Major health insurers doing the right thing on H1N1 flu shots

Our office has been calling on health insurers in Washington to eliminate as many barriers as possible for people looking for H1N1 (swine) flu vaccine and treatment. (We can't rewrite your policy and force the insurers to cover these things if they normally wouldn't, but we can encourage them to cover things, as in this recent letter.)

The good news: Some of the state's major insurers have said that they'll cover the costs associated with the vaccine. Premera says it will waive co-pays and deductibles for the shot, as does Regence. The latter wrote to members:

To remove financial barriers associated with administration of the H1N1 vaccine and to encourage members to seek vaccination, Regence will provide coverage for the costs associated with the administration of the H1N1 vaccine, waiving co-pays and deductibles for all members covered by its insured plans. Regence will strongly encourage self-insured employers to cover the full cost to ensure that the greatest number of people are protected.

Good advice for open enrollment and choosing a health plan at work

Also, New York Times' writer Walecia Konrad has good advice for the millions of workers about to hit "open enrollment" season for their health insurance coverage: Open the envelope and actually read the stuff.

Writes Konrad:

Doing nothing is no longer an option. Many companies insist you fill out open-enrollment forms even if you intend to stay with the same benefits package. What’s more, with so many changes and cost increases on the horizon, you owe it to yourself and your family to take a close look at your options.

 Konrad's NYT colleague Lesley Alderman has a more in-depth story designed to guide you through "the annual task of choosing an insurance plan." Expect to pay more, Alderman writes, for fewer choices, higher deductibles, more questions and a system that steers you toward generic drugs and wellness.

Insurance news: WA 16th in health care, new law covers college students, and "windfall profits" tax on insurers?

The Commonwealth Fund has issued a new study rating health care by state. (Washington comes in 16th.)

The AP (via the Seattle Times) reports on a surprising change from the Congressional Budget Office:

Limits on medical malpractice lawsuits would lead doctors to order up fewer unneeded tests and save taxpayers billions more than previously thought, budget umpires for Congress said Friday in a reversal that puts the issue back in the middle of the health care debate. The latest analysis from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that government health care programs could save $41 billion over ten years if nationwide limits on jury awards for pain and suffering and other similar curbs were enacted. Those savings are nearly ten times greater than CBO estimated just last year.

The AP also reports on a new federal law that will allow college students to take up to a year off from school for medical reasons and to still remain on their family's health insurance plan.

House Democrats, according to this NYT story, are also considering a "windfall profits tax" on insurers:

Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday that House Democrats were considering a "windfall profits tax" on insurance companies to help pay for legislation that would provide coverage to most of the uninsured. The idea, she said, is to capture some of the profits that insurance companies might reap if the government required nearly everyone to have insurance and subsidized premiums for millions of low- and middle-income people.

In Miami, meanwhile, a local insurance agent "has been arrested for the second time in two months for submitting thousands of fraudulent premium finance contracts for fictitious policyholders."

Insurance news roundup

Seattle Times: CBO figures give health-care bill a big boost: Congressional budget analysts gave an important political boost Wednesday to a Senate panel's health-care overhaul, projecting that the $829 billion measure would both dramatically shrink the ranks of the uninsured and keep President Obama's pledge that doing so would not add "one dime" to federal budget deficits.

Detroit Free Press: Credit Scores Studied As Factor for Insurance Premiums

Time magazine: Will States Get Too Much Power?

Casualty Actuarial Society: Medical Malpractice Market Appears to have Stabilized, but Emerging Issues Pose New Challenges (a couple weeks old, but worthwhile reading)

WSJ: BlackRock Up for Role Rating Risk at Insurers

WA insurance commissioner's office to lawmakers: Preserve strong state regulatory role in whatever health reforms emerge

Barbara Flye, the senior health policy advisor for Washington's insurance commissioner's office, spoke recently before a state senate committee. Among her points: That health-insurance reforms should retain a strong tradition of state-by-state regulatory authority to ensure that things run smoothly. Here's a clip:

Civil-rights groups launch health insurance reform ads

More in the debate on health insurance reform: A coalition of civil rights groups is trying to mobilize African-American and Latino voters with TV ads in key states. Here's an example:

News re: Green River flood threat update

The Associated Press reports that work to strengthen a reservoir wall has reduced the threat of catastrophic flooding in the Green River Valley this winter from an earlier estimate of 1 in 3 to about 1 in 4.

Also: the Washington Military Department's Emergency Management Division, meanwhile, has put up several flood-related pages, which they're updating frequently.
-A main page with a map of the area
-An extensive page with background on flooding and flood insurance
-A very good page with "myths and facts about the National Flood Insurance Program." (For example, it's NOT true that the program won't cover anything in a basement. NFIP insurance will cover many things down there, such as furnaces, water heaters, sump pumps, stairways, some drywall, cleanup, and washers and dryers among other things.
-and a page and links to home-protection info, including sandbagging and how to protect a home from sewer system backups during a flood.