Archive for September, 2010
New Ruling on Child Only Policies
On Monday, September 27th, the Ohio Department of Insurance (ODI) released an emergency ruling related to the implementation of the new federal requirement, which determines that children under the age of 19 not be denied coverage or be subject to limitations or exclusions because of pre-existing health conditions. In an effort to encourage insurers to […]
Information for Veterans About the Medicare Prescription Drug Program (Medicare Part D)
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) administers the nation’s largest health care system. Many of the veterans enrolled in the VA medical benefits package are also eligible or may become eligible for enrollment in the Medicare program. Because many veterans have questions about Medicare’s prescription drug program […]
Medical costs on the rise
Year after year it seems that healthcare related costs are on the rise. Some reasons for the increased spending includes: increased utilization of services, an aging population and the development of new drugs and technologies.
Recently, a number of stories have documented some reasons for rising premiums, including:
A recent report from AARP says that the retail prices […]
Medicare Advantage: Update for 2011
With individual and group health insurance rates on the rise, premiums for the average Medicare Advantage plan will actually drop by 1% for 2011. “Despite the claims of some, Medicare Advantage remains a strong, robust option for millions of seniors who choose to enroll or stay in a participating plan,” said Donald Berwick, the administrator […]
Cost of Healthcare Reform
A recent report that was released by the office of the chief Medicare actuary claims that healthcare reform will have a negligible effect on total national health care spending over the next decade. The report counters both the argument that reform will lead to explosive cost increases and the argument that it will slow these […]
Uninsured stats according to the US Census Bureau
During the week of September 13th, the US Census Bureau released their annual report that discloses poverty, income and the uninsured. As for those figures relating to health insurance, please see below:
The total number of uninsured increased to 50.6 million, up 4.3 million from last year.
That means the uninsured rate is now 16.7 percent.
The number […]
Healthcare Reform Changes and the Impact on Grandfathered Plans
Grandfathered plans are required to meet some, but not all, of the health insurance reform changes as described in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. A “Grandfathered Health Plan” is defined as a group health plan or health insurance coverage in which an individual was enrolled on or before March 23, 2010. To learn […]
Recent Healthcare Reform Changes!
On September 23, 2010 new laws regarding health insurance were enacted as a result of the healthcare reform bill. Since then the following changes have been implemented:
Lifetime limits: Health insurance plans may not impose dollar limits on essential health benefits.
Rescissions: No rescissions are permitted, except in cases of fraud or misrepresentation.
Coverage for adult children: Children […]
Open a Health Savings Account with your bank!
With the popularity of high deductible health plans and Health Savings Accounts (HSA) growing, it’s important to know what your options are as a consumer. Most health insurance carriers try and steer their clients toward a single banking institution, when setting up an HSA, that the carrier has a relationship with. However, those with HSA […]
Why are you not able to purchase an individual health insurance policy for children in Ohio (Post Health Care Reform)?
The main reason is that Ohio cannot demand insurers sell the health insurance coverage and the carriers (Anthem, UHC, Aetna, Medical Mutual of Ohio) have been forced to protect themselves against adverse selection.
Carriers are worried consumers will wait until a child is sick before trying to buy insurance. Under current conditions, those seeking coverage […]
