Posts tagged as:
People comparison shop for all kinds of things, yet because of an opaque health care system where prices are not known to consumers and are furthermore complicated by the dance between providers and health insurance companies, we tend to just accept what the doctor ordered. And sometimes, that’s multiple tests and procedures you don’t necessarily [...]
{ 0 comments }
With the tough current economic times and numerous layoffs, a large portion of California residents are finding themselves uninsured. Researchers from UCLA Center for Health Policy Research have found that about 8.2 million, or 24.3% of California residents under age 65, were uninsured for all or part of 2009. In addition, the study found that the percentage of children without health insurance rose from 10.2% in 2007 to 13.4% in 2009. The study noted that the uninsured population paralleled that of the unemployment rate, which increased from 5.7% in 2007 to 12.3% by the end of 2009.
{ 0 comments }
A new report from America’s Health Insurance Plans has shown that enrollment in high-deductible plans is on the rise; MedPageToday.com reports that enrollment increased by 25 percent in the past year, “bringing the total enrollment in those plans to 10 million.”
{ 0 comments }
Anthem Blue Cross’ parent called off a meeting with investors that was scheduled for next week to “review its 2010 financial outlook so that executives can prepare for a congressional hearing into its large rate hikes for individual policyholders in California,” states Duke Helfand from the Los Angeles Times. WellPoint Inc. Chief Executive Angela F. Braly has been called to testify next week about the future rate hikes of as much as 39%.
WellPoint has postponed the planned premium increases until May 1, “amid criticisms from consumers, state officials, members of Congress and the Obama administration,” reports Helfand. WellPoint blames the drastic increases on the rising medical costs, and said less than a quarter of individual policyholders would actually suffer from rate increases of 35% to 39%.
{ 0 comments }
For heart patient Frank Amend, an engineer from North Carolina, his heaviest expense is healthcare, unlike the average American family whose mortgage would be at the top of the list as their biggest expense. Reuters states, “That’s why Amend and tens of thousands of patients with similar conditions find themselves at the center of debate over how to reform the $2.5 trillion U.S. healthcare sector — and whether the country can afford it.”
{ 4 comments }
According to the Los Angeles Times, on Thursday the parent of Anthem Blue Cross attempted to justify large premium increases for individual policies, however, “critics – including the Obama administration – voiced skepticism.” The Los Angeles Times reports, “In a letter to the administration, health insurance giant WellPoint Inc. of Indianapolis said that increases of as much as 39%, set to take effect March 1, reflect soaring medical costs and an exodus of healthy consumers from its ranks.”
{ 1 comment }
Anthem Blue Cross, California’s largest for-profit insurer, was asked by California insurance regulators to postpone problematic rate increases for individual policies. These rate increases, some as much as 39%, have “triggered widespread criticism from subscribers and brokers — and now from the federal government,” reports Duke Helfand from the Los Angeles Times. The Obama administration requested that Anthem justify these rate increases, and according to Helfand, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius “voiced serious concern [in a letter to Anthem's president] over the higher premiums, which go into effect March 1 for many of the insurer’s estimated 800,000 individual policyholders.”
{ 2 comments }
Wednesday night President Obama announced that he’s still determined to reform the nation’s health care system, despite the several setbacks he has faced. When addressing the health care reform issue in his State of the Union address, Obama “urged lawmakers to continue working towards expanding coverage to the uninsured and overhauling the way the U.S. health insurance companies do business,” reports Chris Rizo from Legal Newsline.
{ 1 comment }
The Washington state Insurance Commissioner, Mike Kreidler, reported that the number of Washingtonians with no health insurance will soon grow to 1 million.
He also predicts that the cost of uncompensated medical care in the state will reach $1 billion annually by 2011. “The widespread and growing lack of health insurance in Washington state is hurting families, communities and our state’s economy in ways that we can no longer afford to ignore,” states Kreidler.
{ 3 comments }
Procedures Searched
Copyright © 2010 PriceDoc Incorporated. All rights reserved.
