health insurance news

The Hill – As House Democrats worked to scale back a package of tax and jobless benefits, they slashed a provision that would have extended COBRA eligibility for the workers laid off by their employers. The cut is expected to prevent 144,000 families from receiving COBRA benefits. Read more about COBRA health insurance.

Ventura County Star – California small-business owners expected to be early beneficiaries of health reform, with billions of dollars in federal tax relief flowing this month to help them purchase medical coverage for their employees.

MartketWatch – Just a few months after passing comprehensive health reform, U.S. lawmakers appear willing to risk a short-term backslide in the push to reduce the number of uninsured Americans until the overhaul’s major provisions take effect in 2014.

Daily Times – Health-care premiums for millions of unemployed Americans could triple with the expiration of government subsidies to the COBRA program.

Read more about COBRA health insurance coverage.

Los Angeles Times – On the same day that Daniel Rona qualified for healthcare coverage through his job as an emergency medical technician, an SUV slammed Rona’s motorcycle as he was riding in Santa Monica.

Prescriptions (The New York Times) – Q. Will there be annual limits of coverage for the new high-risk pool? I am 56 years old, facing unemployment at the end of the year, will not be eligible for Cobra and have a pre-existing condition, so I am unlikely to get health insurance on the private market. California’s major risk insurance pool caps annual benefits at $75,000, with a lifetime of $750,000. It also has a three-month waiting period for pre-existing conditions. And it is enormously expensive ($1,064/month for one person for PPO.) Will the new reform law supersede rules about annual caps and waiting periods? Will the annual out of pocket $6,950 payment cap be in addition to premiums? — Judy

The Seattle Times – Despite recent job gains, one grim statistic casts a long shadow over the recovering economy and the futures of more than 6 million workers: Fully 44 percent of the nation’s 15 million unemployed have been out of work for more than six months.