about 60,000 Covered California customers, choosing a health plan next year will be easier, and possibly more painful, than ever: There will be only one insurer left in their communities after Anthem Blue Cross of California pulls out of much of the state’s individual market.

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Medicare Unveils “Skeletal” Site For Hospice Comparison Shopping

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services this week released Hospice Compare, a consumer-focused website that lets families compare up to three hospice agencies at a time, among 3,876 nationwide. Following similar websites for hospitals and nursing homes, the site aims to improve transparency and empower families to “take ownership of their health,” according to a press release.

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Return of Health Insurance Tax Will Hike Premiums by 2.6% Next Year, Report Estimates

The return of the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance tax—which insurers have long lobbied against—will likely increase premiums by an average of 2.6% in 2018, according to a new analysis.

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Covered California May Let Insurers Recoup 2018 Losses in Future Years

The board that oversees Covered California will consider a plan Thursday to entice health insurance companies to keep selling individual policies on the state exchange even if they lose money next year. 

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Anthem Move Off Nevada Insurance Exchange Could Affect Thousands

The looming departure affects 31,496 Nevadans, according to figures provided by the the Nevada Division of Insurance. It also underscores the continued volatility of the insurance market amid uncertainty about how federal regulations may change health coverage through the Affordable Care Act.

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Taking A U-Turn On Benefits, Big Employers Vow To Continue Offering Health Insurance

The shrinking unemployment rate has been a healthy turn for people with job-based benefits.

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