Health Insurance Blog

Health care reform is still a possibility according to the article “State of the Union: Renewed Hope for Health Care Reform?” by Jeffrey H. Toney on blog.nj.com.  This is at least the feel that came from President Obama’s State of the Union address to the nation on Wednesday night.

There needs to be reconciliation between the two bills “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act” and the “Affordable Health Care for America Act” and it’s worth the effort.  President Obama pointed out in his speech that the ultimate goal continues to be to lower health insurance quotes, bring down the deficit, get more Americans insured, make Medicare for seniors stronger and stop health insurance company abuses.

President Obama urged Congress to not walk away from the idea of health care reform because they are very close and a solution is in the near future.  He continues to fight hard to keep his promises and achieve the ultimate goal to better our health care system.

The General Assistance Medical Care Program (GAMC) is a state funded health insurance program for low-income adults in Minnesota, who have no dependent adults, and who do not qualify for federal funded health insurance plans.

Funding for the GAMC Program is slated to end on April 1, 2010 and all current membership will be automatically migrated to the MinnesotaCare Program.  Once this happens, monthly premiums will be paid by the counties for the next six months until the next six month renewal period begins, at which point enrollees will be required to pay their own premiums in order to maintain the health coverage.

More information about Minnesota health insurance, and other affordable health insurance options.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama now offers health and dental coverage for children and young adults from birth to age 24.  According to their website, your child may be eligible if he or she is a resident of Alabama, is not eligible for Medicare, and they meet certain health underwriting guidelines.

This is a fantastic program offered through BCBSAL.  The plan covers doctor’s visits, emergency room visits, prescription drugs, lab tests, outpatient surgery, hospital costs, ambulance services, physical therapy, allergy testing, mental health treatment and many more.

Ages 0-14 can get health insurance quotes as low as $76/mos and ages 15-24 can pay as little as $80/mos.  You can easily add dental coverage as well for as low as $17/mos.  During a time where individual health insurance and family plans can be challenging to find at an affordable price, this is a program that will benefit many.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida offers many seminars throughout the state to the public as well as members to get out valuable information on their Medicare and Medigap programs.  Through these often times free seminars and senior expos Medicare beneficiaries can ask any questions and get clarification on the often times complicated Medicare plan.

Blue Cross Blue Shield Medicare supplemental insurance is also discussed in these seminars and interested consumers can obtain pamphlets of information in addition to asking questions to a live representative.  One of the most recent events was held at The Courtyard Fort Lauderdale to educate those interested specifically in Medicare Advantage (HMO, PPO, PFFS), medicare supplements, and Medicare Part D plans for 2010.  This event was open to the public free of charge.  Understanding your Medicare health insurance quotes can prove very beneficial as you shop around in the very competitive market.

A complete calendar of events is available on BCBSFL’s website which includes dates, times, locations and what will be covered at the seminar.  If you are a medicare beneficiary or will be soon, it’s worth your time to see if there are any available events in your area.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois (BCBSIL) is offering Blue Care Dental PPO to their existing individual health plan members.  Through January 29, 2010 (approaching rapidly) existing members can add this dental coverage to their policies without having to answer any medical questions.

New BCBSIL applicants who wish to add the dental coverage going forward simply have to check a box on their health insurance application which indicate that they are interested in dental coverage.

More information about Illinois health insurance.

The online AARP Bulletin Today has a plethora of health care reform information for their members to sort through.  Many members are fearful of how their medicare and AARP Medicare supplements will be affected by health care reform if it passes.  The article “Lost in the Rhetoric: New Gains for Medicare Beneficiaries” by Susan Jaffe clears up some of the confusion.

The article points out that proposed legislation could offer additional benefits and more flexibility for improved Medicare.  Both the House and Senate health care bills would reduce overpayments to private insurance companies offering Medicare Advantage plans.  In the Senate bill there is a provision that guarantees that no basic Medicare benefits would be removed and that the savings are to be used to improve health care.

There are also some additional benefits being added to Medicare for free.  These include mammograms and colonoscopies, two of the most important tests for seniors.  There will also be annual medical checkups for Medicare beneficiaries free of charge.  Overall the proposed bills are trying to make Medicare and individual health insurance simpler and more affordable for Americans.  It’s still in a wait and see stage.

The article “Health Care Reform Would Help Insurers” by Gavin Magor on thestreet.com says insurance company stocks have risen in hopes that health care reform will come to a halt.  In actuality, reform could widen and increase insurers’ customer base while potentially increasing profits.

The House and Senate health care reform bills would promote some of the biggest changes in the industry in the last 40 years and provide millions of Americans with health insurance and an easier system to obtain affordable health insurance quotes.  The bills also include extensions of Medicaid and additional restrictions on insurance companies.

With reduced rates on Medicare some companies may struggle.  Humana Health Insurance is the largest Medicare Advantage provider so in order for them to remain profitable they would need to control expenditures.  It’s definitely possible as many health insurance companies have proven profits can remain during a recession by keeping costs down.

According to the article “Covering the Bases: Possible Options If You Miss Open Enrollment” by Amy Rubino on hometownglenburnie.com, there is no annual open enrollment period for Medicare Supplement Insurance medigap plans, similar to purchasing individual health insurance.

Medicare Part D and Medicare Advantage Plans have certain times you can enroll but it’s a little different for Medigap plans, which are designed to fill in the missing pieces of Original Medicare.  The article points out that the best time to think about enrolling in a Medigap plan is within the first 6 months that you are both age 65 or older and enrolled in Medicare Part B.

The reason this is the best time is because during this 6 month period the health insurance company that sells you the Medigap policy cannot refuse to sell you a plan and cannot charge you more because of pre-existing conditions.  There are also some other specific situations that would grant you guaranteed right to purchase a Medicare Supplement Insurance plan regardless of your health conditions.

Last week Humana announced that they were expanding the footprint of their Humana One short term health insurance plans to five additional states.  The five new states include Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and georgia.

The Humana One short term individual health insurance plan is now available in twenty states.  Like most short term health insurance coverage, these plans can be purchased for as little as 30 days or as much as 1 year.

Short term health insurance plans are designed primarily for recent college graduates who are job hunting, adults who are in-between jobs or recent retires who are not yet eligible for Medicare related products.

Humana also offers a portfolio of individual health insurance plans that are not short term in nature and can be held for indefinite periods of time.

Our bodies are costing us more and more according to the article “The Growing Price Tag on Your Waistline” by Kimberly Palmer and Sarah Baldauf found on finance.yahoo.com.  The article points out a handful of ways that that our bodies are getting more expensive.

The first way is gym memberships and exercise equipment and their rising prices.  Then there are diet plans and diet advice that millions pay for consistently.  Airlines are charging more per ticket for obese passengers.  Vices such as cigarettes and overeating not only cost money themselves, but add to our overall poor health which costs us.  Companies will often reward employees taking steps to get healthier, so those opting not to are losing out on money.

One of the most costly things we do for our bodies is purchase health insurance and health care.  Health insurance is extremely valuable and ends up saving many people a lot of money in the long run, but some people who face little health concerns from year to year end up paying thousands in premiums.  The article says that the typical family paid $3354 in 2008 in health insurance premiums.  And health insurance quotes can be extremely variable and costly.  Then there are those who are devastated financially by health care costs because they do not have health insurance at all.