Health Insurance Blog

According to the article “Overhaul of Health Care Bad for Seniors” by John Fanning on summitdaily.com, many senior citizens are losing their health insurance coverage in 2010 as many insurers have reduced medicare supplement plans or have increased premiums drastically. 

Many seniors are currently struggling to get by and paying for health insurance is just another worry on their plate.  If the current health care bill passes in Congress, advantage plans may be dismantled and seniors will need to find a prescription drug plan for MedicareD.  This can add an additional $25-$50 to the cost of their health care.  With many senior citizens living off of only social security this can be disastrous, especially since there is no SS increase for 2010. 

Over 12 million Medicare benficiaries are enrolled in Medicare Advantage Plans which represents 23% of the total Medicare population.  Many use Medicare supplement insurance as well.  Medicare pays about 11% more for a beneficiary to have a Medicare Advantage plan than for original Medicare on average. 

A prediction has been made by the president of the American Hospital Association in San Antonio last Wednesday according to the article “Hospital Leader Sees Health Care Bill Passing” by Don Finley on mysanantonio.com.  The president, Richard Umbdenstock, believes some sort of health reform bill will pass before Congress leaves for the December holiday. 

This could mean big changes for San Antonio health insurance.  The bill that passes will not be perfect but it will bring some value.  Umbdenstock noted that half of US hospitals are losing money and 25% are breaking even.  These groups are concerned about a government run plan taking over as they may lose even more money.  Back in June, hospitals agreed to give up about $155 billion in federal payments over the next ten years.  In return for this loss, a plan would be put in place to ensure 94% of US residents would have health insurance.  This would reduce their losses from the uninsured by about $171 billion.

A few weeks ago the health insurance industry released a report stating that the Senate bill would increase premiums for people with private insurance.  They did agree to change the ways in which they conduct business such as covering people with pre-existing conditions in return for the requirement that everyone must purchase health insurance. 

Many Americans between the ages of 50-64 are losing their health insurance according to the article “Health Insurance Hard to Find for the Newly Unemployed” by Richard Martin TampaBay.com.  The reason these people are losing their insurance so rapidly is because of rising unemployment and an increasing number of businesses unable to afford health insurance for their employees.

The AARP estimates that approximately 7 million people between 50-64 are uninsured.  This number is growing rapidly and causing much stir in the health care debate in Washington DC.  Until recently, most of the focus has been placed on the young uninsured or Medicare for over 65. 

The main problem with this generation losing their health insurance is this is when they need it most.  Finding health insurance for this group can be challenging as well.  Individual health insurance plans for those over 50 cost much more than employer sponsored plans.  Many plans exclude pre-existing conditions such as diabetes, obesity, or depression, conditions that often come with age.  Studies show that uninsured people are more likely to put off treatment which can lead to declining health.  It’s a vicious cycle that hopefully Congress can end.

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.

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.

A new poll came out from Mason-Dixon Polling Research Inc. for the Las Vegas Review Journal last week reviewing where Nevadans stand on the health care debate.  The survey consisted of phone responses from 500 registered voters in Nevada.  Nevada and Las Vegas health insurance issues are definitely a concern for residents.  All of this information is according to the article “Most Nevadans Believe Health Reform Includes Tax Hikes” by Calli Fisher at krnv.com, News 4.

The poll shows that 49% of Nevadans are against President Obama’s health care proposal while 43% support it.  Only 8% believe no action is necessary.  A shocking 77% believe that President Obama’s plan will include an increase in taxes.  This goes against what most residents believe should be the main concerns when revamping health care.  This includes cheaper health insurance, easier to access and fewer restrictions. 

74% of Nevada Democrats support Obama’s plan and only 9% of Republicans approve of it.  Some say these numbers include many who don’t fully understand the proposal nor do they understand how it will affect them directly.  The poll does have a margin of error of plus or minus 4.5%.  It is still to be determined how and when Nevada health insurance will be affected.

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. 

According to the article “Texas Agency: Senate health care bill could cost Texans up to $20.4B” by Dave Michaels on dallasnews.com, residents who think they are already paying high Texas health insurance premiums and high taxes may be in for a surprise as the health care bill gets considered.

The Senate is considering a health care bill currently that would add about 2.5 million Texans to the state’s public health insurance plans.  This would cost Texas taxpayers up to $20.4 billion over the next 10 years in taxes.  This is according to an analysis of the legislation by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission. 

Texas currently leads the nation in the number of uninsured according to the US Census Bureau figures.  Over 25% of Texas residents lack health insurance, which totals about 6 million people based on a 2 year average for 07-08.  Although this statistic is staggering, it is uncertain whether Texas can afford to assist insuring that many more people and it makes the Texas government very nervous to implement such a project.

President Obama will put his Chicago health insurance and health care reform fight to rest for a short moment while he goes to Copenhagen, Denmark later this week to push Chicago, IL as the location for the 2016 summer Olympics according to the article “Obama to Make Olympic Pitch” by Steve Chaggaris on cbsnews.com.

President Obama will be the first US President to have such a direct role in pitching for the Olympics being held on US soil.  Chicago has tough competition from a few other cities including Rio de Janeiro, Madrid and Tokyo.  Representatives from Rio de Janeiro and Madrid are also planning on making an appearance at the Copenhagen meeting. 

According to a senior administration official Obama will travel to Denmark Thursday night and return after the meeting on Friday.  There are many supporters of the push for the US Olympics to be held in Chicago and they hope that President Obama will take this cause personally.

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.