Two insurance companies were ordered to pay restitution and change their marketing methods after “deceptively” selling discount health plans as health insurance to Massachusetts consumers in a $2.4 million civil judgement.

A Golden Valley, Minn.-based health provider signed an agreement to acquire a technology services company to design health care exchanges that better attract and serve insurance consumers.

A Miami, Fla.-area man pleaded guilty to participating in two separate fraud schemes that led to the submission of more than $200 million in fraudulent claims to Medicare, according to federal prosecutors.

President Barack Obama‘s health reform plan will force private insurers to cover women’s preventative health services, including birth control medicines, without a deductible or co-pay, starting in August 2012.

A Hartford, Conn.-based insurance company awarded about $15.6 million to nonprofits nationwide last year through grants, community sponsorships, the matching gift program and employee volunteering.

The insurance industry is split on whether recipients of Medicaid and Medicare should have their benefits tied to their income level, according to the latest IFAwebnews.com poll.

The National Federation of Independent Business has a bone to pick with the Obama Administration’s estimates of how many small business owners will qualify for new health insurance tax credits.

Health insurance agents and brokers have found a friend in Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.), who has penned a letter asking federal officials to delay including agent compensation in the medical loss ratios controlling health insurer spending.

One-fifth of small business owners who offer health insurance to their workers expect to significantly change their benefits package the next time they renew their health plan as a result of federal health reform, according to a new survey.

A national healthcare savings organization, based in Horsham Pa., entered an agreement with a major Hispanic marketing group to target the Hispanic population and meet its goal of increasing monthly sales.