Wednesday, January 9, 2013

One Fiscal Cliff Down and Three To Go––But No Real Solution On the Horizon

Last week's deal to avert the "fiscal cliff" settled very little.

For those in the health care market, I will suggest the big takeaway is that we should expect very little will be settled in the coming months and we will continue to face a great deal of uncertainty for years to come.

Without an agreement to alter the course we are on, it is estimated that we will add more than $10 trillion to

Thursday, December 13, 2012

More Predictions of Rate Shock Because of the New Health Law

Last week, I reported on my informal survey of health insurance companies and their estimate for how much rates will rise on account of the Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare").

Today, there are press reports quoting the CEO of Aetna with their estimate. The Aetna estimate is worse than mine.

From Bloomberg:

Health insurance premiums may as
much as double for some small businesses and individual

Sunday, December 9, 2012

Conservative States: Do a Partnership Exchange? Expand Medicaid?

Should states build their own health insurance exchanges under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) ("Obamacare")?

Should states expand their Medicaid programs under the ACA?

These are the tough questions many, particularly conservative, states are now wrestling with. While it is too late for a state to now decide to build an exchange before the fast approaching launch date, it is still possible to

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

The Affordable Care Act: Ten Months to Launch "Obamacare"––Get Ready for Some Startling Rate Increases

What will health insurance cost in 2014?

Will the new health insurance exchanges be ready on time or will the law have to be delayed?

There Will Be Sticker Shock!
First, get ready for some startling rate increases in the individual and small group health insurance marketplace due to the changes the law dictates.

In a November 2009 report, the CBO estimated that premiums in the individual

Friday, November 30, 2012

The Feds Will Administer the Insurance Exchanges for Twice What it Costs to Administer Medicare

The Obama administration just released another set of regulations, the "Draft Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters for 2014."

Among many other things in the 373 pages, they have announced their proposed assessments to cover the cost of running the federal exchange.

In order for the feds to administer the new insurance exchanges, they have proposed a fee of 3.5% of premium on each insurance

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

The 2012 Elections and 2013––We Face a Daunting To-Do List

The Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare") is now settled law.
It will be implemented. It will also have to be changed but not until after it is implemented and the required changes become obvious and unavoidable. We can all debate what those things will be (cost containment is on top of my list) but it doesn't matter what we think will happen––time will tell. 

There are and will be more lawsuits.
I

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Private Health Insurance Exchanges––Will They Save Money? Will the Idea Grow?

Private health insurance exchanges will save employers money but not make health insurance cheaper.

Because private health insurance will save employers money, they will grow.

Will Private Insurance Exchanges Reduce Health Insurance Costs?

There's lots of buzz these days about private insurance exchanges. The idea is to give employees more choice in purchasing their own individual coverage

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Will Many of the Smallest Employers Circumvent the Affordable Care Act by Using Self-Insurance?

Not surprisingly, only about 10% of firms with fewer than 200 workers take advantage of self-insurance––and almost no very small groups (fewer than 50 workers) use the product. It just isn't worth it for these small employer groups to take the risk that they will either have too many claims or very big claims from their workers––that is what insurance companies are for.

Already, 96% of workers

Friday, September 21, 2012

The Medicaid Controversy––The Republican Governors Should Put Up or Shut Up

Indiana, New Mexico, and Wisconsin are asking the federal government
to exempt people making between 100% and 133% of the poverty level from
the upcoming Medicaid expansion.

These Republican governors need to put up or shut up.

Ever since the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Republican governors have been clamoring for block granting Medicaid.

The Supreme Court ruled that a state

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Romney Intends to Repeal “Obamacare” in 2013—Has He Thought Through the Unintended Consequences If He Does?

Romney says he will repeal “Obamacare” if he is elected. Given that this has been part of his platform from the beginning of the campaign he is entitled to do that if he wins.

I did not support passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2010 because I saw it as an unaffordable entitlement expansion with no real hope of containing costs.

But the practical reality of killing the Affordable Care

Monday, September 10, 2012

Obama vs. Romney: A Detailed Analysis of Mitt Romney’s Health Care Reform Plan

Let’s take a look at Mitt Romney’s Health Care plan using his own outline ("Mitt’s Plan") on his website.

Romney's approach to health care reform summarized:

"Kill Obamacare" - There seems to be no chance Romney would try to fix the Affordable Care Act––he would repeal all of it.
No new federal health insurance reform law - There is no indication from his policy outline that he would try to

Monday, August 20, 2012

Romney vs. Obama: The Romney-Ryan Medicare Plan Compared to the Obama Medicare Plan—Who’s Telling the Truth on Medicare?

They both are and they both aren’t.

I’ve never seen a week in health care policy like last week. The media reports have to be in the thousands, all trying to make sense of the furious debate between Obama and Romney over Medicare.

As someone who has studied this issue for more than 20 years, it has also been more than exasperating for me to watch each side trade claims and for the press to try

Monday, August 13, 2012

Wyden and Ryan—One is Up and the Other is Down—and They Are Both Telling the Truth

Republican Vice Presidential pick Paul Ryan isn’t the only one Democrats are piling on this week. The knives have come out for Senator Ron Wyden, the Oregon Democrat.

I guess that isn’t a surprise. If Ron Wyden is right on Medicare then so are Paul Ryan and Mitt Romney.

The fundamental problem here is that the Democrats have decided that their best path to victory in the November elections is

Monday, July 16, 2012

What Is Disability Insurance.

What Is Disability Insurance. We all know how important typical health insurance is, but did you know that disability insurance is just as important? In the event that you are hurt on the job, & cannot work, disability insurance will give you peace of mind-you will still able to provide for your family. While we would like to think that we always work safely, accidents do happen & you need to be sure that you have every angle covered in the event of an accident. If you become ill/injured on the job & as a result you are unable to return to work, there are a couple of options that will replace lost income. These types of disability insurance are not going to fully replace your income because they want you to have an incentive for returning back to work once you get well.
Social Security benefits are paid to you when your disability is expected to last for at least one year. Most of the time this is when no gainful employment can occur & you must remain out of work for the entire duration of your leave. Employer-paid disability is required by almost every state in the United States. This type of disability insurance is deducted from your paycheck, & is there for you in the event of an accident. When you are looking at disability insurance policies, it is important to understand what they mean. While the two available policies are both for disability, they both cover a different amount of time you will be covered, & when you will start receiving your compensation.
A short-term disability policy means that you will be covered for no longer than two years. With this policy you may have to wait up to fourteen days before you start receiving compensation. A long-term disability policy is a little different. The disability compensation will not kick in for several weeks, sometimes a couple of months. However, long-term disability will cover you for a longer period of time, & sometimes for the rest of your life.
Along with having the two different types of insurance policies, there are also two different protection features. Protection is offered to you to ensure that you are not going to be treated unfairly due to your inability to work. Non-cancelable means that for no reason other than not paying your premiums can your policy be canceled. With this type of policy you will lock in your premium & will not risk a decrease in the benefits. On the other hand, a guaranteed renewable policy means that the same benefits will be available every year. The only way that your premium will be increased is if every policyholder within the same rating class as yourself increases also.
While there are many options when choosing disability insurance as well, these are the most popular selections. It is important to discuss all available options when choosing a disability insurance policy to ensure that you know what you will receive in the event of an accident/illness. Research your options to find the best choice for you & your family.

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

The Game’s Not Over, and It May Not Even Be The Real Game

by Brian Klepper

Like most health law watchers, I was surprised by the recent Supreme Court decision. I'm sure that on this issue, as with everything else, zealous responses rationalize the result and split the country down the middle.

I expected the Court to be purely partisan, but apparently Chief Justice John Roberts, acknowledging the gravity of his role, saw his way clear to support the

How Easy To Get Obtaining Health Insurance

How Easy To Get Obtaining Health Insurance. Many people are often concerned about obtaining health insurance. They are confused about their options / about how to obtain the best health insurance for them / their family. There are several ways to obtain health insurance, though, & some of them are not always obvious, but can be quite easy in the end.
Health insurance is commonly obtained through an employer. Nearly all employers these days offer some sort of "group" health insurance plan for employees. The term "group" simply denotes that there is a large group of people on the plan, which decreases the cost of the monthly premium for all members. These plans can cover yourself, your spouse, & your family, depending on the specific policy. Covering more than just yourself obviously increases your monthly premium, but the ability to cover your family inexpensively is a huge benefit. To obtain group health insurance through your employer, you should contact your human resources department / whoever is in charge of benefits in your company. You should be able to buy into the group health insurance plan at any time during your employment.
If you leave an employer who offers group health insurance without first finding other coverage, you can also use the COBRA law with your previous employer's health insurance coverage. COBRA is a government act that allows you to continue coverage under your previous employer, though at a more expensive rate. If you had coverage for your entire family, COBRA will allow you to continue this full coverage for a certain period of time.
There are several million people in the United States who are unable to participate in any group health insurance plans, however. Health insurance companies do offer individual plans for those who do not have coverage through their employer, are self-employed, / are ineligible for government health insurance assistance, such as Medicare / Medicaid. Individual health insurance plans are more often than not very expensive in relation to group health insurance plans. These plans can also cover family members & spouses for additional costs. Finding individual health plans is not difficult. Almost all health insurance companies offer individual plans; you can now search online for individual health insurance plans. Some Web sites even allow you to compare pricing & details of plans offered in your area - much like shopping for car insurance.
There is also federal health assistance available depending on certain criteria. If you are over the age of Sixty five / if you have a disability/specific condition (detailed by the government), you are eligible for Medicare. Medicaid is another government health insurance program that is based on income. Overall, it is simply important to be covered, no matter how you go about doing it. Research your options of coverage & speak with a professional to find out more about the health insurance options available to you.

Health Insurance If You Living Abroad

Health Insurance If You Living Abroad. You may not know this already, but when planning on traveling abroad you cannot take your local insurance with you. You will need to purchase an international insurance plan offered by a multinational insurance company. While they may be hard to track down, it is the best way to assure that in the event of an accident / illness you will be able to acquire medical attention if needed.
Many of these plans will cover you up to six months in another country. When you speak with the insurance company, be prepared to give an extensive list of information to them. This will range from health problems you've had in the past ten years, your hereditary conditions to substance abuse, & almost everything else-if it has anything to do with your health be prepared to disclose the information. If you are planning on traveling with more than one family member, then be prepared to give information for each family member as well.
Many times your basic coverage will include emergency treatment regardless of which facility it is administered. This is not the case with minor medical treatment. It is important to know whether you are buying an insurance plan that is an HMO / PPO. If you are under an HMO/health maintenance organization, then you will be limited to receiving care from only the providers who are in their network. You can retrieve a list of all the companies within your insurer's network upon request. If you are under a PPO, / preferred provider organization, you will have the opportunity to pick the best facility you see fit, but your insurer will only cover a portion of the incurred cost.
If you plan on staying abroad for more than six months then you will need to look into what is called expatriate health insurance. Only larger companies supply this type of insurance, as it is much more extensive with the type of options that can be applied to each policy. The type of treatment options that are covered with expatriate health insurance are those that are labeled as specialty treatments, like chiropractic therapy & acupuncture. There are many options that can be applied to expatriate health insurance depending on your family's needs & how long you plan on spending abroad.
There are many options for health insurance when you are traveling abroad. While many individuals never consider purchasing insurance when traveling to another country, this should be at the top of your list when planning for a trip. Health insurance should not be taken lightly. Be sure you understand every aspect of your policy before deciding with any one particular company.

Monday, July 2, 2012

Find for Knowledge Information Sources on Health Insurance

Find for Knowledge Information Sources on Health Insurance. Health insurance can be confusing, especially if it is your first time shopping around with different providers. Terms such as deductible, co-payments, & pre-existing conditions can be confusing if you do not know what they really mean. There are many ways to find out more about health insurance so that you are as knowledgeable as possible. You could talk to a health insurance company who can give you an explanation & also an example to further your understanding. The Internet is also a great informational tool when you have any questions regarding information that you need to know about health insurance.
Logically, you would assume that the experts at the insurance company would be able to answer any questions that you have about terminology & any other queries that you have. The best way to get in touch with them is to simply call your provider & ask any questions that you have, no matter how general / specific. They are there to help you, & this should be your primary concern. Think about it-if an agent isn't helpful with your preliminary questions, just how helpful will he / she be if you need to settle a claim? If you get your health insurance through the company that you work for, there is usually a person in charge of handling any questions. Usually their title is "benefits administrator" & you would go to them with any questions regarding your health insurance plan, such as adding a spouse / children to your plan.
For answers to general questions such as terminology confusion, an Internet search engine can point you straight to your answer. This is a great options available to anyone who does not want to call their health insurance company just for a couple of simple questions. There may be information that you had overlooked in the past when you quickly skimmed through your policy. Your specific provider may have a web site where you can get facts about anything, including anything that you may not have been clear on regarding any additional benefits they offer. You can read all of the literature available at your own pace & on your own time.
If you would like to know more about health insurance, rest assured that there is a lot of information out there. You could make a call to your current provider & ask away on any questions that you have. For those who would prefer to learn the ins-&-outs of insurance at their own pace, the Internet has limitless information that is available to you at any time of day. Health insurance can be complicated at first, but the more you know the better off you will be.

Future Health with Health Insurance

Future Health with Health Insurance. A lot of kinds of things we need to accomplish. It is not merely the needs of primary but we also need supplementary needs like insurance. Well, for our health guarantee, we can get health insurance in which there are a lot of companies which can support us to get the insurance. There are insurance companies which offer us guarantee for our health condition in the future. Since medical cost is increased to be higher and higher, we will gain values from joining insurance.

By paying the premium, we will get the advantages in the future. For bad condition of our health, we will be supported in the fiancé for medical expense that we have to purchase. If we join insurance for the health, we will not need to pay for the medication that we need for getting back our health because the insurance company where we join will carry on the expense for us. In addition, for revealing the best insurance company we can simply go online since there are lots of offer of insurance service that we can find.

We will be able to compare the services by figuring out the best policy that gives us more advantages. Furthermore, we can also compare the service from the cost that we need to pay as the premium.

Sunday, July 1, 2012

Health Insurance for Future Health

Health Insurance for Future Health. No one knows for sure what will happen in the future. There might be good things, but bad things are also possible to occur. For that reason, we have to prepare for the worst thing in our life. Insurance can be one way that we can achieve for preparing the future. Health insurance is one kind of insurance service that is essential for our family because health is very significant for our life.

We can not predict what will happen with our health, so that having the insurance service that guarantees our health condition will be valuable. With the insurance we will get back up for medical expense that we need in the future. The insurance service will be valuable for our future health since it can give us back up in finance so that if we get sick we will get back up for the medication. Moreover, we know that the cost for medication will be increased in step with the time, so that we will get advantage from having insurance because we do not have to pay the expensive medication that we may need in the future.

In addition, it is good for us to find the best insurance according to our need so that we will get highest benefits.