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.

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.

According to the article “Covering the Bases: Possible Options If You Miss Open Enrollment” by Amy Rubino on hometownglenburnie.com, there is no annual open enrollment period for Medicare Supplement Insurance medigap plans, similar to purchasing individual health insurance.

Medicare Part D and Medicare Advantage Plans have certain times you can enroll but it’s a little different for Medigap plans, which are designed to fill in the missing pieces of Original Medicare.  The article points out that the best time to think about enrolling in a Medigap plan is within the first 6 months that you are both age 65 or older and enrolled in Medicare Part B.

The reason this is the best time is because during this 6 month period the health insurance company that sells you the Medigap policy cannot refuse to sell you a plan and cannot charge you more because of pre-existing conditions.  There are also some other specific situations that would grant you guaranteed right to purchase a Medicare Supplement Insurance plan regardless of your health conditions.

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.

Health exchanges are included in Congress’s recent health care reform bill.  The article “Health Exchanges: What are They” on healthcentral.com defines a health exchange as a government sponsored market for buying health insurance.  It would be available to people not working for large companies and not on Medicaid, Medicare or any other public program.  Health care reform would result in approximately 30 million Americans using health exchanges to receive their health insurance.

This type of program has pros and cons.  It’s based on the philosophy of managed competition.  Only pre-approved health plans which meet government standards may compete in the health exchanges.  There is much debate over who would control these exchanges.  It can be controlled at state level or national level or a mixture of both.  There would need to be a consistent and fair way to get consumers affordable health insurance quotes.

The article “Collaborate on Health Exchanges” by Gary Lauer on USA Today’s site points out that America is so diverse, and no single approach is going to meet every consumer need.  In order for such a system to work, it will require a collaborative effort to get eligible Americans enrolled into exchanges quickly and smoothly and have significantly more people insured, which is Congress’ ultimate goal.

According to the BCBSA website, BCBSA has started a new Pediatric Obesity and Diabetes Prevention Pilot Program in Texas, New Mexico, Mississippi, North Carolina and Kansas.  Through this program Blue Cross Blue Shield plans on reducing the epidemic of childhood obesity and stop further cases of young people getting Type 2 Diabetes.

The plan consists informational toolkits for doctors to use as reference guides when addressing obesity.  The kit was designed with the American Diabetes Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics to encourage healthy choices and was passed out in mid-November.  BCBS collectively protects over 100 million Americans through individual health insurance and other health insurance policies, so this large effort by them should have a great impact.

The toolkit offers healthy lifestyle suggestions such as eating 5 servings of fruits and vegetables a day, limiting TV time to 2 hours a day, getting an hour of physical activity every day, and stop drinking sweetened drinks.  According to the US Department of Health and Human Services, an overweight teen has a 70% chance of becoming an obese adult which is one of the leading causes of health issues in our country.  This type of action is proving very necessary.

On AARP’s website they have what is called a “Doughnut Hole Calculator” which has been designed for the 2010 Plan to avoid falling into a gap for Medicare Part D coverage.  It’s a four step tool that is very useful for saving you money on your health insurance quotes.

The Doughnut Hole Calculator is easy to use.  First, gather your medications and drug plan cards and go onto AARP’s website.  Enter the name of each drug, dosage, and how often you take it.  Then you can view a chart to determine if you are going to hit the “doughnut hole” for Medicare Part D.  The calculator will give you a list of alternative drugs that are similar to the prescribed drugs but they can dramatically reduce expenses and stretch your AARP Medicare supplements coverage.  They supply a form letter you can print out and show your doctor to ensure the drugs will suit your needs.

You can learn more about avoiding a gap in your Medicare coverage on AARP’s website.  You can also read and share experiences with the Doughnut Hole Calculator to see what other people are dealing with.  There is an online community available to members which many find extremely valuable.

According to a recent research report written by Debra A. Donahue of Mark Farrah and Associates, the individual health insurance marketplace is growing.  As of the end of Q2 2009, national individual health insurance enrollment totaled about 9.7 Million, up from about 9.6 Million from the previous year.  This enrollment does not include those individuals enrolled in Medicare Health Plans, or other state sponsored Programs.  Part of this growth is being fueled by high unemployment rates and less people having access to group sponsored plans.

The report makes it crystal clear that Wellpoint is the largest and most dominant player in the individual health insurance marketplace, albeit partly due to their large geographic footprint, covering 15 states.

The top 5 health plans ranked by enrollment in individual health plans include:

1. Wellpoint - with enrollment of over 2.25 Million (23% market share)
2. HCSC (Health Care Services Corporation) - 670,000 (7%)
3. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida - 370,000 (4%)
4. Kaiser Foundation Health Plans - 344,000 (4%), down 12% from previous year
5. Humana - 336,000 (4%), up 28% from previous year

Humana increased the number of states it offered it HumanaOne individual health insurance plan from 15 states to 24 states in March 2008, which accounted for their large increase in enrollment.

Wellpoint and HCSC are both health insurance companies that offer Blue Cross Blue Shield Health Plans in multiple states.  Wellpoint includes 15 BCBS licensees, and HCSC 4.

A recent report released by eHealthinsurance.com illustrates the relative affordability of individual health insurance plans across numerous dimensions, as well as a breakdown of what types of individual health insurance policies have been purchased most frequently.

Some of the findings in the report include:

• The average monthly premium for an individual health insurance policy was $161 ($383 when insuring a family)
• Half of individual health insurance policyholders paid $132 per month or less, when purchasing coverage just for themselves.
• Iowa laid claim to the most affordable health insurance in the country with avg. monthly premiums of $103 for insuring an individual,  New York was the most expensive at $339 per month.
• 16% of individual health plans purchased were HSA eligible plans with high deductibles.
• nearly 90% of individual health plans purchased included prescription drug coverage.
• about a quarter of policies had maternity benefits.

According to the article “Medicare ‘Buy-In’: A bargain or burden?” by Richard Wolf for USA Today, the latest health insurance proposal involves letting people use Medicare starting as early as age 55.

While this may sound appealing to many, the Medicare premium has not been determined and it could be costly.  Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid, and other Democrats are considering expanding eligible consumers for Medicare and maybe Medicare supplement insurance plans.  This is an effort to break a deadlock between liberals and moderates who are unable to agree on a government run health insurance plan.

Details of this proposed plan are still pending an analysis completed by the Congressional Budget Office, who will project costs associated with the plan.  Those who are ages 55-64 who are uninsured or looking for more competitive premiums would likely be eligible.  Most consumers with employer based coverage would not be eligible for early Medicare coverage.  Finding health insurance for this age group may get easier if this plan is put into effect.