My best friend is an emergency room nurse at a large hospital in Denver, Colorado. In the past two months, two of her friends have given birth. One is a fellow nurse, and the other a dentist. Both have a solid knowledge base in medicine, and had thoroughly researched pregnancy and childbirth. Both women wrote… Read more about Wasting Health Care Dollars
Archives for 2006
A Legal Scam
After David and Darlene Henderson had more than $210,000 in hospital bills, their health insurance company only paid $33,428, leaving more than $180,000 for the Henderson’s to pay by themselves. For $400 a month, the couple said, the Mega agent told them that they could have a catastrophic group health insurance policy that would cover… Read more about A Legal Scam
Doctor Anonymous Hosts Grand Rounds
This week, Doctor Anonymous gives us a peek into each article by quoting a good chunk of his favorites and explaining a little about the best of the rest. The Colorado Health Insurance Insider made the best of the rest with Louise’s article on sending healthcare overseas. There were a few other articles that the… Read more about Doctor Anonymous Hosts Grand Rounds
Guaranteed Issue Health Insurance
I just found a post on a financial blog, punny money, that is a review of a book dedicated to helping people lower their health care costs. It sounds like a good book, with in-depth analysis of the financial ramifications of which health plan you choose and how you use it. I had to laugh when… Read more about Guaranteed Issue Health Insurance
The Logical Insurance Salesman Has Skinny Kids
I was recently talking to a Colorado client about her husbands health insurance options. She had the option of adding him to her group plan for $415 per month. They had been shopping all over the internet for an individual health insurance plan and had decided that they wanted the most comprehensive plan available and… Read more about The Logical Insurance Salesman Has Skinny Kids
Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield Now Has Rating Areas
Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield of Colorado used to be the only company with one rate grid for the entire state of Colorado. That’s not the case anymore now that they’ve released their rates for 2007. Anthem’s number crunchers have come up with four sets of rates for Colorado, based on the cost of services,… Read more about Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield Now Has Rating Areas
Families Feeling the Squeeze
Current predictions are that health care costs could rise by at least 10% in 2007, further straining an already stretched market. The part of the article that I found most interesting was that studies show that Americans spent about the same portion of their annual budget – 6% – on health care in 1960 that… Read more about Families Feeling the Squeeze
IRS Issues 2007 HSA Contribution Limits
The IRS just announced the HSA limits for 2007. The maximum HSA contribution (not including catch-up contributions) will be $2,850 for self-only coverage and $5,650 for family coverage in 2007. Additionally, the maximum out-of-pocket expense—including deductibles—that employees with single coverage can be required to pay will rise to $5,500, up from $5,250 in 2006, and… Read more about IRS Issues 2007 HSA Contribution Limits
Back To Reality
Sorry about the lack of posts over the last few weeks. Louise and I haven’t been in Colorado since October 23’rd because we were on vacation. We were still able to keep up with all of our health insurance clients by helping get claims paid, solving billing problems, and helping them compare alternate plans. But… Read more about Back To Reality
Battling Prescription Drug Prices
Rising pharmaceutical costs has been an issue in healthcare for quite some time. Television advertising for prescription drugs has resulted in more patients demanding that their doctors give them specific prescriptions, even if something else -or nothing at all – may work better. This practice has been widely criticized, but is showing no signs of… Read more about Battling Prescription Drug Prices
Sending Healthcare Overseas
It probably won’t suprise anyone to learn that US businesses are looking into the possibility of sending employees overseas for medical treatments that tend to be costly at home. Afterall, US businesses have been outsourcing production and customer service overseas for years. So far, only a handful of employees have been sent overseas by their… Read more about Sending Healthcare Overseas
Being Held Accountable
This is a follow up to our last post about how obesity has a huge impact on health care usage, and therefore contributes heavily to skyrocketing health insurance premiums. Most Americans with health insurance get their coverage through their employers. Group health insurance through an employer is required to cover all qualified employees, regardless of medical history. … Read more about Being Held Accountable
Why is the Cost of Health Insurance Rising So Fast?
When people try to explain why health insurance premiums are rising so fast, the common explanation you’ll get is that the cost of healthcare is rising. And, yes, this does have something to do with the reason health insurance premiums are increasing. But it’s not the reason health insurance premiums are so out of control. … Read more about Why is the Cost of Health Insurance Rising So Fast?
The Wrong Idea
I was recently going over some health insurance options with a client. We were comparing some high deductible HSA qualified plans with some lower deductible copay plans. She then asked about some of the really cheap plans she saw on our instant quote engine like Right Start from Assurant. I explained that we don’t recommend… Read more about The Wrong Idea
Ezra Klein Rules!!
Now I admit that healthcare topics may not be the most interesting reading on the internet – for some people. But Ezra Klein is hosting the Health Wonk Review this week and boy, oh boy does he have a way with words! He kept it short, to the point, and most of all… entertaining.
A Greener Earth, Fitter Employees and Lower Insurance Premiums
What if health insurance carriers teamed up with employers to improve employee health, lower the number of cars on the roads, and give employees a discount on their health insurance? What would it take to get people to participate? Here’s the idea: Let’s say a company has 200 employees, and offers health insurance to them,… Read more about A Greener Earth, Fitter Employees and Lower Insurance Premiums
Tax-Deductible Gym Memberships
The Personal Health Investment Today Act of 2006 is currently under consideration in the House of Representatives. Since we are big fans of maintaining health rather than trying to fix health problems after they develop, we think this bill would be a great addition to our myriad of tax laws. Basically, it would allow Americans to… Read more about Tax-Deductible Gym Memberships
Make Love Not Debt Talks Personal Finance
There is a LOT of talk about debt and personal finance over at Make Love Not Debt today. I wish I had the time to go through and read all of them, because there are some really interesting topics in this weeks edition of the Carnival of Personal Finance. My favorite one is from InsureBlog… Read more about Make Love Not Debt Talks Personal Finance
Moral Support for Those Battling Breast Cancer
In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we wanted to spread the word about the Y-ME hotline (1-800-221-2141). This is a grass roots support system, founded by Ann Marcou and Mimi Kaplan in 1978. The Y-ME website explains more about their mission and how they provide support and encouragement to those fighting the battle with breast cancer. … Read more about Moral Support for Those Battling Breast Cancer
Free and Reduced-Price Prescription Drugs
With more and more Americans going uninsured, and health insurance policies excluding coverage for prescription drugs, people are finding themselves footing the entire bill at the pharmacy, or worst still – going without needed medications because of the cost. Most people don’t know that pharmaceutical companies often have programs to provide medications free or at a reduced… Read more about Free and Reduced-Price Prescription Drugs
Insurance Mergers and Network Shrinkage Hurts Consumers
I have a good friend who is seven months pregnant with her first child. Her employer-sponsored health insurance is with PacifiCare, which recently merged with United HealthCare. Ever since her first prenatal visit in April, she has been seeing a nurse-midwife and an OB/GYN with whom she feels very comfortable. She had planned to deliver… Read more about Insurance Mergers and Network Shrinkage Hurts Consumers
Funding Health Care with Tobacco Tax
The governor of Oregon has proposed an $0.85/pack tax increase on cigarettes with the expected $150 to $170 million in revenue being used to subsidize health care for children in Oregon. I think this is a great idea, and one that could be implemented in every state to help with the health care crisis in… Read more about Funding Health Care with Tobacco Tax
Inexpensive Birth Control
Several years ago, I was working for a large company, and health insurance was something that I just took for granted. The only time I ever used it was to visit my gynecologist once a year, and to get my birth control prescription filled. I think I paid $5 or $10/month for my Rx. Once I… Read more about Inexpensive Birth Control
Can’t Afford Health Insurance? Don’t Eat Out.
I just read a news article about why people choose to eat out several times a week instead of cooking at home. I couldn’t help but notice the $30 tab that the article cited as the amount it would cost to cook a meal at home for TWO people. Is this a special-occasion meal, or do… Read more about Can’t Afford Health Insurance? Don’t Eat Out.
Primer for Your Weekend
The weekend is almost here, and many of us are ready to unwind after a long, stressful work week. There are so many ways to relax, which do you prefer? Drinks Mixed with Diet Soda Are More Intoxicating Researchers in Australia found out that when you drink alcohol with diet soda, the artificial sugars in the… Read more about Primer for Your Weekend