Health Insurance News and Feature Articles

Cover the Uninsured Week
May 1-7, 2006

Mon, 24 Apr 2006 19:30:30 -0700

The Problem

Nearly 46 million Americans, including more than 8 million children, are living without health insurance forced to gamble every day that they won't get sick or injured.
That's a risk no one should have to take.

Uninsured Americans live sicker and die younger than those with health insurance. Just one serious illness or injury can wipe out an uninsured family's bank account, and the problem is getting worse.

The Response

That's why the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and some of the most influential organizations in the country are again organizing Cover the Uninsured Week.

This year's effort will mobilize thousands of individuals and organizations from many sectors of society to plan activities to tell Congress that health care coverage must be their top priority.

Cover the Uninsured Week 2006 will create a groundswell of activities in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, including press conferences, health and enrollment fairs, seminars for small businesses, campus activities, business leader summits, interfaith outreach, and more.

These activities are designed to mobilize a diverse mix of business owners, union members, educators, students, patients, hospital staff, physicians, nurses, faith leaders and their congregants, and many others at thousands of events across the country.

The Result

Millions of people will be alerted to the pressing needs of those living without health insurance.

These 46 million uninsured Americans need our and your help. It's time to put politics aside and take meaningful steps toward solutions.

You Can Help.

Go to www.CoverTheUninsured.org to:

1. Tell Congress that health coverage must be their top priority. Let's get America covered.

2. Spread the word by sending a Cover the Uninsured Week e-mail to your friends and asking them to help get America covered.

3. Get involved in Cover the Uninsured Week activities and show your support. The Web site lists dozens of ways you can help your community organize activities and events.

Proof of Citizenship Required for Medicaid Services

Tue, 18 Apr 2006 02:55:40 -0700

Do you wish to access Medicaid services?

If you are eligible for Medicaid and wish to access its services, you need to show proof of U.S. citizenship such as a birth certificate, passport or another form of identification.

This new federal law will take effect on July 1st. The new requirement was included in the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, which President Bush signed into law earlier this year.

It is intended to prevent undocumented immigrants from claiming to be citizens in order to receive health insurance benefits provided to legal residents. Under federal law, undocumented immigrants can receive only emergency care through Medicaid.

Some health care specialists are concerned that with the new citizenship requirements, many Medicaid beneficiaries, including those who are mentally disabled or homeless, will not be able to produce documentation and will have difficulty receiving Medicaid services.

The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the requirement will save the federal government $220 million over five years and $735 million over 10 years. CBO says that by 2015, about 35,000 people -- mostly undocumented immigrants -- will lose coverage because of the new requirement.

However, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimates that three million to five million low-income citizens could not avail of Medicaid services because they do not have birth certificates or passports.

Source: New York Times

Health Savings Accounts Popularity Grows!

Fri, 31 Mar 2006 11:07:22 -0700

Since the Health Savings Accounts (HSA) started in early 2004, the number of people using HSAs has grown at a phenomenal rate and has tripled to 3 million in the last 12 months!

Health Savings Account allows people with high-deductible health insurance plans – defined as having annual deductibles of at least $1,050 for individuals or $2,100 for families – to open a tax-deferred savings account, much like an IRA.

Funds can be deposited up to the amount of the policy deductible and deducted from taxable income -- instead of being lost forever to premiums.

HSA funds can be used for any qualified medical expenses such as doctor visits, over the counter drugs, laboratory fees, long-term care insurance, long-term medical care, Medicare premiums and deductibles, psychiatric care, therapy, vaccines,chiropractors, acupunture, eyeglasses and dental treatment

The HSA funds can be rolled over year after year, and can be withdrawn after age 59 1/2 and used for whatever purpose without penalty.

People are finding many advantages to getting Health Savings Accounts, including:

HSA offers greater flexibility in spending -- HSA covers a wide range of medical expenses as outlined above

Unreimbursed health care costs, including deductibles and co-pays, are paid with before-tax dollars.

HSA holders can save of up to $1,800 in federal income taxes annually, plus state taxes in most states, and can opt to invest the HSA funds in growing range of choices and growth compounds tax-free.

Unlike the Medical Savings Account (MSA) and the employer-sponsored flexible savings acount, Health Savings Accounts do not have a "use it or lose it" penalty each year

Healthy individuals can accumulate savings in order to pay health-care expenses later in life or to supplement retirement savings. It allows families with infants or very young children can roll over HSA contributions so that as the children age, if medical needs decrease, there will be additional funds left over to use for expenses such as orthodontics.

Indeed, Health Savings Accounts provide a more affordable health insurance option.

The other good news is that Health Savings Accounts have become more accessible than ever! More and more insurance providers are offering HSA-compatible health insurance plans. And Large banks like Wells Fargo and US Bank are now offering HSAs, along with several smaller banks and credit unions across the nation.

To learn more about the uses and contributions to Health Savings Account, click here.

If you wish to get a FREE Health Savings Account eligible
health insurance quotes, click here. You will be able to check, compare and find the best quotes within minutes. And when you're ready, you can easily apply online.

Source: Marketwatch

Medicare and Medicare Drug Benefit

Thu, 23 Mar 2006 09:54:14 -0700

If you are on Medicare, you may just find yourself enrolled in the new Medicare Drug Benefit soon.

The The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced in its Web site that it will automatically enroll additional 1.2 million Medicare beneficiaries if they do not take action to enroll on their own by April 30.

CMS plans to enroll those low-income Medicare beneficiaries who qualify for subsidy under the Medicare Drug Benefit - including those who applied for subsidy and were approved but have not signed up for a Medicare drug plan, and those who are enrolled in other federal assistance programs such as Medicare Savings Program and the Supplemental Security Income Program.

If you belong to any of these groups, you can expect to receive a letter from CMS in the coming weeks notifying you of the automatic enrollment. You do of course have the choice of opting out from the enrollment completely.

To learn more about the Medicare Prescription Drug Plan click here.

The Uninsured Pay Higher Hospital Bills

Tue, 14 Mar 2006 18:02:36 -0700

Did you know that if you are uninsured you could end up paying higher than what the health insurance companies would pay for the same treatment?

CBS interviewed the Ferlini and Starbuck families and found that hospitals charge uninsured patients two, three four or more times what an insurance company would pay for.

KB Forbes an activist running a nationwide campaign on behalf of the uninsured says that this problem is common. "Basically, hospitals charge uninsured people four or five times more than what they would accept as payment in full from a health insurance company. Simply put, it's price-gouging," says Forbes.

Forbes analyzed the Ferlini's hospital bill, while St. Joseph's was billing Ferlini $246,000, it would accept just under $50,000 as full payment from a health insurance company for the same treatment.

Federal law requires hospitals to charge every patient the same, whether they have health insurance or not.

The University of Tennessee Medical Center told 60 Minutes that hospitals do charge patients who receive the same services the same amounts.

So why then do the uninsured patients get charged higher than the insured?

That's because hospitals are able to accept different payments from different patients. Hospitals give significant discounts, as much as 75 percent off the list price, to insurance companies for the patients they cover. Medicare and Medicaid patients are charged even less. Only the uninsured are charged the hospital's full price.

Gerard Anderson, a professor of publich health at John Hopkins University tells 60 Minutes that these high charges are typical. "I think virtually all hospitals do this. They charge two and four times as much. Some of them charge 10 times as much."

Anderson notes that hospitals keep their price list largely secret, so there's no way to do any comparative shopping. "And because you can't do comparative shopping, the hospital has no reason to control prices," Anderson explains.

Yes, the government and the health care industry are trying to address the issue. But in thec meantime, going without health insurance can put you on a major financial risk, particularly with the rising health care costs.

To find out where you can get affordable, low cost or no cost health insurance if you're working and uninsured, click here.

If you're unemployed and without health insurance, click here.

If you continue to find it hard to get health care coverage, make sure you look into the Charity Care Program of your hospital and find out if you qualify.

See full feature at 60 Minutes: Hospitals - Is the Price Right?

Guess who's healthier? Immigrants or U.S.-Born Residents?

Thu, 2 Mar 2006 16:38:05 -0700

Did you know that U.S. immigrants are generally healthier than residents born in the country? It's true. And this fact was reported by the National Center for Health Statistics at CDC, using telephone interviews from 225,429 households between 1998-2003.

The study finds that these immigrants -- who are less likely to have private health insurance than U.S. born residents -- use less health care and have less reason to.

Findings indicate that those U.S. immigrants also less likely to smoke, have lower rates of diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure; have less disability and are less likely to acknowledge having mental problems.

However, the study also shows that the longer the immigrants stay in the U.S., the less healthy they become.

For example, 16% of recent Latino immigrants were obese, compared with 22% of Latino immigrants who were in the U.S. for five years or longer and 29.8% of U.S.-born Latinos. The report finds that the rate of hypertension among Latino immigrants increased from 13.4% for recent immigrants to 19.8% for those who were in the U.S. for five years or longer.

According to the report, 3% of recent Asian immigrants had heart disease, compared with 4.6% of those who were in the U.S. for five years or longer and 6.6% of native-born individuals with Asian heritage. Almost 24% of recent black immigrants had hypertension, compared with 27.4% of those who were in the U.S. for five years or longer and 34.7% of native-born blacks, the report finds.

The report did not have any conclusions as to why the health of immigrants deteriorate the longer they stay in the U.S. The report however suggests a phenomenon called the 'healthy immigrant' effect - "healthy people tend to be the ones who migrate. But over time they adopt the lifestyle and food habits of this country, getting less exercise and eating more fast food."

Read Full Report at Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Guide to finding Affordable Health Insurance

Free Prescription Medicines for the Uninsured

Fri, 24 Feb 2006 16:20:57 -0700

Don't have health insurance? Don't despair. We have outlined several options for you to find affordable medical insurance, and even low cost or free health insurance, here at HealthInsurance-Help.com.

Whether you're unemployed, working and uninsured, already pregnant, planning a family, or retiring, you're sure to find solutions to your medical insurance woes here.

And there's more!

Here are some new resources that can help you get the medicines you need even if you don't have health insurance.

The Partnership for Prescription Assistance has more than 275 programs that can help you qualify for medicines for free or at a very low cost. To find out more about, visit www.ppax.org or call 1-888-4-PPA-NOW or 1-888-477-2669.

If you are uninsured and need help paying for your Pfizer medicines, you can contact Pfizer Helpful Answers. Just call 1-866-706-2400 or go to http://www.pfizeranswers.com.

If you are uninsured and low-income, Rx Access Card provides you savings on a wide range of prescription medicines from the world's largest drug companies, including Pfizer. Go to www.togetherrxaccess.com or call 1-800-444-4106 to find out if you qualify.

MerckHelps offers two options for prescription drug coverage. The Merck Instant Savings Certificate offers 10 % discount on all Merck drugs. The Merck Prescription Discount Plan offers up to 40% off of prescription drugs. To find out more about these options, visit www.merckhelps.com or call 1(800) 727-5400.

Are you on Medicare? If you are, then you may be eligible to get a Medicare-approved drug discount card. Visit www.medicare.gov or call 1-800-MEDICARE to find out which card is right for you.

If you have limited income, then you may be eligible to enroll in programs such as Medicaid or your state children's health insurance program.

Source: National Grange

Read more: Low cost health care services and prescription assistance.

Smokers Pay Higher Health Insurance Premiums

Fri, 17 Feb 2006 15:27:45 -0700

There's another good reason for people to stop smoking, and that's higher health insurance premiums.

USA Today reports a growing number of companies who are charging tobacco users premium surcharges, ranging from $20- $50 per month, hoping this will motivate employees to stop smoking and help lower health care costs. Most of the employers taking this step are self-insured companies, including Pepsi, American Financial, General Mills, Meijer, and Gannett.

A general benefits survey conducted last year among 950 companies show that about 41% show some kind of incentives and penalties in their health care plans. About 8-10% of the businesses aim some of these penalties and incentives at smokers.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates $92 billion in lost wages annually in the United States from smokers who die prematurely. The economic costs of smoking includes $75.b billion per year in direct health care costs.

Smokers are costing companies 25% more than non-smokers. So companies are hoping the higher health insurance premiums would encourage their employees to give up smoking and make healthier lifestyle choices. n started onsite fitness programs and are paying for gym memberships.

Bottomline? If you wish to save hundreds, if not thousands of dollars on health insurance and health care costs, give up smoking now. It's good for your finances and its great for your health.

Source: USA Today

Guide to Affordable Health Insurance

Health Savings Account for Federal Workers Expected to Save Billions

Thu, 16 Feb 2006 12:22:29 -0700

The US Government expects significant increase in the number of federal workers enrolled in Health Savings Account should congress allow BlueCross and BlueShield, federal workers' largest health insurer, to offer a Health Savings Account Plan.

The White House projects savings of billions of dollars based on this move, which is part of President Bush's proposed 2007 budget. Health Savings Account allows the consumers to take greater control of their health care decisions and therefore manage medical costs better.

Some experts say that one of Health Savings Account's biggest drawback is consumer confusion, since they believe that "people don't have enough information on cost and quality to make responsible medical decisions."

The advantages, however, are that consumers have discretion as to what services they want and how much they want to spend for them. Money stays with the workers when they move to another job or enroll in Medicare. It gives the people greater flexibility as they can withdraw money from the account to cover a far wider range of procedures than typical insurers may cover.

Source: The Baltimore Sun

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Thu, 2 Feb 2006 15:05:53 -0700

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