Health Savings Accounts & Other National Health Insurance News
Hello, and welcome to a new feature here at Health Insurance Online, our weekly health insurance news roundup. With each installment I'll scour the latest and greatest health insurance news from a variety of sources and bring them to you in an easy-to-read summary. News will be broken down into two types, nationwide and state-specific.
On the nationwide front, the Wall Street Joutnal has an op-ed piece entitled, "Health Savings Sabotage," in which the author discusses recent legislation passed by the House of Representatives regarding Health Savings Accounts, or HSAs. According to the legislation, every HSA transaction would need to be approved and verified as a legitimate medical expense before being finally approved. Proponents claim this adds a level of security by making sure account holders are using the money for legitimate expenses rather than personal expenses. Detractors state that this extra level of bureaucracy is a way of slowly killing HSAs and taking away choice from the consumer.
The article details how HSAs are an affordable method of health insurance, and nearly five million Americans are covered under them. If the House bill passes the Senate and eventually becomes a law, the author states, HSAs will become less attractive for consumers and leave them with less options when shopping for health insurance. Overall, this was a very thought-provoking article about offering customers a choice when it comes to affordable health insurance, rather than taking that choice away from them.
In looking at specific states, this week's hot points seem focused on Florida, California, Michigan and Colorado. In Florida, Governor Charlie Crist got into a heated debate with the state's House Republicans over a cheap health insurance bill that would make health care affordable for nearly four million uninsured Floridians. In the end, the "Cover Florida" bill was passed, lowering specific health insurance plans to around $150 per month.
In Michigan, planned overhauls of that state's health insurance system became more complicated when a third proposal was put forth by state senator Jason Allen. This goes along with two prior proposals, one from Blue Cross Blue Shield and one from state senator Tom George. The proposal from Blue Cross Blue Shield -- which looks as if it will be approved -- creates a high-risk pool of insured customers, raises the cap when policies are renewed, and removes prohibition from Blue Cross Blue Shield selling other types of insurance to its clients, while Senator George's plan debunks the need for a high risk pool.
Speaking of health insurance reform, in Colorado, lawmakers approved a bill which would begin quite a big reform in its own right. Under the new law, proposed by Rep. Morgan Carroll, the state insurance commissioner would help set rates for home, car and health insurance rather than insurance companies themselves. The debate over this new law drew much praise and criticism from both sites of the debate, resulting in lively House sessions.
Finally, we come to California. Recently several health insurance companies in the state have come under fire from lawmakers for injudiciously terminating the health insurance policies of certain customers. Several health insurance companies, including Kaiser Permanente, Anthem Blue Cross, Blue Shield, PacifiCare and Health Net have all come under increased scrutiny due to their policies surrounding dropping clients due to "inaccurate" applications or pre-existing medical conditions.
Recently, however, Cindy Ehnes -- the director of the California Department of Managed Health Care -- has ordered that nearly two-dozen policies be immediately reinstated. Also ordered was a review of thousands of "rescissions" made by the health insurance companies. In response to this current crisis, two bills are already being proposed in the California legislature, which seem to have the support of Governor Schwarzenegger.
That brings this installment of the roundup to a close. I hope you've found this both educational and enjoyable, and make sure you stop by every Monday for the latest edition. Until then, have a great and healthy day.