Tag Archive
Health care reform a winner for rural America
If you want to see just how badly broken America’s health care system is come to the country.
Be careful during your visit, however, because rural America—where just nine percent of the nation’s doctors serve 17 percent of its citizens scattered across 80 percent of its geography—is not an ideal place to find medical care.
It’s an… »
Negotiate fees with your doctor
Gone are the days (I hope) when physicians reigned as the Supreme Medical Being in whose hands our lives were balanced and whose prognosis and diagnosis were never questioned.
Because much of the population is savvier than yesteryear, we tend to always bring a list of questions to appointments, to quiz what we don’t understand, and… »
Buying individual medical insurance online
Searching for affordable individual health/medical insurance? You are not alone. Across the country, there are countless individuals who buy their own health insurance each year. Some of them are unemployed or work for themselves. Many are early retirees or people who don’t have health insurance coverage through their job. Here are some tips to help… »
Individual Medical Insurance Offers COBRA Alternative
As the job market declines, the population of uninsured Americans swells. And paying for health insurance, along with everything else, weighs heavily on a multitude of minds these days. When it comes to options, COBRA may be the buzzword, but an alternative called individual medical insurance may offer a more palatable solution.
Unemployment rose from 7.5… »
Hazardous health plans may have serious gaps
Many people who believe they have adequate health insurance actually have coverage so riddled with loopholes, limits, exclusions, and gotchas that it won’t come close to covering their expenses if they fall seriously ill, a Consumer Reports investigation found.
At issue are so-called individual plans that consumers get on their own when, say, they’ve been laid… »
Medical insurance needs transparency
It would seem, although my fingers are crossed, that all it took to scare the medical insurance industry into some semblance of involvement in and promised compliance with the health care debate’s outcome was to oust a couple of auto executives and order a big automaker into bankruptcy.
It sure looks like writing on the wall… »
Challenge to Blue Cross rate hikes
Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox is challenging rate hikes proposed by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan on nearly 200,000 senior customers who buy the insurer’s Medigap plans.
Cox filed a petition Thursday for a rate hearing with Michigan insurance regulators to oppose the 31 percent increase, which could raise premiums on supplemental Medicare plans to… »
Health savings accounts on the rise
The future of health insurance likely lies in personal spending accounts rather than traditional copayment plans, business leaders said Wednesday at a health care summit hosted by the Charlotte Chamber.
Though still making up a small percentage of medical insurance plans, health savings accounts and health reimbursement accounts are gaining in popularity as Charlotte-area businesses of… »
Questions For Long Term Care Insurance Consideration
In the United States today, the options for paying for health care are numerous. For some, their workplace pays all the bills. (That’s a company I want to work for!) For most workers though, health insurance costs are split between employer and employee. And for those who work on their own, or don’t have an… »
Laid off workers deal with high cost of insurance
Jose and Rebecca Revulcaba have worked on their St. Joseph County home of 13 years.
They’re adding several rooms, but had to stop in December, when AT&T laid off Jose and 12,000 employees across the country.
“The first thought was insurance,” said Rececca Revulcaba.
They had COBRA, but like many others, were shocked at the price.
“There’s no way… »