Health Insurance Blog

Many Americans between the ages of 50-64 are losing their health insurance according to the article “Health Insurance Hard to Find for the Newly Unemployed” by Richard Martin TampaBay.com.  The reason these people are losing their insurance so rapidly is because of rising unemployment and an increasing number of businesses unable to afford health insurance for their employees.

The AARP estimates that approximately 7 million people between 50-64 are uninsured.  This number is growing rapidly and causing much stir in the health care debate in Washington DC.  Until recently, most of the focus has been placed on the young uninsured or Medicare for over 65. 

The main problem with this generation losing their health insurance is this is when they need it most.  Finding health insurance for this group can be challenging as well.  Individual health insurance plans for those over 50 cost much more than employer sponsored plans.  Many plans exclude pre-existing conditions such as diabetes, obesity, or depression, conditions that often come with age.  Studies show that uninsured people are more likely to put off treatment which can lead to declining health.  It’s a vicious cycle that hopefully Congress can end.

According to the article “Fixing Health Care Is Good for Business” by Gary Locke on the Wall Street Journal’s website, without health insurance reform the price of an average household’s health insurance will almost double over the next 10 years from $13,000 to $25,000. 

This is why health care reform is so crucial.  47 million Americans are currently without health insurance and the rising health insurance costs are severely affecting American companies as well.  In 1960, companies spent about 1.2% of payroll on health insurance and by 2006 it was up to 9.9%.  This rate is unsustainable for companies and has to change because it is crushing US jobs. 

The Rand Corporation released a study which showed that excess health insurance costs were contributing to significant job losses.  Escalating costs are also causing flat wages and higher prices on products and services because money is going towards health care costs which have doubled over the last 9 years.  Health insurance reform appears to be around the corner so let’s hope some of these staggering statistics can be turned around.

According to an article on news.prnewswire.com the US Census Bureau just published 2006 estimates of health insurance coverage for each county in the nation.  Small Area Health Insurance Estimates (SAHIE) use a variety of sources for their survey models. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention uses SAHIE to support its National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program.  Free cancer screenings are offered by the program to low income and uninsured women.

Marcus Plescia, the director of the CDC’s Division of Cancer Prevention and Control in Atlanta says that the health insurance estimates are helpful in determining the level of need for cancer screenings in counties nationwide.  The data permits them to plan various programs and figure out how to allocate resources.

This SAHIE program includes data from various different ages, gender, income, race and low income children.  SAHIE offers a snapshot of those without health insurance that can be extremely valuable to officials as they plan to assist the uninsured.

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.

Pfizer has announced that they will provide free prescription drugs to current customers who have lost their jobs and subsequently lost their health insurance coverage.  More than 70 medicines will be available through this temporary program.

To be eligible, a person must have lost their in 2009 and started taking an eligible Pfizer medicine at least three months before losing their job. In addition, to be eligible, customers must also be without prescription drug benefits and must be able to attest to financial hardship.

Pfizer stands to gain, by gaining favor among their customers as well as increasing the likelyhood that these financially strapped customers will continue to take the perscriptions once they get their feet back on the ground.

Eligible participants will receive 12 months of free refills of the eligible perscriptions or until they obtain a replacement health insurance plan.

Healthinsurancefinders.com has recently published a 2009 Guide for Health insurance for the Unemployed.  The free report can be found at http://www.healthinsurancefinders.com/unemployed/guide/

According to a press release announcing the publishing of the report, the objective of the report is to empower the recently unemployed to become more knowledgeable about finding and purchasing the best health insurance coverage for their needs.

The report includes:  FAQs, a comparison chart with pros and cons of health insurance aspects, and other tips and advice.

More information about various health insurance topics:  health insurance essentials, health insurance glossary, PPO health plans,

The Early Show (CBS) ran a segment on Hazardous Health Insurance.  The plot of the segment was that with the growing number of uninsured in America, more and more people are purchasing individual health insurance, and according to a Consumer Reports story many of these individual health plans have major coverage gaps that can be hazardous to your health.

One of the major pitfalls that the Consumer Reports story pointed out was spending limits on vital care.  CBS medical correspondent Jennifer Ashton stated that you should make sure that your health plan covers everything including diagnostics, imaging tests, in-patient and outpatient care and rehabilitation.

Ashton also warned that health insurance premiums that sound too good to be true probably are, and advisies health insurance shoppers to read the fine print, as your enrollment in a health plan is a contract and the details are very important.

On St. Patrick’s Day, there will be a Tuscon health insurance fair to assist the local uninsured, reports the Arizona Daily Star. 30 insurers will be in attendance at the event, taking place in the El Rio Community Health Center.

People without Arizona health insurance (about 1 in 5 of the state’s population) will be able to take advantage of free health screenings, nutrition advice, and more. There will also be help in applying for affordable health insurance plans.

Yesterday, the Associated Press reported that Governor John Lynch is planning to allow adults from ages 19 to 25 to buy New Hampshire health insurance through the state-subsidized Healthy Kids insurance program. Healthy Kids was previously open to children under 18 only.

After a three-month waiting period, young adults earning individual incomes below 400% of the poverty level ($3,610 per month) and without access to parent- or employer-sponsored health insurance will be allowed to participate in the buy-in program. The economy’s current troubles make it less likely that this age group will quickly find jobs with medical benefits, making this measure even more urgent. Currently, around 22,000 young adults in New Hampshire are uninsured.

The exact cost of the health insurance premiums is being finalized, but the president of Healthy Kids expects it to be less than $200 per month, significantly more affordable than most individual health plans.

The Massachusetts health insurance mandate, passed in 2006 in an attempt at health care reform, is facing some unexpected challenges during this recession. Steve LeBlanc of the Associated Press says that increasing unemployment rates will make more people unable to fulfill the insurance requirement. Failing to buy health insurance will result in up to $1,000 in fines per tax year (taken from tax refunds), although the sentence is often waived. In 2007, only about 1% of the Massachusetts population did not buy health insurance, but experts predict that number will increase due to consumers focusing on other priorities.

While insurance is completely free for the poor and subsidizes plans for people making up to 300% of the poverty level, private individual health insurance can still be out of reach. The state does cover health insurance costs for as long as someone is collecting unemployment benefits, which helps those who have been laid off. However, the influx of new applicants to subsidized plans is expected to cost $800 million in the new fiscal year’s budget, an increase of $60 million.

Steve reports that some legislators believe the current law is unrealistic given current economic conditions and should be waived for the newly unemployed, but Democratic Governor Deval Patrick vows to continue the program and cut other spending to balance the budget instead.