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
United Healthcare in a Tough Battle
After United Healthcare lapsed their contract with HCA, things got ugly. Dr. Craig Keyes, CEO of United’s Colorado division, was accosted and his house vandalized in July. HCA was was even attempting to get United Healthcare clients to switch to carriers contracted with HCA. Well now, Frontier Airlines, which is based in Denver, is switching… Read more about United Healthcare in a Tough Battle
Harvest Moon Health Wonk Review
Joe Paduda over at Managed Care Matters hosts this weeks HWR. He cut the fat and kept the list down to an all star list of 15 entries, each with a very helpful commentary. Ezra Klein discusses an idea by Jacob Hacker called Universal Insurance. An all-purpose insurance that covers health expenses, disability, or “whatever”. … Read more about Harvest Moon Health Wonk Review
A Very Grand Rounds
Grand Rounds version 3.2 is up over at RDoctor. There are some really great articles in this edition, so I recommend hopping over there for some amusement. It includes an article from the Colorado Health Insurance Insider that Louise wrote about Financial Incentives for Good Health. I really enjoyed an article about the overuse of antibiotics… Read more about A Very Grand Rounds
Colorado Businesses Pay More for Health Insurance, Especially Greeley
The Greeley Tribune reports that small businesses in Colorado pay more for health insurance than companies in other states, with Greeley paying Colorado’s highest health insurance costs. The article does a good job of attempting to explain this, but misses the point. A study of more than 650,000 businesses across the U.S. that had 50… Read more about Colorado Businesses Pay More for Health Insurance, Especially Greeley
We’ve Gone Pink
In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month and a close friend that was recently diagnosed with breast cancer, Colorado Health Insurance Insider is sporting a pink monochrome throughout October to promote awareness. Many sites across the internet, especially within the blogosphere, have redesigned their layouts in pink to promote awareness of this disease. Breast cancer is the… Read more about We’ve Gone Pink
Ask Your Agent if This is a “Push Week”
I was at the gym the other day and I overheard a guy talking to his buddies about a plan he’d come up with. He said “Next week is a Push Week, so I wonder if you could buy a policy from me and we could just cancel it the next week. You’ll get all… Read more about Ask Your Agent if This is a “Push Week”
Personal Finance on The Oregon Trail
This week, Punny Money put together the best Carnival of Personal Finance I’ve ever read. If you’re like me and into personal finance, it’ll arouse some nostalgia from about 1984 and also give some very good reading about personal finance along the journey. This adventure from 1868 is a can’t miss and has a great… Read more about Personal Finance on The Oregon Trail
Another Use for Your HSA
Inside many Colorado Target, Wal-mart, Kroger, and Walgreens stores you’ll find walk-in clinics like MedPoint Express, MinuteClinic, RediClinic, and now SmartCare Family Medical Centers. These in-store clinics allow a fast and convenient option for those with a minor medical need, like an ear infection, and want quick treatment. The problem with these clinics, right now, is… Read more about Another Use for Your HSA
HSA Usage
A Kaiser Family Foundation poll found that out of all the people with job related health insurance, only 4 percent are enrolled in an HSA qualified plan. “We don’t know yet whether workers and employers ultimately will embrace consumer-driven health plans in big numbers, but it certainly hasn’t been a tidal wave,” study co-author Gary… Read more about HSA Usage
Small Victory
Yesterday, we commented on the story of Jerry Ansley, who got the $2.5M mosquito bite and was about to lose everything because he had MidWest National as his health insurance company. Well, Jerry got a small victory today because he will get to keep his house. UNC Hospitals said it will give up its claim… Read more about Small Victory
Smoking Ban Reduces Heart Attacks
A study done in the 18 months after Pueblo, Colorado enacted its smoking ban in 2003 shows a 27 percent decrease in hospital admissions for heart attacks for city residents. The study was led by Dr. Carl Bartecchi, a clinical professor of medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Denver. “Heart attack… Read more about Smoking Ban Reduces Heart Attacks
Panel Recommends Basic Health Insurance Plan for All
A federal advisory panel said Monday that Congress should take immediate steps to guarantee that all Americans have access to affordable health care by 2012. As a first step, the 14-member panel, appointed by the comptroller general of the United States, said, “A national public or private program must be established to ensure protection against… Read more about Panel Recommends Basic Health Insurance Plan for All
Who Likes Personal Finance?
For those of us who can’t get enough information on personal finance, the Canadian Capitalist has over 50 articles in the Carnival of Personal Finance. My favorite entry was from InsureBlog about how important it is to choose the right health insurance policy. Mid-West National Insurance Company sells its limited benefit, hospital indemnity plans under… Read more about Who Likes Personal Finance?
Separate Your HSA from Your Health Insurance
All of the health insurance companies we work with in Colorado now offer HSA qualified high deductible health insurance plans (HDHP). After you’re approved for an HSA qualified HDHP with these companies, they’ll send you information and application information to sign up for a health savings account with a bank they work with. For example,… Read more about Separate Your HSA from Your Health Insurance
Humana Extends Contract with HCA-HealthONE in Colorado Through 2008
Good news for our clients with Humana health insurance. After it seemed that HCA was handing out unreasonable rate increases, Humana Inc. HUM announced today that its existing contract with HCA-HealthONE hospital and ancillary facilities has been extended from June 1, 2007 through May 31, 2008 for all Humana members throughout Colorado. “We have forged… Read more about Humana Extends Contract with HCA-HealthONE in Colorado Through 2008
How to Get Health Insurance for Jackasses
Jackass: Number Two hits theaters tonight and the first thing I think of when I watch that movie is “I hope they have good health insurance”. Johnny Knoxville said he was sure they were going to die while filming the Jackass sequel, so they asked studio execs to shell out $7 million in insurance coverage… Read more about How to Get Health Insurance for Jackasses
More on Sending the Wrong Message
– This post is expanding on our previous stories about the new laws allowing parents to keep their children as dependents on their health insurance until they’re 30. For various reasons, the 19 to 29 year old age bracket is the highest uninsured age bracket in the country. These laws were put into place in… Read more about More on Sending the Wrong Message
Grand Rounds 2.52
Tundra Medicine Dreams has posted the most beautiful Grand Rounds I’ve ever seen. It’s a great collection of healthcare related blog posts and includes Louise’s article on ultrasounds. Among some of my favorites: Tara Smith of Aetiology discusses the recent E. coli outbreak from packaged spinach, a recent study on the association between diet and Alzheimer’s at the… Read more about Grand Rounds 2.52
End of an Era
Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield of Colorado has come out with new non-group health insurance applications. On the previous applications, they only requested medical history information from the previous 5 years. This week, they increased that amount of time to 10 years “so the underwriting department can appropriately assess risk for certain medical conditions.” Now,… Read more about End of an Era
To Make a Short Story Long
In my last post, I discussed a survey from the Commonwealth Fund. It found that 89% of people who’ve sought health insurance in the last 3 years weren’t able to get anything – most of them couldn’t afford the premiums. I thought this sounded a little funny. America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) shows conflicting information based on detailed… Read more about To Make a Short Story Long
Do We Expect Too Much from Health Insurance?
A recent study reports that out of 1,878 people age 19 to 64 polled by telephone, 89% of those who were seeking to buy health insurance in the last 3 years did not do so. “One in five people were turned down or charged a higher premium for individual insurance because of an existing medical condition…. Read more about Do We Expect Too Much from Health Insurance?
Why We Don’t Sell Discount Health Plans
A good reason that I sell health insurance for all of the top carriers in Colorado is because I’m not a very good “salesperson”. I understand the in’s and out’s of all of the different plans and all of the variables affecting coverage like stability of the companies, underwriting, and how they do rate increases. … Read more about Why We Don’t Sell Discount Health Plans
Feelin Lucky? Read Cavalcade of Risk #8
Proper risk management techniques can enhance anybody’s luck. Today, we have very informative articles to help us grasp proper implementation of each step of the risk management process. Wikipedia offers us more detail about the specifics of the process. After reading this article, you’ll have a better understanding of financial risk management, which “focuses on risks that… Read more about Feelin Lucky? Read Cavalcade of Risk #8
United Healthcare of Colorado on Out-of-Network Policy
I’ve been getting a few calls from people asking me about the article “When Choice of Doctor Drives Up Other Bills” in the New York Times yesterday. The article is about Irene Greco’s health insurance claim, who is insured by Oxford Health Plans in New York. She had her operation at a hospital that was… Read more about United Healthcare of Colorado on Out-of-Network Policy