Search results for

Until a national health insurance mandate takes effect in 2014, states run stopgap pools to cover people with pre-existing conditions. The federal funds to pay for the coverage are being stretched thin in many states.

The state legislature is now mulling a change to allow trained home care aides to administer medications to Medicaid patients while working under a nurse's supervision. If the proposal becomes law, it could save the state a bundle.

There was a party atmosphere at Affordable Care Act events both in California, where the law has been embraced by the state government, and in Virginia, where it has been resisted. But consumers will have very different experiences in the two states.

The president offered a fix for people whose insurance coverage has been canceled because it didn't meet the minimum standards of the federal health law. But will insurers follow through? And even if they want to, will state regulators let them?

Maryland-based Evergreen Health Co-op is one of nearly two dozen nonprofit insurers created by the health act. They will be owned by the policyholders and are supposed to add competition and lower prices for coverage. they're supposed to add competition and lower prices for medical coverage. But they can't do either without customers.

President Obama says he's pretty frustrated with the messed-up computer system for insurance enrollment under the Affordable Care Act. If he gets it fixed by mid-November all will be well, analysts say. But further delay could mean real trouble.

In October, online health insurance marketplaces, or exchanges, will open for business. As the start date nears, people's questions about the particulars of buying insurance on the exchanges are streaming in.

All of the Democratic health proposals would expand children's dental care. Currently about twice as many children are without dental coverage as those without medical coverage. Still, some insurance experts worry that the legislation might unintentionally reduce adult dental coverage.

The Senate Finance Committee calls for cuts in private Medicare plans to help pay for health overhaul. Some senators on the panel, worried about the 10.5 million seniors in the plans — and the possible political consequences — have worked to lessen the impact on their constituents.

Even as Congress moves to expand health insurance coverage to millions of Americans, experts say there won't be enough primary care doctors to meet the expected surge in demand for treatment. One prediction: the shortage of family doctors will reach 40,000 by 2019.