health insurance
Expanding affordable health care in North Carolina
Just over a year ago, the Inflation Reduction Act became law. And now, I’m thrilled to be traveling coast-to-coast on a national bus tour with Protect Our Care to celebrate that achievement, and to share the news about all the changes to our health care system in the past few years under the Biden administration. […]
Most people in NC who lost Medicaid health coverage in the last two months were cut for “procedural” reasons
North Carolina and other states are stripping government health insurance coverage from thousands of people who stayed on Medicaid rolls during the COVID-19 pandemic but may no longer qualify. More than 68,000 people lost Medicaid coverage in North Carolina in June and July. Of those, about 87% lost their coverage for “procedural reasons,” because they […]
Biden administration to crack down on ‘junk’ health insurance plans, surprise billing
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration announced new initiatives Friday that could reduce health care costs, though none will take effect immediately. The changes include a proposed rule that would reduce the amount of time short-term health insurance plans can last and require companies that offer the plans to be more transparent about what is covered […]
NC Gov. Cooper signs Blue Cross reorganization bill
Non-profit Blue Cross NC is now allowed to act more like a for-profit insurance company. Gov. Roy Cooper signed House bill 346 over the weekend, which allows the state’s dominant health insurer to create a holding company that would work outside the reach of state insurance regulations. The bill won overwhelming bipartisan support in the […]
Half a million people in less than a dozen states have lost Medicaid coverage since April
More than 500,000 people across 11 states have lost their Medicaid coverage since the unwinding of a policy that allowed people to stay in the program throughout the pandemic. The data, reported by the states and tracked by health policy researcher KFF, shows that of the five states providing data on people who lost Medicaid […]
Controversial measure deregulating Blue Cross NC advances in state House
The controversial bill allowing the state’s dominant nonprofit health insurer to act more like a for-profit company pushed through a House committee Tuesday after an abbreviated discussion and a divided vote. The bill would allow the nonprofit, Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina, to create a holding company that could use insurance company assets […]
Blue Cross NC deregulation bill could lead to higher premiums, Insurance Commissioner says
Changes to state law that Blue Cross NC wants could mean increased premiums for millions of health insurance policyholders, state Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey said Monday. Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina, a nonprofit health insurer, disagreed with Causey’s assessment. In an email, company spokeswoman Sara Lang said the bill has been revised to […]
DACA recipients to gain health coverage under new plan from Biden administration
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden announced Thursday that he will direct his administration to allow undocumented people in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program to enroll in Medicaid or private insurance provided under the Affordable Care Act. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will issue a proposed rule on the policy by […]
U.S. judge rules insurers don’t have to cover many free preventive health services
[This story has been updated.] WASHINGTON — Health insurance companies may no longer need to cover a wide swath of preventive health care services that were required by the 2010 Affordable Care Act, under a federal judge’s ruling issued Thursday in Texas. The decision could affect millions of Americans’ access to no-cost preventive health care […]
NC Insurance Commissioner pans Blue Cross restructuring proposal. The main sponsor says he’s working on changes.
The lead House sponsor of a bill that would exempt Blue Cross Blue Shield NC from some insurance regulations told a House committee the company needed the changes to compete with for-profit companies, even as state Insurance Commissioner Michael Causey continued to denounce the proposal. Rep. John Bradford, a Mecklenburg County Republican, said he is […]
Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina needs to remain a public asset
Twenty-five years ago, when a powerful state Senator quietly and suddenly advanced a bill that would have allowed the leaders of Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina to transform the giant and successful health insurance nonprofit into a for-profit company, advocates, consumers, average citizens, and ultimately, the full General Assembly, took a stand.
Reorganization push would allow NC’s largest health insurance provider to avoid regulation
Bill introduced at the behest of Blue Cross Blue Shield will be heard in a state House committee Tuesday The state’s largest health insurer, Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina, wants the legislature to allow it to reorganize its business structure so that it can sidestep a 25-year-old law requiring it to compensate the state for decades of tax breaks.