Health Insurance Blog

Geisinger Health Plan has announced that they will no longer screen visitors or restrict people from entering Geisinger Medical Center in Danville.  This is great news in terms of the virus and the threat it now poses.  The cases of H1N1 in the area is very low right now and an emergence of the regular seasonal flu has yet to be seen.

Entrances at GMC and GWV will reopen to the public and kids under 12 will be allowed to visit again.  Similar restrictions have been placed in hospitals and health systems throughout the country during the peaks of the H1N1 flu season.  The Cleveland Clinic restricted children from entering unnecessarily even if they did not have the flu.  All of this was done to limit the spread of the flu virus as much as reasonably possible.

Geisinger Health Insurance still encourages all visitors of their health system hospitals to screen themselves for flu like symptoms and stay home if they are under the weather.  Some symptoms to look for according to their website are fever, cough, headache, aching joints, and sore muscles.

Humana Insurance announced in February that they will be cutting their workforce throughout the course of 2010 according to their website.  They will be dropping about 1400 positions, which is about 5%, throughout 2010.  They will be balancing 2500 job reductions with the addition of 1100 jobs in areas that are experiencing growth.  The job cuts will come from attrition, outsourcing, process efficiencies, and the elimination of positions.

Some of the areas experiencing growth right now are medicare cost containment capabilities, pharmacy management, and specialty products.  By growing these lucrative areas Humana can focus on saving money for their members and offering lower Humana insurance quotes.  Humana’s President and CEO Michael B. McCallister regrets the loss of jobs, but says it’s necessary for Humana growth.

All employees affected by this plan will have a 60-day notice period at Humana.  Human Resources plans on working closely with the affected employees to help them find internal positions or outplacement assistance.  Severance packages and continuation of health benefits will be offered.  It seems that no industry is safe from job cuts.

First Lady Michelle Obama launched a program called Let’s Move!, which is a national public/private partnership to stop the epidemic of childhood obesity.  According to BCBSA News, The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association along with their 39 independent BCBS companies strongly support her initiative.

With the launch of this important program the First Lady is bringing together a large range of stakeholders and building a foundation for bringing down childhood obesity.  Approximately 1 out of every 3 children is overweight or obese and this statistic is just staggering and unacceptable.  This puts them at risk for complications such as heart disease, diabetes, stroke and cancer at much earlier ages and BCBS agrees it’s time to get serious about stopping this epidemic

Many BCBS companies, including BCBSAL, have programs designed to promote health and fight obesity.  Focusing in on children is crucial since the next generation is predicted to be the heaviest ever.  The First Lady and her initiative is a great step in the right direction.

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.

Mega Health Insurance has named Keith Gleason on Maine as their National Personal Producer of the Year for 2009.  He was presented with the award at the annual convention for insurance agents held in December in Dallas, Texas.  Gleason is the first to win both the National Personal Producer of the Year and the National First Year Achiever.

Gleason finished 2009 with about $1.6 million in personal production which has brought his career production to over $6 million in only 3 and a half years with Mega Insurance.  In addition to being the top personal producer recognition, Gleason received awards in 10 other categories including top Value Seller Award and the President’s Award for personal and team production.

Senior Vice President Jack Heller says that Gleason works with integrity and a strong commitment to Mega Insurance.  They want other agents to follow in his footsteps and strive for his goals.  He continuously shows quality business with his client relations.

According to their website, Vista Health Plans has expanded their obstetrical and gynecologic (OB/GYN) network.  This was done as part of their Women’s Health Program located in Miami Dade, Broward and Palm Beach Counties.

Vista Health Plans has added 100 OB/GYN physicians and will provide members with access to one of the largest and quality OB/GYN networks in Southern Florida.  The members of Vista Health Plans may see participating specialists in general obstetrics and gynecology in addition to some sub-specialty fields.  These fields include gynecology oncology, uro-gynecology, maternal fetal medicine, and reproductive endocrinology.

You can get a more extensive list of specialties as well as participating physicians in your area by using the “Find A Physician” tool located on Vista Health Plan’s website.

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.

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.

According to the article “Health care: Dose of Uncertainty” by William Pack on mysanantonio.com, small business owners in San Antonio are uneasy about the possible shift of the health care system.  There is an angry attitude from small business owners towards the possibility of health care reform.

For the past years, small business owners have been demanding health insurance changes to decrease costs and help them remain competitive against larger competitors.  San Antonio health insurance may end up being more expensive with more mandates and fewer benefits with reform and hurt small business owners.  But government officials believe that the $1.1 trillion health care plan will bring health insurance costs under control for smaller businesses.

The bill produced by the House claims that they will reduce the number of uninsured people by 34 million over the next 10 years and would end the exclusion of people with pre-existing conditions as well as the dropping of ill individuals.  And mandates are designed to expand the risk pool so costs will drop.  It is still to be determined if fears are warranted, but small business owners who cannot afford to offer individual health insurance now are not confident.