Some ways to save on prescription drug costs...

If you can't afford your prescription drugs, there are numerous programs to save you money or, in some cases, get free medication.

Here's a list with links to several such programs. Note: some of them, like the Washington Prescription Drug Program, are limited to residents of Washington state. But several are nationwide.

Looking for financial info on your health insurer?

A couple of people this week wrote inquires to "Ask Mike" searching for financial information on Washington state health insurers. Here's a tool on our website that compares the financial data among health carriers.

We're hearing from consumers...

It's no surprise in these tough times that the number one caller topic to our Insurance Consumer Hotline is people losing their health insurance. Often it's because they've lost their jobs. But here's a new consumer concern popping up on the hotline: Employers who are cancelling health insurance -- or failing to pay the premiums -- and not notifying their workers they no longer have coverage.

Have a problem with your insurance or need help finding coverage? Call our Insurance Consumer Hotline at 1-800-562-6900. Real people actually answer our phones!

Suggestions for Washingtonians who cannot afford health coverage for their kids...

If you can't afford to buy health insurance for your children, there are several low-cost options in Washington state that may be able to help.

A program called Apple Health for Kids, for example, provides state-subsidized coverage and is free to children in families living on less than 200 percent of the federal poverty level. (For a family of three, that's less than $3,052 per month.)

For more information on this and other resources, including a programs for pregnant women and parents of new babies, click here.

Jobless and worried about health coverage? Here are some ideas...

We've compiled a series of tips and suggestions for people struggling to keep their health coverage after losing a job. The page includes a county-by-county list of community clinics in Washington state, information on the federal COBRA law that allows former employees to stay on their health plan (if they pay the full cost) and information regarding veterans, Medicaid eligibility, and more.

Click here to read more.

Kreidler predicts health care reform success

A good Q&A in Seattlepi.com. Washington Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler shares what's different this time around in the national health care reform debate.

Excerpt: "... you're seeing the nature of the problem being redefined as an economic problem much more than a human or moral issue. I think we're starting to realize that the large employers who had historically been resistant to a national health insurance program now are stepping up and viewing it very differently." Click here for full story.

In D.C.: Health-care reform clears key hurdle...

Good overview and update in the New York Times this morning:

House members headed home on Friday, leaving behind the outlines of a nearly $1 trillion health care overhaul that is sure to draw fire from a variety of interests, but also shows the beginnings of a consensus that would provide insurance for more Americans and give them new rights in dealing with insurers. Click here to read the story.

Politico tries to peer a little further into the future:

But the bill's turbulent passage widened longstanding rifts within his party, rifts that imperil his landmark push for vastly expanding health care coverage when Congress returns to session in the fall. Click here to read more.

And in Slate, there's an interesting -- really -- look at declining insurance enrollments and what it means to insurers and national health care reform. A key point, from writer Daniel Gross:

...(I)t turns out the current arrangement, through which employers are supposed to buy coverage from large insurance firms and enlist their employees to cover the costs, isn't working so well for the insurance industry, either. Click here to read Gross' piece.