Health Insurance Blog

SmartSense® health plans are a portfolio of affordable health plans for individuals offered by Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield.

Monthly premiums for SmartSense can be less than $50 per month for an individual (single Male in Ohio, age 27)  if a high deductible ($10,000) is selected.  If a $2,500 deductible is chosen the monthly rate would be just over $60/mo.

Some of the highlights of SmartSense® include:

• A wide range of deductibles to choose from
• Access to a large network of doctors and hospitals
• No referrals or paper work needed
• Prescription drug benefits
• Online health support
• One of the most trusted names in health insurance

Just an example of high quality and affordable health insurance that can be found if you take a few minutes to shop around.  You can compare health insurance quotes right here at healthinsurancesort.com in less than 5 minutes.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas gives some great information on Medicare Supplements on their website.  Having Texas health insurance or Medicare often isn’t enough to cover you in the case of medical treatment.

The article on BCBSTX’s website outlines a summary on medicare supplements.  As more people know, Medicare is a federally run program which helps older Americans and some disabled Americans cover the costs of health care.  Unfortunately, Medicare does not cover all medical costs and this is where supplement insurance can come in very handy. 

Even with full Medicare coverage many are still responsible for other health care charges such as hospital deductibles, copayments for hospital stays over 60 days, care in a skilled nursing facility after 20 days, and a portion of doctor bills or other medical expenses.  Medicare supplements fills in the gaps between what your health care costs and what Medicare is covering.  Medicare supplement insurance, by law, is standardized into 12 plans and can get complicated.  To learn more and see if you qualify, visit BCBSTX’s website.

BCBSAL has a unique walking program available to their members.  More information is available on their webiste.

The walking program offers the opportunity to make a committment to walk regularly and to keep a record of your success.  Research shows that a regular routine of walking briskly daily can help with weight loss, lowering cholesterol, strengthening your heart and reducing health problems down the road. 

The President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports recommends 30 minutes of brisk walking five days a week.  It also is recommened to take approximately 10,000 steps daily to produce the best results.  The BCBSAL Walking Works Program online assists in these goals.  It outlines the importance of walking and offers all the tools you will need to make your walking program effective.

Go Blue Florida has helped many Florida residents find affordable health insurance.  At blueadvocacy.org you can learn a bit more about the program.  This product, which was designed to provide affordable access to health care, makes health insurance simpler for people in Florida.

Go Blue health insurance provides easier access to doctor visits, preventative dental care, and pharmacy services at competitive premiums.  Prices can be as low as $26/mos for a 25 year old.  Members have access to the Florida PPO network and protection against balance billing, which can be a huge relief for many.  Another excellent benefit is that no applicants are denied enrollment. 

Some other health care needs that are covered include prescription drugs, dental care and lab services.  They reimburse up to $50 toward each visit for qualified services.  As long as members pay their monthly premium they can receive benefits indefinitely.  This is a unique approach to ensuring more Florida residents are insured.  With the economy struggling and health care up for a possible major reform, it’s definitely good information to have. 

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama has information about a great program on their website.  “Baby Yourself” is a unique prenatal wellness program which gives expectant mothers important information about infant care and health care during pregnancy.

On the BCBSAL website, it discusses the benefits of the program.  “Baby Yourself” offers all expectant mothers support and educational materials from a Blue Cross registered nurse.  The nurse is experienced in labor, delivery, and newborn care.  You will be assigned your own personal nurse who can be contacted with any questions or concerns.  Gifts and products are available to help support health habits as well as show the importance of understanding all the changes that come with being new parents. 

The program is available to all members and is free as part of their health insurance benefits through BCBSAL.  A video is available on their website entitled “Baby Yourself, A Prenatal Wellness Program” where you can learn more.  You can enroll either online or by telephone.  This is a great initiative by Blue Cross to help support often overwhelmed new mothers and their families.

Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) has an awards program called Blueworks which is a collaboration between BCBSA and the Harvard Medical School Department of Health Care Policy according to the Blue Cross Blue Shield website in their Newsroom.

The Blueworks program is in its 5th year and last week they recognized 6 Blue Cross Blue Shield companies with a total of 7 Blueworks Awards for innovative approaches to improving the quality of health care for comsumers. 

Harvard researchers evaluate and choose BCBS companies’ health care programs for recognition based on their innovation, and potential for replication.  BCBSA president and CEO, Scott P. Serota says that the winning programs are great examples of the work Blue Cross Blue Shield companies are doing in the community to improve health care.  They are providing consumers with valuable information needed to help make educated health care decisions. 

On Blue Cross Blue Shield’s website there is a news article entitled “New Census Report Underscores Need for Health Care Reform”.  It has a statement from President and Chief Executive Officer of Blue Cross Blue Shield Scott P. Serota.  The statement follows after the release of the report from the US Census Bureau that shows the number of uninsured Americans increased from 45.7 million in 2007 to 46.4 million in 2008. 

Serota points out that no one should have to worry about having quality, affordable health insurance.  He believes that 46 million uninsured is unacceptable.  It’s an important reminder of the critical need for health care reform.  According to Serota, we should enact bipartisan health care reform this year that will give health insurance coverage to everyone. 

Blue Cross Blue Shield companies support initiatives working towards this goal.  They want to build on the employer based system currently in place.  He says the high number of uninsured is partly because of the recession, but something still needs to be done now to fix this problem. 

Approximately 1 million Americans have been infected with the H1N1 virus, more commonly known as the swine flu, according to the article “Individual Health Insurance Could Provide Assistance for Swine Flu Vaccines” by Maggie Guo found on the Ethiopian Review. 

People who are covered by certain individual health insurance companies may have the swine flu vaccine paid for.  Anthem Blue Cross is covering their customers who carry vaccine coverage and America’s Health Insurance Plans says it will offer similar protections according to a St. Louis Post-Dispatch report.

Once the Food and Drug Administration approves treatment there will be roughly 160 million doses of innoculations according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  Clinical trials are currently in progress.  Across the country, cities are establishing free clinics to give vaccines.  There will be 100 centers in NYC alone in addition to a center at each elementary school.  Chicago and LA are following similar plans.

Blue Cross Blue Shield health insurance companies’ anti fraud investigations caused savings and recoveries of about $350 million for 2008 according to the article “Blue Cross And Blue Shield Companies’ Anti-Fraud Efforts Recover $350 Million In 2008″ found on BCBS’s website. 

According to data released from Blue Cross Blue Shield National Anti-Fraud Department, this is a 43% increase from 2007.  The number of cases opened increased by about 34% and closed cases increased by 43% from 2007 to 2008. 

Approximately 3% of all health care spending is lost to fraud each year according to The National Health Care Anti-Fraud Association.  This totals to about $68 billion in losses.  The total savings for all BCBS companies’ anti fraud units and Special Investigative Units was around $7 for every $1 spent on anti fraud efforts.  BCBS is a leader in detecting and following up with fraud according to Scott P. Serota, BCBSA president and CEO.

AskBlue is a consumer tool develop by the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association that helps individuals make decisions about the health insurance needs.  Essentially the tool helps consumers find individual health insurance plans that fits their needs that are offered by Blue Cross Blue Shield member health plans.

The tool is easy to use, after answering a few questions anonymously you will receive a summary that outlines health coverage option recommendations that will help you make a purchase decision.

The survey take a bit of time to go through, but it is a neat tool, and should be helpful to people who are less knowledgeable about health insurance and their family needs.