Health Insurance Blog

According to the article “Americans Would Feel Varying Effects From Health Bill” by John Fritze for USA Today, the self-employed are among some of the most affected by the recent passing of the health care bill by Congress.

The article points out that those who buy their health coverage on their own, as opposed to through an employer, will feel some of the biggest changes under the new health care bill.  Along with most Americans, the new bill will require the self-employed and independent contractors to carry health insurance coverage by 2014 or otherwise face a penalty.  Health insurance quotes for the self-employed can be expensive and many choose not to be protected because of this.  About 1/3 of the 22 million self-employed Americans do not currently have coverage.  This number is bound to change in the coming years.

For those who are eligible to receive subsidies, health insurance rates will fall by about 59% on average, but this is only available to those making less than $43,320 per year.  The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the non-group insurance market prices may go up by as much as 13% and this will prove very challenging for the self-employed with slightly higher incomes as they are finding health insurance.

There are about 6 million uninsured Texas residents according to the article “Jason Roberson nominates uninsured Texans, whose staggering health care costs affect us all” by Jason Roberson on The Dallas Morning News.

Texas continues to lead the nation in the percent of uninsured residents, with about one out of every 4 Texans walking around uninsured.  For Dallas health insurance, about 36% of residents under 65 will be uninsured in 2010 according to the state demographer.  The uninsured cost a lot of money as well.  Care for the uninsured in 2005 was about $4.6 billion and for 2010 it’s projected to cost about $6.5 billion according to the Texas Association of Health Plans in Austin.

This cost is paid in part by the insured residents.  For 2010, Texans and Texas employers pay $1800 pre family and $630 per individual in higher health insurance premiums to help cover the uninsured according to The Center for American Progress.  Higher hospital costs which are generated by expensive ER visits by the uninsured drive up health insurance costs for employers which in turn causes them to drop health insurance benefits for their employees.  This just adds to the number of uninsured as the vicious cycle continues.

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.

According to a recent report released by Families USA, North Carolina health insurance rates have increased sharply.  It now costs over $13,000 to insure the average North Carolina family via an employer sponsored health insurance plan.   Of that amount, the family will end up paying $4,000-$5,000 out of pocket.

The cost of Group health insurance coverage in North Carolina has increased 97% since 2000.

BCBSNC the largest health insurance company in North Carolina took in $2.2 Billion in group health insurance premiums in 2008 vs. $841 Million in 2001 (a 161% increase).  Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina Individual health insurance plans (such as Blue Advantage) brought in $971 Million in premiums in 2008 vs. $311 Million in 2001 (212% growth).

It should be noted that BCBSNC’s growth in premiums collected cannot be attributed solely to the increase in prices as they have grown their membership base significantly over the period of time examined in the report.

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.

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.

The Texas Health Insurance Pool website gives some history and background to what the pool is and how it benefits Texas residents.

The Texas Legislature created the Texas Health Insurance Pool to provide Texas health insurance benefits to eligible Texans who are unable to get coverage from commercial insurance companies because of previous or current medical conditions. 

The Pool is also an alternative means for individual health insurance coverage which guarantees transferring coverage to qualified residents who lose their coverage under an employer based plan, a church plan, or a state plan.  This is mandated by the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, also known as HIPPAA.

The article entitled “Health Care Coverage” on texashealthoptions.com says that approximately one in four Texans do not have health insurance.  This is a staggering statistic and getting individual health insurance in Texas does not have to be hard.

Some of the reasons Texans decide to go without health insurance is because it’s too expensive, they don’t understand the ramifications of going uninsured, pre-existing health conditions prevent them from getting approved, or they are in between jobs and haven’t figured out their health insurance situation yet.  Whatever the reason, it’s important to get adequate coverage as soon as possible. 

Health insurance companies use varying standards to decide who they will or will not cover so chances are if you shop around enough you will find an insurer who will cover you.  There are also many different state, federal and nonprofit programs that will help provide individuals with low cost health care.

New York health insurance is ahead of the game when it comes to health care reform according to the article “Feds must consider NY situation in fixing care” by Kenneth Adams on poughkeepsiejournal.com.  New York is one step ahead of the nation when it comes to health care infrastructure, medical education, research, health insurance mandates, and insurance taxes.

New York’s plan isn’t perfect and is much more expensive than other states’ plans.  This is why New York is an important state to look at as Congress tries to put together health care reform.  According to the United Hospital Fund, NY ranks 25th across the country with 15% of New Yorkers without health insurance under 65.  If federal policies make New York health insurance more expensive NY cannot improve their numbers. 

59% of people in New York still get their health insurance from employer sponsored plans.  New health insurance taxes without reform to offset the increasing prices will force more New York companies to stop offering health insurance benefits to their employees.  That will cause even more uninsured residents since it will be harder for them to obtain individual health insurance.

If you are a North Carolina resident and have received any recent health insurance quotes, you know rates are way up.  They are up an astonishing 97% since 2000 according to an article on bizjournals.com by James Gallagher.  Income in the state has only increased by a mere 18.4% during the same time period. 

This information was obtained from a new study completed by Families USA released Tuesday.  If this trend continues more and more families will drop their health insurance because they will be unable to afford the costs.  The cost to obtain North Carolina health insurance for a family has gone from $6,649 to $13,083. 

In regards to employer sponsored health plans, more of the cost has been shifted to the employees as prices have gone up.  Employers covered about 73% of health insurance costs back in 2000, but by 2009 it’s down to approximately 67%.  Part of this decline is due to small business dropping their coverage altogether because they could not afford the benefit. 

Families USA supports health coverage for all and they conclude that the steep rate increase can be attributed to rising health-care spending, not enough competition in the industry, a lack of regulation from the government and cost shifting from those without insurance to those who are covered.