One year after the passage of a historic overhaul of the health insurance industry in the U.S. much of the health care landscape is the same, while a great deal of what is different isn’t what was intended.

A bill that would exempt military retirees from paying the proposed fee increases for Tricare, the military health care program, was introduced in Congress by a North Carolina congressman.

Congress should establish one set of rules guiding insurance agent and broker licensing, as well as continuing education requirements across the nation, according to more than half of respondents to the latest IFAwebnews.com poll.

Two congressmen have introduced legislation that would exclude agent commissions from the medical loss ratios included in the federal health reform law.

Michael McRaith, insurance director at the Illinois Department of Insurance, was named the first leader of the Federal Insurance Office (FIO).

John Boehner, speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, is scheduled to address the 2011 Big I Legislative Conference & Convention at 8:30 a.m. April 14.

A bill that would provide driver safety grants to states with graduated driver licensing (GDL) laws meeting certain minimum requirements was introduced to the U.S. Senate March 9.

The U.S. Justice Department, speaking for the Obama Administration, is in no rush for the U.S. Supreme Court to rule in a challenge to the federal health reform law.

Congressional hearings on a proposal to increase fees on Tricare, a lifetime health benefits program for military retirees, are scheduled for March 16.

State insurance regulation is a good thing for many reasons, but for just as many, it isn’t. On the plus side, insurance really is a local transaction for some lines because state laws differ. Therefore, regulating the business for those lines belongs with the states.