Health Insurance Blog

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.

Geisinger Health Plan has an extremely useful website which offers tools for their members to better their health.  Their main goal is that their members have positive and comfortable encounters as they navigate the website and use the various services available.

Some of the tools offered on the website include health librarians available to answer questions, CareCost estimator to assist with health care finances, viewing and paying bills online, patient rights and responsibilities and help for teens and young adults.

The Teen Help option is a proactive approach to keeping teens safe.  They offer hotlines for AIDS, runaways, STD’s, suicide prevention, pregnancy care, and domestic violence.  It is sponsored by the Teenage Pregnancy Prevention Task Force and supported by Geisinger Health Insurance.  You can sign up online to receive additional information on Geisinger Health Plans and their various tools and services.

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

Approximately 1 million Americans have been infected with the H1N1 virus, more commonly known as the swine flu, according to the article “Individual Health Insurance Could Provide Assistance for Swine Flu Vaccines” by Maggie Guo found on the Ethiopian Review. 

People who are covered by certain individual health insurance companies may have the swine flu vaccine paid for.  Anthem Blue Cross is covering their customers who carry vaccine coverage and America’s Health Insurance Plans says it will offer similar protections according to a St. Louis Post-Dispatch report.

Once the Food and Drug Administration approves treatment there will be roughly 160 million doses of innoculations according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  Clinical trials are currently in progress.  Across the country, cities are establishing free clinics to give vaccines.  There will be 100 centers in NYC alone in addition to a center at each elementary school.  Chicago and LA are following similar plans.

The Texas Health Insurance Pool website gives some history and background to what the pool is and how it benefits Texas residents.

The Texas Legislature created the Texas Health Insurance Pool to provide Texas health insurance benefits to eligible Texans who are unable to get coverage from commercial insurance companies because of previous or current medical conditions. 

The Pool is also an alternative means for individual health insurance coverage which guarantees transferring coverage to qualified residents who lose their coverage under an employer based plan, a church plan, or a state plan.  This is mandated by the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, also known as HIPPAA.

According to a press release from July 15 on 1888pressrelease.com entitled “Health Insurance Quotes Go Down When You Shape Up”, as unemployment increases so does the number of uninsured since many people turn to employer-based health insurance plans.  Health insurance costs are often unaffordable for the unemployed, but there are ways to keep costs down.

An article on Insuranceagents.com states that simply making some lifestyle changes can affect your health insurance quotes.  Policyholders are recommended to get plenty of sleep, eat a well-balanced diet, take vitamins, cut smoking, monitor weight and exercise regularly.  Overweight people spend much more on health insurance because they are filing more claims and often times have pre-existing conditions such as diabetes or heart disease.  Obesity is also the second leading cause of death in America, estimated to cause around 300,000 deaths per year according to the Surgeon General.

Staying healthy can save you money in the long run on health insurance as well as help you live a longer, higher quality life so it really is a win-win situation to get fit.

If you have health insurance, either through an employer or one of the many individual health plans, it’s possible that you still don’t have enough coverage! Roxanne Patel Sheplavy exposes the new health trend in the February 2009 issue of Fitness magazine: more Americans than ever are underinsured. The Commonwealth Fund defines being “underinsured” as spending 5-10% of your income on out-of-pocket expenses, including skyrocketing deductibles and extremely expensive co-payments that may prevent individuals from recieving essential medications or care. One in seven adults in 2007 fell in this category, and in this economy even more employers and insurers are cutting back on what their health insurance policies cover.

Fortunately, Roxanne stresses that there are resources available to help the underinsured before they are burdened by medical debt (believe it or not, three-quarters of medical bankruptcies involve individuals and families that had insurance!). These organizations may be able to assist you in paying your bills, renegotiating payments, or whatever else you need to handle your medical expenses.

Where To Go If You Are Underinsured:

• Co-Pay Relief
• Healthwell Foundation
• Patient Services Incorporated
• Patient Access Network Foundation
• CancerCare