Health Insurance Blog

According to J.D. Power and Associates, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan was the top rated California health plan based on their 2009 survey.

Based on their survey and analysis of more than 130 health plans nationally (broken up into 17 distinct regions), Kasier Foundation Health plan was the tops in the California region and among the best nationally.

The other health plans from California that were surveyed all performed below average.  They included:  Blue Cross of California, Blue Shield of California, Aetna, HealthNet, Pacificare, and CIGNA.

More information about the J.D. Power 2009 Health Plan Ratings.

More information about California health insurance.

According to the article “Primary-Care Doctor Shortage May Undermine Reform Efforts” by Ashley Halsey III in the Washington Post, there are not nearly enough primary-care physicians to meet the needs of patients and providing health insurance to the 46 million uninsured may threaten to overwhelm the already stressed system.

To fix the problem more doctors will need to be lured into primary-care through changes in medical education and compensation.  The shortage of doctors could possibly grow to 124,400 by 2025 in a study done by the Association of American Medical Colleges.  Fifty years ago, half of the country’s doctors were in primary-care, but today almost 70% of doctors work in specialty areas which generally pay much more.  This is driven partly by extremely high medical school debts which often reach upwards of $200,000. 

Many doctors also want career paths that shape their desired lifestyle.  They often want jobs with less responsibility for on call or weekend jobs.  Women in particular prefer working less than 40 hours a week, and who can blame them.  Proposals to change funding to favor primary-care have seen resistance from specialists lobbyists.  Even if enrollment in medical school increased by 30%, it will still take many years to build the health care system needed to support the newly insured.

According to the article “New York, New Jersey UnitedHealth subsidiaries see ratings rise” by IFAwenews Staff, A.M. Best has upgraded its ratings on Oxford Health Plans in NY, NJ and CT and Oxford Health Insurance, Inc. 

This ratings service upgraded their financial strength from A- to an A.  Issuer credit ratings were increased from A- to A as well.  In addition to name benefits, A.M. Best also noted that the subsidiaries’ solid risk based capitalization and encouraging earnings, especially at Oxford Health Plans, in NY, and Oxford Health Insurance.

Oxford Health Plans and Oxford Health Insurance offer health care benefits to individuals as well as employers in NY, NJ and CT with commercial products, including HMOs, PPO health insurance, point of service plans and consumer driven plans.  UnitedHealth is one of the country’s largest publicly traded health care companies serving over 70 million Americans with many different services and products.

According to the Associated Press’s article “Doctors signal they’ll work with Obama” by Lindsey Tanner, America’s largest group of physicians had their annual meeting and many thought they were going to create an obstacle for President Obama’s health insurance reform plan.  After Obama himself spoke with the doctors, they signaled that they will not close the door on the proposal to have a public health insurance plan to compete with private insurers. 

The Obama administration would have liked a strong endorsement from the doctors, but this vote by the American Medical Association (AMA) is a small victory for the White House.  They are a key player in the health care reform debate.

The AMA is traditionally a conservative group and has disagreed with previous administrations’ attempts to change health care.  It is a notable presence in Washington and Obama’s trip to Chicago for the meeting shows that he does value the doctors’ support and understands the influence they have.

According to J.D. Power and Associates’ 2009 Health Plan Ratings, BlueCross BlueShield of Arizona was the top rated private health plan in the Arizona/Utah region.  The ratings are based on

1. Health coverage and benefits
2. Provider choice
3. Health information and communication
4. Health insurance claims processing
5. Statements
6. Customer service, and
   
7. Approval processes

SelectHealth also faired very well in the JD Power survey for this region.

More information about Arizona health insurance & Utah health insurance

According to the article on PRWeb, “Swine Flu Epidemic Emphasizes Need for Good International Travel and Health Insurance” from Good Neighbor Insurance, the World Health Organization declared the Swine Flu a global flu pandemic.  The H1N1 virus has cases confirmed in 74 countries, has affected about 28,000 people, and approximately 141 deaths.  Symptoms are generally mild, but there is fear that the virus will mutate to a more severe strand.  There has yet to be any sign of that.

Countries around the world are on alert and there is global concern.  Travelers from all parts of the world are thinking twice before heading out, especially to Mexico where the strand was first discovered back in March.  Even young, healthy travelers can become ill and it’s important that you are protected if this happens to you.  Travel insurance can protect you with overseas emergency health insurance.  Some plans help you find local medical care and can assist with evacuation back to the US. 

These are scenarios no one likes to think about, but international travel is part of life for many people.  Having travel insurance can give you peace of mind as you prepare for your trip.

JD Power and Associates recently released their 2009 Health Plan Ratings.  The ratings are based on the results of a study which includes responses from more than 33,000 members of private health insurance plans.   The members were surveyed online in December 2008 and January 2009.

More than 130 health plans were included in the study which breaks down the results into 17 distinct regions across the country.  The study itself examined seven key factors:

1. Health coverage and benefits
2. Provider choice
3. Health information and communication
4. Health insurance claims processing
5. Statements
6. Customer service, and
   
7. Approval processes

Some of the Health insurance plans that ranked highest in their respective regions included…Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kentucky , BlueCross BlueShield of Arizona, Health Alliance Plan (HAP), Humana, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, and Medical Mutual of Ohio among others.

Over the next few weeks we will be providing more of the regional results from this study.

The special enrollment period for those elgible for the COBRA Subsidy Program is coming to a close tommorrow.

The program was available to anyone who lost their jobs between September 1, 2008 and March 17, 2009.

With the COBRA Subsidy Program ending, some options for families in need of individual health insurance coverage include:

1. Enroll in your spouse or partner’s health plan if possible
2. Enroll in an individual health insurance plan
3. Enroll in a short term health plan - generally can purchase up to 12mo. of coverage
4. Enroll in a public health insurance program if available and eligible (ex. Healthy Indiana Plan, or Washington Basic Health Plan)
5. Purchase a low-cost health discount plan as a last resort.

Ehealthinsurance.com has announced that Celtic Insurance Company has adopted their eApproval process when applying for both individual health insurance and short term health plans.

By implementing the eApproval technology, health insurance shoppers will be able to submit health insurance applications online with an online signature and then receive an instant approval or decline from Celtic.  If they are accepted they can pay online electronically and receive their enrollment materials via email.

Celtics individual health insurance product portfolio includes:  The Celtic Basic Health Plan — a low-cost major medical plan, the CeltiCare Preferred Health Plan for individuals and families, the CelticSaver HSA Health Plan and the Celtic Short-term Health Plan.

According to an article on Emaxhealth.com by Hareyan, medical identity theft is related to health insurance.  Medical identity theft is when someone uses your name and information to obtain health insurance or they use your current policy to obtain treatment or prescriptions.  If there is false information placed in your medical records you could end up losing coverage or being denied when you apply for individual health insurance. 

It is very important to safeguard your medical identity to prevent this type of theft.  With health care costs increasing, medical identity theft is becoming more common, so protect yourself by following these tips:

1. Do not give your personal information to someone you did not call
2. Avoid using your social security number for identification unless it is required
3. Keep tabs on your health records and look for inconsistencies
4. Safeguard your health insurance card and know its location at all times

By following these simple precautions you decrease your risk of becoming a victim of medical identity theft.  Dealing with the repercussions of identity theft can last for years as databases are often slow to update.