Press Releases and Industry news
May 10, 2013
NFP Health to Provide Private Exchange Platform for Network Health Plans
NEW YORK, May 10, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- National Financial Partners Corp. (NYSE: NFP), a leading provider of benefits, insurance and wealth management services, announced today that NFP Health Services Administrators, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of NFP, has entered into an agreement with Network Health to build, implement and operate a private health benefits exchange platform in Massachusetts. NFP Health is a pioneer in the design, implementation and delivery of health benefits exchanges. Network Health is a nonprofit, comprehensive health plan for Massachusetts residents with low and moderate incomes.
Through the new private exchange platform, individuals, families, and small groups can compare plans available from Network Health and enroll online. Network Health currently offers six commercial plans to Massachusetts residents through the health plan's Network Health Choice product. NFP Health will also offer the same Network Health plans on its multi-carrier health benefits exchange, Health Services Administrators, where individuals, small businesses and producers can shop and compare plans from New England's leading health plans in one marketplace. The NFP Health benefits platform covers all administrative services, including a robust shopping portal, customer services, sales, IT, premium billing, renewals and broker tools.
Commenting on today's announcement, Nick Koulopoulos , Chief Strategy Officer of NFP Health, said, "We are pleased to work with Network Health, facilitating their entry into the commercial market with a world class shopping portal, as well as best of breed administrative services for their new members. We recognize that this is an exciting time for Network Health and we are confident that our exchange platform will provide valuable support as they expand into the commercial market. NFP Health has operated for over 40 years in New England and we have worked with most carriers in the region to offer small group and individual plans."
Read MoreMay 6, 2013
Additional Guidance Issued on Summary of Affordable Care Act Benefits and Coverage Disclosure Requirements
The U.S. Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and the Treasury (collectively, the Departments) recently issued new guidance and templates regarding the requirement under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) that group health plans and health insurance issuers provide a summary of benefits and coverage and a uniform glossary (SBC). This new guidance updates the sample templates for coverage beginning on or after January 1, 2014, and before January 1, 2015, and clarifies the Departments’ position on safe harbors and enforcement for this same period.
Background: The ACA generally requires group health plans and health insurance issuers offering group or individual health insurance coverage to provide an SBC to participants and beneficiaries. As described in McDermott’s On the Subject “Summary of Benefits and Coverage Disclosure Requirements,” the Departments issued final regulations governing the SBC requirement on February 14, 2012, which were generally applicable beginning September 23, 2012.
New Guidance: On April 23, 2013, the Departments issued a series of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) XIV clarifying certain aspects of the SBC requirements, along with links to an updated version of the official SBC template and a completed sample SBC. The updated SBC template and sample SBC now include information about whether a plan or coverage provides minimum essential coverage and whether the plan or coverage meets the minimum value requirements (i.e., the plan must cover at least 60 percent of the total allowed cost of benefits that are expected to be incurred under the plan). The updated documents can be found here and here. These updated documents are applicable with respect to coverage beginning on or after January 1, 2014, and before January 1, 2015. However, noting the administrative burden for plans or issuers that have already begun preparing the SBC for this period based on the previously issued templates, the FAQs provide that the Departments will not take enforcement action against a plan using the previously issued templates as long as the plan or issuer includes a cover letter or similar disclosure with the SBC stating whether the plan or coverage provides minimum essential coverage and meets the minimum value requirements. The FAQs include sample language for such a disclosure.
Read MoreMay 3, 2013
Steward Health Care suing Rhode Island insurer
(Boston Globe) Steward Health Care System, which terminated an agreement to buy a Woonsocket, R.I., hospital last fall, charged in a lawsuit Wednesday that Rhode Island’s largest health insurance company blocked the deal by failing to negotiate reasonable health care payments.
In a complaint filed in state Superior Court in Providence, Steward, which runs a chain of hospitals and doctors groups across Eastern Massachusetts, alleged Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island engaged in anticompetitive practices and interfered with prospective contractual relations to thwart Boston-based Steward’s proposed acquisition of Landmark Medical Center.
Steward, owned by the New York private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management, demanded a trial by jury and asked for Blue Cross & Blue Shield to pay unspecified financial damages as well as reimburse its attorneys’ fees involved in taking the court action.
Read MoreApril 27, 2013
In Massachusetts, Some Low-Income Families Struggle Paying For Health Insurance
In six months, open enrollment for the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance marketplaces will begin around the country. Massachusetts’ experience has proven to be instructive. In 2006, the state created an insurance exchange, called the Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector Authority. The Connector, which began offering unsubsidized commercial insurance products in 2007, now provides an array of options for consumers, including subsidized coverage to people with incomes below 300 percent of the poverty level.
A new study, released today as a Web First by Health Affairs, surveyed 393 families in unsubsidized Connector plans. It found that 38 percent of surveyed families reported financial burden associated with their health care and 45 percent reported higher-than-expected out-of-pocket costs. This study is one of the first to evaluate the prevalence of and risk factors for financial burden and unexpected costs among families in unsubsidized health insurance exchange plans.
To obtain their data, the authors conducted a cross-sectional survey of families enrolled through the Massachusetts Connector in unsubsidized Commonwealth Choice plans from Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, a large nonprofit insurer that has one of the largest market shares among commercial carriers in the Connector. Between April and October 2010 the authors conducted a survey by mail then followed up by phone, studying families both with and without children.
Read MoreApril 24, 2013
State’s providers, hospitals to ease medical expenses
(Boston Globe) The largest health insurers in Massachusetts said they will ease the strain of medical costs for those injured in the Marathon bombing by waiving out-of-pocket fees, while three Boston hospitals promised to hold off mailing bills to those patients.
Donations have poured in to the One Fund launched last week by the city and the state to help those most affected by the April 15 attack, and to funds created by patients’ friends and families to offset treatment costs. But many who were seriously injured, including at least 14 who had limbs amputated, could require expensive medical and rehabilitative care for months to come.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, the state's largest insurer, created a dedicated team of customer support specialists and caregivers to help members who were affected and to evaluate bills on a case-by-case basis, while Harvard Pilgrim Health Plan pledged to waive all out-of-pocket medical costs for those hurt during the bombing.
Read MoreApril 17, 2013
Setup costs mount for ObamaCare exchanges
The Health and Human Services Department (HHS) said in budget documents Wednesday that it expects to spend $4.4 billion by the end of this year on grants to help states set up new insurance exchanges. HHS had estimated last year that the grants would cost $2 billion.
The department also is asking Congress for another $1.5 billion to help set up federally run exchanges in states that do not establish their own.
The request for extra money comes at a critical time — exchanges are supposed to be up and running in every state by October. But it is also sure to meet hostility in Congress, which just last month denied HHS's last request for additional funds. HHS Assistant Secretary for Financial Resources Ellen Murray punted Wednesday when asked about the consequences if Congress also denies the new request.
Read MoreApril 8, 2013
Untold Story of Small Biz Delay under ACA, Just Déjà Vu from Massachusetts
The revelation that the Obama Administration will delay the roll out of the “choice option” for small business until 2015 came as a huge surprise to many, including Joe Klein at Time, however anyone familiar with the Massachusetts experiment will feel a strong sense of déjà vu. In a 2010 paper I authored for the Heritage Foundation, I documented the delayed and failed effort by the Massachusetts public exchange (Connector) to offer real choice and savings to small businesses.
My report suggested the experience served as a warning to other states. I suppose I should have targeted it toward the federal government instead. Small companies should be even more uncertain of the law now that the cost–saving mechanism they were sold is now on the back burner. Yet the penalties for not offering insurance, new taxes on fully-insured plans, and EHB requirements all remain on schedule.
Background: Governor Romney’s original health reform proposal envisioned a statewide health insurance exchange that would have offered small businesses a robust choice of plans with a wide range of deductible and benefit levels. His proposal provided for defined contributions from employers, used the exchange as a “premium aggregator,” and created a pooling mechanism to allow employees of small businesses to purchase group insurance together to spread risk and provide greater premium stability.
Read MoreMarch 26, 2013
Temp Agencies See Opportunity In Health Law
School administrators in Dothan, Ala., aren’t sure whether health act rules taking effect next year will require them to offer medical coverage to substitute teachers, who lack it now.
But they aren't waiting to find out. The system has decided to hire subs through Kelly Services, a temporary staffing agency, to avoid any health-cost obligations that might come as their direct employer.
The district pays about $700 per month per full-time teacher for medical insurance. "You multiply that times 300 [substitutes] and you've got a big expense," said Dell Goodwin, personnel director for Dothan City Schools.
Read MoreFebruary 28, 2013
NFP Health Sponsors America’s Health Insurance Plans’ 2013 Spring Conference
NFP Health announced today their sponsorship of America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) Exchange 2013 conference, March 14-15, in Washington, DC. NFP Health, a wholly-owned subsidiary of National Financial Partners Corp. (NYSE: NFP), a leading provider of benefits, insurance and wealth management services, is a pioneer in the design, implementation and delivery of Health Benefits Exchanges.
As part of AHIP's Preparing for Exchanges Educational Series, the theme of this conference is Keeping You on Pace with Implementation. The health care industry and those developing exchanges are facing many challenges, one being the operational challenges of implementation. The sessions will cover immediate steps required, and mid- to long-term decisions necessary to successfully participate in Exchanges.
December 3, 2012
NFP Health Sponsors America’s Health Insurance Plans’ 2012 Fall Forum
National Financial Partners Corp. (NYSE: NFP), a leading provider of benefits, insurance and wealth management services, announced today that NFP Health, a wholly owned subsidiary of NFP, is a sponsor of America’s Health Insurance Plans’ (AHIP) 2012 Fall Forum, which will take place on December 3-5, 2012 in Chicago. NFP Health is a pioneer in the design, implementation and delivery of health benefits exchanges.
This three-day forum, focused on understanding and responding to the profound changes related to health care reform, will include critical information sessions and interactive, solution-filled workshops. Discussions will address key topics, such as new technologies and innovations, care alternatives, payment alternatives and compliance with Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act provisions.
“In light of the ongoing and unprecedented changes to the health care market, we are very enthusiastic about participating in this important event,” says Jeff Rich, president of NFP Health. “Learning how to establish health insurance exchanges that benefit clients is crucial for AHIP members, and we look forward to sharing our knowledge and experience.”
Immediately following AHIP’s Fall Forum, NFP Health, in conjunction with Softheon, an emerging leader in next-generation health care business process optimization, will present at AHIP’s Exchange Conference, which will take place on December 5-6, 2012 in Chicago. The conference is dedicated to providing information on immediately required steps, and mid- to long-term necessary decisions, to successfully participate in exchanges. The presentation, “Connection with Private and Public Exchanges: Real World Examples,” is scheduled to take place on December 6, 2012 at 7:30 a.m. CST. About NFP
Read MoreNovember 30, 2012
NFP Announces Expansion of Private Exchange Platform
National Financial Partners Corp. (NYSE: NFP), a leading provider of benefits, insurance and wealth management services, announced today that NFP Health, a wholly owned subsidiary of NFP, is expanding its multicarrier private health benefits exchange platform. As a pioneer in the design, implementation and delivery of health benefits exchanges, NFP Health’s unique, full-service exchange platform includes a comprehensive portal solution coupled with an extensive suite of back-office tools that provide complete automation.
NFP Health is one of the largest private exchanges in the country, and excels in the delivery of benefits administration. It has billed over $5 billion in premiums over the past 10 years alone, and its comprehensive approach has resulted in over 150,000 current plan participants and more than 32,000 small business participants. NFP Health offers plans from 12 insurance carriers representing hundreds of plans, including medical, dental and other supplemental types of coverage, making it a true “one-stop shop.” The exchange also works with more than 2,000 brokers in New England.
NFP Health recently enhanced its private benefits exchange solution so that it can be leveraged by any carrier, as well as by state-operated public exchanges, to meet the increasing demand for self-service and administrative tools. The enhancements include a full suite of paperless back-office technology, the first of its kind in the marketplace. NFP Health is also working with several insurance plans to develop self-service tools that enable the plans to be offered online using a proven exchange solution.
Read MoreNovember 7, 2012
The Affordable Care Act stands. Now what?
If the election had gone the other way, health reporters across the country would have spent the rest of the week -- and many to come -- reporting on what happens to national health care policy now, with a likely Mitt Romney-led push to repeal at least a large part of the Affordable Care Act.
Instead, we know: The federal health law signed by President Obama in 2010 stands. States have until Nov. 16 to decide whether to create a state-run insurance market or to allow the federal government to do it for them. Those exchanges are expected to come online in 2014, when most Americans will be required to have health insurance and many states will expand their Medicaid programs.
The list of things that must be done between now and the start of 2014 is “pretty massive,” Sarah Kliff of the Washington Post WonkBlog writes. In addition to deciding whether to expand Medicaid to cover people who make up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level -- about $30,656 for a family of four in 2012 -- states must figure out which residents meet that measure, “a huge technical challenge that requires coordination between federal and state computer systems that don’t usually talk to each other,” Kliff reports.
Read MoreNovember 2, 2012
Assessing the Impact of Health Care Reform on New Businesses In Massachusetts
A couple of weeks ago, when The Agenda discussed Jon Stewart’s musings on creating a safety net for entrepreneurial risk-taking, we touched briefly on how health insurance reform might spur people to go out on a limb and open a new business. “What about the risk of, you’re afraid to leave your job and be an entrepreneur because that’s where your health insurance is?” Mr. Stewart asked his “Daily Show” guest, Austan Goolsbee, the former Obama administration economist.
That led to this question from an Agenda reader, Joyce Carpenter, who wrote that she lives near Boston: “Is there any data from Massachusetts to show that Romney-care a k a Obama-care would help mitigate the risk and encourage entrepreneurship?” Excellent question, Ms. Carpenter, and one we’ll explore here. (Spoiler alert: the answer will be disappointingly murky.)
To begin to answer the question, you have to know first whether the health insurance legislation signed by Governor Mitt Romney in 2006 has in fact lowered the cost of individual insurance in Massachusetts enough to make it attractive to prospective entrepreneurs. That is according to Yasuyuki Motoyama, senior scholar at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, which focuses on issues related to entrepreneurship. For this, Mr. Motoyama referred us to a study of the Massachusetts health insurance market by economists John Graves of Vanderbilt University and Jonathan Gruber of MIT. (As an adviser to then-Governor Romney, Mr. Gruber helped devise the Massachusetts health reform law.)
Read MoreOctober 15, 2012
Mass. insurance plans again earn top rankings on member satisfaction, improvement processes
Health insurance plans in Massachusetts again earned top rankings in an analysis of member satisfaction, clinical quality, and improvement processes by the National Committee of Quality Assurance.
The results, released last week, put Harvard Pilgrim Health Plan in the no. 1 slot among private plans for the ninth consecutive years. Tufts Health Plan’s products were ranked at no. 2 and no. 4 on the list.
“Harvard Pilgrim continues to top the nation’s best health plan rankings because of the quality of our clinical programs and our extraordinary customer service,” Chief Executive Eric Schultz said in a press release. “We work closely with our health care providers to ensure excellence and to bring value for our members.”
Health New England also ranked in the top 20 of 474 private plans analyzed by the committee, a non-profit organization that accredits insurers.
Read MoreOctober 8, 2012
Massachusetts Sets Global Cap on Health Care Costs
In an attempt to impose top-down containment on Massachusetts’s soaring health care costs, Democratic Governor Deval Patrick signed a law which creates a statewide global cap on public and private health care costs. The law expands the state’s bureaucracy and specifies a target growth rate for overall medical spending based on the growth rate of the state’s economy.
Joshua Archambault, director of health care policy at the Massachusetts-based Pioneer Institute, says he doesn’t expect the so-called “global cap” to rein in costs in the long run.
“You certainly can in the short term hold down costs and put certain companies in tough situations financially,” said Archambault, “But in the long run they'll be forced to pass on any additional costs that are put on them to the consumer to make up the difference. If they don't, they'll simply go out of business.
Read MoreSeptember 20, 2012
New estimate for health care penalty: Nearly 2M more will pay tax for failing to get coverage
Nearly 6 million Americans — significantly more than first estimated— will face a tax penalty under President Barack Obama’s health overhaul for not getting insurance, congressional analysts said Wednesday. Most would be in the middle class. The new estimate amounts to an inconvenient fact for the administration, a reminder of what critics see as broken promises.
The numbers from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office are 50 percent higher than a previous projection by the same office in 2010, shortly after the law passed. The earlier estimate found 4 million people would be affected in 2016, when the penalty is fully in effect.
That’s still only a sliver of the population, given that more than 150 million people currently are covered by employer plans. Nonetheless, in his first campaign for the White House, Obama pledged not to raise taxes on individuals making less than $200,000 a year and couples making less than $250,000.
Read MoreSeptember 7, 2012
More than one-third of Massachusetts hospitals lost money last year, according to state report
Massachusetts hospitals are facing growing financial strains, with more than a third of them losing money last year, according to a new state report.
Two dozen acute care hospitals, 37 percent of the 65 in the state, posted financial losses in fiscal 2011, said the report from the state Division of Health Care Finance and Policy. Among those reporting losses were community hospitals, urban safety net hospitals -- which treat large numbers of low-income patients -- and even hospitals owned by reowned academic medical centers.
The industry’s health worsened from 2010, when 16 hospitals posted losses, and 2009, when 13 were unprofitable.Overall, profit margins for the state’s 65 acute care hospitals fell to 2.1 percent in 2011 compared with 2.6 percent during the prior year, the report said. It depicts a health care market that was scrambling to adjust to rapid changes even before the Massachusetts legislature passed a law this summer designed to rein in soaring medical costs.
Some of the deepest losses were registered by big safety-net institutions such as Boston Medical Center and Cambridge Health Alliance, which are heavily dependent on government insurance programs that pay for the care of low-income patients.
August 11, 2012
Insurance costs rise modestly, but increase tops previous quarter
Small businesses and individuals whose annual health insurance policies renew on Oct. 1 will see average premium base rate hikes of 2.1 percent in Massachusetts, increases that are more modest than the 5.5 percent average boost in base rates they absorbed a year ago.
But despite the trend of moderating increases in the past two years, the new rate hikes ticked up from the 0.7 percent average increases on policies that renewed July 1, according to data filed Friday by the state Division of Insurance. Regulators have the power to reject excessive increases for small employers and self-employed individuals, but in this case they let the requested price increases stand.
The base rates apply to thousands of customers in the so-called small group market. Many of those customers — who are mostly employers — will have to pay more than the average increase, however, because of additional factors such as their location, type of business, industry sector, and workforce age.
“This is a very slight increase,” said Barbara Anthony, the state undersecretary of consumer affairs and business regulation. “If you look at the data since 2010, there’s been a continued moderation in average rate increases. Compared to where we were two years ago when average base rate increases were in the teens, they’re now in the low single digits.”
Read MoreJuly 20, 2012
ACA Impact on Mass, Part 1: Low-income Residents will Pay More for Healthcare and Insurance
Affordability/ Subsidy levels for Low-income: How much will individuals pay for health insurance and health care under the federal law? Under the ACA, low-income individuals will pay more.
Read MoreJune 28, 2012
How Might the Health Ruling Play in November?
The Supreme Court’s decision to let President Obama’s health care law stand now shifts the debate back to the presidential election and an electorate that has been highly polarized over the issue for years.
For Mr. Obama, the ruling powerfully reaffirms the legal judgment of his administration and gives him a new campaign argument to make for re-election — to prevent Republicans from doing in Congress what the court declined to do on Thursday.
But the ruling also has the potential to re-energize the Tea Party movement, which was largely born out of opposition to the health care law, and provide new political power to Mitt Romney’s pledge to repeal the law if he wins the White House in November.
Disappointment and anger among conservatives at the decision could also translate into a powerful electoral issue in Congressional races. Republicans eager to seize control of the Senate now have a renewed rallying cry in races across the country.
Read MoreMay 10, 2012
NFP Health & hCentive, Inc. announced today that Jeff Rich, CEO of NFP Health and Sanjay Singh, CEO of hCentive, will co-present a session titled 'How the Supreme Court Decision Will Impact Private Exchanges' at the AHIP Institute 2012 Exchange Conference in Salt Lake City, UT on June 20, 2012. NFP Health, a wholly-owned subsidiary of National Financial Partners Corp. (NYSE: NFP), a leading provider of benefits, insurance and wealth management services, is a pioneer in the design, implementation and delivery of Health Benefits Exchanges. hCentive is in the business of simplifying the complex world of health insurance.
The session will discuss the challenges and opportunities arising out of health care reform and the potential impact the U.S. Supreme Court decision will have on "private" health insurance exchanges ("Private Exchanges"). It will also address questions regarding investment and capabilities required by health plans to create and run successful Private Exchanges.
Commenting on today's announcement, Mr. Rich said, "Now is a very interesting time for health plans, looking to evaluate the marketplace for better business opportunities. While the impending reforms promise some significant business opportunities for insurers, it is important to consider how the Supreme Court judgment will impact these Exchanges."
Mr. Singh added, "Insurers are keen to understand the potential impact that the Supreme Court decision will have on the emergence of Private Exchanges. Having interacted with a wide variety of insurers and policymakers, hCentive brings critical insight into the situation and how insurers can make the most of the ever-changing landscape."
Chris Condeluci, an expert on the legal aspects of PPACA, ERISA, and State insurance law and how these laws may impact Private Exchanges, will also participate in the panel discussion. Mr. Condeluci said, "Private Exchanges are the future. I believe that regardless of whether PPACA is upheld, modified, or halted by a Supreme Court decision, Private Exchanges will play a critical role in any new health care marketplace. With NFP Health's long-standing experience with Private Exchanges and hCentive's deep expertise, Jeff and Sanjay are uniquely positioned to shed some light on the direction that Private Exchanges will take moving forward."
Details
What: AHIP Institute 2012 Exchange ConferenceTopic: How the Supreme Court Decision Will Impact Private Exchanges
Where: Calvin L. Rampton Salt Palace Convention Center, Salt Lake City, UT
When: June 20, 2012
About NFP Health: As a pioneer in the design, implementation and delivery of Health Benefits Exchanges, NFP Health has a long record of operating one of the largest and most successful Benefits Marketplaces in New England: HSA Insurance. With its HSA Insurance division, NFP Health operates the leading independent and full service insurance exchange, covering over 150,000 lives with a full scope of products and services. NFP Health (a "d/b/a" of Massachusetts Business Association, LLC) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of National Financial Partners Corp. (NYSE: NFP). For more information, visit www.nfphealth.com.
About hCentive: hCentive is in the business of simplifying the complex world of health insurance. hCentive provides technology solutions for health insurers and state health agencies. These solutions help them reduce cost and administrative complexity, while enhancing relationships with their customers. hCentive is the first organization to build an exchange solution from the ground-up post the PPACA. hCentive has developed a deep understanding of the healthcare reform and have created solutions and services that align with federal and state regulations and meet or exceed all industry standards. For more information, visit www.hcentive.com.
About NFP: National Financial Partners Corp. (NYSE: NFP), and its benefits, insurance and wealth management businesses provide diversified advisory and brokerage services to companies and high net worth individuals, partnering with them to preserve their assets and prosper over the long term. NFP advisors provide innovative and comprehensive solutions, backed by NFP's national scale and resources. For more information, visit www.nfp.com.
March 1, 2012
AHIP Exchange 2012 conference
NFP Health announced today their sponsorship of AHIP Exchange 2012 conference, March 7-8, in Washington, DC. The session presentation is titled "Private Exchanges in the Post-Reform Environment" and reviews the tremendous amount of activity around the nation over the past year regarding the development of private health insurance exchanges. The session explores: how will private exchanges fit in the new insurance landscape post 2014? What policy and legal issues do private exchanges present pre-and post-PPACA? Will there be a market for individual private exchanges that focus on individual coverage or will they predominately focus on the small business market? What are the key differences between private exchange and the future "public" Exchanges and will they compete? NFP Health representatives for the March 8 breakfast session include Jeff Rich, CEO, NFP Health; Joshua Archambault, Director of Health Care Policy & Program Manager, Middle Cities Initiative, Pioneer Institute; and Christopher E. Condeluci, Of Counsel, Venable, LLC.
Read MoreOctober 10, 2011
Private Health Exchanges On The Rise
As far as building blocks of the health reform law go, the insurance exchanges are pretty crucial. They're the health insurance marketplaces that every state will have in 2014, where individuals and small businesses can compare and purchase plans.
Read MoreSeptember 26, 2011
Decision Time for the Department of Justice on PPACA Legal Battle
Republican state senators say they are unlikely to approve a health insurance exchange this year after federal health officials at a recent Manhattan conference couldn't answer basic questions about the program - like how much it will cost New York.
Read MoreSeptember 21, 2011
Expensive Health Insurance Mandates Threaten to Worsen Cost Crisis
The escalating health insurance cost crisis in Massachusetts has not stopped Beacon Hill lawmakers from introducing more than a dozen bills that would impose expensive new health care mandates requiring insurers to cover everything from aqua therapy and Devic's Disease to "linguistically appropriate" mental health service.
Read MoreAugust 12, 2011
Health-care law individual mandate ruled unconstitutional by 11th Circuit appeals court
A three-judge panel of the federal appeals court based in Atlanta on Friday ruled the health-care overhaul laws individual mandate is unconstitutional, in one of the largest legal challenges to the Obama administrations signature achievement.
Read MoreJuly 18, 2011
Applicants Approved as Qualified Associations to administer Massachusetts Cooperatives
Massachusetts Division of Insurance announces organizations that have been approved as qualified associations under the new Group Purchasing Cooperative legislation.
Read MoreJuly 11, 2011
After Much Scrutiny, HHS Releases Health Insurance Exchange Rules
The long anticipated rules released Monday are less prescriptive than some consumer advocates desired, butgrant states' requests that they be given broad leeway to design and regulate the marketplaces, called exchanges.
Read MoreJune 23, 2011
Mass. finds new system not cutting health costs
Early results show that putting doctors and hospitals on a budget a payment method promoted as a way to curb health costs has not saved money in Massachusetts, Attorney General Martha Coakley concluded in a report released yesterday.
Read MoreMay 31, 2011
HHS to Reduce Premiums, Make it Easier for Americans with Pre-Existing Conditions to Get Health Insurance
EarlyThe U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today announced new steps to reduce premiums and make it easier for Americans to enroll in the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan. Premiums for the Federally-administered Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan (PCIP) will drop as much as 40 percent in 18 States, and eligibility standards will be eased in 23 States and the District of Columbia to ensure more Americans with pre-existing conditions have access to affordable health insurance.
Read MoreApril 05, 2011
U.S. Senate Passes 1099 Repeal; Sends Measure to President
Senators voted 87-12 today to repeal the controversial law that would have required businesses beginning in 2013 to file 1099 tax forms for every vendor that sold them more than $600 worth of goods and services.
Read MoreMarch 17, 2011
Harvard Pilgrim #1 in Member Satisfaction by JD Powers
Harvard Pilgrim Health Care is the highest-ranked health insurance plan for overall member satisfaction in the New England region according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2011 Member Health Insurance Plan Study.
Read MoreMarch 15, 2011
Insurance Fraud: What's the Real Cost?
U.S. government and law enforcement estimates place the loss due to health care fraud as high as 10 percent of our nation's health care expenditure, or approximately $226 billion each year.
Read MoreMarch 14, 2011
Bruce Pomfret joins NFP Health as Exchange Technology Expert
NFP Health announced today that Bruce Pomfret has joined its Boston-based team as Exchange Technology Expert. In this new role, Mr. Pomfret will bring his years of technology expertise to supplement NFP Healths efforts in growing the existing Health Benefits Exchange model in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Hampshire into a nationwide offering. NFP Health operates as HSA Insurance in Massachusetts, with over 150,000 members utilizing its services as the largest privately operated health benefits exchange in Massachusetts. NFP Health has a 40 year history operating a Health Benefits Marketplace in New England, with robust technology and processes that will be leveraged and scaled to support additional Exchanges nationwide.
Read More Download ReleaseFebruary 24, 2011
New! Open Enrollment Resource Page
Renewal guides available online for Open Enrollment.
Read MoreFebruary 22, 2011
Patrick unveils health overhaul
The health care bill Governor Deval Patrick unveiled yesterday leaves many key questions unanswered, said business leaders, industry executives, and legislators, and how those issues are worked out will determine whether the proposal reins in rising costs as it promises.
Read MoreJanuary 28, 2011
Rich DiLonardo joins NFP Health as Customer Services Manager
NFP Health announced today that Rich DiLonardo has joined its Boston-based team as Customer Services Manager for its HSA Insurance division. In this role, Mr. DiLonardo will bring his years of leadership experience the customer service team that supports all of HSA Insurance’s clients in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Hampshire. NFP Health operates as HSA Insurance in Massachusetts, with over 150,000 members utilizing its services as the largest privately operated health benefits exchange in Massachusetts. NFP Health has a 40 year history operating a Health Benefits Marketplace in New England, with robust technology and processes that will be leveraged and scaled to support additional Exchanges nationwide.
Read More Download ReleaseDecember 13, 2010
Nick Koulopoulos joins NFP Health as Strategic Business Director
NFP Health announced today that Nick Koulopoulos has joined its Boston-based team as Strategic Business Director. In this new role, Mr. Koulopoulos will be responsible for growing the existing Health Benefits Exchange model used by NFP Health in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Hampshire into a nationwide offering. NFP Health operates as HSA Insurance in Massachusetts, with over 150,000 members utilizing its services as the largest privately operated health benefits exchange in Massachusetts. NFP Health has a 40 year history operating a Health Benefits Marketplace in New England, with robust technology and processes that will be leveraged and scaled to support additional Exchanges nationwide.
Read More Download Release