Health Insurance Blog

Geisinger Health Plan recently released an update on the 2009 Influenza flu season.  This is found in the article “Influenza Update From Geisinger Health System: 900 Cases” by Dr. Lisa Esolen who is the director for Geisinger Health System Infection Control on Poconorecord.com.

They continue to see a steady increase in the number of flu cases with about 900 cases in the last 3 weeks at both of their Pennsylvania hospitals.  There have also been about 30 hospitalization cases.  Nationally, 46 states have reported widespread influenza cases.  Shipments of the H1N1 vaccine continue to be shipped but there are lower quantities than expected.  These are first being given to health care providers, schools, and hospitals throughout the state.  Currently, there are no public vaccination sites for the H1N1 vaccination since the vaccinations are not plentiful as of now.

Geisinger Health Insurance continues to receive shipments of the H1N1 vaccine, but in small amounts.  Most of the vaccines have been used for pregnant people as well as children.  Many organizations encourage pregnant women to get vaccinated since they are more likely to get severely sick from the flu virus.  It’s important to wash your hands regularly to help limit the spread of the flu. 

Dallas County will lead the state of Texas in the percent of kids without insurance according to the article “Dallas County Leads State In Uninsured Children” by Jason Roberson on dallasnews.com.  The rate of uninsured children in Dallas County is about triple the national average based on the report released by The Children’s Medical Center Dallas.

This is a statistic that is very upsetting for residents.  More than half of the 730,000 kids in Dallas County do not have full access to preventative health care.  The report, called “Beyond ABC: Growing Up in Dallas County”, uses state demographic data from 1998-2008 to research the well-being of resident children.

Dallas health insurance isn’t necessarily difficult to find, but families are having difficulty affording rising premiums.  Children’s and other hospitals support the initiative to get all children insured because it places them in the care of a regular doctor and eliminates expensive visits to the emergency room.  This can prevent the mounting of debt for hospitals.  31% of Dallas County children will be uninsured by 2010 unless something is done. 

One of the regular items we blog about here at healthinsurancesort.com is finding affordable health plans across the country to assist our uninsured readers in finding health plans that fit within their budgets. These plans might not be for everybody, but it can’t hurt to be aware that they exist.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas (BCBSTX) offers and affordable health care option called Foundation Hospital Care PPO. This health plan is not comprehensive major medical insurance but rather a limited benefit plan that only covers health care expenses related to inpatient hospitalization coverage.

The plan offers

• Affordable, cost effective health coverage for inpatient settings
• Freedom to choose your hospitals
• Individual, spouse and child coverage
• 24 hour worldwide coverage
• No balance billing above the Allowable Amount

Limited benefit plans are not right for everybody, but might fit your needs in a pinch.

more information about Texas health insurance and BCBSTX

Consumer Reports recently came out with a survey about consumers and their satisfaction with their current health insurance plan.  This is according to the article “Health Plans Get Only So-So Reviews” on the Washington Post’s website.

The survey’s findings were based on responses from 37,481 readers who reported their health insurance experience over a course of a year.  The numbers represent a good benchmark for HMO’s and PPO health insurance.  84% of the respondents have an employer based plan they will be able to keep under most proposals being discussed in Congress.

The Consumer Reports National Research Center found that only 64% of readers were very or completely satisfied with their current individual health insurance plan.  This shows a drop from the 2007 survey which revealed 67% was satisfied.  Based on other Consumer Reports surveys people are less satisfied with health insurance than other industries such as pharmacies and real estate agents.  Over 30% of readers are not completely satisfied with their health insurance and this leaves a lot of opportunity for health care reform.

Health Care Lane is a new and interactive website where experts explain health insurance topics offered by UnitedHealthcare health insurance according to their Newsroom on uhc.com.  Health Care Lane enables an online community to get common health insurance questions answered quickly.

Health Care Lane was launched in time for open enrollment and offers help with selecting the right health insurance plan and understanding health insurance quotes.  The straightforward conversations are designed to be user friendly and easy to understand. 

Not only is Health Care Lane available to UnitedHealthcare members, but it’s also offered to anyone interested in learning more about health care topics.  Visitors can learn about simple topics such as the definition of a premium or more complex topics such as the benefits of a Health Savings Account.  This site is a great opportunity for consumers to educate themselves on the many facets of health insurance, now more than ever as the health care system is up for debate. 

According to the article “How Health Care Bill Would Net $81B” from CBS News’s website, the Finance Committee will vote on the health care reform plan next week.  The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office says the plan meets President Obama’s requirement that it will not increase the nation’s budget deficit. 

The article states that the $829 billion cost for the Finance Committee’s bill would be offset by fees on drug companies, taxes on top health insurance companies and cutbacks to Medicare.  They estimate to have a net savings of $81 billion over ten years for the government.  This may affect the way Americans go about finding health insurance and how they pay for it. 

The proposed bill would allow 29 million Americans to purchase health insurance who are not currently covered.  Families making under $88,000 could get a subsidy of $5500 for a family of four.  Wealthier citizens would be required to purchase individual health insurance or pay a penalty. 

In Southeastern Pennsylvania, Independence Blue Cross (IBC) in conjunction with Highmark Blue Shield has formed the Caring Foundation which helps to provide free or low-cost health insurance plans to uninsured children and adults in the 5 counties including and surrounding Philadelphia.

Plans that are administered through the Caring Program include Pennsylvania CHIP, Adultbasic, and Special Care.

Special Care in particular is a limited benefit plan providing traditional fee for service coverage to uninsured adults and children in Southeastern PA.

More information about Pennsylvania health insurance and Philadelphia health insurance.

Beth Fouhy from the Associated Press wrote a very interesting article entitled “People playing the odds on health care over costs” found on google.com.  The article discusses a group of people unsupportive of President Obama’s ideal that everyone should be required to have individual health insurance coverage.

It’s not known exactly how many of the 50 million uninsured Americans forego insurance voluntarily, but research from the Kaiser Family Foundation shows that most of the uninsured are young, healthy adults, who are self employed or in low wage positions that do not offer health insurance and do not pay enough for employees to afford individual health insurance.

But it is known that some people in this group of uninsured do choose to not carry health insurance because they pay far less for health care than they would in monthly premiums.  Plus it’s possible insurance wouldn’t cover all of their medical needs even if they did pay the expensive premiums.  Under one of Congress’s proposed plans, people who opt out of carrying health insurance may have to pay a penalty.  It will be a balancing act for the people choosing to not carry health insurance if this plan does become law.

During Nationwide Tour’s Utah Championship September 11-13, Humana Health Insurance, the official health benefits company of the PGA Tour, provided pedometers to all spectators to encourage healthy exercise.  This is according to an article on Humana’s website in their Newsroom. 

The promotion, called Walk it Tee to Green, advised spectators to chart how many steps they took throughout the Championship walking throughout the Willow Creek Country Club.  Everyone who reached 7,000 steps were entered into a drawing to win an iPod, and anyone who walked 10,000 steps were entered into a drawing for a iPod Touch.

Humana Health Insurance has brought the Walk it Tee to Green promotion to three other PGA Tours, including The Valero Texas Open, the HP Byron Nelson Championship, and the Stanford St. Jude Championship this year.  The total number of steps taken at these events was 9 million steps which is about 4,621 miles.  This amount of walking burned off about 406,732 calories.  Walking is one of the best exercises to keep Americans healthy and Humana Health Insurance is supporting this initiative to promote healthier living.

As unemployment rises so does the number of people who need help finding health insurance.  A lost job usually means a loss in employer based health insurance as well.  According to the article on WISN.com, millions of Americans are an illness away from financial ruin because they are not protected by health insurance. 

Finding health insurance does not have to be difficult.  Consumer Reports supports checking to see if you qualify for Medicaid.  If you do not, another option is checking to see if your kids qualify for the Children’s Health insurance program (CHIPS). 

By visiting govbenefits.org you can see if there are any other government insurance programs you may be eligible for.  It’s important to shop around and educate yourself on the different types of health insurance options out there.