David Williams at the Health Business Blog has written a post about Clinton’s plan to cap health insurance premiums at 5% – 10% of a family’s income. With a US median income of nearly $50,000/year, health insurance premiums would be somewhere in the range of $2500 – $5000/year, which as Mr. Williams points out, doesn’t… Read more about Capping Health Insurance Premiums
Archives for March 2008
Just About Everyone Agrees That Something Needs To Be Done
How often do you see a poll where 95% of the respondents agree on an issue? That’s the percentage of the more than 26,000 people recruited to take an online survey about health care in America, who believe that our health care system needs fundamental and major changes. Most of the respondents have jobs, a… Read more about Just About Everyone Agrees That Something Needs To Be Done
Is Mandatory Health Insurance Unconstitutional?
I just came across an excellent article by Karl Manheim and Jamie Court. It presents some compelling explanations of how the idea of making private health insurance mandatory for American citizens may not be constitutional. At the Colorado Health Insurance Insider, I’ve come out in support of mandatory health insurance, and also very much in… Read more about Is Mandatory Health Insurance Unconstitutional?
Check Out the Cavalcade of Risk
Ernesto has the latest edition of the Cavalcade of Risk over at InsuranceYak. It’s got a lot of good financial and risk related articles from around the blogosphere you might be interested in…
If The Cancer Doesn’t Kill You, The Price Tag Might
What do you do when you’re 71 years old, battling blood cancer, and find out that your cost for the medication that is treating your cancer has gone from $60/month to $1051/month? Helen Geiger had to stop taking the cancer medication Thalomid for several months last year while her family and doctors appealed the insurance… Read more about If The Cancer Doesn’t Kill You, The Price Tag Might
Health Wonk Review is Posted
It’s a little late, but I finally noticed the latest Health Wonk Review over at Managed Care Matters (posted on Thursday). Joe Paduda is the founder of the HWR and has put together a collection of blog posts that anyone interested in health policy will find interesting.
Credit Checks On Uninsured Patients
At Colorado Health Insurance Insider we have written before about predatory collection practices at hospitals around the country. And now hospitals can be added to the long list of organizations that will access your credit report at some point during your transaction. Hospitals say that they pull credit reports on patients who do not have… Read more about Credit Checks On Uninsured Patients
Sunscreen, A Swimsuit, and Your Health Insurance Card
According to a Business Week article, most of the major US health insurance carriers are moving towards including overseas hospitals in their provider networks, in an effort to encourage policy holders to utilize the much less expensive services that can be found in many of Asia’s top-notch private hospitals. Most of the hospitals are accredited… Read more about Sunscreen, A Swimsuit, and Your Health Insurance Card
Daily Dialysis Dramatically Better
I came across this article today about the benefits of home hemodialysis. My father has been on dialysis for nearly 7 years, since a rare autoimmune disease destroyed his kidneys in the summer of 2001. He was on hemodialysis for a while, and then switched to peritoneal dialysis. That worked for a couple years until… Read more about Daily Dialysis Dramatically Better
When The Lottery Becomes A Matter Of Life And Death
In OR, over 91,000 people have signed up to be included in a lottery that the state is holding to fill 3,000 available slots in their state health plan. The plan is low cost (zero to $20 per month) and provides health and dental benefits to people that would otherwise be uninsured. For the 3,000… Read more about When The Lottery Becomes A Matter Of Life And Death
Lower Share Prices For Humana And Wellpoint
Humana and Wellpoint – both major players in the Colorado health insurance market – lowered their 2008 earnings projections on Wall Street this week. In both cases, higher-than-expected claims volume is partially to blame. Humana’s earnings drop is mainly tied to claims with their Medicare prescription drug program, which the company says will reset after… Read more about Lower Share Prices For Humana And Wellpoint
The Cavalcade March Madness Bracket
The bracket is set at Regulating Health Insurance and you can play at your own risk. The Colorado Health Insurance Insider came in as a #5 seed with Louise’s post about Mental Health Coverage in Health Insurance Policies. The #5 vs #12 match up is the traditional upset, but I think we’re okay until we… Read more about The Cavalcade March Madness Bracket
No Out Of State Health Insurance For Colorado Residents
The Colorado House of Representatives rejected a proposal yesterday that would have made it possible for Colorado residents to buy health insurance from out-of-state carriers not licensed in Colorado. The vote was close, but failed 6-5 in the committee meeting. I think that the state-by-state system of health insurance in this country is ridiculous, considering… Read more about No Out Of State Health Insurance For Colorado Residents
Mental Health Coverage on Health Insurance Policies
The House voted last week to require health insurance companies to provide equal coverage for mental and physical health on policies that cover both types of illness. This is heralded as a big step forward by mental health advocates, but it will also place a strain on health insurance carriers, policy-holders who pay their own… Read more about Mental Health Coverage on Health Insurance Policies
Newspapers Support "Free Market" Health Care Reform
I just came across an interesting article by Michelle Swenson at the Health Blog. The gist of the article is that the two major Colorado newspapers – the Rocky Mountain News and the Denver Post – consistently presented a skewed view of the health care reform proposals that were evaluated over the last year by… Read more about Newspapers Support "Free Market" Health Care Reform
Retirement And Health Care
A recent study by Fidelity Investments estimates that a 65-year old couple retiring in 2008 will need $225,000 set aside in order to cover medical expenses during their golden years. And yet 39% of Americans over age 55 have less than $25,000 in total retirement savings. This presents a troubling picture of the financial future… Read more about Retirement And Health Care
ChronicBabe Has Grand Rounds
You’ll see a brand new Grand Rounds hosted by Jenni Prokopy, founder and editrix of chronicbabe.com – a site for young women with chronic illness who strive to live well in spite of health-related limitations…to be babes!
Health Care For All
Does having health insurance guarantee that someone has access to health care? Not really. This article does an excellent job of comparing auto insurance and health insurance, and explaining how the health insurance industry hasn’t really been able to keep up with the changing face of health care over the last several decades. In addition… Read more about Health Care For All