Health Insurance Exchange Update: Wednesday, October 10

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As we get closer to the election, we are seeing more news about how various parties are being affected by the Affordable Care Act and how states are dealing with these issues that concern their citizens.

Under the new law, businesses only have to provide insurance to those employees who work over 30 hours a week.  In an article at the Huffington Post, they look at how this will affect work hours and examine whether or not companies will cut back to save on costs.

In Kansas, many healthcare providers feel that the next presidential election will bring tremendous change to their system.  Those will prexistising conditions and those relying on insurance provided by the healthcare mandate will be most affected should the Republicans be elected into office.  Doctors are worried about how the payments from the government will affect their bottom line, as currently most of what doctors make currently goes to running their office and paying their employees according to the Wichita Eagle.

The San Antonio Express News looks at how insurances are preparing for the influx of business that the Affordable Care Act is poised to bring.  Maryland and California are the only states poised to be ready open their exchanges on time.  WellPoint has been making plans to aggressively sell through the exchanges as well as through employer exchanges to expand their reach.

CFO has also posted Part 2 of their series The Case for Private Insurance Exchanges.

And finally, in North Carolina, 200 business leaders have met with doctors, hospitals and insurers to figure out how to lower the cost of healthare overall according to WRAL.  They would like to make the predictions for healthcare spending year over year predictable.  The article believes there is a way to contain the 30% of spending that is believed to be spent on waste and redundancy.  They also poin tout that  the healthcare system should focus on quality, not quantity and wellness care.

Want to learn more about the health insurance exchange? This November, the Health Insurance Exchange Congress will be held November 13-14, 2012 in Chicago, IL.  Here, state officials and health plans with the only opportunity to come together to discuss PPACA and strategize on how to make this a successful opportunity for all.  For more information on this year's agenda, download the program here.  As a reader of this blog, when you register to join us and mention code XP1710BLOG, you'll receive 15% off the standard rate!