Tag Archive for 'Health Insurance'

Consumer advocates claim insurance bill is ‘anti-consumer’

Published on April 11, 2011 in Health Insurance. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

 

The new insurance bill will allow people who don’t have insurance coverage to get health insurance. The bill was approved by a panel of North Carolina lawmakers, but consumer supporters believe that the bill is “anti-consumer”. The tension is really escalating concerning the health reform in North Carolina.

The bill will make it so that individuals and small businesses with limited funds, will be able to get affordable insurance.

Democrat Verla Insko says the re-write of the bill performed by the House Health Committee doesn’t do much to help the uninsured. She said, “the bill, as written, is really written for the benefit of the industry and not for the benefit of the people who will be using it.” She drafted an alternative bill that has numerous compromises worked out by a task force that the state convened. She also says that her bill will not get a hearing, claiming that Republicans want to run their own bill with a substantial input from the insurance industry that helped draft it. According to them, insurers have a voting seat on the governing board of the benefits exchange. Consumer advocates, as well as the North Carolina Insurance Commissioner, proclaim that that is a conflict of interest, because insurers will also be competing for business in the exchange.

This said, Lew Borman of Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina doesn’t agree. He said, “whoever is appointed by whatever authority would have to fall under the ethics guidelines that had been passed a couple years ago. And again we believe that insurers add important expertise to the discussion.”

A non-voting seat on the board has been recommended for insurers by the Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin. However, insurers, doctors, hospitals and the business community currently have most of the votes on the exchange board.

While consumer advocates suggest that the bill doesn’t do much to guarantee that the coverage that is offered in the marketplace will really be affordable, Borman, of Blue Cross Blue Shield, says that that is not the point of the legislation. He said, “it meets the federal guidelines and mandates to put together a web-based marketplace. The exchange doesn’t manage costs. This really advertises those costs and those plans across the board from Blue Cross and other insurers.”

Consumer groups are asking that the governing board of the marketplace be able to put a limit on premiums and demand uniform benefit plans so it will be easier for people to be able to comparison shop. The current bill that was approved by the House Health Committee does not do these things. The new measure will be considered by the House Insurance Committee.

Locate an authorized agent in your area

Published on March 17, 2011 in BCBSNC. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina offers affordable health insurance for individuals and families in North Carolina. Their health plans include Blue Options HSA, Blue Advantage PPO, and Medicare.

Whether you just have some questions or are ready to purchase a plan, click on www.bcbsnc.com/apps/AgentGuidedSelling/ to locate an authorized agent in your area.

Ways to Lower Your Health Insurance costs

Published on June 10, 2009 in Health and Wellness and Health Insurance. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

There are currently 45.8 million Americans that don’t have health insurance, according to the Census Bureau survey results. Among these, 60% have full time jobs and 3.5 million earn more than $75,000 annually. There are a lot of people without health insurance coverage, like the self employed, who are taking a big risk by not getting covered because they are afraid of the high cost of personal health insurance plans.

Yes, health insurance is an extra expense, but the cost involved with just one severe injury can greatly surpass the cost of any annual health care plan. Health insurance doesn’t have to be outrageously expensive. There are some ways that everyone can decrease their monthly health insurance costs.

First of all, try to stay at a healthy weight. If you are able to maintain your weight within the average range for your height and age, this can help you qualify for the lowest health insurance rates. On the other hand, being morbidly obese can cause insurance rates to climb by as much as 7 times the quoted rate.

Then there is the issue of tobacco use. What should you do if you smoke or chew? Well, it is plain and simple; just don’t use tobacco period! Using any kind of tobacco can bring your insurance rates by as much as 30%! This substantial increase should tell you just how damaging tobacco use is to your health. So, if you smoke and you stop, you can kill two birds with one stone, so to speak, because your health will improve tremendously and you can bring down your health care costs.

Now let’s talk about Type 2 Diabetes. Insurance for people with this condition, is automatically 30% higher – and that is with a healthy A1C. People who have an unhealthy A1C may even have to pay more. The good news is that in most cases, eating right, exercising and controlling your weight can cause this dreaded disease to just disappear.

Next, we all are under a lot of stress, especially during these difficult economic times. But instead of depending on anti-depressants and anti-stress medications, try to find natural ways to deal with stress and anxiety. Using anti-depressants and anti-stress medications are big health insurance rate increases. Illnesses due to stress are one of the stimulating elements in driving up health care costs. Check out different ways other than medicine to bring your stress down, like lifestyle changes, yoga and meditation.

Finally there is the cholesterol issue. Having high cholesterol and other risk factors for heart disease can cause insurance rates to increase significantly. So what can you do? Eating healthy, exercising and monitoring your cholesterol can all help to reduce your risk for getting heart disease.

Increased risk of death linked to lack of insurance

Published on November 10, 2008 in Health Insurance. 0 Comments Tags: .

If you are not insured, you should get health insurance to avoid getting a devastating diagnosis that could mean an early death.

David Noonan, in his Newsweek (11, 3) column, writes that “what insurance (and the lack of it) often represents, as numerous studies have shown, is the difference between care and no care, between an early cancer diagnosis and a late diagnosis.” According to one study lead by a John Hopkins surgeon, “what insurance represented was nothing less than the difference between life and death.”

In the study, they found that “uninsured patients were 50 percent more likely to die from their injuries than insured patients.” Noonan writes, “The findings by Haider and his colleagues erase any illusion that emergency care is the great equalizer in our health care system that our differences are left behind when we are rolled through those double doors, injured and in danger of dying.”

New Medicare rules attempt to defend elderly from fraudulent marketing

Published on September 16, 2008 in Health Insurance. 0 Comments Tags: .

According to CMS, there have been complaints of hard sale methods that have caused some people to sign up for inadequate health plans. For this reason, CMS has set up some new Medicare rules that limit contact between insurance agents and the elderly and disabled, when selling Medicare Advantage and prescription drug plans. Some of these changes handed down from Congress are: “No unsolicited contacts with beneficiaries; no selling of other insurance products, such as annuities or life insurance to beneficiaries; no free meals at promotional or sales events; and new requirements for training or testing of agents,” the AP (9/15, Freking)

CMS will also monitor about 900 “secret shopper” visits “using undercover agents who will attend sales presentations and report violations to the agency. Medicare officials will review print and broadcast advertisements, listen to recordings of calls between plans and customers, and confirm whether plans are reporting agents and brokers who break the rules to federal and state authorities,” The Hill (9/15, Young).

BCBSNC Member Guides is going paperless

Published on September 3, 2008 in BCBSNC and Health Insurance. 0 Comments Tags: , .

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina (BCBSNC) is definitely changing with the times. They always want to make sure that subscribers continue to get the best quality service for their lifestyle needs. They know that more and more people are managing everything from banking to shopping online, so they are now offering subscribers the convenience of acquiring Member Guides online. These guides are available through the Web, 24 hours a day. That means subscribers can check on their benefit information whenever they like.

Effective since February 1, 2008, groups are provided with their Member Guides through online use only. Subscribers can still request a paper copy of their Member Guide any time by calling BCBSNC Customer Service . They understand that some groups still want their employees to keep receiving paper Member Guides, and they will be provided at no cost. These employers just need to work with their BCBSN account representative upon renewal to request paper copies.

All enrolled employees will be shown how to receive their Member Guides online and how to get a paper copy if needed. Subscribers receiving a new ID card will get an informative buckslip included with the card. A letter with the new online guides will be mailed to the home of subscribers who do not need a new ID card.

This is just one more way that BCBSNC is continuing to make life easier, more flexible and convenient for so many people with health insurance needs.