Health Insurance Blog

According to Humana’s website, Humana health insurance is providing the highly anticipated H1N1 flu vaccine for its members. 

They announced that they will be covering the administration costs for all fully insured members, including those who have plans which exclude immunizations.  All co-pays and deductibles will be waived when the vaccine is received regardless of the preventative services benefit which is offered in these members’ plans. 

Lisa Weaver, MD, Humana segment vice president of clinical strategies stated that the safety and well being of members and the country is of the utmost concern for Humana health insurance.  Their initial focus is to encourage the CDC-identified priority groups to receive the H1N1 vaccine as quickly as possible. 

Humana is working hard to get members the ability to receive the vaccination.  They are monitoring and responding to guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention who are closely tracking the spread of the virus.  For the most current H1N1 information visit the CDC’s website.  To become a Humana member and receive a Humana quote visit www.healthinsurancesort.com.

One of the regular items we blog about here at healthinsurancesort.com is finding affordable health plans across the country to assist our uninsured readers in finding health plans that fit within their budgets. These plans might not be for everybody, but it can’t hurt to be aware that they exist.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas (BCBSTX) offers and affordable health care option called Foundation Hospital Care PPO. This health plan is not comprehensive major medical insurance but rather a limited benefit plan that only covers health care expenses related to inpatient hospitalization coverage.

The plan offers

• Affordable, cost effective health coverage for inpatient settings
• Freedom to choose your hospitals
• Individual, spouse and child coverage
• 24 hour worldwide coverage
• No balance billing above the Allowable Amount

Limited benefit plans are not right for everybody, but might fit your needs in a pinch.

more information about Texas health insurance and BCBSTX

In Southeastern Pennsylvania, Independence Blue Cross (IBC) in conjunction with Highmark Blue Shield has formed the Caring Foundation which helps to provide free or low-cost health insurance plans to uninsured children and adults in the 5 counties including and surrounding Philadelphia.

Plans that are administered through the Caring Program include Pennsylvania CHIP, Adultbasic, and Special Care.

Special Care in particular is a limited benefit plan providing traditional fee for service coverage to uninsured adults and children in Southeastern PA.

More information about Pennsylvania health insurance and Philadelphia health insurance.

The special enrollment period for those elgible for the COBRA Subsidy Program is coming to a close tommorrow.

The program was available to anyone who lost their jobs between September 1, 2008 and March 17, 2009.

With the COBRA Subsidy Program ending, some options for families in need of individual health insurance coverage include:

1. Enroll in your spouse or partner’s health plan if possible
2. Enroll in an individual health insurance plan
3. Enroll in a short term health plan - generally can purchase up to 12mo. of coverage
4. Enroll in a public health insurance program if available and eligible (ex. Healthy Indiana Plan, or Washington Basic Health Plan)
5. Purchase a low-cost health discount plan as a last resort.

It has become an increasingly common problem that people are purchasing individual health insurance plans believing that they have sufficient health insurance coverage only to find out later that their health plan is chock full of loop holes, exclusions, limitations that make it difficult to realize full protection in the case of a severe accident, injury or illness.

There are many solid individual health insurance plans out there, but the problem arises when people lose their employer sponsored health coverage and must replace this coverage on their own, and very affordably.

In their quest to find a low-cost health insurance plan, many individual health insurance shoppers chose a plan with a super low monthly premium, and with a few must haves that they can identify on the surface.

A few things that health insurance shoppers can do to weed out the majority of these issues are as follows:

1. Avoid plans that are marketed as limited benefit plans.  These are not major-medical health insurance policies and will not proect you adequately in the case of a serious situation
2. Avoid health plans that cap benefits at less than $250,000
3. Avoid policies that do not have limits on out of pocket costs
4. Avoid plans that do not cover the first day of a hospital stay.

As previously mentioned, there are plenty of good individual health plans in each state.  However, you when shopping for the plan that is best for you, make sure to look deeper than the monthly premium.  You should be able to find an affordable health insurance plan that provides adequate protection for you and your family.

Building on yesterday’s post about being Health Insurance Caution below are 7 points made in the referenced Consumer Reports article which are tell-tale signs that your health insurance plan might be junk.

1. Limited Benefits - Never purchase a limited benefit plan.  They are not worth the money
2. Low Coverage Limits - health insurance policies with limits at $25,000 or $10,000 are inadequate to properly protect you in case of a serious accident or illness
3. Affordable Health Plans- not sure I agree with this point?  affordability is relative right?  There are definitely some individual health insurance plans that might be more affordable vis-a-vis other health plans.
4. No coverage for specific procedures etc.things -  If something is not listed, most likely it is not covered
5. Ceilings for Some Health Care Categories - If you have to accept limits on some services, be sure your plan covers hospital and outpatient medical treatment, doctor visits, drugs, and diagnostic and imaging tests without a dollar limit.
6. Out of Pocket Costs with No Cap - Avoid plans that don’t mention your maximum out of pocket costs before the health plan will cover 100% of expenses
7. Random Gotchas - such as not covering the first day of a hospital stay.
   

America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), the health insurance industry trade group, has expressed support for the idea of reforming the health care system. However, in the L.A. Times, Michael Hiltzik warns that insurers may not be as gung-ho about the possibility of universal health care as they present themselves to be.

AHIP recently released a brochure outlining its stands on health care. Some of their proposals include:

• being allowed to offer limited benefit plans among their individual health insurance policies without limits on the premiums insurers are allowed to charge
• a government-run health care option that takes only the “high-risk” patients (with several chronic conditions) private insurers don’t want, which would be very expensive since it prevents the government from spreading risk among a wide population
• a decrease in the fees paid to hospitals and doctors

These proposals are actually quite similar to what the insurance industry has asked for in the past. Michael speculates that insurers seem cooperative now because there is no specific plan for health care reform, but are prepared to fight against specific policies.

House Bill 1143, a Bill that would allow HMOs in Colorado to offer limited benefit plans, received bi-partisan support from the house on Tuesday.  Although the Bill doesn’t specifically lay out what the limited benefit structure would be but Republican Spenser Swalm as well as other supporters believe benefits would be capped in the $30,000 to $50,000 range, and the health plans would be required to maintain coverage for state mandated health benefits.

Speculation is that premiums for these limited benefit plans would be 20-35% less than full coverage

The Bill received final house approval following a 40-25 vote.  Approval from the senate is still required, and is the next step in the process.

The UnitedHealth Group is now offering UnitedHealth Continuity, a policy for those that already have health insurance but are worried that they may lose it in the future. These people may be considering early retirement, or may fear unemployment and the resulting loss of health care coverage. Reed Abelson says in the New York Times that applicants must pass a medical review before being accepted. However, many individuals who have been unable to get insurance on their own are those with pre-existing conditions. The Continuity plan doesn’t seem to be helpful for them.

The UnitedHealth Continuity policy charges members 20% of the current health insurance premium to reserve the right to future coverage, and varies due to age, gender, location, and level of coverage selected. The monthly fee is also subject to increase in the future. There is also the danger of the plan becoming a costly high-risk pool that attracts people more likely to develop serious conditions.

Reed also speculates that proposed health care reforms from the incoming Obama administration include a requirement that private insurers offer individual health coverage to everyone, no matter the state of their health. That type of law would make the new UnitedHealth guarantee unnecessary. The president of UnitedHealth’s individual insurance unit, Richard A. Collins, claims that political wrangling and legislative delays make the Continuity plan viable, at least in the short term.

UnitedHealth Continuity is currently available in 25 states in which UnitedHealth already sells individual insurance. It believes that it will soon be able to offer the Continuity plan in 15 more states.

(Photo credit: Shahram Sharif under CC 2.0)

In yesterday’s Miami Herald, John Dorschner reported that Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida is now offering a discount card statewide for those without health insurance. For $20 per month, the new FamilyBlue card administered by Coverdell gives individuals discounts on routine medical expenses such as:

• prescription drugs and vitamins
• doctor visits
• dental, vision, and hearing care
• diabetes supplies

However, unlike individual health plans the card doesn’t cover hospital stays, which are most likely to lead to medical bankruptcy. Dorschner also wrote of problems surrounding doctor awareness about the program. Out of 10 approved providers for the FamilyBlue card, only one doctor accepted it when asked. Experts say these discount cards may be more suitable for young and healthy individuals less likely to need hospitalization.