New health law could push individual medical claim costs up
The study by the Society of Actuaries says the amount paid by insurers who sell policies to individuals in Illinois will rise more than 50 percent by 2017. The jump is even greater in Missouri, where the cost of medical claims could grow by almost 60 percent.
The report says costs will rise largely because of spending on sicker people and other high-cost groups who will gain coverage under the Affordable Care Act. The study did not make similar estimates for Employer-sponsored plans.
The White House disputes the study's claims because they didn't consider other cost-saving aspects of the new law.
Myriad languages, cultures challenge health reform
States with large and diverse immigrant populations have the added challenge of reaching people who speak limited or no English, and they have little time to do it. Enrollment in the exchanges begins in October.
California has the largest minority population of any state, about 22.3 million people. That's followed by Texas with 13.7 million, New York with 8.1 million, Florida with 7.9 million and Illinois with 4.7 million.
Spanish is the second most popular language, followed by Chinese.
Advocates say the success of the national health reforms will depend on the success of enrolling these communities.
Illinois receives conditional approval for insurance marketplaces
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius issued a conditional approval letter Wednesday to Gov. Pat Quinn with a list of six conditions.
Conditions include signing a memorandum of understanding with the federal government for how the state will monitor and approve health plans sold on the exchange by March 1 and a separate memorandum of understanding for how the state will run consumer outreach activities by April 1. Sebelius’ letter acknowledges that “Illinois is working under intense timelines.”
The state is partnering with the federal government to offer the online marketplace.
Latest News
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8

Illinois Judge pleads not guilty for drug, gun possessi…
An Illinois judge whose colleague died of a cocaine overdose while the two were on a hunting trip together has been charged with possession of heroin and guns. St. Clair County Ci...

Illinois House passes conceal carry law
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - The Illinois House has approved a plan to allow qualified gun owners to carry their weapons in public. Illinois is the only state in the country without a...

Relative accused of sexually assaulting 2-year-old girl
Reports of a disturbing case of sexual assault coming from Belleville. A 45-year-old man is in custody after allegedly raping a 2-year-old girl. Officers say there was a witness p...

UPDATE: ATF fugitive captured
The hunt for a fugitive in the St. Louis area is over. The ATF reports that agents have captured Excedrin Collins. The alert for Collins was sent out by the Kansas City ATF office...

TRUCK IN WASH. SPAN COLLAPSE HAULED DRILLING EQUIP
MOUNT VERNON, Wash. (AP) — A truck hauling a too-tall load of drilling equipment hit an overhead bridge girder on the major interstate between Seattle and Canada, sending a section...

School bus overturns on I-55
Six people are hurt after an accident involving a school bus on I-55. It happened in the southbound lanes of I-55 just past 7th Street shortly before 9 am. The school bus was turne...

NASCAR Coca-Cola 600 qualifying results
CONCORD, N.C. (AP) — Denny Hamlin has never won a Sprint Cup race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, but he's put himself in good position to do it this weekend. Hamlin broke the track ...

James unanimous All-NBA selection
NEW YORK (AP) — Miami's LeBron James was a unanimous pick for the All-NBA team. James received all 119 votes for the first team from a panel of sports writer and broadcasters throu...