May 2011

Medicare Trustees Report Not So Gloomy

by Louise May 27, 2011

[...] One way or another, we need to seek solutions that will enable Medicare to pay the 10% shortfall that is currently predicted for a decade from now. That can be accomplished by cutting costs, increasing revenues, or both. But we don’t need to start from scratch and overhaul the entire system, especially with the improvements that the PPACA has already created.

Read the rest →

Medicare and Prescription Coverage

by Louise May 25, 2011

[...] If the government can tell the health insurance carriers that no more than 15 – 20% of premium dollars can be spent on administrative expenses, including profits, why can’t similar guidelines be enacted for the pharmaceutical industry? Perhaps then we wouldn’t need to worry as much about who is going to pay the cost of prescription drugs for seniors. And maybe individual health insurance policies could start covering prescriptions with basic copays again.

Read the rest →

Health Care Reform In The 2011 Colorado Legislative Session

by Louise May 23, 2011

The Colorado legislative session that wrapped up this month was a busy one for Colorado-specific health care reform. Despite a few bumps in the road, SB200 passed, which means that Colorado is now on its way to creating a health insurance exchange that will address the particular needs of individuals and small businesses in the state. Although this bill was controversial simply because the whole idea of exchanges is too closely tied with the PPACA [...]

Read the rest →

Handling Income And Job Fluctuations Under The PPACA

by Louise May 20, 2011

[...] There’s no simple answer to all of this. We’re trying to create a somewhat universal health insurance system based on a conglomeration of government-run health insurance, private coverage from hundreds of carriers, eligibility for coverage that is tied to employment and state of residence, and also based on income levels… of course it’s going to get complicated. Hopefully the suggestions raised by this report will help to guide regulations that will ensure health insurance coverage that is as gap-free as possible for most Americans.

Read the rest →

IRS 2012 HSA Contribution Limits

by Jay May 18, 2011

The IRS announced that the contribution limit for an individual would increase by $50 in 2012, from $3,050 to $3,100. The family contribution limit is increasing from $6,150 to $6,250 (+$100).

The maximum annual out-of-pocket increased as well. The individual out of pocket maximum is going from $5,950 to $6,050. The family out of pocket maximum is increasing from $11,900 to $12,100.

The minimum deductible on an HSA qualified plan remained the same, $1,200 for individuals and $2,400 for families.

For more details about HSAs and HSA qualified plans, visit our HSA page.

Read the rest →

A Blurry Line Between Advertising And Journalism

by Louise May 18, 2011

[...] Posts like this are good to keep in mind whenever we read stories in the media regarding new technology in healthcare, recommendations for medical treatment, and cutting-edge pharmaceuticals. Is the article truly research-based journalism, or is it a press release in disguise? Was the magazine/newspaper/website paid to run the article, or did the author receive an incentive to write the article in a particular fashion? [...]

Read the rest →

Uninsured Americans Virtually Unable To Pay For Hospitalizations

by Louise May 13, 2011

[...] A new report from HHS paints a pretty bleak picture of the ability of uninsured Americans to pay for their own medical care. Looking at all uninsured families in the US, the median amount of savings is $20 (the study considered only assets that could be easily liquidated: bank accounts, stocks, bonds, retirement accounts, CDs, money market accounts, and mutual funds). That won’t go far when it comes to paying for a hospital bill. Even uninsured families at the high end of the asset scale had an average of less than $13,000 in financial assets. [...]

Read the rest →

The Future Of PCP Availability For Medicare Beneficiaries

by Louise May 12, 2011

[...] He tackles the question of whether Medicare beneficiaries have to wait longer than privately insured patients for a routine appointment, and finds that they do not. In fact, it appears that the opposite is true, with more privately insured patients reporting that they had to wait longer than they wanted to get an appointment (although most insureds, regardless of whether they had Medicare or private health insurance, were able to get appointments within the time frame they wanted).[...]

Read the rest →

Federal House Votes To Defund Health Insurance Exchanges

by Louise May 10, 2011

[...] One of the provisions of the PPACA is for the federal government to assist the states in funding the creation of health insurance exchanges. In a largely symbolic vote, the US House of Representatives voted last week to block that funding. HR1213 would prevent the federal government from spending money to help the states set up their own health insurance exchanges. It passed in the Republican-dominated House, but [...]

Read the rest →

← Previous Entries