AUSTIN — Stephanie C. Quinn works year-round at New Braunfels ISD as a curriculum specialist, but after hours she consults for smaller districts as far away as the Panhandle and Gulf Coast. Her husband, an assistant principal, has started bar tending at music festivals in Austin. The couple needs the extra money to cover their soaring health insurance costs. Premiums for family coverage under the state-sponsored plan for Texas educators start at over $1,000 a month — roughly twice as much as a decade ago. To avoid that cost, Quinn and her husband split the family onto two insurance plans, but still face big bills. “It’s over $1,000 a month out of my pocket every month just for medical stuff, sometimes up to $1,500,” said Quinn, who has four children, ages 6 to 17. “We’re trying to offset that.” Texas educators, like Quinn, and local school districts are increasingly shouldering the burden of skyrocketing health care costs as the state has … [Read more...] about As health plan costs hit $1,000 a month, teachers take side jobs, delay care
Qualified health plan
Gavin Newsom’s health plan could help lower your insurance costs – or make you pay a fine
SECTIONS Search E-edition Customer Service Customer Service SacBee Rewards About Us About Us Contact Us Apps Mobile & Apps Twitter, Facebook, Google+, YouTube News in Education (NIE) Newsletters Local Sacramento Region Arena City Beat Crime Local Govt Salary Database The Homeless Marcos Bretón Transportation Education Environment Health & Medicine Traffic Conditions Weather Communities Elk Grove Folsom/El Dorado Roseville/Placer Yolo Sports Sports Kings NBA News 49ers Giants Oakland A's High School Sports Joe Davidson More Sports Raiders NFL News MLB News River Cats Soccer Colleges Golf Autos Racing Politics Politics Capitol Alert State Workers The California Influencer Series Local Elections PoliGRAPH State Worker Salary Database Legislative Gifts … [Read more...] about Gavin Newsom’s health plan could help lower your insurance costs – or make you pay a fine
Federal Officials Shut Down Sales of ‘Ruinous’ Health Insurance Plans
Sections SEARCH Skip to content Skip to site index Politics Subscribe Log In Log In Today’s Paper Supported by ByRobert Pear Nov. 5, 2018 WASHINGTON — Federal authorities have shut down a network of Florida companies that they say used aggressive, deceptive tactics to sell skimpy health insurance products that skirt requirements of the Affordable Care Act and left tens of thousands of people around the country with unpaid medical bills. “There is good cause to believe” that the Florida companies have sold shoddy coverage by falsely claiming that such policies were comprehensive health insurance or qualified health plans under the Affordable Care Act, Judge Darrin P. Gayles of the Federal District Court in Miami said in a temporary restraining order issued last week at the request of the Federal Trade Commission. Telemarketers lured consumers through websites offering Trumpcare and Obamacare, using logos of … [Read more...] about Federal Officials Shut Down Sales of ‘Ruinous’ Health Insurance Plans
Your employer’s health plan will cost more in 2019
As American workers approach this year's open-enrollment season for employer-sponsored health care plans, they can expect the same bad news they've been hearing for years: Workers are once again getting hit with more of the costs of their coverage in the form of higher premiums and higher deductibles. Annual family premiums rose 5 percent to an average of $19,616, the eighth year of increases, according to the 2018 Kaiser Family Foundation Health Benefits Survey released earlier this month. On average, workers contribute $5,547 of the cost of family coverage. Premiums for singles increased 3 percent to an average of $6,896, with workers contributing an average of $1,186. Health care premiums continue to take up more of employees' paychecks, according to Kaiser data. Since 2008, average family premiums have jumped 55 percent, twice as fast as workers' earnings and three times as fast as inflation. Meanwhile deductibles -- the amount patients pay for health care before insurance kicks … [Read more...] about Your employer’s health plan will cost more in 2019
Sen. Roy Blunt: Short-term health insurance will benefit millions of Americans
capitol building in washington dc with us flag (This content is subject to copyright.) When ObamaCare was signed into law, Americans were promised access to health insurance plans they liked and could afford. Instead, 28 million Americans have been left uninsured – priced out of the individual market, where premiums have more than doubled over the past five years. In my home state of Missouri, 97 out of 114 counties have only one insurer offering plans on the ObamaCare exchanges this year. Americans need more affordable options. The Trump administration’s recent expansion of access to short-term, limited-duration health insurance plans is a big step in the right direction. Short-term health insurance plans provide affordable, individualized options for people who are between jobs, taking time off to care for a sick family member, or can’t afford the few options available to them on the exchanges. For example, I recently heard from a constituent … [Read more...] about Sen. Roy Blunt: Short-term health insurance will benefit millions of Americans