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Health Care Reform Update: Removing lifetime & dollar limits for essential health benefits
As a result of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), or Health Care Reform Bill, health insurance carriers must remove lifetime limits and annual dollar limits on covered services that are determined to be “essential health benefits”. These essential health benefits are determined by the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). […]
Understanding Health Reimbursement Accounts and Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRA)
In the world of consumer directed healthcare, first there was the MSA, then the HRA and finally the HSA (Health Savings Accounts). Today the HSA is king of the mountain, but for savvy employers across the country, the HRA is a tool that helps them manage their health care costs.
The Health Reimbursement Account (HRA) has […]
What is a pre-existing condition clause?
Many individuals do not even look at options outside of the plans offered by thier employers. Many times the reason for this is that they believe that any conditions that they currently have would not be covered by a new plan, but this is incorrect.
The pre-existing condition clause is actually defined as:
The overriding federal law […]
Ohio Employers Paying for Employees Individual and Family Health Insurance Policies
Many employers in Ohio do not realize that they have the option to get individual health insurance and replace there expensive small group health policies. Whether your company is in Cincinnati, Columbus, Dayton or Cleveland this information will apply. Let’s look at the implications and understand why whether individual or a small group plan is your […]
Rules issued for High Risk Health Insurance Pools
On July 30, the Department of Health and Human Services released an interim final rule on the Pre-existing Condition Insurance Plan Program. This program is being established as a result of the health reform law, which requires the HHS secretary to create a temporary high risk health insurance pool program - either directly or through […]
Medical Sharing Plans: A risky alternative to Health Insurance
Whether you are in Cincinnati, Columbus or Cleveland, many Ohioans share negative feelings toward health insurance carriers. After all, the carriers do accept and decline individuals at will, raise premiums consistently and remain profitable–regardless of the economic climate. Over the last decade many have sought out alternative health care options. One alternative, which […]
Medical Mutual of Ohio to Operate Temporary High Risk Pool
As stated in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, states must provide a temporary high risk pool to those individuals who are unable to purchase health insurance due to pre-existing conditions. As of last week, Mary Jo Hudson, the Director of the Ohio Department of Insurance announced that Medical Mutual of Ohio […]
Maternity Benefits: No longer a common offering
As the landscape of our nation’s health care system continues to change, products and benefits offered by the many carriers change as well. While the health care reform will eventually force the carriers to shoulder higher risk individuals, who would have been declined coverage prior to the legislation, the carriers are scrambling to […]
COBRA Subsidy Expires… Alternatives Available
Effective June 1, 2010, the federal COBRA subsidy expired. The program was enacted in March of 2009 and allowed COBRA participants to receive a 65% federal subsidy as a part of the Obama Administration’s $787 billion stimulus program.
House Democrats at the end of May elected not to extend the subsidy through the remainder […]
In Search of Support, Obama Takes Aim at Seniors
As the oil spill in the Gulf continues to dominate national news, President Obama appears to have refocused his energy toward the defense of the recent healthcare reform bill. Although his quest to drum up support may not surprise most, considering midterm elections are on the horizon, it’s Obama’s target audience that has […]
