Health Insurance Blog

As the economy struggles and health care costs rise, more and more employers are limiting or eliminating benefits through work according to the article “How Limited Benefit Plans Can Save You Money” by Chelan David found on sbonline.com.  Because of this the practice of offering small medical health plans is growing in popularity.

Limited benefit plans charge individuals as little as $50 per month for routine medical care.  They are designed to replace major medical coverage for those who cannot afford regular insurance.  Many companies offer such options such as Go Blue Florida.  Limited benefit plans have their pros and cons.  They are very inexpensive month to month but typically major medical costs are not covered.  Another con is that mental health care is not usually covered.

It’s important to weigh the pros and cons of going with the smaller plan like Go Blue Health Insurance, or the major plans through Blue Cross Blue Shield.  It depends on your health, lifestyle, dependents, age, and financial situation which plan will work best for you.

Geisinger Health Plan has announced that they will no longer screen visitors or restrict people from entering Geisinger Medical Center in Danville.  This is great news in terms of the virus and the threat it now poses.  The cases of H1N1 in the area is very low right now and an emergence of the regular seasonal flu has yet to be seen.

Entrances at GMC and GWV will reopen to the public and kids under 12 will be allowed to visit again.  Similar restrictions have been placed in hospitals and health systems throughout the country during the peaks of the H1N1 flu season.  The Cleveland Clinic restricted children from entering unnecessarily even if they did not have the flu.  All of this was done to limit the spread of the flu virus as much as reasonably possible.

Geisinger Health Insurance still encourages all visitors of their health system hospitals to screen themselves for flu like symptoms and stay home if they are under the weather.  Some symptoms to look for according to their website are fever, cough, headache, aching joints, and sore muscles.

Based solely on national market share, the “top”  (i.e. largest membership base) Medicare Supplement providers in the country in 2008-2009 were as follows:

1.  United Healthcare (driven by AARP contract) 29% market share

2.  Wellpoint  8%

3.  Mutual of Omaha 6%

4.  Health Care Services Corp.  5%

5.  Conseco 4%

As you can see, the five largest carriers account for 52% market share, and the remaining 48% is captured by dozens if not hundreds of smaller companies.

When Medicare Advantage and other Medicare products are factored into the mix, like prescription drug plans (PDP), the top four companies would be AARP, Humana, Wellpoint and Universal American respectively.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama has kept a close watch on the health care reform debate.  They fully support health care reform to improve medical care to all patients.  For over 70 years BCBSAL has tried to improve health care in Alabama.

Like many health insurance companies, BCBSAL has some concerns about some of the possible federal legislation that may pass.  They worry some of the proposals will have a negative impact on Alabama patients.  One example is the proposal that would create a new plan run by the government and could jeopardize access to coverage as well as affordability to the 160 million people receiving health benefits through their employers.

Another provision would make it possible for people to wait until they need medical care to purchase health insurance, which would make it more expensive for everyone paying in regularly.  It is still uncertain how the debate will pan out, but BCBSAL remains committed to earn the confidence of their customers and keep costs low for as many members as they can.

Humana Insurance announced in February that they will be cutting their workforce throughout the course of 2010 according to their website.  They will be dropping about 1400 positions, which is about 5%, throughout 2010.  They will be balancing 2500 job reductions with the addition of 1100 jobs in areas that are experiencing growth.  The job cuts will come from attrition, outsourcing, process efficiencies, and the elimination of positions.

Some of the areas experiencing growth right now are medicare cost containment capabilities, pharmacy management, and specialty products.  By growing these lucrative areas Humana can focus on saving money for their members and offering lower Humana insurance quotes.  Humana’s President and CEO Michael B. McCallister regrets the loss of jobs, but says it’s necessary for Humana growth.

All employees affected by this plan will have a 60-day notice period at Humana.  Human Resources plans on working closely with the affected employees to help them find internal positions or outplacement assistance.  Severance packages and continuation of health benefits will be offered.  It seems that no industry is safe from job cuts.

The five largest New Jersey health insurance companies and five physician groups have launched a pilot program to reduce administrative costs by allowing hospitals and physicians to communicate directly with health plans and address administrative tasks through a web portal.

The pilot is sponsored by AHIP and the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association.  If the pilot proves successful and can be rolled out nationally, representatives from AHIP believe hundreds of billions of dollars can be saved annually.

The participating health plans include:Aetna, Amerihealth, Horizon BCBS, CIGNA, and United Healthcare.
AHIP undertook a similar pilot with Ohio health plans in October.  That pilot program is still underway.

Congress has announced a 21.2% cut in Medicare pay for physicians according to the article “Reduction in Medicare Pay Worries Physicians and Patients” by Amit Pathania on TopNews.com.  This is a concern for many and will affect both Medicare patients and doctors.

With less money allocated towards Medicare doctors, the doctors are forced to see less Medicare patients which may mean many will have to look for a different doctor.  According to one survey of neurosurgeons from 2010, about 60% of doctors are lessening their Medicare patients in their practice, and 40% will be cutting back on consultations by new Medicare patients.  Neurosurgeons have made the decision to not treat new patients.

The Congressional Budget Office states an estimate of a savings of $7.3 Billion in the deficit by pushing the Medicare pay cuts to October 1st.  It’s critical that those on Medicare and using Medicare supplement insurance understand what their doctor’s intentions are with their Medicare patients so that they have ample time to find a new, quality doctor if need be.

The children of Rock County are going to benefit from the generous donation from a local contractor JP Cullen & Sons.  They are donating $37500 over the next 3 years to the Dean Foundation so they can expand their Passenger Safety Programs which include Crash Helmet, BUCKLEBEAR and Every Ride a Safe Ride.

The President and CEO of JP Cullen & Sons, David Cullen, believes these passenger safety programs can easily identify with community families.  They are very excited to support the Dean Foundation through Dean Health Plan.

The Dean Foundation Passenger Safety Programs are well respected throughout the county.  It has been around for many years and is bringing much value to the safety of county children.  These programs will nowbe available to Rock county and along with that comes the benefit of increased education, knowledge and overall safety.

According to their website, Humana Health Insurance has made some additions to their already top notch mobile program.  They are adding three more resources for the Mobile Web through their MyHumana Mobile Program.

These new resources will improve a member’s ability to make health care decisions and maximize access to Humana One and their effective tools.  The new tools include Mobile Urgent Care Finder, Mobile Spending Account Balance Viewer and the Mobile Member Information Tool.  These resources will be providing additional guidance for members and will be extremely valuable.

Mobile applications are to be offered in 2010 to enhance mobile capabilities for Humana’s members.  Humana is dedicated to connecting with their members in a way that will make their lives easier and give them the best information possible.  Resources and more information is available on their website.

Oxford Health Insurance Plans are now available to New York area small businesses as a result of a new partnership between UnitedHealthCare and HealthPass.

The health plans are available to New York area small businesses with between 2 and 50 employees.  The health plan options offered by Oxford provide a variety of plan designs including in-network and out-of-network options, as well as the option of requiring a referral for specialist visits.  Routine preventive care and laboratory services will be covered in-network at no charge.

HealthPass enables eligible small business employees to select their own health insurance coverage  that fits their medical needs and budgets.

HealthPass offers more than 25 different health plan options from New York’s leading health insurance carriers including:

EmblemHealth, GHI, HIP Health Plan of New York, and now Oxford Health Plan.

More information about New York individual health insurance options.