A tight deadline to get Idaho's health insurance exchange running means its designers are aiming for a streamlined, straightforward web site to greet consumers when they log in for the first time come Oct. 1, the date enrollment begins as part of President Barack Obama's plan to make sure most Americans have insurance coverage.
Read More »Medicaid expansion savings add up for Idaho, business group says 
The business lobby group Idaho Association of Commerce and Industry predicts Idaho would pay between $108 million and $114 million less in Medicaid costs in 2015 if the state expands the program. For proponents of expanding Medicaid, which would add ...
Read More »Employers win more time to comply with ACA rules
Some Idaho businesses see a delay in implementation of the Affordable Care Act as a reprieve. Others view the delay, to the “pay or play” provision of the ACA, as a headache. The health care reform provision requiring larger employers ...
Read More »Idaho exchange board: Average policy costs $240 monthly
Health insurance policies sold via Idaho’s insurance exchange starting Jan. 1 will cost around $240 monthly, a figure based on packages submitted so far to the state Department of Insurance by insurers aiming to participate. The figure, announced June 27 ...
Read More »A word with David Pate: ‘Do we want to lead or do we want to let somebody else fix this?’ 
David Pate became the head of St. Luke’s Health System in Idaho in 2009, arriving just in time for the upheaval of the nation’s health care system through the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Pate, who is both a ...
Read More »St. Luke’s wants to share its successful wellness program 
It took St. Luke’s nearly 15 years to find the “magical” combination that would get almost all its employees engaged with the health giant’s wellness program. In the past two years, executives at St. Luke’s Health System think they’ve found ...
Read More »Small business tax credit excludes many in Idaho 
The Small Business Health Care Tax Credit is billed as a good way for employers with fewer than 25 full-time – or full-time equivalent – employees to stay competitive and weather upcoming premium increases. The reality in Idaho has been ...
Read More »How to know when the new health care laws apply to your business 
Jan. 1 is the deadline for companies with more than 50 employees to ensure they meet new federal requirements under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. For most companies – 96 percent, as tracked by the Small Business Administration – the ...
Read More »It’s a rough road to PPACA compliance 
Employers say they want to comply with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. But they are struggling to understand the rules. “Trying to separate the facts versus the myths is a lot of it,” said Dan Jones, an employee ...
Read More »Home health care industry faces leaner growth 
If the growth of the senior citizen population is any indication, the home health care industry should be poised for success. There are more Americans age 65 and older now than ever. Their population has grown 5.3 percent over the ...
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