Under the national spotlight for alleged rescissions of patients with breast cancer, national health insurer WellPoint said it will implement reforms on the practice well ahead of a deadline set under recent health reform.

The office of a U.S. representative from Pennsylvania says that the state’s Amish population is likely exempt from a federal health reform mandate to secure health insurance.

PAHU President Shelly Bloom: “We are still reviewing a 2,700-page bill and conflicting timelines of changes and regulations. I think there have been more questions recently [from members] and we need to wait for the answers from the federal government.”

After more than a year of debate, Washington, D.C., has put its punctuation mark on federal health reform, but for many agents’ groups, it appears to be less of a period and more of a question mark.

Mark Haraway, president of the Maryland Association of Health Underwriters, told IFAwebnews.com the group, like many other agents’ organizations, is still interpreting the sweeping changes of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

AmeriHealth New Jersey has announced that it will extend health insurance coverage to young adults up to age 26 already covered by their parents’ plans until mandates under national health reform begin.

In a letter to the head of national insurer WellPoint, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius urges an end to reports of dropping coverage for women with breast cancer.

Employers say they are unlikely – at least now – to contribute to the predicted demise of employer-sponsored health insurance, a new survey finds.

On the heels of WellPoint and UnitedHealthcare announcing plans to close a coverage gap for young adults before federal health reform efforts kick in, Aetna and all Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies announced they would do the same.

The Pennsylvania House Insurance Committee has scheduled a May 27 public hearing in Harrisburg, Pa., to explore what the federal health reform law means for the state.