Health Insurance Blog

Medica Health Insurance offers its members a unique pregnancy program for their newly pregnant moms.  Their aim is to assist pregnant Medica members and their children achieve optimal health throughout their pregnancy.

Some examples of the Program’s goals include early and ongoing prenatal care, access to pregnancy information, case management by experienced nurses, early identification of high risk pregnancies, and comprehensive health for mom and baby.

Medica’s pregnancy nurses offer educational phone calls, informational mailings, community information for moms, and are available to answer any questions to put minds at ease.  The program may be part of the benefits package but they can enroll members up to 32 weeks gestation.  Their website also offers a Member’s Guide to a health pregnancy, as well as a recommended routine for a healthy pregnancy.

Geisinger Health Plan has announced that they will no longer screen visitors or restrict people from entering Geisinger Medical Center in Danville.  This is great news in terms of the virus and the threat it now poses.  The cases of H1N1 in the area is very low right now and an emergence of the regular seasonal flu has yet to be seen.

Entrances at GMC and GWV will reopen to the public and kids under 12 will be allowed to visit again.  Similar restrictions have been placed in hospitals and health systems throughout the country during the peaks of the H1N1 flu season.  The Cleveland Clinic restricted children from entering unnecessarily even if they did not have the flu.  All of this was done to limit the spread of the flu virus as much as reasonably possible.

Geisinger Health Insurance still encourages all visitors of their health system hospitals to screen themselves for flu like symptoms and stay home if they are under the weather.  Some symptoms to look for according to their website are fever, cough, headache, aching joints, and sore muscles.

Humana Insurance announced in February that they will be cutting their workforce throughout the course of 2010 according to their website.  They will be dropping about 1400 positions, which is about 5%, throughout 2010.  They will be balancing 2500 job reductions with the addition of 1100 jobs in areas that are experiencing growth.  The job cuts will come from attrition, outsourcing, process efficiencies, and the elimination of positions.

Some of the areas experiencing growth right now are medicare cost containment capabilities, pharmacy management, and specialty products.  By growing these lucrative areas Humana can focus on saving money for their members and offering lower Humana insurance quotes.  Humana’s President and CEO Michael B. McCallister regrets the loss of jobs, but says it’s necessary for Humana growth.

All employees affected by this plan will have a 60-day notice period at Humana.  Human Resources plans on working closely with the affected employees to help them find internal positions or outplacement assistance.  Severance packages and continuation of health benefits will be offered.  It seems that no industry is safe from job cuts.

Congress has announced a 21.2% cut in Medicare pay for physicians according to the article “Reduction in Medicare Pay Worries Physicians and Patients” by Amit Pathania on TopNews.com.  This is a concern for many and will affect both Medicare patients and doctors.

With less money allocated towards Medicare doctors, the doctors are forced to see less Medicare patients which may mean many will have to look for a different doctor.  According to one survey of neurosurgeons from 2010, about 60% of doctors are lessening their Medicare patients in their practice, and 40% will be cutting back on consultations by new Medicare patients.  Neurosurgeons have made the decision to not treat new patients.

The Congressional Budget Office states an estimate of a savings of $7.3 Billion in the deficit by pushing the Medicare pay cuts to October 1st.  It’s critical that those on Medicare and using Medicare supplement insurance understand what their doctor’s intentions are with their Medicare patients so that they have ample time to find a new, quality doctor if need be.

First Lady Michelle Obama launched a program called Let’s Move!, which is a national public/private partnership to stop the epidemic of childhood obesity.  According to BCBSA News, The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association along with their 39 independent BCBS companies strongly support her initiative.

With the launch of this important program the First Lady is bringing together a large range of stakeholders and building a foundation for bringing down childhood obesity.  Approximately 1 out of every 3 children is overweight or obese and this statistic is just staggering and unacceptable.  This puts them at risk for complications such as heart disease, diabetes, stroke and cancer at much earlier ages and BCBS agrees it’s time to get serious about stopping this epidemic

Many BCBS companies, including BCBSAL, have programs designed to promote health and fight obesity.  Focusing in on children is crucial since the next generation is predicted to be the heaviest ever.  The First Lady and her initiative is a great step in the right direction.

Health savings accounts are a useful tool many consumers can use to save wisely.  A health savings account (HSA) is an alternative to a traditional health insurance policy.  It can be used along with your health insurance as well.  It’s a savings account that allows you to pay for health care items out of this account specifically.

HSAs make it possible for you to pay current health care expenses and save for future expenses on a tax-free basis.  Many employers and insurance companies such as State Farm Health Insurance offer HSAs.  In order to take advantage of this type of plan you must have a High Deductible Health Plan which generally costs less than traditional health insurance.  They money that you save on monthly premiums can be placed into your savings account.

There are many benefits to taking advantage of an HSA.  You own and control what goes into your HSA.  You make decisions on how to spend the money on the HSA, as long as it is an approved medical expense.  You can also control the type of investments you put your money into.  Look into getting a HSA if you think it will work for you.

Canadian Kristie Moore, age 30, is 5 1/2 months pregnant and is an Winter Olympic alternate in Vancouver according to the article on Yahoo Sports by Chris Chase.  She is an alternate for Team Canada’s curling team and has yet to be called upon but it’s a possibility.  It’s a shocking story but from all accounts Moore is fit, in shape, and up for the challenge.

Moore is only the 3rd known Olympic athlete in history to be with child.  The first was Swedish figure skater Magda Julin 90 years ago who won a gold medal in her first trimester.  In 2006, Germany’s Diana Sartor came in 4th in the skeleton.

Moore found out she was pregnant a few weeks before she was asked to join the team, and when she shared the news with them everyone was supportive.  She should have no problem finding health insurance and having proper coverage while she spends this time at the Olympics.  With Canada being strong contenders for a gold medal Moore is bound to have an exciting few weeks whether or not she competes.

Mega Health Insurance has named Keith Gleason on Maine as their National Personal Producer of the Year for 2009.  He was presented with the award at the annual convention for insurance agents held in December in Dallas, Texas.  Gleason is the first to win both the National Personal Producer of the Year and the National First Year Achiever.

Gleason finished 2009 with about $1.6 million in personal production which has brought his career production to over $6 million in only 3 and a half years with Mega Insurance.  In addition to being the top personal producer recognition, Gleason received awards in 10 other categories including top Value Seller Award and the President’s Award for personal and team production.

Senior Vice President Jack Heller says that Gleason works with integrity and a strong commitment to Mega Insurance.  They want other agents to follow in his footsteps and strive for his goals.  He continuously shows quality business with his client relations.

KPS Health Insurance describes in detail what is involved in the serious crime of health care fraud on their website.  Health care fraud is committed when a provider or customer submits false information to a health insurer for use of obtaining a payout of some sort.

There are many different forms of health care abuse.  One of the most common is filing a claim for services or medications not really performed.  Billing for non-covered items using codes for items that are covered in a health insurance plan.  There is also altering billings or medical records or accepting gifts for patient referrals.

KPS Health Plan is working hard to ensure they protect their policy holders.  They have a dedicated special investigation unit who works to review all cases of fraud and health care abuse.  They verify all providers’ credentials to ensure consumer safety.  They encourage all of their members to protect their KPS Health Plan Identification cards as if it were one of their credit cards.  Identity theft through health insurance can be just as serious, if not more.

The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association issued a statement on the US Department of Health and Human Services’ National Summit on Health Care Fraud held in January.

BCBS believes health care fraud is a serious crime and they commend Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Attorney General Eric Holder for bringing the summit together.  They bring together private sector stakeholders, law enforcement, Medicare beneficiaries, health insurance companies, and other experts to help combat health care fraud.

Blue Cross Blue Shield companies across the country work together aggressively to discover fraud and educate consumers in an effort to protect them from fraud.  BCBS anti-fraud activities resulted in about $350 million in savings in 2008.  BCBS wants to protect all of their customers, from Medicare customers to Go Blue health insurance.  They continue to work with the Obama administration to fight against this very expensive crime which compromises an effective health care system.