Hospital Health Care

Insurance company data and online brokers reveal that women pay much more than men even at the same age for identical individual health insurance policies the New York Times reports.  During an interview with insurers, the NY Times discovered that women ages 19 to 55 tend to cost insurers more than men because they typically use more health care services, especially during the childbearing years.  Women will visit their MD’s, take prescription medications, get regular check-ups and have certain chronic illnesses than men.  This results in paying thousands of dollars more annually than men for equivalent coverage.  If you want more information and options visit hospitalhealthinsurancetoday.com.

During our current economic conditions and the turmoil of the credit market, small businesses are feeling the added pressure of increasing cost of health insurance premiums as reported in the Wall Street Journal.  The Journal reports that the rate at which the collective premiums have increased had slowed in recent years.  Some employers premiums are being quoted by insurers are double what they were just a few months ago.  High deductible plans offered with health savings accounts which insurers a few years ago offered to small businesses at low premiums in an effort to win new business are among the plans being hit with high increases in Florida.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS) now have available to beneficiaries, their caregivers, and family members an online tool to review 2009 Medicare prescription drug plan and health plan information.  The 2009 Plan Finder allows beneficiaries to compare prescription drug coverage from both stand-alone PDP’s and Medicare Advantage plans that provide prescription drug coverage and to view premiums, formularies, and availability of coverage in the gap.  They will also be able to compare Medicare helath plan options, such as HMO’s and PPO’s.

There is a recent report that was released from the PricewaterhouseCooper’s Health Research Institute called- What employers want from health insurers-now which examines the wants, needs and satisfaction levels of employers regarding health insurance benefits.  Some of the main points outlined in the report are:

Employers are recognizing that wellness programs linked with employee monetary incentives such as gift cards or premium reductions are very effective.  Employers want better data from their health benefit programs and want to be able to measure and manage the cost of these programs.  They also want to work with fewer vendors to manage the health related benefits.

In a new study published by the Annals of Internal Medicine, its findings showed that nearly one out of every three working aged uninsured American suffers from a chronic illness and that many of these individuals are not going to their private physicians but are visiting the emergency departments in hospitals for medical care.  Researchers from the Cambridge Health Alliance and Harvard Medical School examined National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data from 1999 to 2004.

There were about 12,486 people between the ages of 18 to 64 records reviewed.  It is noted that the study may underestimate the number of uninsured people with chronic conditions since it counted only those who had already received a diagnosis.

There are millions of individuals in the U.S. that  have chronic diseases that do not receive proper medical care because they are part of the uninsured population according to a study that was published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.  Researchers looked at individual health surveys between the ages of 18 to 64 that was conducted by the federal government.

It was found that of the thirty six (36) million people who reported not to have health insurance in 2004, about 11 million had been diagnosed with a chronic condition.  It seems that about 25 % of the uninsured with a chronic condition saw a doctor within the previous year and about 7 percent said they would go to the emergency department for treatment.

American Well’s Online Healthcare Marketplace platform serves both members of the Hawaii Medical Service Association and non-members who will be able to access online care services.  This service is available to all 1.3 million residents of Hawaii, which provides a sound business model to deliver healthcare to the unisured.

The Uninsured can go to the public healthsite and have access to healthcare services as long as they can use computer technology.  A benefit is that the category of unisured individuals between 18-34 years of age who do not want to buy health insurance but are willing to pay on a service by service basis will have a means to possibly save money buy not paying monthly health insurance premiums.

The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has begun a national coverage analysis of bariatric surgery (gastric bypass) as a treatment for type 2 diabetes to determine whether clinical outcomes justify expanding Medicare reimbursement to patients due to recent findings suggesting that the procedures may help reverse the course of the disease.  Currently, CMS covers bariatric surgery for certain patients, mainly those classified as morbidly obese.

There have been dozens of studies indicating that bariatric surgery may be an effective treatment for type 2 diabetes among patients with lower body mass indices.  There are groups such as the American Diabetes Association and other academic institutions that have urged caution in attributing a benefit to such a procedure without convincing scientific data.  CMS expects to have a final decision on expanding coverage by February 17, 2009.

The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have a consumer hospital compare website which grades the quality of care at almost 4,000 hospitals around the country.  There will be about 26 quality and patient satisfaction measures posted on the website. 

Do you have Federal Medicare(non-HMO) health coverage and need to use medical services?  If you answered “yes” to this question then it is important for you to understand that you need to make sure that you inform the registrar at the medical facility if you have a second health insurance.  This is important because Medicare is  billed first for payment in most all cases.  There are however certain circumstances where Medicare must be billed second.

If the billing is not done properly, you run the risk of the claim payment being delayed or denied.  This may result in you recieving annoying calls, letters or an unwanted bill.  To learn more about these special conditions to protect yourself, visit hospitalhealthinsurancetoday.com