affordable care act

August 3, 2012 -- A crowd of about 100 activists gathered at the base of the Hawthorne Bridge in Portland Wednesday afternoon to rally and to march – not to protest, but to celebrate a much-debated provision of the Affordable Care Act that had just kicked in. Starting August 1, preventive women's health care will be covered without any copayments, including contraception, well-woman exams, cancer screenings and domestic violence coverage.

July 19, 2012 – Regence BlueCross BlueShield is starting to look more like a for-profit healthcare business – with a dash of venture capital thrown in for good measure.

June 28, 2012—Today’s Supreme Court ruling largely upholding President Barack Obama’s Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and its provisions means it’s full steam ahead for the state’s health insurance exchange, creation of coordinated care organizations, and other reforms being implemented in the state.

June 21, 2012 -- While everyone waits anxiously for the outcome of the Supreme Court decision on the Affordable Care Act, about 12.8 million Americans will receive $1.1 billion in refunds from insurance companies that overcharged them for health plan premiums last year under new rules created by the healthcare reform law, according to an announcement from the Department of Health and Human Services.

May 30, 2012 -- The first of two Oregon nonprofits to receive startup funding from the federal government announced last week that it is seeking a director of finance and a director of operations. It has also hired Rick Koven as its interim CEOThe Freelancers Co-Op of Oregon, started with assistance from the New York City-based Freelancers Union, received $59 million from Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to start a cooperatively-owned and operated health plan in the state. So far, Oregon is the only state to receive funding for two co-op health plans.

November 23, 2011 -- Oregon voted “no” Tuesday on a National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) resolution that recommends changes to how agent commissions are considered in the medical loss ratio provisions of the Affordable Care Act. The medical loss ratio calculation requires that insurance companies spend a certain percentage of premium dollars on medical care versus administrative costs and profit. Companies that fail to do so must provide rebates to their policyholders.