Health Insurance Blog

Blue Cross of Northeastern Pennsylvania has filed a rate increase request with the Pennsylvania Department of Insurance for a handful of individual health insurance products.

If the rate increase request is approved it would impact about 56,000 existing customers of the Blue Cross health insurance company, or about 10% of their subscriber base.

The individual product offerings that will be impacted include:

• Security 65:  Medicare Supplement Plans.  37,000 Subscribers impacted.  Requested rate increase is 10% for 1 option and 19.9% for another.
• Blue Care Cooperative: 7,000 subscribers impacted.  Requested rate increase 48.9%.
• Special Care: 5,000 subscribers impacted.  Requested rate increase 27.0%
• Major Medical: 6,000 subscribers impacted.  Requested rate increase 27.0%
• HMO Individual Conversion: 1,000 subscribers impacted. Requested rate increase 27% (with Rx) 12% without.

More information about Pennsylvania health insurance.

Congress may be backing away from their idea of a public option only health insurance plan.  The New York Times reported earlier today that public health insurance may not be included in their plan at all according to Sheryl Gay Stolberg on the NY Time’s site. 

White House officals state that President Obama hasn’t fully put aside the idea of a government only plan, but the door has been opened.  The president still believes there is great value in having a purely government plan, but he views it as only a small piece of a broader goal.  Ultimately the initiative is to control costs, make coverage available to as many people as possible, and make health care a much more efficient program. 

President Obama envisions the public health insurance option as a flexible plan backed by the government where consumers can buy public or private individual health insurance based on what fits their needs most.  Over time the plan would be financially self sustaining and require no additional subsidies.  But there is fear that this would drive private insurers out of business over time.

According to the article “Immigrants soon to lose state health insurance” by Kay Lazar on boston.com 30,000 legal immigrants are receiving letters informing them that their Massachusetts health insurance which is subsidized by the state, will no longer be available after August 31.  It will be replaced by patchwork care until Massachusetts officials can determine a comprehensive plan for the critically sick.

It is still to be determined what type of coverage these immigrants will have available to them.  The interim plan only covers emergencies and a few other limited services.  This is leaving many worried as to what is going to happen when health care is needed by the affected group.  Immigrants will be receiving emergency health care in hospitals through the Health Safety Net and MassHealth Limited.

It’s very likely that coverage for routine and preventative care from their current physician will not be covered.  The federal government doesn’t help to pay for these 30,000 legal immigrants.  They are more expensive for the state to insure as they are not yet citizens.  Many states in the US have stopped covering immigrants in this category but Massachusetts has continued to cover this group for comprehensive care until now.

According to the article “An affordable insurance quote requires careful research” on healthcare.com customers will benefit from doing their research when shopping for health insurance quotes.  You may find an affordable quote quickly, but read the fine print to prevent future issues with your policy. 

One potential issue is in and out-of-network stipulations.  PPO and HMO plans offer discounts to health providers that the insurance company has negotiated with to set reasonable rates.  Medical tests and various procedures are usually cheaper with in-network physicians.  Researching what is included in the in-network costs can save you a lot of time and money as you use the health care system.  There have been many scenarios where patients go to an in-network hospital but tests are sent to an out-of-network lab and the patient is left with the cost. 

To avoid such complications, compare options side by side and shop around for health insurance quotes.  Find out how benefits vary from providers to ensure you have the coverage best suited for your needs at reasonable costs. 

Good news for those looking for Oregon health insurance.  A new state Farm Insurance Angency has opened in Salem, OR according to the article on statesmanjournal.com by Kathie Hodges and they are offering health insurance. 

Jeff Stewart opened the agency on Commercial St. in Salem and has worked for State Farm for 4 years now.  Before becoming a State Farm agent he was a financial representative for Northwestern Mutual.  He has his BA in economics from the University of Oregon and is extremely knowledgeable on insurance.

Mike Speten and Peggy Zepp are part of his team as well and all are licensed in proprety and casualty, life insurance and even State Farm health insurance.  They are also State Farm Bank certified.  Hours are 9-5pm Monday through Friday and evenings and weekends with an appointment.  This offers a great opportunity to Salem residents to shop for insurance. 

According to the article “Overhauling Healthcare is Too Big For Texas” by Mitchell Schnurman on star-telegram.com, Texas is trying to solve the giant health care issue on its own but slowly realizing they may not be able to do so.

Texas health insurance has many opportunities and Governor Rick Perry is trying to do something about it, but hasn’t figured out the magic bullet just yet.  In 2007, he pushed a health care concept to Washington but it didn’t work out.  Texas has over 2.1 million low income adults who do not have health insurance.  An additional 4 million in Texas are also uninsured and about $12 billion in yearly hospital bills go unpaid. 

Unfortunately, health reform will cost Texas tens of billions of dollars if it attempted to cover most of its uninsured residents.  Texas is in better shape financially than most other states, but still cannot do it on their own despite prior proposals to attempt this.  Funding will have to come from a national level and Texas desperately needs their share of the dollars that will be spent. 

According to an article on news.prnewswire.com the US Census Bureau just published 2006 estimates of health insurance coverage for each county in the nation.  Small Area Health Insurance Estimates (SAHIE) use a variety of sources for their survey models. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention uses SAHIE to support its National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program.  Free cancer screenings are offered by the program to low income and uninsured women.

Marcus Plescia, the director of the CDC’s Division of Cancer Prevention and Control in Atlanta says that the health insurance estimates are helpful in determining the level of need for cancer screenings in counties nationwide.  The data permits them to plan various programs and figure out how to allocate resources.

This SAHIE program includes data from various different ages, gender, income, race and low income children.  SAHIE offers a snapshot of those without health insurance that can be extremely valuable to officials as they plan to assist the uninsured.

According to the article “Taxing Pricey Insurance: No Health-care Cure” by Kate Pickert on Time.com, Congress is trying to figure out a way to pay for the expensive health insurance reform and taxing health insurance benefits is on the table.  The plan may cost up to 1 trillion over the next 10 years and many are left wondering where this money will come from.  Employers have been offering tax free health benefits for more than 50 years and changing this system makes many people very uncomfortable.

Approximately 2/3 of Americans receive their health insurance through their employer so it may be here to stay.  One idea being considered is a cap on the amount of employer-sponsored health insurance that can be provided tax free.  This would leave only very expensive, elite plans to be taxed.  But even this proposal is being frowned upon.

This leads Congress to consider taxing health insurance companies.  The Senate Finance Committee has reportedly shifted towards a plan that would tax insurers who offer the most expensive health care plans.  This would generate some tax money as well as encourage more affordable health insurance.  The complex health care reform debate continues.

According to a press release from July 15 on 1888pressrelease.com entitled “Health Insurance Quotes Go Down When You Shape Up”, as unemployment increases so does the number of uninsured since many people turn to employer-based health insurance plans.  Health insurance costs are often unaffordable for the unemployed, but there are ways to keep costs down.

An article on Insuranceagents.com states that simply making some lifestyle changes can affect your health insurance quotes.  Policyholders are recommended to get plenty of sleep, eat a well-balanced diet, take vitamins, cut smoking, monitor weight and exercise regularly.  Overweight people spend much more on health insurance because they are filing more claims and often times have pre-existing conditions such as diabetes or heart disease.  Obesity is also the second leading cause of death in America, estimated to cause around 300,000 deaths per year according to the Surgeon General.

Staying healthy can save you money in the long run on health insurance as well as help you live a longer, higher quality life so it really is a win-win situation to get fit.

Wednesday evening President Obama used the phrase “health insurance reform” five times in his opening statement according to “It’s Health Insurance, Not Health Care Reform, For Obama” by Mark Knoller on cbsnews.com.  The White House may think that the concept of revising health insurance instead of overhauling health care is easier to sell to Congress.

In this prime time conference in the East Room he made repeating arguments for his health insurance reform.  He believes it will offer more health care security and stability, coverage for all, no denials for pre-existing illnesses, more affordable health insurance options, and less government spending.  He was very adamant that his plan will not add to the deficit over the next 10 years. 

The President has a stern deadline for when he wants the House and Senate to pass a health care bill which is before their August recess.  He wants the rush because of the feedback he is getting from the American people on their high health insurance costs.