High Deductible Health Insurance Plans Deter Patients from Getting Medical Help

Published: November 24, 2010 in Health Insurance Costs | Comments closed

It makes sense, really, when you think about it. If something is going to cost more, you might take steps to avoid paying for it if it's not incredibly vital at the moment. According to a story in Mediapage Today entitled, "High-Deductible Health Insurance Results in Less Care," that's exactly what's happening with many low-income families enrolled in high deductible plans. Regardless of income, one half of families enrolled in high deductible plans have avoided receiving a medical service due to its cost.

Part of The Affordable Care Act Based on Republican Principles?

Published: November 12, 2010 in Health In Politics, Health Reform | Comments closed

Many of the Republicans who won last week's mid-term election have stressed that one thing many of then want to do is repeal much, or all, of the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. One thing I wasn't aware of -- and one isn't sure if Republicans are either, honestly -- is that much of the Affordable Care Act is based on a history of conservative support. This is detailed in an article entitled, "Health official: 'Obamacare' was once 'Romneycare'" from The Washington Post, in which Joel Ario -- of the Office of Insurance Exchanges in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services -- says "You could say Obamacare was Romneycare before it was Obamacare."

Affordable Care Act Can’t be Blamed for Rises in Health Insurance Premiums

Published: October 29, 2010 in Health Insurance Costs, Health Reform | Comments closed

A lot of health insurance companies have been in the news due to their hikes in health insurance premiums. More and more often, many companies are pointing the blame elsewhere, including losing customers and even the recently passed Affordable Care Act. Well, according to an article from NPR entitled, "Health Law Hardly At Fault For Rising Premiums," health insurance companies can't really blame the recent law as a reason to raise premiums.

Health Care Plans to Rise 14% for Employees Next Year

Published: October 22, 2010 in Health Insurance Costs, Health Reform | Comments closed

As the cost of health care goes up, the cost of the insurance to cover that health care rises with it, and fewer places is this more evident in the workplace. Sadly, companies have to keep asking more and more out of employee's paychecks -- something they're not wont to do -- to cover the higher premiums demanded by health insurance companies. According to a story in CNN entitled, "Cost of your health plan to rise 14%", they talk about how health insurance premiums will rise even further this coming year, and what can be done about it.

Health Insurance Denails Have Risen by Half

Published: October 15, 2010 in Health In Politics, Health Reform | Comments closed

One of the things that the Affordable Care Act tries to curb is the -- in this author's opinion -- heinous practice by insurance companies to either deny coverage, claims or admittance from people with pre-existing health conditions. You know, the folks who actually need the health care they're paying coverage for. The Affordable Care Act would make this practice illegal once it takes effect in 2014, which would mean a lot more people buying health insurance. I bring this up because of this week's article, a poignant one on MSNBC, entitled, "Health insurance claim denials rose by half in recent years".

Michigan Judge Declares Affordable Care Act is Constitutional

Published: October 8, 2010 in Health In Politics, Health Reform | Comments closed

Many states have issues challenges to the recently-passed Affordable Care Act, mostly due to the portion of the bill that mandates the purchase of health insurance for millions of Americans. Over a dozen states have pending court cases in the coming months trying to declare the Affordable Care unconstitutional so they don't have to take part in things such as state-mandated health insurance exchange, for example. Well, according to a story in the New York Times entitled, "Judge Rules Health Law Is Constitutional", one judge in Michigan has declared the Affordable Care Act constitutional, which might set a precedent for other lawsuits in other states.

States Awarded Government Grants to Create Health Insurance Exchanges

Published: October 1, 2010 in Health Reform | Comments closed

Part of the recently signed Affordable Care Act includes state-based health insurance exchanges that would allow customers to shop for health insurance online through a state-run system. These systems will take a lot of time and manpower to set up, which is a challenge for many states that are already cash-strapped. Well, according to a story in the Los Angeles Times entitled, "Grants awarded for state health insurance exchanges", nearly every state -- save Alaska and Minnesota -- received around one million dollars to help them build an exchange infrastructure.

Parts of the Affordable Health Care Act Take Effect

Published: September 24, 2010 in Health In Politics, Health Reform | Comments closed

Earlier this week, several provisions of the Affordable Care Act took effect, all of them meant to help as customer safeguards against practices by health insurance companies that, for years, many have found somewhat insidious. In an article from U.S. News and World Report entitled, "8 Immediate Cost Benefits of Health Care Reform", they list in detail several of these benefits, many of which are very beneficial to customers. The first is that health insurance companies can no longer deny coverage to children with pre-existing conditions, and covers minors under nineteen years old. While coverage might be expensive, it will at least be available.

More People Going Online to Enroll in Health Insurance Plans?

Published: September 17, 2010 in General Health Insurance | Comments closed

While it may seem like common sense to buy health insurance online, the fact of the matter is that, while we may seem like a tech-savvy country, a lot of folks don't have regular access to the Internet. Many still rely on calling phone banks to acquire health insurance information as well as buying policies. Well, according to a story entitled, "Study: Consumers shift to online health plan enrollment," found on Government Health IT, a recent study from DestinationRx shows a shift in this trend.

Health Care Reform Could Possibly Cost More, Yet Could Cover More As Well

Published: September 10, 2010 in Health Reform | Comments closed

There has been quite a bit of debate over how effective, expensive and complicated the recently-signed health insurance reform bill, known as the Affordable Care Act, will ultimately be in the years to come. A new study from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services predicts that while -- rather than spending less on health care as pundits of the health care legislation suggestion -- we will spend more on health care by 2019 than ever before. The upside is, according to the report, ninety-three percent of Americans will have some form of affordable health insurance coverage.