Category: Health Insurance (Page 9 of 12)

Just in Time for Breast Cancer Month, Blue Shield of California Won’t Cover Breast Cancer Drug

October 6, 2011 / Staff

Blue Shield of California won’t cover an approved breast cancer drug for women suffering from breast cancer.

For many, this drug is the only thing keeping them alive.

Blue Shield of California will no longer pay for the use of the drug Avastin to treat breast cancer, a sign that support for the widely debated and expensive treatment may be eroding among health plans.
Blue Shield, with 3.2 million members, is apparently the first large insurance company to end payments since a federal advisory committee unanimously recommended in June that the Food and Drug Administration rescind Avastin’s approval as a treatment for breast cancer, saying the drug did not really help patients.

Health Care Policy, Health Insurance, Wellness

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Health Insurance Premiums Show Sharp Increase in 2011

September 28, 2011 / Staff

Health insurance premiums increase leaving consumers and employers to decide how to pay for services.

Including employers’ contributions, the overall premium has increased 113 percent since 2001 to $15,073 a year.
More workers, especially in smaller firms, continue to join high-deductible health plans. Thirty-one percent of covered employees this year have to pay at least $1,000 in single plans before coverage kicks in, up from 27 percent last year.
The survey also highlighted some early results of President Barack Obama’s healthcare reform.
Under one of the few provisions already in effect, people under the age of 26 are now allowed to remain covered by their parents’ insurance plans to curb historically high uninsured rates in that age group. The Kaiser survey estimated that U.S. companies have added 2.3 million young adults to their parents’ family health policies.

Health Care Policy, Health Insurance, Research, Resources, Wellness

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Obama’s Health Care Reform Upheld in Court

September 10, 2011 / Staff

Obama’s health care bill is not overturned in a court ruling.

Obama wins this round and now has the Tea Party and Republican party with whom to do battle at the primaries.

A sluggish economy and poor jobs market may just be the momentum behind the president to make this law stick.

But does it help anyone to be required to buy into a broken health care system?

Standardizing costs and preventive health care should be the priority. Supporting big pharmaceutical companies with tax payer dollars will not help in the long run.

“Virginia, the sole plaintiff here, lacks standing to bring this action,” said the ruling from the 4th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. “Accordingly, we vacate the judgment of the district court and remand with instructions to dismiss the case for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction.”
The Richmond-based court becomes the second such federal court to uphold the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, particularly the “individual mandate” provision requiring most Americans to purchase health insurance by 2014 or face a financial penalty. Another appeals court had ruled against the administration.

Health Care Policy, Health Insurance

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Obesity Hurts Everyone

August 29, 2011 / Staff

If you think that being overweight effects only the obese then think again.

Obesity is fast replacing tobacco as the single most important preventable cause of chronic non-communicable diseases, and will add an extra 7.8 million cases of diabetes, 6.8 million cases of heart disease and stroke, and 539,000 cases of cancer in the United States by 2030.
Some 32 percent of men and 35 percent of women are now obese in the United States, according to a research team led by Claire Wang at the Mailman School of Public Health in Columbia University in New York. They published their findings in a special series of four papers on obesity in The Lancet.

Health Care Policy, Health Insurance, Medicaid, Medicare, Nutrition, Quality Control, Resources, Wellness

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You Can Negotiate for Cheaper Medical Care

August 11, 2011 / Staff

Barter with your doctor
Before bringing it up, think about what your doctor might value. Boxer Wachler, for example, is a car enthusiast and has young children, so car services and photos worked well for him, but when a patient who is an artist offered free paintings in exchange for care, he declined.
“If you can’t afford care, just go for it,” Boxer Wachler says. “It can’t hurt to ask. The worst thing that will happen is the doctor says thanks for offering, but no thanks.”

Pay on credit
About half of Boxer Wachler’s patients pay on credit — often over 24 months with no interest. Ask your doctor if he or she has arrangements with credit companies and if not, ask if they would be willing to make them.

Negotiate with your doctor
When Christina McMenemy’s husband lost his job and health insurance, she negotiated a $40 fee for an office visit with her children’s pediatrician.
“You’d be surprised how many doctors, especially primary care physicians such as internists and pediatricians, will do this for their patients,” says Dr. Gail Gazelle, a patient advocate and assistant clinical professor at Harvard Medical School.
The book “My Healthcare is Killing Me” teaches you how to negotiate prices with hospitals, too.

Get financial assistance
The “Healthcare Survival Guide” has a state-by-state listing of resources that offer financial help for medical care.

Get discounted dental care, contact lenses and drugs