Health Insurance Blog

According to the article “Overhaul of Health Care Bad for Seniors” by John Fanning on summitdaily.com, many senior citizens are losing their health insurance coverage in 2010 as many insurers have reduced medicare supplement plans or have increased premiums drastically. 

Many seniors are currently struggling to get by and paying for health insurance is just another worry on their plate.  If the current health care bill passes in Congress, advantage plans may be dismantled and seniors will need to find a prescription drug plan for MedicareD.  This can add an additional $25-$50 to the cost of their health care.  With many senior citizens living off of only social security this can be disastrous, especially since there is no SS increase for 2010. 

Over 12 million Medicare benficiaries are enrolled in Medicare Advantage Plans which represents 23% of the total Medicare population.  Many use Medicare supplement insurance as well.  Medicare pays about 11% more for a beneficiary to have a Medicare Advantage plan than for original Medicare on average. 

In the recent US News and World Report annual health plan rankings report, two health plans offered by Highmark ranked as being among the best health plans in the nation.

• SecurityBlue, HighMark’s Medicare Advantage HMO ranked #32 among Medicare Health Plans
• Among Commercial HMOs, Keystone Blue (offered by Highmark subsidiary Keystone Health Plan West) ranked 47th

Both of the above health plans were rated as excellent.

More information about:  Pennsylvania Health Insurance, Medicare Advantage Plans, HighMark BlueShield

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas gives some great information on Medicare Supplements on their website.  Having Texas health insurance or Medicare often isn’t enough to cover you in the case of medical treatment.

The article on BCBSTX’s website outlines a summary on medicare supplements.  As more people know, Medicare is a federally run program which helps older Americans and some disabled Americans cover the costs of health care.  Unfortunately, Medicare does not cover all medical costs and this is where supplement insurance can come in very handy. 

Even with full Medicare coverage many are still responsible for other health care charges such as hospital deductibles, copayments for hospital stays over 60 days, care in a skilled nursing facility after 20 days, and a portion of doctor bills or other medical expenses.  Medicare supplements fills in the gaps between what your health care costs and what Medicare is covering.  Medicare supplement insurance, by law, is standardized into 12 plans and can get complicated.  To learn more and see if you qualify, visit BCBSTX’s website.

US News and World Report recently released their updated health plan rankings for 2009-2010.  Their rankings of Medicare Health Plans was as follows, with 2008 ranking in parenthesis.

1. Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Colorado (8)
2. Fallon Community Health Plan (Not In Top 10)
3. Geisinger Health Plan (3)
4. Tufts Associated Health Maintenance Organization (10)
5. Capital Health Plan (7)
6. MVP Health Care (Not in Top 10)
7. Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Northwest (Not in Top 10)
8. Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Southern California (2)
9. Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Northwest (Demonstration Project) (NR)
10. Capital District Health Plan (9)

In 2008, Preferred Care was the top rated Medicare Health Plan by US News.  In this years study, they failed to make the top 10.  Kaiser Foundation Health Plans fared very well in the 2009-2010 study, with 4 of their regional plans being ranked among the top 10 plans in the country, with the Colorado plan occupying the top spot.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan (BCBSM) doesn’t advertise their Medicare Supplement plans because they are such money losers for the company.  BCBSM has a dominant market position with nearly 60% market share, and the second largest Medicare Supplement membership rests with United Healthcare who maintains just under 20% of the market.

Several other health insurance carriers in Michigan are trying to take advantage of the fact that BCBSM’s is not marketing their plans aggressively by launching products of their own in Michigan in 2010.  Priority Health, Aetna, and Blue Care Network (a subsidiary of BCBSM), will all launch Medicare Supplement offerings to Michigan residents in 2010.  In addition, Health Alliance Plan began selling Medicare Supplements in 2008.

More information about Michigan health insurance.

According to the article “Humana Profit Rises 65% Despite Commercial Falloff” by The Associated Press on the NYTimes.com, Humana One posted a significant profit because of an increase in membership and premiums from Medicare Advantage. 

Humana’s quarterly revenue increased by 8% as enrollment rose 11% from last year in its Medicare Advantage.  Enrollment in its plans sold to employers dropped by 7.6% from a year ago.  This contributed to a pretax loss in their commercial segment.  Many health insurance companies are suffering as employer-sponsored health coverage plans drop because of layoffs and companies going out of business.  In October, the 3 largest publicly traded health insurers, incliding United Health Group, WellPoint and Aetna, reported 3rd quarter results which were below expectations.

Humana says it spent approximately $5 million on swine flu related costs in the 3rd quarter.  The chief financial officer said the company expected a heavier swine flu season for the 4th quarter.  Now more than ever it’s crucial to ensure you have proper health insurance coverage.  You can get Humana insurance quotes online to see if you can save some money and get insured.

Open enrollment for Medicare Advantage plans is rapidly approaching (November 15 - December 31).  We thought we’d blog about some of the top rated plans in each state according to US News and World Reports annual rankings.

In California, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan boasts the 2 top ranked plans in the state. Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Southern California was the top rated Medicare health plan in California with an overall score of 88.1, followed by Kaiser’s plan covering Northern California (86.8).  These two plans were followed by Health Net of California (83.2), Pacificare of California (81.7) and Aetna Health of California (80.4).

None of the twenty California Medicare Plans ranked in this study received a customer assessment score of greater than three stars out of five.  However, both Kaiser plans faired very well in both treatment and prevention measures, with five stars.

More information about California health insurance.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida (BCBSF) has introduced a new Medicare Advantage plan to its portfolio of health plans for seniors.

BlueMedicare Regional PPO joins a senior health insurance portfolio which already included HMO, PPO, Fee-for-service, Medicare Part D, and traditional Medicare Supplement Plans.

BlueMedicare Regional PPO is available across Florida for a $45 monthly premium.  Benefits include the ability for members to choose theit own doctors ans hospitals with no referrals required, as well as both in-network and out-of-network coverage.

More information about Florida health insurance and Medicare Advantage Plans.

According to the article “Medicare Advantage Premiums Expected to Rise 25% Next Year” by Jane Zhang for The Wall Street Journal online, premiums that seniors pay for Medicare Advantage are increasing.  This is mostly because insurance companies are cancelling many plans that carry no premiums in response to new federal guidelines. 

Humana Health Insurance Inc is setting up networks for its Private Fee for Service insurance plans and consolidating them next year.  Humana will have 149 Private Fee for Service Plans, which is down from 173 in 2009.  Humana made other changes such as the special needs plans which targets sicker people enrolled. 

The number of Medicare Advantage plans will drop by approximately 40% in total.  This is according to an Avalere analysis of Medicare data.  Some consumers will see their plans change dramatically and others will see their plans simply go away.  It’s important they are prepared for what changes may impact them directly.

Aetna has announced that they are discontinuing two Medicare Advantage Plans.  The first is being shut down because its membership dropped below the Federal requirement of at least 100 members.  It had 75 members.  The other is being phased out in all but 5 states due to a new Federal requirement that all fee for service Medicare Advantage plans be network based by 2011.

In similar news, Independence Blue Cross is terminating plans that current cover about 44,000 seniors.

If you have lost your Medicare Advantage plan, you can shop for replacement coverage here at healthinsurancesort.com