Health Insurance Blog

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.

Although health insurance rates continue to rise, affordable health insurance can still be found.  Flexible Blue is an affordable individual health plan offered by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan (BCBSM) for families and individuals who live in Michigan.

Flexible Blue is an HSA qualified health insurance plan, with monthly premiums as low as $52.82 per month for a plan with a 5000 deductible.

Maternity Coverage, and Dental Insurance are optional packages that can be added to your Flexible Blue health insurance plan

More information about Michigan health insurance.

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.

The Senate Finance Committee is coming close to figuring out a healthcare reform bill according to Maggie Guo’s article on The Ethiopian Review site.  Health care cooperatives are still on the table, which has the idea of building large groups so that the price of expensive medical costs are spread out among members to reduce costs for everyone.

But Consumer Watchdog says this will not necessarily lower health insurance quotes for consumers.  They say that in practice there has not been enough members for cooperatives to carry out their function and people with less medical risk often opt out of joining. 

For a cooperative to be effective, member enrollment would need to be near 500,000 consumers according to some estimates.  There have been attempts in Texas, Florida and Colorado without much success.  There is also the concern that if small states get together to create bigger groups, then health insurance companies may insist on a suspension of state regulations because of the different types of customers they would be serving.  This would in turn cause a whole new type of oversight and possibly a lack of proper regulation. 

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.

About eight out of ten Americans favor a public option health insurance plan on the table in Congress right now.  This is according to the new poll underwritten by AARP and completed by Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates released Tuesday night at an AARP event in Denver. 

While most people seem to favor this public option, only four out of ten can accurately define what a public option health insurance plan means.  This is not good news for President Obama who may be facing possible defeat on his health care reform platform. 

The poll surveyed 1,000 Republicans, Democrats and independents across the nation earlier in August.  The survey does suggest that Americans agree on health care reform of some sort, but there is much less agreement on whether or not it’s worth higher taxes or higher health insurance rates. 

Most are still very concerned about having affordable health insurance.  65% oppose tax increases and 73% oppose higher health insurance premiums.  This information was found through the Wichita Business Journal in the article “AARP polling shows uncertainties about ‘public option’ insurance in health reform” by Neil Westergaard. 

State Farm Health Insurance is giving America a highly needed challenge.  They are challenging Americans to collectively lose 50 million pounds across the nation, according to the article “Insurance agency challenges Americans to lose weight” on wqow.com. 

Bob Johnson, an agent at State Farm Insurance, says that the healthier you are the less frequently you visit the doctor which will help lower your health insurance rates over time.  There is also the benefit of living a longer, higher quality life the healthier you live.  A healthy lifestyle will help you lose weight, have more energy and just feel better overall.

Online registration is available and participants can track their progress throughout the challenge.  There is also information on how to lead a healthier lifestyle.  State Farm Health Insurance is offering a kit which includes a pedometer and an information booklet.  Hopefully America is up for the challenge because obesity continues to be on the rise. 

One of the most popular arguments against a government run health care plan is the lack of competition that would arise among health insurance providers, but according to the article “Competition Lacking Among Private Health Insurance Companies” by Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar on the huffingtonpost.com, private insurance companies already lack sufficient competition.

Studies show that in a number of areas across the country one or two health insurance companies dominate the marketplace.  When this happens prices can be driven up since those needing health insurance do not have many options.  The Democrats believe that a public health insurance plan would fix this problem since it would directly compete with the private insurers.  The Republicans are concerned over the government having that much power.

As Congress tries to figure out the best way to provide health care in this country, it’s important that consumers take matters into their own hands for now.  If you are in the market for health insurance get numerous health insurance quotes to ensure you know what’s available out there.

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.