Healthcare: What it means to you

All Mississippians will have at least one insurance option on the new federal online marketplace when it starts enrolling customers in October.
Humana, based in Louisville, Ky., announced Friday that it would cover people in the 36 Mississippi counties where no insurer had agreed to write policies.

Coverage under those policies begins Jan. 1.

“This builds on Humana’s current presence,” the company said in a statement. “By working together with local health care providers, we believe we can enhance quality of care and improve health outcomes in the state.” […]

JACKSON, Mississippi – (AP) — Mississippi Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney plans to move ahead with a health insurance exchange for small businesses after federal officials approved regulations to allow the move.

The Department of Health and Human Services had proposed a rule that would have barred states that didn’t run an individual marketplace from setting up a separate exchange for businesses with fewer than 50 employees.

Last week, federal officials adopted a rule advocated by Chaney that allows Mississippi to set up what’s called a Small Business Health Options, or SHOP exchange. Chaney said he’s scheduled to meet Sept. 18 with federal officials…. […]

JACKSON – (AP) _ Sixty-four-year-old Mary Devine says she couldn’t believe her last doctor’s bill. She’d had a number of tests, including a colonoscopy and a mammogram, and the balance was “zero.” Devine tells The […]