Tag: Health Insurance

Health Insurance Costs in Virginia Rising Despite Low Levels of Healthcare Spending, Study Finds

Kaitlin Housler

The Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association (VHHA) is bringing awareness to a new study showing health insurance premiums and deductible costs among Virginians are rising despite the state’s overall healthcare spending remaining below national levels.

“When it comes to health care spending, Virginia is in the enviable position of having expenditure rates that remain well below national levels. The same cannot be said for health insurance costs, unfortunately,” the VHHA said in a press release. “On the contrary, the amount that individuals and families across the Commonwealth spend on annual health insurance premiums and out-of-pocket deductibles continues to rise sharply year-over-year.”

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Health Insurance Premiums Cutting into Employees’ Wages

Virginia Star Staff
Doctor and Patient

A new study reveals that rising health insurance premiums have been dramatically cutting into the pay that employees should be earning.

As Axios reports, the findings by the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Network Open determined that families with workplace health insurance may have lost as much as $125,000 in earnings over the last 30 years. This trend is especially impacting low-income employees.

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Health Insurance Costs Expected to Spike at Highest Rate in over a Decade

Virginia Star Staff

Employer health insurance costs are expected to increase significantly in 2024, affecting costs for both workers and businesses as hospital operating costs rise, according to data reported by The Wall Street Journal.

Next year, the costs for health insurance coverage from employers are expected to increase by around 6.5%, which could be the biggest increase in more than a decade, according to survey data acquired by the WSJ. Driving the increase in health insurance costs are inflated labor costs for hospitals and a large demand for expensive new diabetes and obesity drugs, which are being passed down to insurance companies in new contracts with the hospitals.

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‘Effectively Overcharges Seniors’: AARP Rakes in Record Profits Selling Brand Royalties While Overcharging Members

Virginia Star Staff
old man and woman walking outside together

The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) raked in massive profits in 2020, mostly from royalties on branded health insurance policies, not memberships, according to company financial documents.

AARP’s 2020 Form 990 shows that the organization reported $1.6 billion in revenue, with roughly $1 billion, or over 60%, from royalty revenue. Meanwhile, membership dues contributed under 20% of total revenue.

AARP’s 2019 Form 990 reported $1.72 billion in revenue, with royalties making up nearly 56% of revenue while membership dues contributed just 17%.

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Virginia Senate to Vote on Legislation Giving Certain Health Insurance Plans Abortion Coverage Option

Jacob Taylor

The Senate of Virginia on Friday will vote to pass legislation out of the body that would allow for private health insurance companies offering plans through the state exchange to have the option for abortion coverage.

Senate Bill 1276 was introduced by Sen. Jennifer McClellan (D-Richmond City), who is also a gubernatorial candidate seeking the Democratic nomination, and co-sponsored by three other Democratic legislators.

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Insurer Centene Plans 3,200 Jobs at New N.C. Regional Hub

The Associated Press

Government health insurance provider Centene Corp. said on Wednesday it will build an East Coast campus in Charlotte, North Carolina, developing a $1 billion construction project that’s expected to create more than 3,200 new jobs by 2032.

Gov. Roy Cooper described the expansion as the state’s largest single jobs announcement by number in nearly two decades.

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