Health Insurance Blog

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.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama now offers health and dental coverage for children and young adults from birth to age 24.  According to their website, your child may be eligible if he or she is a resident of Alabama, is not eligible for Medicare, and they meet certain health underwriting guidelines.

This is a fantastic program offered through BCBSAL.  The plan covers doctor’s visits, emergency room visits, prescription drugs, lab tests, outpatient surgery, hospital costs, ambulance services, physical therapy, allergy testing, mental health treatment and many more.

Ages 0-14 can get health insurance quotes as low as $76/mos and ages 15-24 can pay as little as $80/mos.  You can easily add dental coverage as well for as low as $17/mos.  During a time where individual health insurance and family plans can be challenging to find at an affordable price, this is a program that will benefit many.

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.

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.

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.

Upon the heels of the H1N1 virus outbreak, Geisinger Health Plan hospitals will continue to have visitation restrictions.  Geisinger Medical Center and Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center will keep enforcing the visitor restrictions to help prevent the spread of H1N1 and other dangerous viruses.

Dr. Lisa Esolen, Medical Director for Infection Control at Geisinger Health System says that this has been an unpredictable flu season and they are committed to protecting patients.  Children under 12 are restricted from visiting all areas and everyone else will be screened for flu-like symptoms.  The H1N1 pandemic has slowed down but seasonal flu is starting up.  Past flu viruses have shown spikes in January through March.

Many people each year are hospitalized for the flu which is just one more reason to ensure you are protected with individual health insurance.  With the new health care reform bill which recently passed in Congress, most Americans will be required to carry health insurance coverage which will help cover costs for such flu pandemics.

According to the BCBSA website, BCBSA has started a new Pediatric Obesity and Diabetes Prevention Pilot Program in Texas, New Mexico, Mississippi, North Carolina and Kansas.  Through this program Blue Cross Blue Shield plans on reducing the epidemic of childhood obesity and stop further cases of young people getting Type 2 Diabetes.

The plan consists informational toolkits for doctors to use as reference guides when addressing obesity.  The kit was designed with the American Diabetes Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics to encourage healthy choices and was passed out in mid-November.  BCBS collectively protects over 100 million Americans through individual health insurance and other health insurance policies, so this large effort by them should have a great impact.

The toolkit offers healthy lifestyle suggestions such as eating 5 servings of fruits and vegetables a day, limiting TV time to 2 hours a day, getting an hour of physical activity every day, and stop drinking sweetened drinks.  According to the US Department of Health and Human Services, an overweight teen has a 70% chance of becoming an obese adult which is one of the leading causes of health issues in our country.  This type of action is proving very necessary.

Texas insurance consumer advocate is looking to get rid of the blanket authority of health insurance companies to decide what their policies will cover according to the article “Texas Consumer Advocate Wants Ban on Health Insurers’ Blanket Clauses” by Terrence Stutz on DallasNews.com.  This would cause a big impact on individual health insurance in Texas.

Deeia Beck, the Public Insurance Counsel, asked the state’s insurance commissioner to stop provisions present in many health insurance policies, called discretionary clauses.  This gives health insurance companies the freedom to decide what benefits will get paid.  The health insurance industry strongly opposes this type of change being made.

There are currently 22 states who have banned this clause, and Texas may be next.  Insurance Commissioner, Mike Geesline, has held a hearing to consider whether or not to move forward with this proposal.  The National Association of Insurance Commissioners has urged its members to stop this practice.

Humana One has valuable information on their website about special discounts that they currently offer and in today’s economy we’ll take all the discounts we can get.

Some examples of useful Humana One discount programs that will save you money are eye care and vision services, which can save you up to 35% off retail on glasses and over the counter and prescription medications which can save you up to 25%.

Humana One also offers special discounts on chiropractic, acupuncture, and massage therapy saving members up to 30%.  Discounts on health-related products and services, which also includes skin care, nutrtional supplements and vitamins, can save members about 20%.

All of these discounts add up and can mean huge savings on PPO health insurance.