What will Health Insurance Cost in 2014?

This article from Bob Laszewski's Health Care Policy blog is a good synopsis of what could happen to the price of insurance under the new Affordable Care Act.  It clearly outlines items that will drive cost & how that will impact the consumer.

The Affordable Care Act: 10 Months to Launch "Obamacare" - Get Ready for Some Startling Rate Increases

CCIIO head: federal health care exchanges to be ready to enroll on time | LifeHealthPro

CCIIO head: federal health care exchanges to be ready to enroll on time | LifeHealthPro

Interesting article regarding implementation of the health insurance exchanges.  Not sure where this will leave the independent health insurance broker (like me . . . ;-).  We'll just have to see how it all unfolds.

Repealing Obamacare - What are the consequences?

Bob Laszewski's review of what might happen if Romney were to win the presidency and make good on his promise to repeal or defund the Health Care Reform law (PPACA), is a concise analysis of some of the difficulties with either scenario and the unintended consequences.

Usually the Congress attempts to fix troublesome aspects of larger pieces of legislation, rather than this "all or nothing" stance that seems to prevail now.  "All or Nothing" is usually not a realistic scenario.

A lot of money has already been spent implementing this law, and more is on the table in both the public and private sectors.  Will all of that be for nothing?  Bob raises many issues and questions that need to be considered.  I could only hope that Mr. Romney might read Bob's blog post . . . .

Read Bob's Article here . . . .

The Ridiculous Cost of Health Care

This article by Brian Klepper through "Care and Cost" online, is very good summary about health care costs & potential ways to begin normalizing them.  He begins by describing his own personal experience with an outpatient procedure and how ridiculous the charges were for a diagnostic procedure. 

I have just gone through major surgery myself - the bills are beginning to roll in & even with good insurance (which I've never used, because I was always healthy), the costs and then the 'adjustments' to those costs are mind boggling.  I've only received the billing for the preliminary "outpatient" procedures that were simply to get a diagnosis and I'm sitting at about $3000 so far (that's MY expense after all insurance discounting & adjustments were made to the ridiculous, original charges).  I'm bracing myself for the in-patient hospital stay and the major surgery bill . . . .

Will the Bubble Burst?

Managing Health Care Bills & Understanding Costs

This is a nice, concise article from the Washington Post with some key elements to managing the cost of your healthcare.  Our confusing system often leads to lack of understanding and can sometimes generate overpayment by many patients.

Read the Article here . . .

13 States Cut Medicaid To Balance Budget

Here is the just the beginning of the state's activities surrounding Medicaid and the actions that will be a direct result of the Supreme Courts' ruling on this particular piece of the health care law. 

If Medicaid is used as simply a budget reduction tool, the states that use it as such, may find themselves with a different type of crisis down the road that could prove more costly.  Medicaid funds pay for much of the long term care coverage in this country - that's nursing home care primarily - and with the population aging, people living much longer and pensions being almost non-existent for the generations to come, cuts to Medicaid could be devastating long term.

Read the article for yourself below:

http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Stories/2012/July/25/medicaid-cuts.aspx

Interactive Map of how states are Implementing Health Care Reform

Here's an interactive map that illustrates how the states are implmenting the Affordable Care Act (PPACA).  Interesting to view the differences.

Interactive Map

Patients in the Dark on Medical Costs, Study Finds

Wow - do yout think???  I've always encouraged my clients to shop for things like big tests, like  MRIs and Colonoscopies.  If you can get an anwer at all, what I find is that variances between facilities can be larg e.  For MRIs, it can vary $500 -- $1200 for the one test depending on where you go. It's ludicrous that in America we got to get medical services and either never ask what things cost, or just assume we'll find a way to pay.  do we do that at restaurants? NO!   Many medical tests are unnecessary anyway & they scare people into getting them - no questions asked.  There should be uniform 'base price' lists for certain procedures & that's it - very simple.  Read about the ABC broadcast about this issue here:

Patients in the Dark on Medical Costs, Study Finds

Docs Unhappy with Health Care Reform

Interesting snippet about how doctors are feeling about health care reform and regulations in general.  There is a lot of anticipated anxiety from physicians about the pending measurement system that will determine Medicare payouts based on "results" rather than the current fee for service model.  To date, no one is sure how measurements will be determined and how disparate groups of physicians can be compared to one another.  I'm sure that we'll see much more related to these issues in the coming months.  Stay tuned . . . . .

Docs unhappy with Health Care Reform

Brownback wants Federal Aid for KS to help with Tornado damage

It's stunning that a Governor who is so "anti-government" suddenly is begging for Federal aid.  What happened to "pulling yourself up by your bootstraps"?  When it comes to other social safety nets, they continually cry that they don't want goverment interference.

I guess "big government" is appropriate when it benefits only you & your state specifically - to hell with everyone else, or the greater good.

Take this for instance:

http://www.kansascity.com/2012/01/17/3376262/brownback-tax-plan-hits-poor-hardest.html

Brownback finds aid appropriate only when it suits HIM.  Not even for the benefit of the needy or the poor  - that is not his objective. His objective always seems to be a private agenda or a political one . .  . I don't get it.  What is it you really stand for???

This is a guy who refused the federal money to set up their own state health exchange.  Now, in return for his belligerance, he'll get the opposite of what he wanted- when the exchanges are being formed, the Federal Government will come in & give them exchanges (that they may not find desireable) and then they will have to find KS money to pay for them, instead of receiveing readily available aid.  All this to 'MAKE A POINT'.

Sometimes, I really wonder where we 've gone politically in this country - are these guys really representing the people or just their own private agendas?  Shame on you Brownback for not taking care of the people of KS. . . . . .

The New Retirement Resorts

An article from the Wall Street Journal this week talks about "alternative" living arrangements for people vs. the traditional Assisted Living centers or nursing home type environments.  Very interesting piece.  If you're a little adventurous, some of these may sound very appealing.  You can read the entire article here.

Article about the Health Insurance Exchanges including common questions and answers

Interesting article about the Health insurance exchanges that will come into being in the next few years - very timely since I'm going to be attending a conference this week that will address this very topic.

Read the "Guide to Health Insurance Exchanges" here . . .

Critics say hospitals cherry pick best-paying patients

This is an interesting article about how hospitals are using private medical records on patients to target direct marketing efforts that will ultimately yield increased profits for the hospital.  This raises more questions about privacy and sharing of personal medical data with non-medical people involved in the marketing efforts. 

I'm sure that over time, this practice (unless it's somehow either disallowed through regulation, or at least limited) is going to grow in popularity.  It also points out in the article that they specifically target patients with insurance - another way to insure that the facility receives payment, while potentially driving up insurance claims activity, which we all will ultimately end up paying for in the form of higher premiums.

Read more here . . . .

Prudential, MetLife Sued over Death Master File

State efforts to collect on unclaimed property held by insurers has mushroomed into private action lawsuits filed in Illinois, Ohio and New York against Prudential and MetLife.
The lawsuits are coming to light against the background of a hearing Thursday on inaccuracies related to the Death Master File mainted by the Social Security Administration.


Read more here . . . .