Health Insurance Blog

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.

To fill the need of those looking for short term health insurance in these tough times, Humana One has extended its short term health insurance to five more states.  These states include Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Georgia, and Kansas.  With these 5 new states Humana One now offers short term health insurance to 20 states total according to their website.

This is great news for many consumers in these states as the need for short term health insurance is increasing with the unemployment rate.  The design of the program varies from state to state, but they are quality benefits throughout.

Short term health insurance offers immediate and affordable health care coverage for those who are in between jobs or in the middle of a transition.  It’s a great opportunity for students who are about to graduate, seasonal employees, recent retirees waiting to be eligible for Medicare and those who are unemployed looking for new work.  It can be a very convenient option for many and it’s worth getting Humana Insurance quotes if you are in a state of transition.

Medica Health Insurance has gone mobile according to their website.  You can now get Main Street Medica on your mobile iPhone and compare health insurance costs on the go, right at your fingertips.

Main Street Medica Mobile gives you easy access to price and quality comparison information simply by logging in on your iPhone.  You can simply choose between Chiropractic, Clinic, Medical Equipment/Supplies, Pharmacy, Radiology, or Same Day Surgery to look at the various price estimates for over 60 procedures.  You can also compare generic drugs and medical equipment information.

The estimates are all based on Medica’s in-network contract rates with the various providers in the Medica Choice network.  Medica Health Insurance continues to strive for new and advanced technologies to ensure customer satisfaction and efficiency.

The struggling economy is causing significant issues for many states which provide health plans to assist low-income families.  Many states are being forced to pare back these health insurance programs at the worst possible time…when the number of unemployed Americans continue to rise and people need assistance the most.

The methods by which various states attempt to shave the costs of these programs range from cutting benefits, to freezing new enrollment, to raising the costs that must be picked up by the enrollee.

Among some of the state sponsored low-income health plans that are in trouble include:

• Washington Basic Health - Will fold in July unless $160 Million in additional Revenue.  About 300 Washington residents are added to waiting list each day.
• CoverTN - Tennessee’s state sponsored program.  Halted in December.
• CharterOak Health Plan - Connecticut’s program.  Must freeze enrollment this year unless lawmakers can find more money to keep it open.
• AdultBasic - Pennsylvania’s Program for low income adults.  Increasing fees.  Waiting list doubled in 2009
• General Assistance medical Care Program - Minnesota’s Program will end in March, existing members will be moved over to MinnesotaCare.

Among other viable options for low-income adults who are looking to lower their monthly health insurance costs, while insuring that they will be covered if they fall ill or are in a serious accident, would be to increase the deductible of their existing health plan.  This will keep monthly premiums down, but will require greater out of pocket costs if you should need to utilize medical care.

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.

Our bodies are costing us more and more according to the article “The Growing Price Tag on Your Waistline” by Kimberly Palmer and Sarah Baldauf found on finance.yahoo.com.  The article points out a handful of ways that that our bodies are getting more expensive.

The first way is gym memberships and exercise equipment and their rising prices.  Then there are diet plans and diet advice that millions pay for consistently.  Airlines are charging more per ticket for obese passengers.  Vices such as cigarettes and overeating not only cost money themselves, but add to our overall poor health which costs us.  Companies will often reward employees taking steps to get healthier, so those opting not to are losing out on money.

One of the most costly things we do for our bodies is purchase health insurance and health care.  Health insurance is extremely valuable and ends up saving many people a lot of money in the long run, but some people who face little health concerns from year to year end up paying thousands in premiums.  The article says that the typical family paid $3354 in 2008 in health insurance premiums.  And health insurance quotes can be extremely variable and costly.  Then there are those who are devastated financially by health care costs because they do not have health insurance at all.

Both the House and Senate have passed their versions of health care reform according to the article “Understanding Key Provisions in Federal Health Care Reform” found on Business Journal’s website.  Congressional negotiators are currently working on an agreement between the two bills.  The full House and Senate must approve the package then it’s presented to the President to sign it into law.

It’s predicted to take until at least mid-February before an agreement is reached and it wouldn’t start until 2013 and possibly longer for certain plans.  In 2014 and years after, the health care reform plan budget would increase to match the Consumer Price Index, plus 1%.  Insurance companies and plan administrators would pay this extra tax.  Under the House bill there would be a penalty for each employee not covered by health insurance of 8%, and under the Senate bill the penalty would be $750 per employee not protected.

The article points out that about 30 million of the country’s 46 million uninsured would get health insurance, mostly through federal health insurance subsidies under the new plan.  Health insurance companies would have to redo their criteria for approving policies such as stopping exclusions for pre-existing medical conditions.  This is an important point for those shopping for individual health insurance who have been turned down previously because of an chronic illness they may have.

Health exchanges are included in Congress’s recent health care reform bill.  The article “Health Exchanges: What are They” on healthcentral.com defines a health exchange as a government sponsored market for buying health insurance.  It would be available to people not working for large companies and not on Medicaid, Medicare or any other public program.  Health care reform would result in approximately 30 million Americans using health exchanges to receive their health insurance.

This type of program has pros and cons.  It’s based on the philosophy of managed competition.  Only pre-approved health plans which meet government standards may compete in the health exchanges.  There is much debate over who would control these exchanges.  It can be controlled at state level or national level or a mixture of both.  There would need to be a consistent and fair way to get consumers affordable health insurance quotes.

The article “Collaborate on Health Exchanges” by Gary Lauer on USA Today’s site points out that America is so diverse, and no single approach is going to meet every consumer need.  In order for such a system to work, it will require a collaborative effort to get eligible Americans enrolled into exchanges quickly and smoothly and have significantly more people insured, which is Congress’ ultimate goal.

According to the article “Americans Would Feel Varying Effects From Health Bill” by John Fritze for USA Today, the self-employed are among some of the most affected by the recent passing of the health care bill by Congress.

The article points out that those who buy their health coverage on their own, as opposed to through an employer, will feel some of the biggest changes under the new health care bill.  Along with most Americans, the new bill will require the self-employed and independent contractors to carry health insurance coverage by 2014 or otherwise face a penalty.  Health insurance quotes for the self-employed can be expensive and many choose not to be protected because of this.  About 1/3 of the 22 million self-employed Americans do not currently have coverage.  This number is bound to change in the coming years.

For those who are eligible to receive subsidies, health insurance rates will fall by about 59% on average, but this is only available to those making less than $43,320 per year.  The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the non-group insurance market prices may go up by as much as 13% and this will prove very challenging for the self-employed with slightly higher incomes as they are finding health insurance.

The Senate voted for health care reform last week and changes are just around the corner.  According to the article “Senate Approves Health Care Bill” by Robert Pear on nytimes.com, the passing of the bill will guarantee individual health insurance to millions of Americans and also keep health care costs down.

The new bill has many parts to it but one of the main points is that it would require most Americans to carry health insurance and it would add 15 million people to Medicaid to subsidize private coverage for low and middle income residents.  The budget office believes the bill would offer coverage to about 31 million uninsured Americans but still leave an unsettling 23 million uninsured by 2019.

If this bill does end up becoming a law it will be a major milestone in US history.  This initiative does not carry full support from both sides of Congress which makes it even more complicated.  Only one Republican voted for the House bill last month and in regards to the Senate version, no Republicans voted for that.  This my end up being counterproductive as government tries to improve our health care system.