Health Insurance Blog

According to the article “Humana Profit Rises 65% Despite Commercial Falloff” by The Associated Press on the NYTimes.com, Humana One posted a significant profit because of an increase in membership and premiums from Medicare Advantage. 

Humana’s quarterly revenue increased by 8% as enrollment rose 11% from last year in its Medicare Advantage.  Enrollment in its plans sold to employers dropped by 7.6% from a year ago.  This contributed to a pretax loss in their commercial segment.  Many health insurance companies are suffering as employer-sponsored health coverage plans drop because of layoffs and companies going out of business.  In October, the 3 largest publicly traded health insurers, incliding United Health Group, WellPoint and Aetna, reported 3rd quarter results which were below expectations.

Humana says it spent approximately $5 million on swine flu related costs in the 3rd quarter.  The chief financial officer said the company expected a heavier swine flu season for the 4th quarter.  Now more than ever it’s crucial to ensure you have proper health insurance coverage.  You can get Humana insurance quotes online to see if you can save some money and get insured.

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. 

According to Humana’s website, Humana health insurance is providing the highly anticipated H1N1 flu vaccine for its members. 

They announced that they will be covering the administration costs for all fully insured members, including those who have plans which exclude immunizations.  All co-pays and deductibles will be waived when the vaccine is received regardless of the preventative services benefit which is offered in these members’ plans. 

Lisa Weaver, MD, Humana segment vice president of clinical strategies stated that the safety and well being of members and the country is of the utmost concern for Humana health insurance.  Their initial focus is to encourage the CDC-identified priority groups to receive the H1N1 vaccine as quickly as possible. 

Humana is working hard to get members the ability to receive the vaccination.  They are monitoring and responding to guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention who are closely tracking the spread of the virus.  For the most current H1N1 information visit the CDC’s website.  To become a Humana member and receive a Humana quote visit www.healthinsurancesort.com.

A recent study conducted by the Texas Public Interest Research Group examines how the current health insurance system affects small businesses across the nation.  This is according to the article “Study finds that small businesses are disadvantaged by higher health care costs” by Priscilla Pelli on dailytexanonline.com. 

Austin’s small businesses are at risk under the current health insurance system according to this study.  There are negative effects on these Texas small businesses as increases in the cost of health care plans for employees are in place.  Businesses also have the inability to provide health insurance coverage to the employees because of very high costs.

Individual health insurance in Texas can be easy to find, but when you own a small business you may not always have the cash flow to cover monthly premiums, especially for employees.  Smaller businesses are finding it harder and harder to attract quality employees since the benefits they can afford to offer are not competitive.  This is putting small business at an extreme disadvantage.  Hopefully the health care reform plan that Congress votes for will assist these affected businesses.

Effective January 1, Blue Shield of California will be removed from the Major Risk Medical Insurance Program (MRMIP) because their premiums were substantially higher than the rates offered by the other two insurers that make up the Program.

The MRMIP currently covers almost 7,000 California residents who are unable to purchase private health insurance due to pre-existing conditions.

Health insurance companies that participate in the MRMIP Program are allowed to charge 25% higher premium than the market rate for a given health insurance policy, and if the insurer loses money they will be reimbursed by the state.  Despite the state subsidization, Blue Shield’s health insurance rates were much higher than both Kaiser Permananete’s or Anthem Blue Cross of California.

Current enrollees in the MRMIP Program via Blue Shield will be able to keep their existing coverage until January 1, and then must enroll with one of the other health plans that participate in the Program.

More information about California health insurance.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month and people in Houston, Texas are gathering together to support the cause.  According to the article “Community Breast Health Event at Cy-Fair Hospital” found on the cypresstimes.com, the Women’s Imaging Center at Cy-Fair Hospital is hosting a Breast Health Event on October 29th.

The Cypress Fairbanks Women’s Imaging Center has an experienced and caring staff who understand the importance of supporting breast health.  This event will not only raise awareness, but they will be offering education on self exams, general breast health information as well as offering giveaways and bone density testing. 

The article points out that breast cancer affects 1 in every 8 women in the US.  Early detection is very important in treating breast cancer.  The American Cancer Society recommends that women over 40 years of age should get a mammogram once a year and many Houston health insurance companies should cover this screening.

According to the article “Medicare Advantage Premiums Expected to Rise 25% Next Year” by Jane Zhang for The Wall Street Journal online, premiums that seniors pay for Medicare Advantage are increasing.  This is mostly because insurance companies are cancelling many plans that carry no premiums in response to new federal guidelines. 

Humana Health Insurance Inc is setting up networks for its Private Fee for Service insurance plans and consolidating them next year.  Humana will have 149 Private Fee for Service Plans, which is down from 173 in 2009.  Humana made other changes such as the special needs plans which targets sicker people enrolled. 

The number of Medicare Advantage plans will drop by approximately 40% in total.  This is according to an Avalere analysis of Medicare data.  Some consumers will see their plans change dramatically and others will see their plans simply go away.  It’s important they are prepared for what changes may impact them directly.

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. 

In September, Humana Inc. released 7 new videos in their well known series “Stay Smart, Stay Healthy”, according to the Humana website. 

This series is designed to help those looking for Humana quotes and health care, better understand how health insurance works.  It also covers factors that go into the costs of health insurance.  The options for health insurance in America have become much more diverse over the years and so has Humana’s products.  Humana’s short and informative videos can be viewed by consumers to answer common questions. 

Continuous interest in these videos encouraged Humana to make more health care videos.  They now offer Spanish translations and they can easily be shared through email, bookmarking sites and social sites.  Videos are available at staysmartstayhealthy.com and You Tube where they have been ranked highly among educational content because of the fun and easy-to-understand format.  Humana continues to be dedicated to educating the public on their health care options.