[…] With other private industries, we have more of a choice in terms of quality, price, and whether we want the product in the first place. Somehow it doesn’t feel right that healthcare is set up just like all of our other industries, with executives making 7 and 8 figure salaries while millions of Americans are without health insurance and don’t have realistic access to healthcare at all.
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Email It To Me
I am a big fan of The Office. Michael, Jim, Pam, Dwight… they thoroughly entertain me every Thursday night. Michael isn’t known for his stunning wisdom, but last week there was an exchange between Michael and his boss David that deserves to be shared: David Wallace: I’ll fax over some of the things we’re looking… Read more about Email It To Me
Customary Charges Are Not Always Reasonable
[…] Pricing varies from one provider to the next; negotiated reimbursement rates vary within a single health insurance network; patients often don’t know what the price will be until after the fact. And as David Williams pointed out, the prices are often far from reasonable. We can’t do without healthcare, and that’s why unreasonable “reasonable and customary” charges exist.
Health Insurance And Clinical Trials
Diane Primavera, our local Colorado state representative from Broomfield, has proposed a bill that would prevent health insurance companies from canceling policies of insureds who choose to enroll in clinical trials of experimental treatments. We appreciate Primavera’s healthcare reform efforts for Colorado. […]
Health Insurance More Important For Humans Than Pets
[…] But before any state starts mandating that shelters and pet stores provide pet insurance information to customers, we should probably focus on making sure that people know how to qualify for Medicaid and SCHIP, and are automatically provided with information about eligibility for human health insurance.
Health Insurance And Infertility Treatment
[…] One of the benefits of health insurance is the negotiated fee schedules between providers and health insurance carriers. When claims are considered “covered expenses” the billed amount is almost always reduced by the insurance company. Unfortunately, infertility treatments aren’t covered expenses and don’t get repriced by health insurance networks. […]
Different Perspectives
[…] Sometimes we need to be reminded that not everyone is aware of the actual cost of health insurance or health care. To us, reform that lowers costs across the board is a very important issue. But with such huge discrepancies in what people are paying for their health insurance, we’re not even in the same book yet, say nothing of on the same page.
Non-Profit Does Not Necessarily Mean Low Cost
I recently posted an article on the Colorado Health Insurance Insider about my views on making Medicare available as an opt-in option for Americans younger than 65. I got a comment on the article that I thought brought up some good points and wanted to expand on some of the ideas. The reader pointed out that a good number of private health insurance plans are non-profit […]
Hopefully No Need For Offshore Medical Centers
[…] A little government intervention in terms of providing affordable basic healthcare access to all Americans through a tax-funded program is a good idea. But too much government intervention, in the form of a moratorium on private pay healthcare, is a bad idea.
Healthcare IT Not Just About EHRs
[…] Instead of expanding EHRs, they suggest relatively low-tech IT solutions that would provide more bang for the buck. Their ideas include an on-line method of sharing medical records between PCPs and specialists, expanding the use of email between patients and doctors, and enhancing broadband access across rural and low income areas of the country. […]
No Blackball List In Health Insurance
Several times each week, we talk to clients in Colorado who have been declined by a health insurance carrier in the past. Quite often they express concern about the “black mark” on their record, and wonder if they will ever be able to qualify for a medically underwritten policy. So I thought I’d clear up some of the most common misconceptions about individual health insurance underwriting and previous declines. […]
Public Health Insurance Plan Deserves A Chance
[…] I like the idea of a public health insurance system operating side by side with our private system. I think that there are people who would immediately opt for one or other system just on principal. But I think that there are lots of people who would wait and see what happens. Either way, the idea of a public/private health insurance system deserves a chance.
No Nurses In The Unemployment Lines
[…] I know that some hospitals are struggling to make ends meet and are unable to boost benefits or pay for their nurses. But why are some hospitals spending money on artwork and spa services when there’s a nationwide shortage of nurses? Why not channel that money into recruitment efforts, education grants, and higher salaries and benefits for nurses? […]
Heart Attacks Down But Tobacco Tax Revenue Dwindling
[…] I’m thrilled that the Pueblo smoking ban has yielded such positive effects on the health of the population, and I’m glad that the rest of the state followed suit a few years later. Now let’s hope that the state can figure out the funding for programs like Medicaid and SCHIP – both of which provide health insurance to Colorado populations that desperately need it – despite dwindling tobacco sales.
New Year’s Eve Cavalcade Of Risk
Thanks to everyone who submitted articles to the COR throughout the year; I always enjoy reading what you write. Risk – particularly financial risk – has been on a lot of minds lately with the state of our economy. Here’s hoping that things get better in 2009, but for now, here’s the best of the risk-related blogosphere as we close out the year. […]
Medicare Buy In Option A Good Idea
[…] I wonder what would happen if they did decide to open Medicare up to anyone who wanted it and was able to pay for it? If the premiums were lower than what you pay now, would you switch? I’m guessing that a lot of the 744,000 uninsured people here in Colorado would be willing to take a chance on government-run health care if they could afford the premiums. […]
Brainstorm Means All Views Are Welcome
[…] There are plenty of people in the health care industry who are genuinely interested in making the system more efficient and inclusive. And regardless of their views on health care reform, people who are in the health care industry should have just as much of a voice in this as anyone else.
A Cost Saving Idea For Health Insurance Companies
In the nearly seven years we’ve been selling health insurance in Colorado, we’ve seen a lot of technology advancements. These days, applications are online and there are broker websites where we log in to see the status of applications, current premiums for each client, renewal premiums, etc. But health insurance companies still send too much paper mail to agents.
Your Health Insurance Company Prefers Generics
[…] But even if you have coverage for brand name prescriptions on your policy, asking for a generic will likely save you money. And it will save your health insurance company money. They are well aware of that fact, and apparently employ a lot more tactics than most of of realize to get doctors to prescribe generics and patients to request them. […]
Most Americans Unaware Of PCP Shortage
[…] People whose employers pay the majority of their health insurance premiums are often unaware of just how expensive health insurance really is. People with health insurance are often unaware of how expensive health care really is. And people who aren’t experiencing a PCP shortage in their own lives tend to be unaware of the overall PCP shortage. […]
Lowering Our Health Insurance Premiums
[…] We did the same math that we always encourage our clients to do when considering various deductible levels. Our current health insurance policy has a $3,000 deductible, and costs $498/month. We found an option with a $5,000 deductible for $341/month. Switching to the $5000 deductible saves $1,884/year in premiums. […]
eCare Management Has the Health Wonk Review
At the Colorado Health Insurance Insider, we’ve written about how PCPs are an effective weapon in the battle against overuse of technology and increasing costs in health care. We’ve also written about how a salary (based on quality and outcomes) for PCPs would make more sense than the piecemeal income they currently earn.
Huffington Post Digs Grand Rounds
Thanks to Alvaro Fernandez at Sharp Brains, the Huffington Post has cross posted the latest Grand Rounds. And the neat thing is that a Colorado Health Insurance Insider article is the first one mentioned (about the cost of treating the uninsured at Denver Health). Check it out.
The Art And Science Of Choosing Providers
[…] Provider quality rankings are a piece of the puzzle for sure, but they’re not the only piece. I do think they will get more popular if health insurance carriers start actively encouraging patients to select from among the highest ranking providers. But there are other factors that go into choosing a provider that can’t be quantified on a spreadsheet or a graph.
Why Just Insuring Everyone Is Not The Answer
[…] just providing health insurance to the uninsured would still leave us with a pretty big mess. We don’t have enough primary care docs, our drugs are too expensive, our hospitals are too focused on turning a profit, we spent more than any other country on our healthcare, and yet our results are mediocre at best. […]