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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.

State Legislature Passes New MCO Tax, Rescues Over $1 Billion for Medi-Cal

The California legislature Monday approved a new health care tax, capping a months-long quest to safeguard over $1 billion in annual Medi-Cal funding the federal government had threatened to take away.

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Why This Move By Covered California Could Mean Big Business for VSP

Covered California on Wednesday announced it selected VSP Vision Care as its vision insurance provider for adults statewide.

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Health Plans’ Finances A Big Unknown In California Tax Swap Package

A $2.4 billion managed-care organization tax package awaiting votes in the California Legislature reflects the heavy imprint of the state’s health insurance industry, which pushed for major changes to avoid any tax hit that could be passed on to customers.

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Are Covered California’s Numbers Plateauing?

With Covered California's announcement Wednesday that 1.57 million Californians selected health plans during its third open enrollment period, at least one health care expert believes that the nation's bellwether state in implementing the Affordable Care Act is now essentially running in place.

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Vote on MCO Tax Looming in the California Legislature

The California state legislature could vote this week on a proposed tax on health insurance plans that would fund the Medicaid (called Medi-Cal) program to the tune of $1.27 billion annually.

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California Marketplace May Require Insurers To Pay Agent Commissions

California’s health exchange may require its health plans to pay sales commissions to insurance agents to keep insurers from shunning the sickest and costliest patients.

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Obama Budget To Adjust Health Insurance ‘Cadillac Tax’: Adviser

President Barack Obama will propose tailoring the controversial "Cadillac tax" on expensive private health insurance plans to reflect regional differences when he releases his 2017 budget plan next week, a senior White House adviser said in an article released on Wednesday.

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Enrollment in Nevada’s Health Insurance Marketplace Tops ’15 Totals

Enrollment in Nevada's health insurance marketplace handily beat the totals of a year ago.

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Cancer Patients Snagged In Health Law’s Tangled Paperwork

Walt Whitlow was under treatment for cancer when he got an unwelcome surprise. His financial assistance under President Barack Obama's health care law got slashed. That meant his premium quadrupled and his deductible went from $900 to $4,600.

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Costs, Changes Led Obamacare Enrollment to Fall Short of Earlier Estimates

The number of people who signed up for health insurance for 2016 on the state and federal exchanges was up to 40% lower than earlier government and private estimates, which some say is evidence that the plans are too expensive and that people would rather pay a penalty than buy them.

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