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 . . . .

Patients Want To Read Doctors' Notes, But Many Doctors Balk

This is a fascinating article about viewing your own patient records.  As I advise my clients, everyone should check their chart at the Doctor's office - preferably after each appointment.  You do need to see what a doctor is writing about you - his or her notes can often make you ineligible for insurance.  I've had many clients encounter problems when medical records are requested by the insurance company, and they find that something was written about them that either wasn't true, or was simply erroneous.  If you read the comments associated with this article, you see examples of other issues occurring - including potential medical mistakes and errors in how you - the patient - are actually treated.

Read the actual article here . . . .

More Congressional Efforts to Redesign Medicare are Underway

http://capsules.kaiserhealthnews.org/index.php/2011/12/wyden-joins-forces-with-ryan-on-medicare/comment-page-1/#comment-23070

Take a look at the latest efforts regarding revamping of Medicare.  Looks like efforts to privatize - just masked behind a new "compromise".  May very well be a wolf in sheeps clothing if we're not paying attention . . . . .

Health Care & the Super Committee - the Cost of Failure

This article by Joe Paduda lays out some dire implications if the Super Committee doesn't come to an agreement in the time allotted.  Very realistic and pretty awful predictions of what could happen here . . . .

http://careandcost.com/2011/11/18/health-care-and-the-super-committee-the-cost-of-failure/

I still constantly wonder, who on the Hill is actually working for the people anymore? . . . .

States Continue to Cut Medicaid - Hospital Stays Reduced Due to Cost

Once again, Medicaid is the target of cuts that will most likely result in the rest of us bearing the cost of hospitals "eating" the costs they incur that are not reimbursable.  They cannot turn those that are already sick or in need of treatment away, as they can't just flip people already in the hospital out of their beds when an arbitrary date comes around.  If they have to absorb those costs, the rest of us will end up paying for it in higher insurance rates & in other ways - maybe even through other cuts to programs we may want sustained over time, like Medicare.

Maybe one big cost we could cut here in the US would be the cost of healthcare benefits for our members of Congress . . . .I'm tired of paying for them . . . . .

Read more here:  http://www.zanebenefits.com/blog/2011/10/425/States+Continue+to+Cut+Medicaid+-+Hospital+Stays+Reduced+Due+to+Cost

Development of "Essential Benefits" package underway

In accordance with Health Care Reform, the development of the framework for what will be considered an "Essential Benefits Package" is underway.  Read more here . . . .

http://www.lifehealthpro.com/2011/10/10/essential-health-benefits-first-silver-then-fire?utm_source=HCRW&utm_medium=eNL&utm_campaign=LifeHealthPro_eNLs

An interesting take on the Ryan plan for Medicare

This is a thoughtful analysis of how something like the Ryan plan would affect Medicare beneficiaries.
http://healthpolicyandmarket.blogspot.com/2011/09/ryan-health-care-proposalsnot-your.html