Health Insurance Blog

Oxford Health Insurance has a priority to keep their members healthy and fit by providing valuable information.  On their website they have a publication with a variety of health tips called Healthy Mind Healthy Body. The publication goes over important information such as medical updates, diet advice and exercise programs.  They spend a great deal of time focusing on the importance of eating right.  The American society creates challenges when choosing the right foods, but it is possible to make healthy choices.

There is a lot of medical research to show links between eating the proper foods and staying healthy.  Many experts agree that diseases such as heart disease, certain cancers, and diabetes may be prevented through the appropriate diet and exercise.  The diet should include moderate portions of fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and low fat dairy.  It’s also important to exercise regularly and maintain a healthy weight.  Limiting certain foods is important as well, including saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol, salt and added sugar.

Through being a member of a Oxford health plan not only do you get access to competitive prices and great benefits, but you get the reassurance that they truly have your best interest as a priority.

Health care reform is still a possibility according to the article “State of the Union: Renewed Hope for Health Care Reform?” by Jeffrey H. Toney on blog.nj.com.  This is at least the feel that came from President Obama’s State of the Union address to the nation on Wednesday night.

There needs to be reconciliation between the two bills “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act” and the “Affordable Health Care for America Act” and it’s worth the effort.  President Obama pointed out in his speech that the ultimate goal continues to be to lower health insurance quotes, bring down the deficit, get more Americans insured, make Medicare for seniors stronger and stop health insurance company abuses.

President Obama urged Congress to not walk away from the idea of health care reform because they are very close and a solution is in the near future.  He continues to fight hard to keep his promises and achieve the ultimate goal to better our health care system.

The General Assistance Medical Care Program (GAMC) is a state funded health insurance program for low-income adults in Minnesota, who have no dependent adults, and who do not qualify for federal funded health insurance plans.

Funding for the GAMC Program is slated to end on April 1, 2010 and all current membership will be automatically migrated to the MinnesotaCare Program.  Once this happens, monthly premiums will be paid by the counties for the next six months until the next six month renewal period begins, at which point enrollees will be required to pay their own premiums in order to maintain the health coverage.

More information about Minnesota health insurance, and other affordable health insurance options.

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.

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.

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 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.

The Senate voted for health care reform last week and changes are just around the corner.  According to the article “Senate Approves Health Care Bill” by Robert Pear on nytimes.com, the passing of the bill will guarantee individual health insurance to millions of Americans and also keep health care costs down.

The new bill has many parts to it but one of the main points is that it would require most Americans to carry health insurance and it would add 15 million people to Medicaid to subsidize private coverage for low and middle income residents.  The budget office believes the bill would offer coverage to about 31 million uninsured Americans but still leave an unsettling 23 million uninsured by 2019.

If this bill does end up becoming a law it will be a major milestone in US history.  This initiative does not carry full support from both sides of Congress which makes it even more complicated.  Only one Republican voted for the House bill last month and in regards to the Senate version, no Republicans voted for that.  This my end up being counterproductive as government tries to improve our health care system.