Health Insurance Blog

Vista Health Plans accepts applications from nonprofit groups for VISTA Community Grants Program.  According to their website, VISTA Community Grants Program supports charities whose programs contribute to improving health in the community in the following areas:

• Preventative health
• Health education
• Disease management
• Community health outreach
• Improving Health care services
• Controlling health care costs
• Getting more people insured

KPS Health Insurance has offered Medicare Supplement Plans for over 30 years.  They have many choices from affordable plans to discount programs for prescription drugs in addition to the freedom to choose your own providers without getting a referral from your primary care physician.  These types of programs are very valuable for senior citizens in America, but it’s important they do their homework.

To be eligible for a KPS Health Plan Medicare Supplement Program A, E or F you must be age 65 or older, enrolled in Medicare Part A and Part B, and be a resident in the state of Washington.  They offer plan A which has a basic benefit structure which covers 20% of Medicare approved charges through Medicare Part B.

Plan E pays the Medicare Part A deductible and covers 20% of Medicare approved charges.  Then there is Plan F which is a comprehensive Medicare Supplement plan which pays both Medicare Part A and Part B deductibles in addition to 100% of the Part B excess.  Medicare supplement plan benefits do not vary from company to company, the costs do, so it’s worth your time to shop around and compare quotes.

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.

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.

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.

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.

President Obama called for a rare meeting with lawmakers as part of a last effort to revive his health care priority.  The debate lasted all day and there wasn’t a resolution but voices were heard.  Obama gave his personal experiences with individual health insurance, including his mother’s battle with cancer.  He appealed to the fact that the health care system is not getting better, but only worse.

The Republicans main argument was that the existing reform bills didn’t do anything to lower costs.  The bills are estimated to cost 1 trillion dollars over the next decade.  The Democrats pointed out that it is going to be costly initially to extend coverage to nearly 30 million uninsured Americans.  Republicans fear a government system taking over a mostly private sector.

There was agreement that there are fundamental differences between the two parties that are causing the major rift.  The Democrats are still hoping to revive the comprehensive bills that have passed the House and Senate but Republicans are clear that they do not do comprehensive very well.  The debate continues even longer.  This information was obtained from the article “Obama and Republicans Haggle in Last-Gasp Health Summit” found on earthtimes.org.

Health savings accounts are a useful tool many consumers can use to save wisely.  A health savings account (HSA) is an alternative to a traditional health insurance policy.  It can be used along with your health insurance as well.  It’s a savings account that allows you to pay for health care items out of this account specifically.

HSAs make it possible for you to pay current health care expenses and save for future expenses on a tax-free basis.  Many employers and insurance companies such as State Farm Health Insurance offer HSAs.  In order to take advantage of this type of plan you must have a High Deductible Health Plan which generally costs less than traditional health insurance.  They money that you save on monthly premiums can be placed into your savings account.

There are many benefits to taking advantage of an HSA.  You own and control what goes into your HSA.  You make decisions on how to spend the money on the HSA, as long as it is an approved medical expense.  You can also control the type of investments you put your money into.  Look into getting a HSA if you think it will work for you.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida has an outstanding health program with many different facets.  Their research shows that health outcomes drastically improve when people take an active part in their health.  This is especially important when it comes to major illnesses.  BCBSFL offers a series of programs designed to help members handle their health in the long run.

Some of these valuable programs cover topics such as care coordination, voluntary pre-service coverage review, prenatal education, and chronic disease management for diabetes, asthma and congestive heart failure.  These programs are incredibly beneficial for those experiencing serious illness and need additional support to manage their condition effectively.

BCBSFL offers affordable options for members through programs such as Go Blue Florida and Blue Cross medicare supplements.  Their first priority is looking out for their members and ensuring positive experiences through their company.

Anthem Blue Cross which is a subsidiary of WellPoint, INC has notified some policyholders in California, Maine, Oregon and other states that individual health insurance rates are going to increase.  This is according to the article “Individual Insurance Rates Soar in 4 States” by The Associated Press on msnbc.com.

In California the rates are to increase up to 39% by March 1.  This is going to be devastating to many individuals who are already struggling to pay bills.  In Maine they are asking for increases up to 23% this year.  Last year alone they increased rates in Maine by 32%.  In Oregon many health insurance companies were granted rate increases of 15% or more this year after about 25% increases from last year.

Health insurance quotes are much more volatile for individual policies when compared to policies under employers and other large groups.  Those types of groups often have bargaining tools and a large pool of people to spread out the risk.  This makes it tough for those who aren’t part of groups and must get individual health insurance.  These rates increases are going to hurt a lot of people financially.