insurance

Maryland's psychiatrist shortage won't be easily solved.

The health care law that was supposed to make insurance available to hundreds of thousands in the state is costing Marylanders so much in prescription drug costs that it may deter patients from taking their medicine, the survey by the Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease found.

National health reform was supposed to open the doors to mental health services for hundreds of thousands of people who couldn't get treatment, but in Maryland patients are finding there aren't enough doctors.

Automobile insurance in Baltimore and similar cities across the country is prohibitively expensive for low income drivers, particularly those who have financed a vehicle, according to a report released Monday by the Consumer Federation of America.

Gov. Larry Hogan's continuation of Martin O'Malley's health care cuts could wind up costing the state far more than it saves.

Health care costs may be rising less sharply than a few years ago, but employers continue to make employees take on more of the burden, and that's likely to continue, a new survey shows.

Lawyers who launched a fair-lending case in Baltimore against Wells Fargo that ended with a $175 million settlement three years ago had an effective weapon in their arsenal: a federal legal standard recognizing discrimination by effect as well as intent. Today, local housing advocates are concerned that this long-standing Fair Housing Act protection is in jeopardy as the U.S. Supreme Court weighs a challenge to it.

You might think that being a loyal customer of an insurance company would get you a lower price, and that used to be true. But more and more companies have turned that practice on its head and now charge premiums based on their assessment of how likely you are to shop around.

Francine Hahn answers questions during open enrollment

Although health insurance costs have not exploded under the Affordable Care Act, as many critics said would happen, the law hasn't provided much relief to American workers either, according to a new study of employer-provided health benefits.

Some consumers had health plans that didn't comply with the Affordable Care Act. After reprieve, they must purchase new plans on health exchanges this year. Many are finding higher premiums or less coverage.

Van T. Mitchell, an Annapolis lobbyist who is Gov.-elect Larry Hogan's choice to serve as Maryland's health secretary, said Friday that he will recuse himself from considering matters that involve his former clients.

Insurance and real estate firms are scrambling to prepare for the expiration of a federal terrorism insurance program at the end of the month that supporters say is critical for construction projects and large buildings, such as utilities and sports stadiums.

A task force set up by the General Assembly earlier this year has recommended that the state create a fund to help care for babies with suffering neurological injuries during birth, according to a report sent to lawmakers. The idea isn't popular with malpractice lawyers or patient advocates.

Robert Reich says it's not the size of the government that's the problem but its heavy tilt toward corporate interests.

Officials try and spread message that deadline for coverage on state's health exchange is one week away

In November, Stephen Schimpff, M.D., of Columbia, retired chief executive officer of the University of Maryland Medical Center, and one of the world's foremost experts on health care, presented a talk on "How to Be Your Own Health Advocate," including tips on combatting chronic illnesses and getting the best health care possible.

Patterson Mill High School got involved in the State Farm insurance company's Celebrate My Drive program to promote safe driving among students, but school administrators did not expect a bonus in the form of a $25,000 grant from the insurance company for the students' efforts to get people in the community to commit to safe driving.

Dr. Stephen Schimpff, retired CEO of the University of Maryland Medical Center, talks about How to Be Your Own Health Advocate.

National move to 'patient-centered medical homes' aims to please patients

A federal grand jury in Maryland has handed up a new indictment against embattled insurance company owner Jeffrey B. Cohen, adding multiple counts of obstruction of justice and aggravated identity theft to the fraud and money-laundering counts he already faced.

The Maryland Insurance Administration has cost the state hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue in recent years by failing to properly collect taxes on insurance premiums, according to a state audit released this week.

Health exchange officials must work to improve the quality of care

Previous problems with exchange website appear fixed as thousands enroll in first day

Choosing health insurance is nothing like buying a book on Amazon. Start early and get help.

With interest high on the state's revamped online insurance portal, some users were sent to a virtual waiting room Wednesday morning.

After a disastrous launch last year, officials found the site to be working much better and turn the focus to enrolling or re-enrolling consumers.

People who buy into health insurance plans during the Affordably Care Act enrollment period will technically be "insured," but they may not have the coverage that they believe they are paying for.

Why stick up for Baltimore when it won't stick up for you?

Amy J. Scherr, a Baltimore lawyer who represented the Maryland Division of Unemployment Insurance and was executive secretary and counsel to the Maryland Commission on Judicial Disabilities, died Monday at Symphony Manor assisted living in Roland Park of Alzheimer's disease. She was 62.

Signed originally as an insurance policy, veteran running back Justin Forsett has become the Baltimore Ravens' primary running back and is learning to deal with the increased workload.

Community forum will address upcoming open enrollment period

Dozens of damages claims filed against the waste company involved in the derailment and explosion of a freight train in Rosedale in 2013 have been settled, according to federal court documents filed Tuesday.

Democrat Anthony G. Brown and Republican Larry Hogan brought their combative disagreement on Maryland's future to their third and final televised debate in the race for governor. Hogan launched another testy exchange over Brown's role in the O'Malley administration's flubbed online health insurance marketplace. Brown, in turn, bashed Hogan for his role in an Ehrlich administration's personnel controversy.

Construction, some of it speculative, has returned to the industrial market around the country, and in the Baltimore region, as demand for warehouses hits developers from both sides.

A Dundalk man was sentenced to 5 1/4 years in prison Friday for conspiring to burn down a Lutherville home to collect insurance on it, the U.S. attorney's office said.

Carroll Hospital Center announced the appointment of Helen W. Whitehead as the new chair of the hospital's Board of Directors and Jeffrey Wothers as the new vice chair of the board. Both began their posts Oct. 1.

Hopkins was wise to settle in the Nikita Levy case.

The chief financial officer of Prince George's County public schools and his wife resigned Monday, three days after The Baltimore Sun revealed that the Maryland Insurance Administration found that the couple committed insurance fraud.

The Maryland Insurance Administration has ruled White and his wife, Keisha, who works as an internal auditor for the school system, committed insurance fraud by filing a claim for a lost diamond ring that another insurer had already paid $16,313 to replace months earlier.

A growing movement of workers — and their supporters in Annapolis and Washington — wants to make paid family leave universal.

GOP attacks on Obamacare have subsided thanks to its successes but that doesn't mean U.S. health care system is in good shape

The founder of a Baltimore County-based company that provided insurance to nightclubs and bars faces additional federal charges, authorities said Wednesday.

The state will stagger enrollment into insurance plans through its health exchange over several days in November as it tries to prevent a repeat of last year's debacle when the problem-plagued website crashed on the first day.

The owner of an Owings Mills medical firm was accused of defrauding Medicare and Medicaid by more than $7.5 million, in a federal indictment unsealed Monday.

Maryland received a roughly $400,000 bonus Monday for its crackdown on businesses that misclassify workers, part of more than $2 million the state won in federal grants.

State Farm presented a $15,000 grant to LASOS in Harford County, Maryland to support its youth mentoring programs, to increase financial literacy, and promote safe driving habits among its students.

Under increasing legal and political pressure the Obama administration issued a new rule Friday designed to ensure female employees have access to birth control while accommodating religious employers that object to covering it through their health insurance plans.

The dominant carrier on Maryland's health exchange, CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, will raise premiums beginning in January, though not nearly as much as the company wanted, according to information provided by state regulators Friday.