I am writing today to announce the closure of the New Mexico Independent. After three and a half years of operation in New Mexico, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news…
While environmental activists played their part yesterday during demonstrations at the capitol building, going so far as to dress up as solar panels and to sing the tune of “You Are My Sunshine,” their counterparts, the anti-cap-and-trade contingency who has…
Roughly one quarter of University of New Mexico students are unimpressed with the state’s flagship public school, according to a survey that questioned college students about their higher education experiences.
As soon as October New Mexicans and small businesses here will be able to comparison shop on options for health insurance, state officials said Thursday.
A federal website should be up and running by summer to provide consumers general information on the various insurance plans offered in New Mexico and available to individuals and small businesses.
“By October it will give benefits and how many denials this plan has compared to other plans,” Katie Falls, the state’s Human Services Department secretary, said Thursday.
The web portal from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is envisioned as a way to help consumers navigate the health insurance options available to them.
The website also will help New Mexicans determine if they qualify for a variety of existing public programs, including Medicaid – the government’s low-income health insurance program – and Medicare, the government’s health care program from the elderly, according to a U.S. Health and Human Services Department fact sheet.
Some health care advocates already are embracing the concept.
“Getting an informed consumer base is important,” said Barbara Webber, executive director of Health Action New Mexico, an organization that is working for accessible, affordable and accountable health care in the state.
Webber lauded the idea Friday as a way of giving more people access to important information that will aid them in their hunt for health care.
“A lot of people just grab insurance and say this will cover me in a catastrophe,” but then they run into problems, Webber said.
Webber hoped the web site would be a step in the direction of helping New Mexicans not only learn about various plans but also how to compare them against one another, she said.
The fact sheet makes clear that the government’s web portal is a work in progress.
The portal goes online July 1 and at that point will provide general information on available coverage options by state and zip code in the private market, according to the fact sheet.
By October the web portal will provide more detailed pricing and benefit information, according to the federal agency. The government is already beginning to collect that information from the insurance companies offering the plans.
The benefit and pricing information includes premiums, cost-sharing options, types of services covered, coverage limitations, and exclusions. Health insurers also are required under new regulations to provide pricing and benefits information within 30 days of offering a new product or plan, according to the federal agency.
The government will announce the address of the new website.
