United Health Insurance

Luz Costa, found herself facing thousands of dollars in medical bills after she was admitted to Saint Michaels in 2006.

Costa, a junior at Rutgers-Newark, who was told she would be covered by student insurance, explained how she had to pay 400 dollars in doctors’ fees for just one visit. “I couldn’t afford some of the other ones,” she elaborates on the damage of the unpaid bills. “Some were sent to a collection agency and went against my credit.” Read more

Connecticut consumers who need to choose a health plan for 2009 can now find the new comparison guide to health insurers on the Connecticut Insurance Department’s website.

The guide, “Managed Care Organizations in Connecticut,” is also available by writing to the department at P.O. Box 816, Hartford, CT 06142-0816. Read more

Health insurers are priming themselves to gain new business from policy changes likely to be approved with Democrats in control of Washington.

Democrats are expected to expand federal programs that cover low-income children and adults, groups that insurers are increasingly contracted to administer via private Medicaid plans. More funding for those programs could offset further cuts of government reimbursement made to private Medicare plans, for which the industry has been bracing. Read more

Few presidents will come into office having generated the sort of expectations Barack Obama created over the course of his campaign. The country’s economic crisis poses substantial dangers but it also presents enormous opportunities. If President Obama is prepared to seize these opportunities, he will establish himself as one of the countries truly great presidents, alongside Lincoln and Roosevelt. Read more

Brown & Brown Inc. has announced the acquisition of Health Insurance Exchange Inc., an employee benefits insurance firm.

According to a release, the company acquired Seattle-based Health Insurance Exchange on Nov. 5. The company will operate in an existing Brown & Brown Seattle office. Health Insurance Exchange recorded $1.2 million in annual revenues. Read more