Clipmarks | High deductible Clips

Elder Health Insurance

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 08:55:21 GMT

Clip Source: www.myhealthinsurancewa.com

What is an HSA Health Plan anyway and why should I care?

HSA Health Insurance Plans offer an inexpensive way to do the following:1. Provide reasonably priced Health Insurance2. Put dollars aside for health expenses3. Save those health expense dollars on a pre-tax basisThere are two parts to an HSA Insurance Plan:Part 1 Health Insurance:High Deductible Health Insurance Plans (HDHP’s) offer far lower monthly premiums than traditional plans while still

Two days in the hospital is how much!!? I thought I had insurance!

Today I have been battling the great faceless Corporate Insurance Giant. Here is the story. My Client, let’s call him Billy Bob, starts developing pain, real pain, the bend you over until a grown man cries pain. Now, a regular guy would have taken several hundred Advil chased with a beer. Not this guy, he’s intelligent, and decides to go to the Hospital Emergency Room. However, despite the

Supplemental Health Insurance Coverage

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 08:53:22 GMT

clipped by: lanceharryson

Clip Source: www.myhealthinsurancewa.com

Lifewise Health Insurance Plans Announces 2009 Rate Increase!

Don’t panic though. Lifewise Health Insurance Plans, the Individual Health Insurance division of Premera Blue Cross in Washington just announced their yearly rate increase. As of January 1st 2009 all their plans will increase by the same amount. How does this stack up against this past summers’ rate increases by Regence Blue Shield and Group Health? Pretty darn good.The Lifewise rate increase

Claim your Free Flu Shot!

FREE flu shots! Your current insurance most likely already covers it.Did you know that most health insurance plans, even catastrophic, high deductible, and H.S.A. plans usually include getting your yearly flu shot? Flu shots are likely considered part of their “immunization” benefit for no additional cost. Don’t expect to just waltz into a clinic, roll up your sleeve and get one though. Here’

Individual Health Insurance

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 08:47:57 GMT

clipped by: lanceharryson

Clip Source: myhealthinsure.wordpress.com

Haven’t shopped lately? You might be getting ripped off!

Are you getting ripped off by paying too much for your health insurance? The same type of plan can vary by hundreds of dollars per MONTH depending on which company you choose with very similar benefits! Below we compare four similar and popular plans (noting any major differences) with their monthly costs. Which one is [...]

Claim your Free Flu Shot!

FREE flu shots! Your current insurance most likely already covers it. Did you know that most health insurance plans, even catastrophic, high deductible, and H.S.A. plans usually include getting your yearly flu shot? Flu shots are likely considered part of their “immunization” benefit for no additional cost. Don’t expect to just waltz into a clinic, roll up [...]

The Joker Doesn’t Seem To Understand Competition, So He Will Prohibit It

Thu, 27 Aug 2009 08:42:38 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: In place of the variety of products that competition would generate, we would be forced “choose” among virtually identical insurance plans. Government would define these plans down to the last detail. Every one would have at least the same “basic” coverage, including physical exams, maternity benefits, well-baby care, alcoholism treatment, and mental-health services. Consumers could not buy a cheap, high-deductible catastrophic policy. Every insurance company would have to use an identical government-designed pricing structure. Prices would be the same for sick and healthy.

In this respect, it wouldn’t matter whether or not Congress created a “public option,” a government insurance plan. In either case, bureaucrats would dictate virtually every aspect of the health-insurance business.

What Obama says in favor of a public option " as of today, at least " tells us how little he understands competition.

Clip Source: patdollard.com

“Choice, competition, reducing costs — those are the things that I want to see accomplished in this health reform bill,” President Obama told talk-show host Michael Smerconish last week.

John Stossel via ABC:

Choice and competition would be good. They would indeed reduce costs. If only the President meant it. Or understood it.

In a free market, a business that is complacent about costs learns that its prices are too high when it sees lower-cost competitors winning over its customers. The market — actually, the consumer — holds businesses accountable and keeps them honest. No “public option” is needed.

So the hope for reducing medical costs indeed lies in competition and choice. Today competition is squelched by government regulation and privilege.

But Obama’s so-called reforms would not create real competition and choice. They would prohibit it.

Tags: 0bamacare/government health, public option-government insurance

Idaho Falls Health Insurance FAQ

Fri, 21 Aug 2009 16:16:43 GMT

clipped by: nmecom
clipper's remarks: Provides answers to questions in the Idaho Falls health insurance FAQ with free health coverage consultation available.

Clip Source: www.eastidahoinsurance.com

Why would I want a high deductible?

1. Protection for the big stuff
Insurance is meant to keep you from losing your home, business, and other assets due to a major medical event. The high deductible decreases the premiums while allowing you to capitalize on a Health Savings Account as you take responsibility for your more routine care. A good plan will cover the vast majority of medically necessary treatments for a significant medical event.

Tags: idaho falls health insurance, idaho falls health insurance faq

Sensible and free health care reform that the left can't stand

Thu, 20 Aug 2009 17:18:43 GMT

clipped by: n2sooners
clipper's remarks: John Mackey is the CEO of Whole Foods. After this article Obamacare supporters started a boycott of Whole Foods. Many on the left like to say the right is opposed to health care reform and would rather do nothing, but it seems to me more like those on the left want a government run system or nothing. They say the right is stonewalling reform, but they seem to be the one's unwilling to give any ground.

Clip Source: online.wsj.com

Remove the legal obstacles that slow the creation of high-deductible health insurance plans and health savings accounts (HSAs).

Equalize the tax laws so that employer-provided health insurance and individually owned health insurance have the same tax benefits. Now employer health insurance benefits are fully tax deductible, but individual health insurance is not. This is unfair.

Repeal all state laws which prevent insurance companies from competing across state lines.

Repeal government mandates regarding what insurance companies must cover.

Enact tort reform to end the ruinous lawsuits that force doctors to pay insurance costs of hundreds of thousands of dollars per year.

Make costs transparent so that consumers understand what health-care treatments cost.

Enact Medicare reform.

Finally, revise tax forms to make it easier for individuals to make a voluntary, tax-deductible donation to help the millions of people who have no insurance

Tags: healthcare, politics, reform

CEO John Mackey's Whole Foods Alternative to ObamaCare & The Lefty Bloggers' Backlash

Thu, 20 Aug 2009 04:02:16 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: Brian Beutler of TPM noted the inclusion of a diet endorsement in the op-ed, and offered a translation of Mackey's manifesto: ""Whole Foods is the solution to all of America's health care woes." Other attackers had less time for mockery, and demanded a boycott:

I Will Never, Ever Shop at Your Stores Again Users at the Daily Kos screamed their outrage, other bloggers linking to their hot-blooded denunciations. "Mr. Mackey," wrote one user named DarkSyde, "your extremist views on employee benefits and unionization have [...]

Mackey's Response: The WSJ Put Words in My Mouth Three days after the initial op-ed, John Mackey stated on the Whole Foods CEO's Blog that "Whole Foods Market as a company has no official position on the issue." Saying that he had written the editorial under the simple title of "Health Care Reform," [...]

Not Off the Hook, declared The Reality-Based Community's Mark Kleiman, referring to Mackey's response: "The title is the
least . . .

Clip Source: atlanticwire.theatlantic.com

It all started with Mackey's August 11 op-ed in the Wall Street Journal. In it, Mackey argued that "the last thing our country needs is a massive new health-care entitlement that will create hundreds of billions of dollars of new unfunded deficits and move us much closer to a government takeover of our health-care system." He presented, instead, The Whole Foods Alternative to ObamaCare:

"Remove the legal obstacles that slow the creation of high-deductible health insurance plans and health savings accounts."
"Equalize the tax laws so that employer-provided health insurance and individually owned health insurance have the same tax benefits."
Allow competition across state lines.
"Repeal government mandates regarding what insurance companies must cover."
"Enact tort reform."
"Make costs transparent."
"Enact medicare reform."
Revise tax law to make it easier to donate to those without insurance.

Then came the backlash.

Tags: ceo john mackey, lefty bloggers campaigning for boycott, whole foods, wsj op-ed

Five Endangered Freedoms

Mon, 03 Aug 2009 05:40:46 GMT

clipped by: Rustee
clipper's remarks:

In short, the Obama platform would mandate extremely full, expensive, and highly subsidized coverage -- including a lot of benefits people would never pay for with their own money -- but deliver it through a highly restrictive, HMO-style plan that will determine what care and tests you can and can't have. It's a revolution, all right, but in the wrong direction.

Clip Source: money.cnn.com

In promoting his health-care agenda, President Obama has repeatedly reassured Americans that they can keep their existing health plans -- and that the benefits and access they prize will be enhanced through reform.

A close reading of the two main bills, one backed by Democrats in the House and the other issued by Sen. Edward Kennedy's Health committee, contradict the President's assurances. To be sure, it isn't easy to comb through their 2,000 pages of tortured legal language. But page by page, the bills reveal a web of restrictions, fines, and mandates that would radically change your health-care coverage.

Let's explore the five freedoms that Americans would lose under Obamacare:

1. Freedom to choose what's in your plan

2. Freedom to be rewarded for healthy living, or pay your real costs

3. Freedom to choose high-deductible coverage

4. Freedom to keep your existing plan

5. Freedom to choose your doctors

Tags: government, healthcare, obama

My Response to Sen. D. Stabenow (D-MI)

Fri, 31 Jul 2009 23:06:04 GMT

clipped by: Ilsadago1
clipper's remarks: For the most part, my insurance coverage is catastrophic only. My portion of the premiums if I were to cover eligible members of my family would cost nearly 1/4 of my bi-weekly take home pay. Obviously, if a mortgage is only supposed to by 1/3 of your monthly salary, then insurance premiums are nearly the price of a good-sized house.

Adding to the 'ranks of the uninsured' is the fact of a 14.2% unemployment rate - of which my husband is one. He doesn't qualify for unemployment insurance so he isn't even counted.

So, why are my premiums so high?

First, because malpractice insurance for my physicians is totally out of control due to frivolous law suits, huge legal fees and the costs associated with trying even a small case. The judge, clerks, bailiffs, secretaries, etc...all have to be paid - by me, the taxpayer.

Because of the need to cover themselves, doctors are forced to order complicated, often if not always expensive and sometimes unnecessary tests and procedures.

Ev

Clip Source: nurseratchet.blogspot.com

The following is a letter I received in reply to my opposition on 'Health Care Reform'. Following that is my response. If you don't agree, that's fine with me. I just wanted to have my say-so.

When it comes to health care, our families and businesses are in a serious crisis.

Skyrocketing health care costs make our businesses less competitive in the global marketplace and cost us good-paying jobs.

I believe that health care is a right, not a privilege.

We can create a system that is uniquely American

Please don't hesitate to do so again if my office can be of assistance to you or your family.

Debbie Stabenow

Dear Senator,

Thank you for your reply. We differ in many areas of thought on Health Care reform. I do not believe that insurance is a right. Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness are rights.

I enjoy the fact that my employer offers health care - however, I can only afford to cover myself - not my husband or college age child.

I have a $1000 deductible and $1500 co-pay.

Why Not "Universal Food Coverage, Too"?

Thu, 23 Jul 2009 07:04:49 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: who only want to insure against the possibility that they'll be hit by a truck. So politicians at both the state and federal level keep passing boatloads of insurance mandates requiring that all insurance plans cover a raft of non-emergency conditions that are expensive to treat -- but whose practitioners have high-priced lobbyists.

Insurance plans that force everyone in the plan to pay for everyone else's Viagra and anti-anxiety pills are already completely unfair to people who rarely go to the doctor. It's like being forced to share gas bills with a long-haul trucker or a restaurant bill with Michael Moore. On the other hand, it's a great deal for any lonely hypochondriacs in the plan.

Now the Democrats want to force us all into one gigantic national health insurance plan that will cover every real and mythical ailment that has a powerful lobby.

Clip Source: townhall.com

We already have near-universal health coverage in the form of Medicare, Medicaid, veterans' hospitals, emergency rooms and tax-deductible employer-provided health care -- all government creations.

The government also "helped" us by mandating that insurance companies cover all sorts of medical services, both ordinary -- which you ought to pay for yourself -- and exotic, such as shrinks, in vitro fertilization and child-development assessments -- which no normal person would voluntarily pay to insure against.

This would be like requiring all car insurance to cover the cost of gasoline, oil and tire changes -- as well as professional car detailing, iPod docks, and leather seats and those neon chaser lights I have all along the underbody of my chopped, lowrider '57 Chevy.

But politicians are more interested in pleasing lobbyists for acupuncturists, midwives and marriage counselors than they are in pleasing recent college graduates

Tags: emergency rooms, medicaid, medicare, veterans' hospitals

Why we must ration healthcare

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 23:25:11 GMT

clipped by: Lexica
clipper's remarks: More:

we should remind ourselves that the U.S. system also results in people going without life-saving treatment — it just does so less visibly. Pharmaceutical manufacturers often charge much more for drugs in the United States than they charge for the same drugs in Britain, where they know that a higher price would put the drug outside the cost-effectiveness limits set by NICE. American patients, even if they are covered by Medicare or Medicaid, often cannot afford the copayments for drugs. That’s rationing too, by ability to pay.

Dr. Art Kellermann, associate dean…at Emory School of Medicine…wrote of a woman who came into his emergency room in critical condition because a blood vessel had burst in her brain. She was uninsured and had chosen to buy food for her children instead of spending money on her blood-pressure medicine. In the emergency room, she received excellent high-tech medical care, but by the time she got there, it was too late to save her.

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

Is there any limit to how much you would want your insurer to pay for a drug that adds six months to someone’s life? If there is any point at which you say, “No, an extra six months isn’t worth that much,” then you think that health care should be rationed.

Health care is a scarce resource, and all scarce resources are rationed in one way or another. In the United States, most health care is privately financed, and so most rationing is by price: you get what you, or your employer, can afford

But our current system of employer-financed health insurance exists only because the federal government encouraged it by making the premiums tax deductible

in effect, a more than $200 billion government subsidy for health care

Rationing health care means getting value for the billions we are spending by setting limits on which treatments should be paid for from the public purse.

When public funds subsidize health care or provide it directly, it is crazy not to try to get value for money.

Tags: health, healthcare, rationing, budget, politics

HDHP and HSA limits increase in 2010

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 15:35:55 GMT

clipped by: SCallahan
clipper's remarks: On June 1, the IRS and Dept of Treasury released the High deductible health plan and health savings accounts annual limit for 2010.

Clip Source: www.healthplanone.com

The IRS has released on June 1 the 2010 annual limits or high deductible health plans (HDHP) and health savings accounts (HSA). Under Code Section 223, the new limits are effective for the calendar year 2010. The IRS released the increase on June 1 to allow time for employers, employees, and plan administrators to make adjustments to their plans.

For high deductible health plans (HDHP), the deductible is increasing from $1,150 to $1,200 for individuals and $2,300 to $2,400 for families. The HDHP Maximum Out-of-pocket amount is increasing from $5,800 to $5,950 for individuals and from $11,600 to $11,900 for families.

As for the HSA Statutory Contribution amount, it is increasing from $3,000 to $3,050 for individuals and from $5,950 to $6,150 for families. The catch-up contributions for individuals 55 or older are staying at $1,000.

How to Get Cheaper Auto Insurance

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 06:28:02 GMT

clipped by: The AnswerMan
clipper's remarks: Insurance for your automobile can suck a significant number of dollars form your wallet every month. Here are some important tips to keep some of your hard earned cash.

Clip Source: www.cheap-car-insure.com

Car insurance is so expensive that for many people it is their largest expense after food, housing, and their car itself. If you fall into that category, there are some things you can do to get cheaper insurance. In most cases you will get the same coverage as you had before, you’ll just pay less money for the privilege. In some cases you may even see your coverage improve, even as your rate goes down. That’s a pretty nice deal if you can get it.

How to Get Cheaper Insurance Tip 3
Max out your deductible. The higher your deductible, the lower your premium, so raise that deductible. You’re not going to want to make any claims for anything near the amount of your deductible anyway, so there’s no sense in keeping it under $1,000 or so, you’re just costing yourself money every year. You’ll get cheaper insurance by keeping your deductible as high as you can stomach. If your vehicle is financed, check with your lender to see the maximum deductible they allow.

Tags: automotive, insurance, save money

Medicare PartD - Diabetes Care

Thu, 16 Apr 2009 18:13:00 GMT

clipped by: LastSecondMedia
clipper's remarks: Medicare Part D is a prescription drug coverage that’s available to everyone who is eligible for Medicare. If you join you will generally pay a monthly premium. If on Medicare and you have diabetes consider Diabetes Care Club for your testing supplies.

Clip Source: diabetescareclub.com

Information on Medicare Part D

[Video]

Part D Medicare

If you’re like most people, you probably have questions about Medicare Part D.

Simply put, Medicare Part D is a prescription drug coverage that’s available to everyone who is eligible for Medicare. It covers both brand-name and generic prescription drugs at participating pharmacies in your area. Medicare Part D coverage provides protection for people who have very high drug costs or from unexpected prescription drug bills in the future.

A person’s eligibility does not depend on their income and/or resources, health status, or current prescription expenses.

Like other insurance, if you join, generally you will pay a monthly premium, which varies by plan, and a yearly deductible. You will also pay a portion of the cost of your prescriptions, including a copayment or coinsurance. Costs will vary depending on which drug plan you choose. Some plans may offer more coverage and additional drugs for a higher monthly premium.

Call 1-800-591-7575.

Tags: medicare prescription drug coverage, part d, medicare part d, drug plan, medicare help, health, medication

A.I.G. Sues U.S. for Return of $306 Million in Tax Overpayments

Sat, 21 Mar 2009 00:14:01 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: In part, A.I.G. says it overpaid its federal income taxes after a 2004 accounting scandal that caused it to restate its financial records. A.I.G. says in part that it is entitled to a refund of $33 million that SICO paid in 1997 as compensation to employees, which it now says should be characterized as a deductible expense.

A.I.G.’s lawyers in the case, at Sutherland Asbill & Brennan, referred calls to the company. Asked about the lawsuit, Mark Herr, an A.I.G. spokesman, said Thursday that “A.I.G. is taking this action to ensure that it is not required to pay more than its fair share of taxes.”

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

The lawsuit, filed on Feb. 27 in Federal District Court in Manhattan, details, among other things, certain tax-related dealings of the financial products unit, the once high-flying division that has been singled out for its role in A.I.G.’s financial crisis last fall. Other deals involved A.I.G. offshore entities whose function centers on executive compensation and include C. V. Starr & Company, a closely held concern controlled by Maurice R. Greenberg, A.I.G.’s former chairman, and the Starr International Company, a privately held enterprise incorporated in Panama, and commonly known as SICO.

The lawsuit contends in part that the federal government owes A.I.G. nearly $62 million in foreign tax credits related to eight foreign entities, with names like Lumagrove, Laperouse and Foppingadreef, that were set up or controlled by financial products, often through a unit known as Pinestead Holdings.

Tags: aig lawsuit, federal government owes $306 million, foreign tax credits, eight foreign entities