Archive by Month - March, 2010

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How Will Health Insurance Reform Curb Overuse of Care?

Wednesday, March 31st, 2010

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Unfortunately, health insurance reform does relatively little to reduce the use of often medically unnecessary and less effective–yet expensive–medical care, such as tests. Overuse may make up 10-30% of health care spending in the United States. When some people try to reduce it, they are often accused of rationing.

However, the legislation will eventually do something: starting in 2018, there will be a tax on high-cost health insurance plans. These plans are accused of encouraging consumers to utilize expensive care, especially when they are provided by employers. By transferring more of the cost to patients through higher co-payments and deductibles, they may think twice before demanding a MRI they may not need.

In order to lower their premiums, health insurers may also decide to exclude unnecessary procedures from some of their coverage options. This may make them more competitive in the soon-to-be-launched exchange markets.

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Posted in Reform & Regulation | No Comments »

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HHS Secretary To Launch Consumer Health Insurance Website

Wednesday, March 31st, 2010

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The health insurance reform bill includes several provisions intended to increase consumer protections. One of those is an official federal government website set to launch soon. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius is tasked with its launch.

What will the new Website contain? According to the legislation, it must include:

  • a comparison of affordable health insurance premiums
  • information about co-payments
  • medical loss ratios: the percentage of premiums paid that go towards actual health care, as opposed to profit or administrative costs

The site is set to launch in July. We’ll keep you posted!

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Posted in Reform & Regulation | 1 Comment »

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Indiana Joins Health Insurance Reform Lawsuit

Wednesday, March 31st, 2010

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The list of state attorney generals suing over the individual mandate contained in the health insurance reform bill has now increased to 14. Indiana will now be included in the class action lawsuit.

The requirement that all residents of the state buy Indiana health insurance is unprecedented, according to the attorney general. He believes that its constitutionality should be examined by the Supreme Court. For awhile, he was wavering on his involvement in the lawsuit, but a report by Republican Senator Richard Lugar convinced him to pay closer attention.

How will these states, many of which are suffering from their own budget difficulties, pay the legal expenses? According to Indiana AG Greg Zoeller, the costs will be evenly split among the states. Like all but one of the attorney generals participating, he is a Republican.

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Democrats’ Health Insurance Reform Boost Evaporates

Wednesday, March 31st, 2010

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Initial polls after last week’s historic passage of health insurance reform indicated that Democrats who favored it were seeing a bounce in popularity. While the bill’s content and process are extremely controversial, the fact that the majority party finally managed to get something done in Congress was a positive sign for many.

However, it looks like that boost was temporary. Prominent figures in the debate, such as President Obama and Speaker Nancy Pelosi, have had their approval ratings remain steady. Majority Leader Harry Reid’s popularity ratings actually declined over the past week.

The good news for Democrats, according to the Washington News poll? Their popularity hasn’t decreased, either. In fact, they have shored up support among liberals in their own party. Those leery of the bill due to its potential impact on their health insurance plans and the national deficit probably weren’t supporting them, anyway. The fact that the legislation is now the law of the land (at least for now) doesn’t change that.

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How Would Doctors Lower Health Insurance Costs?

Tuesday, March 30th, 2010

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Whether or not healthcare reform ends up reducing health insurance costs, it is clear that it will not do so alone. Medical expenses make up one-sixth of the U.S. GDP. Doctors are on the front lines of this predicament; so what are their suggestions?

  • Some believe that health savings accounts (HSA plans) should be more prevalent; similar to auto insurance, they mainly insure catastrophes instead of routine care. However, the bill goes further in the other direction.
  • The specter of medical malpractice lawsuits hangs over many doctors, causing them to order unnecessary tests. Despite receiving little notice, there is a provision in the health insurance reform bill that encourages states to develop alternatives. It’s not the tort reform some have called for, but it’s a start.
  • Paying attention to the prevention of conditions before they get worse (and more expensive to treat): nipping childhood obesity in the bud before those children grow up to become obese adults with health problems, and counseling on nutrition.
  • Educating patients on the downsides of overtreatment, whether they are healthy or near the end of their life

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Posted in Issues and Opinion | No Comments »

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Individual Health Insurance Rates To Increase For Young Adults?

Tuesday, March 30th, 2010

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An Associated Press analysis has found that healthcare reform may result in young adults in their 20s and early 30s paying more for their health insurance plans. Starting in 2014, health insurers will no longer be allowed to deny coverage to people with pre-existing conditions, or use age rating practices to charge older consumers rates more than three times higher than those for younger ones. That cost will inadvertently end up passed onto younger policyholders, who use fewer healthcare services and are therefore more profitable.

How much will it cost them? The average individual health insurance premium for this demographic will rise by about $42; a 17% increase. Young men will be harder hit, since their rates tend to be less expensive than women of the same age.

Granted, this estimate does not take into account tax credits and subsidies to pay for insurance, which many people under 35 may be eligible for.

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Posted in Individual | 1 Comment »

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Children’s Health Insurance May Not Cover Pre-Existing Conditions Yet

Tuesday, March 30th, 2010

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This is a big error in the healthcare reform bill: now, some health insurance companies are saying that they do not have to cover kids with pre-existing conditions!

That was supposed to be one of the main immediate benefits of the bill. Unfortunately, insurers believe that the language only requires them to cover pre-existing conditions for children already under a family health insurance policy. They still reserve the right to refuse to offer them a health insurance plan altogether, until 2014 (when the guidelines for adults take effect). Basically, their lawyers take the language to mean that if they extend coverage to a child under the age of 19, that coverage must encompass all of their health issues, pre-existing or otherwise; however, they can still deny the child coverage.

While still an improvement, it is a severe disappointment. The Obama administration is currently crafting an executive order with regulations that will clarify the issue, while Congress is working to resolve it.

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Posted in Family | No Comments »

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Hispanics Benefit From Health Insurance Reform

Tuesday, March 30th, 2010

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According to the White House’s director of intergovernmental affairs, many Latinos stand to be positively impacted by health insurance reform.

Why? Cecilia Munoz claims that 14 million Hispanics in America are currently uninsured. 60% of them, or nine million, will be able to find affordable health insurance. This is largely due to the subsidies for lower-income individuals and families.

Moreover, that number does not include undocumented immigrants (a significant percentage of whom are Latino), who are not covered under the legislation.

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Posted in Reform & Regulation | No Comments »

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Recess Not Fun For Pro-Affordable Health Insurance Reform Democrats

Monday, March 29th, 2010

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Both houses of Congress are currently taking a recess. After months of frenetic work on affordable health insurance reform, it’s understandable that they would like some rest. Some congresspersons, however, are finding that their constituents are refusing to let them rest.

Here’s the situation: Democrats who voted for the healthcare reform bill are being confronted by angry constituents against it. Although they are receiving support, they are also attracting protesters. Republicans are mostly being hailed and encouraged to attempt repeal in Congress, but some voters are lukewarm. It shows how the issue of health insurance has largely cut across party lines, especially for those Democrats who opposed the bill.

Since many senators and all representatives are up for re-election this fall, this vacation back to their home districts is critical. The developments will be interesting.

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Got A Health Insurance Plan? Find a Primary Care Doctor Now

Monday, March 29th, 2010

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One of the effects of healthcare reform is an influx of previously uninsured patients. While the bulk of the 32 million without health insurance will not have coverage until 2014, some will be insured a few months from now due to Medicaid expansions and the like. Experts are predicting that the new patients will struggle to find coverage, due to a shortage of primary care doctors.

70% of all doctors in the U.S. practice specialties, which come with higher pay and more flexible working hours. That leaves the country about 40,000 primary care physicians short.

What does this mean for you? If you already have a health insurance plan, choose a primary care doctor if you haven’t already. Many doctors will close their offices to new clients once their patient load is full, and having one doctor for preventative care is ideal for health reasons. This is especially important if you live in one of the areas of the country that is considered under-served, which 65 million Americans do.

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