Texas Governor examining Healthcare Exchange

Governor Rick Perry of Texas is anti-Obamacare. This, however, won't stop his state from having to comply with the Health Insurance Exchange that has to be set up by 2014. While Gov. Perry and a few other Republican Governors are openly opposing healthcare reform (including the governors from Mississippi, Indiana and Wisconsin) they have begun to take the steps to create a Healthcare Exchange in their states. According to the New York Times, Perry believes that a state health insurance exchange is too broad for a state as large and diverse as Texas. He'd like to leave the decisions of healthcare up to local governments so policies can be catered to the local demographics and not just a generic "One Size Fits All" exchange.

At the Healthcare Insurance Exchange, taking place November 9-11, 2011, in Baltimore, Maryland, professionals in this space will come together for the panel debate Room for Debate: Understand the Political Undertone of Exchanges and the ACA where you can hear health plans and state and federal government officials debate as to whether or not this is legal.

Whether or not a state wants an exchange, all states need to comply with federal rulings. Do you think the quality of a state exchange will suffer if a state is “anti-Obamacare”?

Presentation: Prepare for Newly Eligibles for Easier ACA Implementation

Recently at the Medicaid Managed Care Congress,Stephanie Chrobak, Director of Commonwealth Care, State of Massachusetts gave the presentation "Overview of the Massachusetts Health Connector and Health Reform".

After reviewing the presentation, how does your state population differ from the Massachusetts population? How will you have to modify your current offerings to meet the needs of the new populations?

With 45 million new people becoming eligible through Health Insurance Exchanges, this information is especially relevant as we move towards 2014. Come learn about how to prepare for this new population, and other Health Insurance Exchange considerations at the Health Insurance Exchange Congress. Receive 25% off the standard registration rate when registering with Priority code XP1610BLOG.  Register here.

Jonathan Blum, Director of the Center for Medicare Management Joins The Medicare Congress!

The Medicare Congress Team is pleased to announce our latest addition to the speaking faculty:

Keynote Presenter Jonathan Blum, Director of the Center for Medicare Management (CMM), and Acting Director, Center for Drug and Health Plan Choice (CPC) at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Don’t miss his Keynote Address at 8:45 AM on Thursday, January 21, on the CMS Regulatory Outlook for Part D and Medicare Advantage Programs in 2010 and Beyond.

Now, with final negotiations beginning on the Senate and House versions of the Healthcare Reform Bill, changes to Medicare as we know it are inevitable. Don’t be left behind by your competitors - Join us at the year’s most respected Medicare event to arm yourself with the tools needed to prove the merit of MA, increase profitability, and deliver value in an increasingly member-centric Medicare system.

Over 40 of the nation's leading Health Plan CEOs and Medicare Directors are already attending, including Aetna, American College of Physicians, BlueCross BlueShield, Essence Healthcare, Gorman Health Group, Healthcare Partners, Henry Ford Health System, Kaiser Permanente, United Healthcare, Universal American, and WellPoint. Click here to view the full list.

The 7th Annual Medicare Congress is designed with your entire team in mind, so find out about group discounts and register by this Friday, January 8th, to maximize your savings.

Healthcare reform and abortion

Now that healthcare reform is in full swing, we're sure to see several issues that votes and opinions collide on when it comes to coverage. Currently the House and the Senate are looking at if and how abortion should be covered. Should this be dropped from the health bill, it may leave many women with private insurance at risk for their insurers to drop abortion coverage as well.

Stupak’s amendment prohibits any public health insurance option from offering abortion coverage except for cases of rape, incest and the life of the mother. It also prohibits individuals from using tax credits and subsidies to buy private insurance with abortion coverage from companies taking part in new health insurance exchanges.

Read more about the debate about including health care in the healthcare reform bill here. What do you think? When and how should the government choose to cover abortions? What impact will this have on the ruling of Rowe vs. Wade?