Health Insurance Blog

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.

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.

Both the House and Senate have passed their versions of health care reform according to the article “Understanding Key Provisions in Federal Health Care Reform” found on Business Journal’s website.  Congressional negotiators are currently working on an agreement between the two bills.  The full House and Senate must approve the package then it’s presented to the President to sign it into law.

It’s predicted to take until at least mid-February before an agreement is reached and it wouldn’t start until 2013 and possibly longer for certain plans.  In 2014 and years after, the health care reform plan budget would increase to match the Consumer Price Index, plus 1%.  Insurance companies and plan administrators would pay this extra tax.  Under the House bill there would be a penalty for each employee not covered by health insurance of 8%, and under the Senate bill the penalty would be $750 per employee not protected.

The article points out that about 30 million of the country’s 46 million uninsured would get health insurance, mostly through federal health insurance subsidies under the new plan.  Health insurance companies would have to redo their criteria for approving policies such as stopping exclusions for pre-existing medical conditions.  This is an important point for those shopping for individual health insurance who have been turned down previously because of an chronic illness they may have.

Health exchanges are included in Congress’s recent health care reform bill.  The article “Health Exchanges: What are They” on healthcentral.com defines a health exchange as a government sponsored market for buying health insurance.  It would be available to people not working for large companies and not on Medicaid, Medicare or any other public program.  Health care reform would result in approximately 30 million Americans using health exchanges to receive their health insurance.

This type of program has pros and cons.  It’s based on the philosophy of managed competition.  Only pre-approved health plans which meet government standards may compete in the health exchanges.  There is much debate over who would control these exchanges.  It can be controlled at state level or national level or a mixture of both.  There would need to be a consistent and fair way to get consumers affordable health insurance quotes.

The article “Collaborate on Health Exchanges” by Gary Lauer on USA Today’s site points out that America is so diverse, and no single approach is going to meet every consumer need.  In order for such a system to work, it will require a collaborative effort to get eligible Americans enrolled into exchanges quickly and smoothly and have significantly more people insured, which is Congress’ ultimate goal.

According to the article “An Extended Subsidy for COBRA Health Coverage” by Kimberly Lankford on The Washington Post’s website, Congress has extended the COBRA Subsidy from 9 months to 15 months.  This is great news for those whose subsidy was coming to an end, still unemployed and worrying about finding affordable individual health insurance.

Last year’s stimulus package originally set up the COBRA subsidy for those who lost their job between 9/1/08 and 12/31/09.  It covered 65% of their COBRA health insurance premium for up to 9 months.  While this was extremely helpful to many, the 9 months is coming to an end for some and unemployment is still up.  With the newly amended law that occurred in late December, these individuals have another 6 months to find relief.

If you were receiving the subsidy, there is nothing you need to do to continue receiving it.  You continue to pay the 35% to COBRA and your former employer is reimbursed by the government for the remaining 65%.  Once your 15 month subsidy expires, you will be responsible to pay for 100% of the premiums in addition to an administrative charge.  COBRA coverage generally only lasts 18 months.

With health care reform just around the corner this may change as well, in addition to changes in medicare supplement plans. It’s important to ensure you have the most up to date information on COBRA and other government health insurance programs.

According to the Humana Big Book commercial, signing up for Humana’s medicare program can be as easy as 3 steps.  Upon viewing their website it’s really true.

Obtaining Humana insurance quotes online has always been relatively simple, but now the company is marketing strong their Medicare programs.  With more and more Medicare eligible consumers becoming internet savvy, more programs are encouraging shopping around online.  Humana claims to have a wide array of plans so you are bound to find one that will fit your needs.  On their website you can easily compare Medicare Advantage plans, compare prescription drug plans, review plan features and enroll online instantly if you choose to do so.

Now is the perfect time for marketing Medigap supplemental insurance plans because the time period for changing Medicare Advantage plans or prescription plans for ‘10 is January 1 through March 31.  This holds true unless you recently became eligible for Medicare or if you have certain special circumstances.

According to the article “The Missing Link in Health Reform: A Guarantee of Good Coverage At Work” by Richard Kirsch on huffingtonpost.com, the new House bill will require all but very small employers to offer and help pay for good health insurance benefits.  They can also choose to pay a percent of their payroll to the government to assist with covering subsidies.

The Senate bill on the other hand doesn’t require employers to offer or pay for health insurance for their employees.  The Senate bill will require employers with 50 or more full time employees to pay a fine if their employees end up getting subsidies from the government.  What will actually end up happening depends on which bill gets implemented.

The article points out that currently 150 million Americans get health insurance through their work so there are a lot of people who need to understand the changes.  During the past 10 years health insurance at work has deteriorated and more consumers are turning to individual health insurance.  A study of employers released in the fall says the trend is likely to continue in 2010.  Health care reform is a key component to how it will all play out.

Upon the heels of the H1N1 virus outbreak, Geisinger Health Plan hospitals will continue to have visitation restrictions.  Geisinger Medical Center and Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center will keep enforcing the visitor restrictions to help prevent the spread of H1N1 and other dangerous viruses.

Dr. Lisa Esolen, Medical Director for Infection Control at Geisinger Health System says that this has been an unpredictable flu season and they are committed to protecting patients.  Children under 12 are restricted from visiting all areas and everyone else will be screened for flu-like symptoms.  The H1N1 pandemic has slowed down but seasonal flu is starting up.  Past flu viruses have shown spikes in January through March.

Many people each year are hospitalized for the flu which is just one more reason to ensure you are protected with individual health insurance.  With the new health care reform bill which recently passed in Congress, most Americans will be required to carry health insurance coverage which will help cover costs for such flu pandemics.