Affordable Health Insurance

Governor Charlie Crist is championing a less-expensive health insurance program for uninsured Floridians.

Crist says the Cover Florida Health Care Access Program saved uninsured residents $2.3 million. He spoke in Miami on Friday as the latest unemployement numbers showed 8.6 percent of Floridians are looking for jobs.

Crist's administration partnered with six private insurance companies to offer lower rates. More than 76,000 Floridians have signed up since January. The program offers insurance plans that cost an average of $155 per month, while Crist says other plans can cost about $700 a month.

Health Insurance Covers 90% Of Seniors

More than 90 percent of Americans aged 65 and older have health insurance for prescription drug coverage today, compared to 76 percent who were covered in 2004, according to a University of Michigan analysis. And poor seniors are just as likely to have coverage as the rich.

The analysis compares drug health insurance coverage among a nationally representative sample of 9,321 older Americans who were interviewed both in 2004 and after the Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit started in 2006. The report, "Take-Up of Medicare Part D: Results from the Health and Retirement Study," was published in January 2009 as a National Bureau of Economic Research working paper.

The Health and Retirement Study, conducted since 1992 by the U-M Institute for Social Research (ISR), is funded primarily by the National Institute on Aging.

"Despite widespread concerns that the plan is complex and confusing, our findings show that 60 percent of seniors who had no drug coverage signed up for Part D," said economist Helen Levy, who co-authored the paper with economist David Weir, who directs the Health and Retirement Study.

"Further, 70 percent of those who had three or more conditions requiring medication signed up for Part D," noted Levy, "compared with 37 percent who had no such medical conditions. This suggests that the decision to sign up reflects a rational economic choice, based on the need for prescription medication."

Median out-of-pocket drug spending dropped from $100 in 2004 to $40 in 2006 for those newly covered by Part D.

In 2004, the analysis found, 24 percent of Americans age 65 and older lacked health insurance prescription drug coverage. In 2006, just seven percent lacked coverage.

Using data from the Health & Retirement Study, the researchers were also able to assess how cognitive ability and economic status affected the likelihood that seniors would sign up for Part D coverage.

People with better cognitive abilities were slightly more likely to sign up for Part D benefits, the researchers found. Also, older people were less likely to sign up, as were single men. "These results suggest that additional outreach to vulnerable populations might be targeted to the very old, the cognitively impaired, and single men," the authors write.

Finally, they found that the program basically leveled the playing field between rich and poor, reducing disparities in coverage between income groups.

While the results suggest that Plan D has been an effective program, Levy and Weir note that additional analyses needs to be done. "We found that beneficiaries generally made good decisions about whether or not to sign up for Plan D, but this doesn't mean that they made optimal decisions about which Plan D plan to choose," said Levy. "The apparent economic rationality governing the sign-up decision may mask rampant confusion at the level of plan choice."

How Many Will Lose Health Insurance Because of SCHIP Expansion

State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) is the federal-state welfare program to provide health insurance for poor children. The House recently passed a major expansion of SCHIP, which is now under consideration in the Senate. Most of the controversy surrounding this expansion has been related to eligibility. Nobody opposes health care for poor children, but the House has removed two critical requirements. First, they removed the requirement to be poor. Second, they removed the requirement to be a child. That’s right – the bill removes both the age limit (currently 19), and the income limit (originally twice the federal poverty level).
There is substantial evidence that expanding SCHIP insures some previously uninsured children, but also induces people to drop employer-sponsored private health insurance, and take SCHIP instead. Independent estimates by Jonathan Gruber and Kosali Simon in the Journal of Health Economics, March 2008 conclude that approximately 60% of the increase in SCHIP coverage during 1996-2002 came from families that dropped the private health insurance they already had when they became eligible for SCHIP.
What we don’t know is the level of collateral damage — how many people actually become uninsured because of SCHIP. How could that happen? Well, suppose an employer has a lot of employees with income low enough that they qualify for SCHIP. When the employees choose SCHIP, they no longer demand – or even accept – health insurance from their employer for their children. They might even drop insurance on themselves and save the “employee share” of the premium, if they were buying in only to make sure their children were covered. If enough employees drop the employer-sponsored insurance, the employer might choose – or be compelled – to drop insurance for all their employers. Most insurance plans require a minimum participation rate (usually 75% of employees).

Montana lawmakers debate insurance gender issue

The insurance industry said Tuesday it could lower some rates if allowed to consider gender when evaluating risk, advocating yet another attempt to repeal Montana's unique "unisex" insurance law.

Supporters of the old law said it isn't fair to establish different rates based upon gender, and said the old anti-discrimination law has worked well for years.

A state Senate panel is looking at the new plan to repeal Montana's 25-year-old anti-gender discrimination law. It bans the use of gender in establishing rates on everything from car insurance to life insurance.

"It seems like we are about the last state of all 50 holding onto this so-called unisex insurance provision," said Sen. Gary Perry, R-Manhattan. "And because of that it has created higher rates and less opportunity to have more insurance companies and policies provided for Montana citizens."

Insurance agents told the Senate Business, Labor and Economic Affairs committee that some insurance companies aren't willing to establish separate rates for such a small state - so everyone just gets charged more.

State Auditor Monica Lindeen, who regulates the insurance industry, said the unisex law actually keeps rates lower, and repealing it would hurt Montanans.

"For 25 years, no legislature has overturned it and there is good reason why every attempt has failed," said Lindeen, a former legislator. "Why would we tolerate women paying more for their health insurance."

3 Ways to Save Money on Flood Insurance

This is a perfect insurance for you that lived in the flood area.

1. Where do you live?
It is a rather obvious, but very important question that you must look in when you 'about the purchase for the insurance the flood. According to where you live, insurance policies can be more or less expensive that another place for the same amount of insurance. This means knowledge prone to the floods the sector you of phase is, as well as the way in which prone to the floods your particular house east.

2. Compare and contrast
Give some examinations about one or two agencies, obtain as many quotations of as many suppliers insurance as you probably can. Check the local staff, national agents, and something which you can find on line (re-examined including consumer). Many companies can give instantaneous quotations in line or above the telephone. If you 'about armed with all information whom you have need for a precise quotation, this should not be a problem.

3.Obtain it before the flood
You will be astonished at how much people do not realize that they should have the insurance the flood for him before it is too late. You ensure the subject entirely of informed risk of flood in your sector, and the period of the highest risk of flood. Some insurance policies can take in one month or even to two to intervene and become entirely active. He is not enough to know a flood comes and that you need him then. The insurance the flood can also be much cheaper season.

Travel Insured Reminds You to Insure those Historically Romantic Travel Plans for 2009 Valentine’s & Presidents Day Weekend - alwaystraveslinsured

Travel Insured International (travelinsured.com) , a leader in travel insurance, reminds travelers that the upcoming, long travel weekend of Feb. 13-16 is the perfect time to enjoy a winter getaway thanks to two major celebrations in three days! Valentine’s Day this year is Saturday, Feb. 14, and Presidents Day is Monday, Feb. 16, marking two excuses to take your loved one to a romantic hideaway or a Presidential landmark, or even both on one exciting trip.

Below are suggestions for combining romance with a little Presidential history. Remember a Worldwide Trip Protector travel insurance plan from Travel Insured is the essential way to protect your getaway. Make sure that disruptive winter weather in February, a broken bone from an icy fall, or a doctor’s order to stay home with serious illness will not turn your prepaid travel dollars, and possibly your romance, into past history.

Combine a little romance with some Presidential history this February:

• Visit the Hawaiian island of Oahu where President Obama grew up. The beach town of Kailua, where the Obama family vacations, is a hideaway for the successful romance of the President and First Lady.
• Visit President Harry Truman’s southern White House in Key West, FL., the port that is also a popular cruise stop. Toast a romantic sunset at the town’s southernmost U.S. point in Mallory Square.
• Get lost in the stars of Beverly Hills, CA, just south of Simi Valley, home of the President Ronald Reagan Library, its majestic Pacific sunsets, and the storied romance of Ronald and Nancy Reagan.
• Relive history at the Lincoln birthday Bicentennial at the Abraham Lincoln home and neighborhood in Springfield, IL. From Feb. 12, Lincoln’s 200th birthday, through Feb. 15, 2009, enjoy concerts and programs with actors portraying Lincoln and other historic figures.
• Reserve a romantic dinner for two at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY, after visiting the nearby estate of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his wife Eleanor overlooking the scenic upper Hudson River.
• Book a New York City weekend with a visit to President Theodore Roosevelt’s birthplace and home at 28 E. 20th St. (between Broadway & Park Ave.) Walk 1 block east from the home into old New York’s most romantic neighborhood, Gramercy Park and the lush townhouses of Irving Place.
• Enjoy a romantic, historic weekend in downtown Boston with a visit to the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library on Columbia Point, overlooking Dorchester Bay on the southeastern coast of the city.

Wherever you choose to travel this Valentine’s-Presidents Weekend, bring along Travel Insured’s Worldwide Trip Protector to make it a worry-free experience. Enjoy a romantic, safe and hopefully historic holiday vacation!

Medical Change That You Can Believe In

The past presidential election has brought the slogan “Change You Can Believe In” into every household in America. This column will discuss health care changes, and whether or not you can believe in.

Both Democratic and Republican candidates have addressed the need for change in the American health care system. The media would have you believe that health care in America is terrible because our infant mortality rate is higher than many other developed countries around the world, and our health care expenditures are greater than many other developed countries despite no differences in perceptions of the quality of care. Do we need to change our entire system or not?

We should first realize that patients from around the world come to the United States because our health care system is generally regarded as one of the best in the world for handling serious illnesses, diagnosing difficult conditions, and performing complicated operations. Assuming you have insurance, and assuming you can make decisions about your health care without inappropriate denials of coverage (sometimes denials occur in heavily managed health care plans like some HMOs), then you can receive the best care in the world.

Is this American health care expensive? Yes! Does this health care sometimes result in tests designed to detect diseases that you ultimately do not have? Yes! Do you sometimes have to go to multiple different specialists to get the best treatment? Yes! Do you sometimes have to repeat tests because the first ones have been misplaced or were not as accurately done as possible? Of course, you do! Do you always get all of the information that you want from your physician or the staff in the doctor’s office? No! What can be done to improve our current situation?

First, everyone should agree that more people should be able to access the basic elements of our health care system. Currently uninsured individuals should have access to health care that treats acute illness, results in good decisions about preventive treatments and screenings. People without insurance should be able to get urgent care rather than inefficiently monopolize physician and staff time in emergency rooms (which should instead be focused on true emergencies and have shorter waiting times).

Further, there is no doubt that unnecessary tests and treatments do take place (although this is less common than under-treatment) and the system needs to be more efficient. Even insured patients still receive too little preventive care, and too few screenings for serious conditions. Although unhealthy lifestyles need to be improved, many clinics and doctor’s offices spend too little time helping patients to lead healthier lives.

One of the great accomplishments of 2008 was passage of the Genetic Protection Act sponsored in part by Senator Edward Kennedy. This Act protected your information about your genes which can help you to understand your risk of illness and the changes you need to make to prevent serious chronic diseases.

In 2009, health care reform will be on the agenda of congress, and this will affect not only Medicare and Medicaid programs, but also private insurers who tend to follow the changes in the Medicare program. What changes should we be seeing in the health care system?

We know that care improves when patients follow clinical care guidelines. Therefore, changes in reimbursement that promote the compliance with nationally accepted health care guidelines will be most important additions to our system. But you can help make this a reality for your own care now! You can check with your doctor’s office to be certain that your physician actually knows the health care guidelines, follows them, and tracks whether or not your care is compliant with those national standards.

Secondly, it is likely that Electronic Health Records will be mandated by federally funded insurance as well as your private insurance because Electronic Health Records can eliminate duplication of tests and treatments, and can make certain that there are no unhealthy interactions between your medications that can result in poor outcomes. You can check to see that your physician has and uses Electronic Health Records.

No matter whether your doctor has an Electronic Health Record or not, you can already help eliminate duplication and begin to check on your treatments, by having your personal health record either online as digital information, and/or at home as paper copies. By so doing, you will know your diseases, your medications with their side effects, your risks of serious medical conditions, preventions, best lifestyle habits, your doctor’s treatment plans for you, and your schedule of future tests and exams. You’ll have to decide if you like the idea of having your most intimate information on a computer server “online”, since many patients do not want accidental disclosure or hacking to risk their privacy of these records. Your computer or paper files can work just fine.

A most important healthcare change will be more emphasis on prevention and screening, which implies better use of genetic evaluations to determine individual patient risks. It is hoped that in time, every clinic will have a computerized program of all the preventive and screening interventions to be certain each patient has received them. Until then, you should be certain that you have asked your physician about the risks of all the usual serious illnesses, what you can do to screen for them, and what you can do to prevent them.

Change is coming, as in all aspects of our lives. We hope the health care changes which take place under the leadership of President Obama, Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Dashel, and your own individual legislators will result in better care for all of us.

And you can play your part in making sure the new laws and regulations are “Healthcare Change You Can Believe In” by communicating with your congressman, your senator, and the president’s office in order to mke your feelings known. Although it is unlikely that you will personally speak with your congressman, your senator, or the president, let the staff know your opinions and your opinion will be heard! The email, fax, and phone numbers can be obtained in your phone book, or on line. If there is any question about who they are, contact your primary care physician’s office or go to your local library.