[…] If you’re up for a little controversy, PalMD at White Coat Underground has written about conscience clauses that allow medical providers to refuse to to provide care if it conflicts with their personal beliefs. A very good point raised in the article and comments is that the conscience clauses tend to be invoked in matters of reproductive health. […]
Archives for January 2009
Salaries For Healthcare Executives
[…] With other private industries, we have more of a choice in terms of quality, price, and whether we want the product in the first place. Somehow it doesn’t feel right that healthcare is set up just like all of our other industries, with executives making 7 and 8 figure salaries while millions of Americans are without health insurance and don’t have realistic access to healthcare at all.
Email It To Me
I am a big fan of The Office. Michael, Jim, Pam, Dwight… they thoroughly entertain me every Thursday night. Michael isn’t known for his stunning wisdom, but last week there was an exchange between Michael and his boss David that deserves to be shared: David Wallace: I’ll fax over some of the things we’re looking… Read more about Email It To Me
Customary Charges Are Not Always Reasonable
[…] Pricing varies from one provider to the next; negotiated reimbursement rates vary within a single health insurance network; patients often don’t know what the price will be until after the fact. And as David Williams pointed out, the prices are often far from reasonable. We can’t do without healthcare, and that’s why unreasonable “reasonable and customary” charges exist.
Health Insurance And Clinical Trials
Diane Primavera, our local Colorado state representative from Broomfield, has proposed a bill that would prevent health insurance companies from canceling policies of insureds who choose to enroll in clinical trials of experimental treatments. We appreciate Primavera’s healthcare reform efforts for Colorado. […]
Health Insurance More Important For Humans Than Pets
[…] But before any state starts mandating that shelters and pet stores provide pet insurance information to customers, we should probably focus on making sure that people know how to qualify for Medicaid and SCHIP, and are automatically provided with information about eligibility for human health insurance.
Health Insurance And Infertility Treatment
[…] One of the benefits of health insurance is the negotiated fee schedules between providers and health insurance carriers. When claims are considered “covered expenses” the billed amount is almost always reduced by the insurance company. Unfortunately, infertility treatments aren’t covered expenses and don’t get repriced by health insurance networks. […]
Different Perspectives
[…] Sometimes we need to be reminded that not everyone is aware of the actual cost of health insurance or health care. To us, reform that lowers costs across the board is a very important issue. But with such huge discrepancies in what people are paying for their health insurance, we’re not even in the same book yet, say nothing of on the same page.
Non-Profit Does Not Necessarily Mean Low Cost
I recently posted an article on the Colorado Health Insurance Insider about my views on making Medicare available as an opt-in option for Americans younger than 65. I got a comment on the article that I thought brought up some good points and wanted to expand on some of the ideas. The reader pointed out that a good number of private health insurance plans are non-profit […]
Hopefully No Need For Offshore Medical Centers
[…] A little government intervention in terms of providing affordable basic healthcare access to all Americans through a tax-funded program is a good idea. But too much government intervention, in the form of a moratorium on private pay healthcare, is a bad idea.
Healthcare IT Not Just About EHRs
[…] Instead of expanding EHRs, they suggest relatively low-tech IT solutions that would provide more bang for the buck. Their ideas include an on-line method of sharing medical records between PCPs and specialists, expanding the use of email between patients and doctors, and enhancing broadband access across rural and low income areas of the country. […]
No Blackball List In Health Insurance
Several times each week, we talk to clients in Colorado who have been declined by a health insurance carrier in the past. Quite often they express concern about the “black mark” on their record, and wonder if they will ever be able to qualify for a medically underwritten policy. So I thought I’d clear up some of the most common misconceptions about individual health insurance underwriting and previous declines. […]
Public Health Insurance Plan Deserves A Chance
[…] I like the idea of a public health insurance system operating side by side with our private system. I think that there are people who would immediately opt for one or other system just on principal. But I think that there are lots of people who would wait and see what happens. Either way, the idea of a public/private health insurance system deserves a chance.
No Nurses In The Unemployment Lines
[…] I know that some hospitals are struggling to make ends meet and are unable to boost benefits or pay for their nurses. But why are some hospitals spending money on artwork and spa services when there’s a nationwide shortage of nurses? Why not channel that money into recruitment efforts, education grants, and higher salaries and benefits for nurses? […]
Heart Attacks Down But Tobacco Tax Revenue Dwindling
[…] I’m thrilled that the Pueblo smoking ban has yielded such positive effects on the health of the population, and I’m glad that the rest of the state followed suit a few years later. Now let’s hope that the state can figure out the funding for programs like Medicaid and SCHIP – both of which provide health insurance to Colorado populations that desperately need it – despite dwindling tobacco sales.