Freedom Benefits Universal Health Insurance Blog

Kaitlyn, the author of the Newborncare.com blog, wrote me about this article. While the article is great in a general sense, I tend to have a natural dislike of generic Internet postings on consumer health care topics. I call it “fluff”, the type of writing that may be pleasant or useful but we wouldn’t find it in traditional print media because it would not pass an editor’s muster. I’m not dumping on Kaitlyn, my own editors constantly give me the same feedback.

Readers, we are told, prefer to read specific information rather than general articles that give the appearance that they are designed toward search engine visibility rather than the reader. We’ve seen a flood of that type of generic publication from India’s bloggers  and some American online marketing firms like Quinstreet over the past few years and American readers appear to have caught on to the strategy and reached a point of discomfort. Still, I told myself to “chill” and simply promote the article for what it is – a good generic list of ideas to save money on consumer health care.

10 Ways Your Family Can Save Money on Health Care

2 Feb posted by admin

Most families (with newborns or not) are looking for ways to cut back on spending and reduce overall expenses. As health care costs rise, this is one area where it pays to know what’s out there and how to get the most for your money. Here are some ways your family can save.

1. Do your homework – Calculate what your health care needs really are then shop around to find the best deal. Let the costs of the last year or two be your guide. Figure in everything including over the counter medications and glasses.
2. High deductible – If your family is generally healthy, consider getting a high deductible plan. These plans can qualify you for an HSA (Health Savings Account) which can save you even more money. The money in your HSA can also be carried over into the next year.
3. Prevention – Get regular check-ups. Staying on top of your family’s health can prevent a lot of costly trips to the doctor. Annual physicals and well baby checks are usually inexpensive or fully covered under many insurance plans, so take advantage of that.
4. Insurance extras – Look for the extra perks your insurance company may offer along with your policy. You may be able to call into a 24 hour nurse line rather than make that trip to urgent care. Many insurances offer discount memberships to the local YMCA or health club, too.
5. Stay healthy – This may seem like a no brainer, but it is worth repeating. Some insurance companies will offer healthy consumers lower premiums. So stay in shape, keep your weight down, don’t smoke, don’t use alcohol excessively and get plenty of exercise.
6. Check your bills – Did you know that billing errors account for a high percentage of increased health care costs? Check your bills for errors. Sometimes the wrong billing code can cause problems or even lead to a claim being denied. Make sure you got what you paid for when the bill comes.
7. Use an FSA – Flexible Spending Accounts are used to pay for health care expenses not covered by insurance or out of pocket medical expenses. They also make nice tax shelters for your money. A word of caution: don’t over fund your FSA as there is a use it or lose it policy with these accounts. Calculate the amount of money you think you will use within the year and put in around 80% of that; otherwise you may end up scrambling to spend down the surplus at the end of the year.
8. Split costs over 2 years – Sometimes when there is a lot of dental work to be done it is more cost effective to split the cost over 2 plan years rather than doing it all in one year.
9. Appeal decisions – If your insurance denies you a service you believe you should receive, you have the right to appeal. If you are denied the second time, you can contact the state insurance commission and they will mediate the dispute. If you win the dispute, you could end up saving hundreds of dollars.
10. Samples – Doctors are always getting free samples from the pharmaceutical companies. Ask your doctor if they have samples of the medication they are prescribing for you. Sometimes your doctor will give you enough samples to cover the span of treatment for the ailment.

Finding ways to trim a little in the health care budget doesn’t have to be painful. The result can be a healthier, happier family and money saved as you look for the best deals around and make a commitment to live an active, healthy life style.

10 Ways Your Family Can Save Money on Health Care | Newborn Care

This story from Kansas may be repeated more frequently as insurance companies look for more profitable lines of business and choose to avoid health reform plans.

…efforts to overhaul Medicaid hit a rough spot Thursday after the state’s largest health insurance company (Blue Cross Blue Shield) decided not to bid on a contract to help manage the program, leaving some lawmakers and advocates increasingly uneasy.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas was primarily concerned that the new rules changes would require them to change their business model too dramatically it too short a time.

WSJ Professional Article – WSJ.com

I suspect that we will see an increasing number of hospitals reporting similar results as consumers are more willing to go without even core health insurance recently.

Cook County Health System CEO Ramanathan Raju blamed an estimated 2011 revenue shortfall of $166 million at the county health system on a sharp increase in the number of patients with no insurance, combined with ongoing delays in reimbursements from the state.

chicagotribune.com

Today Seven Corners Inc. released this information about their international student medical insurance for 2012:

Liaison Student will now be underwritten by United States Fire Insurance Company, rated A "Excellent" by AM Best.

Same Great Rates! No rate changes for 2012.

No restricted states! States restricted by United States Fire Insurance Company will be written on Lloyd’s of London. Those states include: CT, IN, ME, MD, MT, NH, OR, RI, VT, and WA.

Renewals At the time of renewal, insureds will move to the new plan and receive a new certificate number. This transition will not affect service for our insureds

Liaison Student international medical insurance

Seven Corners released details of changes to it popular Liaison International medical insurance plan.

Highlights include:

• Addition of New Benefit Acute Onset of a Pre-existing Condition – provides $15,000 lifetime maximum medical coverage and $25,000 lifetime maximum evacuation coverage for non-U.S. citizens up to age 70 traveling to the United States.
• New Carrier! Liaison International will now be underwritten by United States Fire Insurance Company, rated A "Excellent" by AM Best.
• No restricted states! States restricted by United States Fire Insurance Company will be written on Lloyd’s of London. Those states include: CT, IN, ME, MD, MT, NH, OR, RI, VT, and WA.
• Removal of Classes Insureds can now choose one of two options: traveling inside of the U.S. or traveling outside of the U.S.
• Rate Change Dependent Child rates are now 95% of the Child Alone rate.
• Renewals At the time of renewal, insureds will move to the new plan and receive a new certificate number. This transition will not affect service for our insureds.
• For more information see http://www.freedombenefits.net/affordable-health-insurance/Liaison-international-travel-medical-insurance.html

Although not officially confirmed, we have reports that affordable short term insurance options will be expanded in January 2012 to states where they were previously unavailable like New York and New Jersey. I expect to post news, when made available this coming week, here on the "Universal Health Insurance Blog".

Would this work in the U.S. With millions of Americans expected to purchase health insurance for the first time, it makes sense to try to make the purchase decisions easier. This is the approach already used by some popular U.S. defined benefit plans like www.Corehealthinsurance.net which offers four price points of the same basic health insurance. The only difference between the “physician”, “silver”, “gold”, “platinum” plans is the dollar amount that they pay for listed health procedures. Other standardized major medical plans like those designed by grades “A” though “E” by New Jersey lawmakers for individual consumers have not been as popular.

Most Americans, I suspect, would object to an insurance enrollment approach that says “this is the best level of health care that you can afford”. Too many of us still harbor the belief that dollar measurements should not be the controlling factor in matters of life and death. Instead, we market low cost health insurance plans as temporary solutions until an ambiguous perfect coverage becomes available. Perhaps this belief is what makes all the product complications necessary.

“Health insurance is believed to be a complicated product by people of India. So to demystify it, Apollo Munich has devised various health policies that can fit into the different budget frames. People from varied income level can choose a plan that suits their budget. The cost effective policies makes it feasible for all to afford a beneficial health plan.”

WSJ Professional Article – WSJ.com

While most employee benefit plan sponsors are “ready to go” with the new 401k plan rules, many health plans administrators are not prepared for the additional required paperwork for health plans. These rules add up to additional reasons why employers will move toward defined contribution benefit health plans and away from traditional defined benefit health plans.

Several requirements of the health overhaul go into effect in 2012. Companies will have to provide a short summary of their health benefits to all employees, showing employees’ share of the cost in common medical situations. Final rules are pending on the exact information that might have to be included.

Beginning next year, companies also will have to report the value of their health-care plans on employees’ W-2 forms. Those figures eventually could be used to determine whether companies could be fined for not providing health care or might have to pay tax on so-called Cadillac health plans, says Marie Hollein, president of Financial Executives International, a professional group for CFOs and controllers.

Companies also will begin having to pay $1 per plan participant next year to fund an independent research group that will study the effectiveness of medical treatments. The administrative costs could add up, but the research ultimately could cut health expenses, says Steve Wojcik, vice president of public policy for the National Business Group on Health.

In January, new rules for employer-sponsored 401(k) retirement plans take effect, requiring companies to disclose in plain English how much plan administrators are charging participants.

Rules for a New Year – WSJ.com