Health Insurance Blog

Based solely on national market share, the “top”  (i.e. largest membership base) Medicare Supplement providers in the country in 2008-2009 were as follows:

1.  United Healthcare (driven by AARP contract) 29% market share

2.  Wellpoint  8%

3.  Mutual of Omaha 6%

4.  Health Care Services Corp.  5%

5.  Conseco 4%

As you can see, the five largest carriers account for 52% market share, and the remaining 48% is captured by dozens if not hundreds of smaller companies.

When Medicare Advantage and other Medicare products are factored into the mix, like prescription drug plans (PDP), the top four companies would be AARP, Humana, Wellpoint and Universal American respectively.

Akron Ohio based Summacare is going old-school by bringing back an old fashioned health care tradition and will be once again making house calls.

The Summacare House Call Program will be made available to select members of their traditional Medicare health plans in addition to members of their Medicare managed care products.

As part of the program, a geriatrician or nurse practitioner makes house calls to provide routine and preventive health care for frail patients who struggle to get to their doctor’s office.

In addition to being enrolled in one of SummaCare’s eligible products, patients also must have a diagnosis of hypertension, heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes, bacterial pneumonia or other chronic illnesses to be eligible for the program.

More about: senior health insurance options, Ohio health insurance.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida offers many seminars throughout the state to the public as well as members to get out valuable information on their Medicare and Medigap programs.  Through these often times free seminars and senior expos Medicare beneficiaries can ask any questions and get clarification on the often times complicated Medicare plan.

Blue Cross Blue Shield Medicare supplemental insurance is also discussed in these seminars and interested consumers can obtain pamphlets of information in addition to asking questions to a live representative.  One of the most recent events was held at The Courtyard Fort Lauderdale to educate those interested specifically in Medicare Advantage (HMO, PPO, PFFS), medicare supplements, and Medicare Part D plans for 2010.  This event was open to the public free of charge.  Understanding your Medicare health insurance quotes can prove very beneficial as you shop around in the very competitive market.

A complete calendar of events is available on BCBSFL’s website which includes dates, times, locations and what will be covered at the seminar.  If you are a medicare beneficiary or will be soon, it’s worth your time to see if there are any available events in your area.

The online AARP Bulletin Today has a plethora of health care reform information for their members to sort through.  Many members are fearful of how their medicare and AARP Medicare supplements will be affected by health care reform if it passes.  The article “Lost in the Rhetoric: New Gains for Medicare Beneficiaries” by Susan Jaffe clears up some of the confusion.

The article points out that proposed legislation could offer additional benefits and more flexibility for improved Medicare.  Both the House and Senate health care bills would reduce overpayments to private insurance companies offering Medicare Advantage plans.  In the Senate bill there is a provision that guarantees that no basic Medicare benefits would be removed and that the savings are to be used to improve health care.

There are also some additional benefits being added to Medicare for free.  These include mammograms and colonoscopies, two of the most important tests for seniors.  There will also be annual medical checkups for Medicare beneficiaries free of charge.  Overall the proposed bills are trying to make Medicare and individual health insurance simpler and more affordable for Americans.  It’s still in a wait and see stage.

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.

State Farm health insurance has teamed up with Humana in an alliance to offer Medicare Prescription Drug Plans, also known as Medicare Part D.  Humana’s Medicare Prescription Drug Plans offers guidance on how to save money on your prescriptions.  They make it easy for you to keep track of prescription costs.  They offer a SmartSummary RxSM statement which shows what you bought and the varying costs.

It’s benefits like these that make State Farm and Humana Medicare supplement insurance plans unique.  Humana offers 3 stand alone Medicare Prescription Drug Plans to help balance your health insurance budget.  In today’s economy and so many pinching pennies, this benefit proves extremely valuable.

State Farm and Humana have joined to market Medicare Advantage plans as well.  This type of plan combines the benefit of prescription drug coverage with the Medicare health coverage in one convenient plan.  They offer additional benefits when compared to Original Medicare.

According to the Humana Big Book commercial, signing up for Humana’s medicare program can be as easy as 3 steps.  Upon viewing their website it’s really true.

Obtaining Humana insurance quotes online has always been relatively simple, but now the company is marketing strong their Medicare programs.  With more and more Medicare eligible consumers becoming internet savvy, more programs are encouraging shopping around online.  Humana claims to have a wide array of plans so you are bound to find one that will fit your needs.  On their website you can easily compare Medicare Advantage plans, compare prescription drug plans, review plan features and enroll online instantly if you choose to do so.

Now is the perfect time for marketing Medigap supplemental insurance plans because the time period for changing Medicare Advantage plans or prescription plans for ‘10 is January 1 through March 31.  This holds true unless you recently became eligible for Medicare or if you have certain special circumstances.

PacificSource Health Plans has acquired Clear One Health Plans for $46 Million.  Under the merger agreement, Clear One will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Eugene Oregon based PacificSource.

The merger will allow PacificSource to increase its presence in Central Oregon and expand into the Medicare and Medicaid markets through Clear One Health Plans  operation while continuing to devote energy towards PacificSource’s commercial health insurance business.

The deal still requires approval by the Oregon Insurance Division, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the Oregon Division of Medical Assistance Programs, as well as final shareholder approval.

Bend Oregon based Clear One provides health insurance, including Medicare Advantage plans, commercial plans, individual health insurance plans as well as administrative services to individuals and businesses throughout the West.

After the merger, PacificSource Health Plans is expected to cover about 228,000 members and PacificSource TPA about 80,000. Employer clients are expected to total 5,676 and 303 respectively.

More information about Oregon Health Insurance.

According to the article “Advantage Plan Cancellation: What To Do” found on TucsonCitizen.com, you have two options in the case that your Medicare Advantage Plan is cancelled.  It’s important to understand those options to the best of your ability so you aren’t left without coverage for any period of time.

The first option is to change to another Advantage Plan as quickly as possible.  The other option is to return to a Medicare Plan and get a Medicare Supplement along with it.  This is called “guaranteed issue” and it’s a great option for many.  Finding individual health insurance can be challenging for anyone, but when your Medicare Advantage Plan is cancelled, you don’t want to be left scrambling.

In order to take advantage of “guaranteed issue” a few requirements must be met.  A copy of the cancellation letter from the company canceling the Medicare Advantage Plan must be submitted along with the Medicare Supplement application.  It’s important to ensure the appropriate boxes on the application are checked to show that one would be eligible for “guaranteed issue”.