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Another Use for Your HSA

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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

Uninsured American Children

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There are currently 9 million uninsured children in the US.  Census data shows that 70% of those children live in a home where at least one parent works full-time.   The same data indicates that about two thirds of these children would qualify for government-sponsored health insurance if the parents were to apply for it.  Uninsured people are… Read more about Uninsured American Children

HSA Usage

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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

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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

Panel Recommends Basic Health Insurance Plan for All

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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?

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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?

Financial Incentives For Good Health

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I have a friend who is a physician’s assistant, and spent some time working for a city wellness program.  The plan was set up to help city employees improve their overall health, and in the process, get a discount on the health insurance premiums that were deducted from their paychecks.  I think this could be… Read more about Financial Incentives For Good Health

Separate Your HSA from Your Health Insurance

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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

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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

Wal-Mart Health Insurance Not That Bad

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Let me preface this post by saying that I am usually not too impressed with Wal-Mart. I think that their lowest-price-at-any-cost strategy is not the best long-range plan in terms of caring for our Earth and its inhabitants. The Wal-Mart news of the day is about their new super-low priced generic drug program. The news… Read more about Wal-Mart Health Insurance Not That Bad

Sending the Wrong Message To Our Kids About Health Insurance

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Recently, several states have passed laws increasing the age that children can stay on their parents’ health insurance policy.  The reasoning behind the change is sound: these days, it’s not as easy to get a job with health benefits as it used to be, since fewer employers offer coverage to employees.  So allowing young adults to remain on… Read more about Sending the Wrong Message To Our Kids About Health Insurance

Grand Rounds 2.52

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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

Preventative Care on Individual Health Insurance

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We’ve all heard the adage that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, yet it often seems that most people ignore this advice.  Otherwise people would not be dying from smoking-related cancers and the plethora of illnesses caused by obesity.  It’s easy to say that these are personal problems and that people… Read more about Preventative Care on Individual Health Insurance

End of an Era

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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

Ultrasounds and pregnancy… too much of a good thing?

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There is no doubt that over the last few generations, vast amounts of research has been done in the area of obstetrics; modern medicine seems to be able to work miracles when it comes to the care and safety of high-risk mothers and babies, both during and after pregnancy. Babies born 3 months early have… Read more about Ultrasounds and pregnancy… too much of a good thing?

To Make a Short Story Long

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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?

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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

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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

Health Insurance – Another Reason to Quit Smoking

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In case you needed another reason to ditch your ashtray… Did you know that smokers pay more for their health insurance than non-smokers, if they have to get an individual/family policy? If you’re currently covered on a group plan through your employer, you may not have given this much thought over the years. But what… Read more about Health Insurance – Another Reason to Quit Smoking

Feelin Lucky? Read Cavalcade of Risk #8

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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

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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