[…] As long as we’re looking at a fragmented public/private hodge podge of long term care funding that includes Medicaid, private long term care insurance, private assets, and help from family and friends, I think it’s important that we look for ways to make things as fair as possible and also keep Medicaid financially afloat. The CLASS Act got nixed from the ACA, but the problem of funding long term care isn’t going away, and is only going to grow as the baby boomer generation ages. John’s article is a good one to read if you’re interested in possible solutions.
Archives for October 2011
World Insurance And American Republic Leaving Individual Market
[…] The rep I spoke with at World Insurance said that it wasn’t clear yet which states will be in the November round of notifications, so we aren’t sure when World/American Republic policyholders in Colorado will be officially notified that their carrier is leaving the market. But I confirmed with both World Insurance and Celtic that the change is happening and that the initial stage of it will begin next month. Colorado residents who are currently covered by either World Insurance or American Republic would be wise to begin looking for other health insurance options. […]
Real-Time Tracking Of Healthcare Costs
[…] Obviously we have to avoid cutting corners just for the sake of lowering costs at the expense of patient outcomes (again, including patient outcomes when we compare the cost data would help to prevent this problem). But I have no doubt that there are other healthcare expenses that could be eliminated without compromising patient outcomes. In many cases, the providers might just be unaware of the actual costs that are being incurred – Dr. Fogelson’s idea for a real-time digital tracker would help to keep cost in the front of everyone’s mind.
Health Insurance Exchange Payroll and Admin Expenses
[…] One of the comments on the post was from Dede de Percin, the Executive Director of the Colorado Consumer Health Initiative (CCHI). […] Dede’s comment on my article referenced the point I made about consumers not having to pay additional fees to have a broker. Basically, health insurance is priced the same whether you go directly through a health insurance carrier (calling Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield directly, for example) or through a broker (who will compare options from multiple carriers for you). Dede made this point:
“While a consumer or business doesn’t not pay a health insurance broker directly, broker fees and commissions are paid by the insurance companies – and rolled into […]”
Why People Don’t Buy Life, Disability, and LTC Insurance
[…] Insurance just isn’t that much fun to buy, period. It’s a product that we purchase while hoping we never have to use it, and if we ever do have to use it, things aren’t going so great. Having insurance does contribute to our peace of mind though, and that’s valuable in and of itself.
Does The Pink Ribbon Trivialize Breast Cancer Deaths?
[…] I can see how awareness is a good thing if it encourages people (men and women) to be in tune with their health and current on the screening exams that they and their doctor feel they need. And it’s a reminder to all of us to do whatever we can to provide support to those who have cancer. But what about the people who know that their cancer is terminal? What about those with metastatic breast cancer? Or with another form of advanced cancer like my friend? The people who know that there is almost no chance they will beat the disease, and that their life will almost certainly be cut short by it? Do all the pink ribbons trivialize their deaths? […]
Conflicting Data Regarding Medical Costs
[…] These numbers are much more in line with the rise in health insurance premiums that we’ve seen over the past few years. I have no explanation for why the data from the two sources is so dramatically different in terms of medical trend in 2010, but if the trend was really closer to 7.5% rather than 1.7%, the health insurance premium increases would be a lot easier to understand. […] In addition to the MLR rules, some states (including Colorado) have implemented strict review processes for rate hikes. The ACA now calls for insurers who propose a rate hike of 10% or more […]
The Opposite Of Transparent
[…] David also points out that the amounts allowed by his Blue Cross Blue Shield carrier don’t seem to have anything to do with the amounts billed by his physical therapies – the lowest allowed amount on his EOB was for the service that was billed with the highest price tag. We’ve also seen little rhyme or reason (that we can detect, anyway) in terms of how billed amounts and allowed amount correlate. […]
Stuck In A Mini-Med
[…] So he applied for an individual policy with Anthem Blue Cross for his family, and was approved. But then when he tried to cancel his mini-med plan, his employer told him that he couldn’t cancel it until the open enrollment period next April. It would seem that trapping enrollees into a year-long contract with a mini-med plan is not in line with the spirit of the HHS guidelines that call for full disclosure regarding the waivers and directives to steer enrollees towards healthcare dot gov if they are interested in getting a policy that does comply with the ACA rules regarding annual policy limits. […]
Grand Rounds – Colorado Fall Colors Edition
Henry Stern of InsureBlog brings us an interview with the whistleblower who has brought a lawsuit against LabCorp for allegedly charging a lower price to United HealthCare than to Medicare. The post is particularly interesting because Hank adds his own thoughts after the interview, and he sees things a little differently than Andrew Baker (the whistleblower). Hank agrees that it does look like LabCorp lowered their fees for UHC […]
Increased Medicare Cost Sharing Might Not Be The Best Plan
[…] The healthcare providers make recommendations, order tests, perform surgeries… and in general, the patient does what the doctor recommends. And really, isn’t that the way it probably ought to be? Most of us have not been to medical school. When something seems amiss with our health, we need to feel that we can rely on our doctors to tell us the best course of action. Increased cost-sharing tends to increase the number of people who skip healthcare in general – including very necessary care like keeping diabetes and blood pressure under control.
Accepting Grand Rounds Submissions
We’re honored to be hosting the next Medical Grand Rounds on October 4th, our fourth time to host! Grand Rounds is a weekly gathering of the best health and medical articles written by doctors, nurses, students, patients, and others in health care related professions.