UCLA's Center for Health Policy Research today released a study showing that 2.2 million Californians -- that's more than one in eight non-elderly adults -- face medical debts.
And two-thirds of them have insurance coverage.
"Individuals with medical debt are twice as likely as those without debt to delay or forgo needed health care," the center said, citing the statistic as evidence of the "glaring inadequacy" of the current health insurance system.
More than half of those with medical debts reported hardships, ranging from being unable to pay credit card bills to full-blown bankruptcy.
Also: the survey was done in 2007, before the current recession really started hitting home.
Senin, 31 Agustus 2009
Kamis, 27 Agustus 2009
Insurance news: Co-ops and discount health plans...
Some interesting talk this morning about cooperatives as an answer in the health-care overhaul debate:
Washington Post: Cooperatives' Record Weighed in Health-Care Debate: Some herald them as a cure for health care, others question their power and costs.
Huffington Post: Co-ops the equivalent of a `medical unicorn': "One of the leading progressive voices in the House of Representatives declared on Thursday that a co-operative approach for health insurance coverage was such a vague entity -- and political non-starter -- it might as well be a `medical unicorn.'"
In California, state officials have ordered two unlicensed discount health card companies -- Prudent Choice and International Association of Benefits, to stop operating in that state. A third company, DentalPlans.com, has been ordered to get licensed there.
Here in Washington, a new law requires discount health plans -- which are NOT insurance -- to be licensed here and to file annual financial statements. The companies' marketing materials are required by law to state that these are discount plans and not health insurance, and companies must refund all charges if a customer cancels within 30 days.
In addition, the plans must offer an updated list of cooperating providers, list discounted services, and not restrict access to their providers. Violations are subject to penalties ranging from $100 to $10,000. For more information on this law, click here.
Washington Post: Cooperatives' Record Weighed in Health-Care Debate: Some herald them as a cure for health care, others question their power and costs.
Huffington Post: Co-ops the equivalent of a `medical unicorn': "One of the leading progressive voices in the House of Representatives declared on Thursday that a co-operative approach for health insurance coverage was such a vague entity -- and political non-starter -- it might as well be a `medical unicorn.'"
In California, state officials have ordered two unlicensed discount health card companies -- Prudent Choice and International Association of Benefits, to stop operating in that state. A third company, DentalPlans.com, has been ordered to get licensed there.
Here in Washington, a new law requires discount health plans -- which are NOT insurance -- to be licensed here and to file annual financial statements. The companies' marketing materials are required by law to state that these are discount plans and not health insurance, and companies must refund all charges if a customer cancels within 30 days.
In addition, the plans must offer an updated list of cooperating providers, list discounted services, and not restrict access to their providers. Violations are subject to penalties ranging from $100 to $10,000. For more information on this law, click here.
Rabu, 26 Agustus 2009
Insurance news today
Seattle Times: Costs for employer-provided health plans are expected to rise more than 10 percent within the next 12 months
NY Times:
-Aetna Chief Says Public Plan a Distraction - Ron Williams, chief executive of the giant insurer Aetna, has been the most vocal insurance executive in favor of an overhaul of the health care system — as long as it does not include a public, government-run health plan.
Washington Post:
-Why the Health Care Debate Is So Explosive - When Harry Truman first proposed national health insurance, Senate minority leader Robert Taft (R-Ohio) promptly tagged it "the most socialistic measure that this Congress has ever had before it." Shouting socialism in the middle of the red scare detonated a serious charge.
-Why Obamacare Is Failing - At first it seemed plausible that President Obama had a communications problem on health care -- to which the solution was always more and more Obama. But exposure did not translate into persuasion.
National Association of Insurance Commissioners: Lost in the din of this summer's health care debates is one important fact: there is a strong consensus that reform of the health care system is absolutely necessary. Click here to read news release.
NY Times:
-Aetna Chief Says Public Plan a Distraction - Ron Williams, chief executive of the giant insurer Aetna, has been the most vocal insurance executive in favor of an overhaul of the health care system — as long as it does not include a public, government-run health plan.
Washington Post:
-Why the Health Care Debate Is So Explosive - When Harry Truman first proposed national health insurance, Senate minority leader Robert Taft (R-Ohio) promptly tagged it "the most socialistic measure that this Congress has ever had before it." Shouting socialism in the middle of the red scare detonated a serious charge.
-Why Obamacare Is Failing - At first it seemed plausible that President Obama had a communications problem on health care -- to which the solution was always more and more Obama. But exposure did not translate into persuasion.
National Association of Insurance Commissioners: Lost in the din of this summer's health care debates is one important fact: there is a strong consensus that reform of the health care system is absolutely necessary. Click here to read news release.
Senin, 24 Agustus 2009
News story: As national dialogue turns to co-ops, how does Group Health stack up?
From the Seattle Times:
When Mike Kreidler joined Group Health Cooperative as a staff optometrist in 1972, the co-op's reputation for innovation and quality was such that a Soviet delegation toured the Seattle headquarters to learn how a member-run collective managed to flourish in a capitalist country.
As salaried employees, the doctors and nurses at Group Health "paid a lot of attention to patients because they were effectively your bosses," said Kreidler, now the state's insurance commissioner.
Today it's the people seeking to change the nation's health-care system who are taking a closer look at the Seattle cooperative.
The Obama administration last week endorsed health cooperatives like Group Health as a potential alternative to a government-run insurance plan whose aim is to create competition among insurers and slow soaring health-care costs.
...Yet even some of Group Health's most ardent admirers warn that replicating the co-op would be difficult — and replicating it quickly practically impossible.
The story notes that Group Health has struggled with some of the same problems as other health insurers, such as significant recent hikes in premiums. But it also says that even critics think the co-op's model is worth copying.
When Mike Kreidler joined Group Health Cooperative as a staff optometrist in 1972, the co-op's reputation for innovation and quality was such that a Soviet delegation toured the Seattle headquarters to learn how a member-run collective managed to flourish in a capitalist country.
As salaried employees, the doctors and nurses at Group Health "paid a lot of attention to patients because they were effectively your bosses," said Kreidler, now the state's insurance commissioner.
Today it's the people seeking to change the nation's health-care system who are taking a closer look at the Seattle cooperative.
The Obama administration last week endorsed health cooperatives like Group Health as a potential alternative to a government-run insurance plan whose aim is to create competition among insurers and slow soaring health-care costs.
...Yet even some of Group Health's most ardent admirers warn that replicating the co-op would be difficult — and replicating it quickly practically impossible.
The story notes that Group Health has struggled with some of the same problems as other health insurers, such as significant recent hikes in premiums. But it also says that even critics think the co-op's model is worth copying.
Kamis, 20 Agustus 2009
WA Insurance commissioner on health care: Reforms needed, fears overblown
This morning on radio station KUOW, Washington state Insurance Commissioner discussed the nation’s health care system, saying it’s unsustainable and badly in need of reform. He also said that many of the concerns being voiced at town hall meetings are overblown. Excerpt:
“I think that a single-payer system is something that, while certainly having some broad support with a lot of people in our society, is never one that’s going to be broadly applied to everybody in the country. Even if there might be cost advantages to it and you can come up with some pretty logical reasons why it would be preferable, politically it will never happen. We’re not Canadians, we’re not the English, we’re not the Swiss or the Germans or the French. We’re Americans and we’re going to come up with an American solution. Virtually every one of those countries built on the private system that they had that people were knowledgeable and comfortable with. That’s what we’ve got to do in this country. It’s a private insurance market. It’s an employer-based system. That’s what we have. We need to build on that.”
KUOW podcast over the interview is here.
“I think that a single-payer system is something that, while certainly having some broad support with a lot of people in our society, is never one that’s going to be broadly applied to everybody in the country. Even if there might be cost advantages to it and you can come up with some pretty logical reasons why it would be preferable, politically it will never happen. We’re not Canadians, we’re not the English, we’re not the Swiss or the Germans or the French. We’re Americans and we’re going to come up with an American solution. Virtually every one of those countries built on the private system that they had that people were knowledgeable and comfortable with. That’s what we’ve got to do in this country. It’s a private insurance market. It’s an employer-based system. That’s what we have. We need to build on that.”
KUOW podcast over the interview is here.
Senin, 17 Agustus 2009
Insurance news...
-In a much-talked-about article Sunday, the New York Times reported that "The White House, facing increasing skepticism over President Obama's call for a public insurance plan to compete with the private sector, signaled Sunday that it was willing to compromise and would consider a proposal for a nonprofit health cooperative being developed in the Senate."
-In a commentary for CNN, former longtime insurance company spokesman Wendell Potter blasts health insurers and their "army of PR people":
Until I quit my job last year, I was one of the leaders of that army. I had a very successful career and was my company's voice to the media and the public for several years.
Potter writes. And he maintains -- citing his two decades of experience in such campaigns -- that much of the opposition to the Obama administration's efforts at health-insurance reform is fueled by ghostwriters within the industry. He writes:
So the next time you hear someone warning against a "government takeover" of our health care system, or that the creation of a public health insurance option would send us down the "slippery slope toward socialism," know that someone like I used to be wrote those terms, knowing it might turn many of the very people who would benefit most from meaningful reform into unwitting spokespeople for the industry.
-In North Carolina, a high-school teacher was arrested for allegedly filing thousands of dollars in false burglary claims, in some cases claiming things that she'd rented. From the North Carolina Department of Insurance press release:
Investigators say she...gave the company several computer print-outs, many from Rent-A-Centers in Durham. An investigator with Liberty Mutual found several of the items Blount claimed stolen were actually still in the store.
-In a commentary for CNN, former longtime insurance company spokesman Wendell Potter blasts health insurers and their "army of PR people":
Until I quit my job last year, I was one of the leaders of that army. I had a very successful career and was my company's voice to the media and the public for several years.
Potter writes. And he maintains -- citing his two decades of experience in such campaigns -- that much of the opposition to the Obama administration's efforts at health-insurance reform is fueled by ghostwriters within the industry. He writes:
So the next time you hear someone warning against a "government takeover" of our health care system, or that the creation of a public health insurance option would send us down the "slippery slope toward socialism," know that someone like I used to be wrote those terms, knowing it might turn many of the very people who would benefit most from meaningful reform into unwitting spokespeople for the industry.
-In North Carolina, a high-school teacher was arrested for allegedly filing thousands of dollars in false burglary claims, in some cases claiming things that she'd rented. From the North Carolina Department of Insurance press release:
Investigators say she...gave the company several computer print-outs, many from Rent-A-Centers in Durham. An investigator with Liberty Mutual found several of the items Blount claimed stolen were actually still in the store.
Jumat, 14 Agustus 2009
Print and save: What to do if you're involved in a car accident
From the Washington state Office of the Insurance Commissioner, here are some tips from you might want to keep in the glove compartment of your car:
What you should do after an accident:
Every driver involved in an accident is legally required to remain at the scene. He or she must also offer aid and give necessary information to others involved and to law enforcement officers.
If you’re involved in an accident:
• Use all means possible to warn oncoming traffic of the danger at the scene.
• Give reasonable aid to the injured. Do not move them unless it is absolutely necessary.
• Notify the Washington State Patrol (WSP), city police or county sheriff, and if needed, request a doctor or aid unit and ambulance.
• Obtain and give necessary information for the accident report, including names of witnesses and police officers.
• If there is any injury or death, or if property damage exceeds $700 to any one person’s property, you must notify the WSP, city police or county sheriff. If you fail to complete a written report, when required, it may result in the suspension of your driver’s license or instruction permit.
It is equally important that you promptly report the incident to your insurance company. Also, you may be subject to other reporting requirements specified in your insurance policy. It is vital that you read your policy and know what you must do to file a claim.
What you should do after an accident:
Every driver involved in an accident is legally required to remain at the scene. He or she must also offer aid and give necessary information to others involved and to law enforcement officers.
If you’re involved in an accident:
• Use all means possible to warn oncoming traffic of the danger at the scene.
• Give reasonable aid to the injured. Do not move them unless it is absolutely necessary.
• Notify the Washington State Patrol (WSP), city police or county sheriff, and if needed, request a doctor or aid unit and ambulance.
• Obtain and give necessary information for the accident report, including names of witnesses and police officers.
• If there is any injury or death, or if property damage exceeds $700 to any one person’s property, you must notify the WSP, city police or county sheriff. If you fail to complete a written report, when required, it may result in the suspension of your driver’s license or instruction permit.
It is equally important that you promptly report the incident to your insurance company. Also, you may be subject to other reporting requirements specified in your insurance policy. It is vital that you read your policy and know what you must do to file a claim.
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