Posts Tagged - ‘health insurance plans’

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Employer-Based Health Insurance Plans Providing Less Care for More Money

Friday, September 3rd, 2010

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When employees look at their health insurance plans today, they see more responsibility (and cost) on their end with fewer benefits. That’s according to a new survey from the Kaiser Family Foundation.

In a struggling economy, companies look for different methods of saving money. One of them is shifting the cost of health coverage to employees. Unfortunately, workers must pay for those costs with the same or even smaller (for those who have taken pay cuts) incomes! Wages have not grown with the cost of health insurance for several decades now.

The average employee is paying 14% more for health care in 2010.

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Healthcare Reform Lawsuit Arguments Continue

Tuesday, August 31st, 2010
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When it comes to healthcare reform, controversy is never far behind. The federal government has continued to argue that the law is constitutional. In a district court, their lawyers claim that the burden of proof should be on the coalition of states suing.

Specifically, the states claim harm from the provision that mandates the purchase of health insurance plans. If a person or business does not comply, they are subject to annual fines of $695. However, the plaintiffs have allegedly failed to demonstrate imminent or actual financial injury, since that aspect of the legislation does not take effect until 2014.

Moreover, the federal government claims that even if the penalty (which would be collected by the IRS) is technically considered a tax, the Anti-Injunction Act prevents states from challenging it, since the individual mandate is considered integral to the structure of the bill.

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Most Health Insurance Plans Don’t Cover Fertility Treatments

Monday, August 30th, 2010
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Treatments for infertility can be very expensive. The average cost of one round of in-vitro fertilization is $12,400; it often takes several cycles in order for it to be successful. Meanwhile, many women choose to implant multiple embryos for greater chances of success.

Not only are the actual treatments expensive, but they can lead to high-risk pregnancies and the complications that often result from multiple births. Due to the high cost, most health insurance plans don’t cover fertility treatments. The number of plans that include infertility coverage has decreased over the past decade.

Those that do are typically larger employers. In those cases, oral medications that promote fertility are more likely to be covered except for a nominal co-payment.

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Inflation of Health Insurance Plans Continued in 2009

Thursday, August 26th, 2010
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2009 had the American economy in the throes of recession. Inflation was very low, while the Federal Reserve cut the interest rate to almost zero. So why did the cost of health insurance plans continue to rise?

To be exact, United Benefit Advisors found that health insurance rates increased by an average of 7.3% for employers. That’s almost three times the inflation in general consumer prices.

Insurers tend to blame an increase in medical expenses. Meanwhile, companies are using consumer-directed health plans to pass more of the cost of group health insurance coverage onto their employees.

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No Fee on Health Insurance Plans to Pay For Okla. Medicaid

Wednesday, August 25th, 2010
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Recently, the Oklahoma state legislature attempted to implement a one percent fee on the sale of health insurance plans. The proceeds were supposed to help pay for the state’s Medicare program.

However, the state’s Supreme Court just ruled that such a fee is unconstitutional, agreeing with Insurance Commissioner Kim Holland’s objections. Six out of nine justices decided that since the law was passed during the final week of the legislative session with less than three quarters of the legislature in favor, it could not stand.

The fee was to be charged to employers that offer health insurance coverage to their employees. It was supposed to raise $78 million for the fiscal year beginning July 1st.

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Rate Hikes for Health Insurance Plans Requested in North Carolina

Thursday, August 19th, 2010
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In North Carolina, Blue Cross Blue Shield has asked to increase the monthly premiums of its health insurance plans by an average of 7 percent.

However, the rate hikes aren’t across the board. Some of the 300,000 individual health insurance customers in the state may actually end up saving money through cheaper rates, while a handful of others will experience severe premium jumps of 40 or 50 percent.

The insurer blames rising medical costs for the increase, and says that it would have been even higher without the limitations imposed by healthcare reform. It remains to be seen if the state will approve their proposal.

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Don’t Delay Filing Out-Of-Network Health Insurance Claims

Monday, July 12th, 2010

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Some health insurance plans–especially high-deductible ones such as health savings accounts–allow patients to go outside of their provider networks to utilize the doctors and hospitals of their choice. Normally, this costs more to consumers; however, the increased freedom is nearly priceless to some.

In most cases, your health insurance will cover at least a portion of the cost of out-of-network care. Unfortunately, you are responsible for submitting the claim paperwork yourself. Check your policy for information about deadlines–if you miss the timely filing limit, you may end up having to pay the whole bill out-of-pocket!

While it’s usually possible to file a dispute or appeal with your insurer, doing so can have a negative impact on your credit rating.

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In The Meantime: Sebelius Tries To Get Health Insurance Companies’ Cooperation

Friday, July 9th, 2010

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The intention of the healthcare reform law is to increase access to insurance. It largely attempts to do so via stringent regulations. However, most of those regulations will not become effective until 2014.

The gap is a serious issue. Between now and then, health insurers will still be able to deny coverage to people with pre-existing conditions. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius is asking for their cooperation to help remedy this dilemma.

Doing so will probably be quite difficult, since the Obama administration has taken a largely adversarial role against providers of health insurance plans in the past. According to Sebelius, their goal is to stabilize the private sector by promoting the elements that could increase their sales (e.g. tax credits for small businesses).

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Will Health Insurance Plans Be Required To Cover Contraception?

Monday, July 5th, 2010


Many believe that healthcare reform will result in health insurers providing full coverage of contraception. This is because the law requires plans to cover “essential preventative care services” at no cost to the patient. That means no co-payments or co-insurance percentages!

For several reasons, the idea of full coverage for birth control is controversial. Social conservatives are leery of appearing to endorse premarital sexual activity (although married couples use contraception as well). For their part, many employer-based health insurance plans are dreading yet another mandate that increases their costs. However, that cost is far less than what they will otherwise have to pay in maternity cost.

The Health Resources and Services Administration will make the decision.

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Americans Spend Double On Health Insurance, With Worse Results

Thursday, June 24th, 2010

A study from the Commonwealth Fund compared the health care systems of several developed nations. Unfortunately, the United States was again ranked at the bottom.

The survey found that, on average, Americans spent over $7,000 on health expenses in 2007. Still, their quality of care was not the highest. The authors blame the inequitable patchwork of individual, employer-provided, and public health insurance plans that leave millions uninsured.

So if the USA isn’t on top, who is? The Netherlands had the highest overall score. Maybe our health insurance system could learn from the Dutch.

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