AnnualMedicalReport.com

Healthcare.gov Open for Consumers and Health Insurance Companies

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, under the authority of President Barack Obama, unveiled an innovative new online tool to help consumers take control of their health care by connecting them to new information and resources that will help them access quality, affordable health care coverage. As stipulated by the Affordable Care Act, [...]

Obama Administration Announces New Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan

The United States Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced a new “Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan” (PCIP) under the Affordable Care Act Program to provide temporary coverage for Americans without health insurance due to pre-existing conditions now through 2014, when the new insurance exchanges are established. The Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan (PCIP), [...]

Survey Finds Insurance Premiums Soaring for Individual Policyholders

During the national debate about whether to overhaul the health insurance market, people who were buying coverage on their own were experiencing sharp increases in the cost of their policies, according to a survey released by the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonprofit health policy research group, in June 2010. Among those surveyed, individuals reported that [...]

Penalty for Violating Ban on Pre-Existing Conditions is $100 per day (42 U.S.C. § 300gg–22(b)(2)(C)(i))

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Bill Number H.R. 3590, prohibits insurance companies from using pre-existing conditions to underwrite, reject, or rescind health insurance policies. Yet, H.R. 3590 itself lacks an enforcement mechanism to deter and punish health insurance corporations for violations of the prohition on pre-existing condition exclusions and other discrimination. Any health [...]

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Text (Bill Number H.R. 3590)

On March 23, 2010 in Washington, D.C. at The White House, President Barack Obama signed the historic Health Insurance Reform Law Overhaul. President Barack Obama signed into law a nearly $1 trillion health care overhaul that ranks among the biggest changes ever devised by Washington and will reshape the way virtually every American receives and [...]

Do a Total Background Check on Yourself – Annual Consumer Reporting Agencies

The Federal laws FCRA and FACTA, which govern the credit bureaus Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion, also regulate a whole universe of other corporations known as “nationwide specialty consumer reporting agencies” and include such companies as: ChoicePoint, Acxiom, CBC Innovis, PayChex, the Insurance Services Office (ISO), Tenant Data Services, LexisNexis, Retail Equation, Central Credit, TeleTrack, the [...]

Text of Health Care Bill – Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (HR 3590) – Text of Bill

President Barack Obama Signs Historic Health Insurance Reform Law Overhaul. Health Insurance Reform Overhaul for Health Care Signed after Congress passes Health Care Vote. On March 23, 2010 in Washington, D.C. at The White House, President Barack Obama signed into law a nearly $1 trillion health care overhaul that ranks among the biggest changes ever [...]

Video – First Lady Michelle Obama Speaks on Health Insurance Reform and Older Women

Watch as First Lady Michelle Obama speaks about the difficulties senior women face in today’s health insurance market and the importance of reform. From the The White House, Washington, D.C. on November 13, 2009. Full Transcript of the Remarks by the First Lady on Health Insurance Reform and Older Women. The White House, Washington, D.C. [...]

Video – President Barack Obama On the Passage of Health Care Reform

Watch as President Obama speaks moments after the historic passage by the House of Representatives of the Senate’s health reform legislation. After a vote on March 21, 22, 2010 in the U.S. House of Representatives (Congress) to pass health care reform (health insurance reform), President Barack Obama, with Vice President Joe Biden, speaks to all [...]

Organizations that Protect Consumer Privacy in Health and Medical Records

Health information technology (“Health IT” or “Electronic Medical Records” or “Personal Health Records (PHR)”) has tremendous potential to improve health care quality and reduce costs while empowering patients to play a greater role in the management of their own care. At the same time, however, electronic storage and exchange of personal health information poses risks [...]

Video – The Influence of Money and Lobbying on Health Care Reform

Watch as Bill Moyers explores at the influence of money and lobbying on health care reform efforts in Washington, D.C. on The Bill Moyers Journal on PBS. Last month, testimony in front of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation by a former health insurance insider named Wendell Potter made news even before [...]

Disqualified for Health Insurance by Pre-Existing Conditions

In all but a handful of states, if you have a pre-existing medical condition, you’re going to have a hard time buying individual insurance. You might get turned down completely, or be charged very high premiums and probably also have to wait as long as a year (paying those very high premiums the whole time) [...]

Denied Insurance Because of A Medical Coding Error in Her MIB Report – Video

Consumer Reports Health’s Cover America Tour realized the impact of the Medical Information Bureau (MIB) when they visited Sheila (above) in Gulfport, Miss., the day after her 50th birthday. When she attempted to apply for health insurance, Sheila was surprised when she was rejected for an individual health insurance policy by three different companies. She [...]

12 Tips for Choosing and Purchasing Affordable Life Insurance

Insurance is an important part of financial planning — but understanding insurance and buying the right product can be tricky. From whole to term life, riders to convertibility clauses, how do you make sense of all the choices? Most people rely on the expertise of their insurance advisor, broker, or sales representative to help them [...]

Finding Affordable Health Insurance Policies for Individuals, Families, and Children

In America’s healthcare system, in most cases, you’re better off with the crowd. Usually, that crowd is your employer or a government pool like Medicare or Medicaid. But sometimes, due to choices you make, or circumstances you can’t control, you end up on your own, with full responsibility for your healthcare expenses. Here are some [...]

Selecting and Purchasing a Disability Insurance Policy

Personal finance isn’t just about growing your finances — it’s also about protecting what you have. Most experts advise insuring your home, your car, your health and your life. What many people never get around to doing is insuring their earning power. According to The Wall Street Journal in a December 2006 article “The Growing [...]

Introduction to Selecting and Purchasing a Life Insurance Policy

Protecting your family from financial disasters is one of the fundamental components of financial planning. Life insurance should be a core part of that planning process. This article is a basic primer on life insurance, which should introduce you to the concept and give you an idea of how life insurance works. What is life [...]

Privacy Issues Complicate Obama’s Plan to Link Electronic Medical Records and Health Data

In the past decade, personal health information on hundreds of thousands of people has been compromised because of security lapses at hospitals, insurance companies and government agencies. These breaches occurred despite federal privacy rules issued under a 1996 law. Congress is trying to strengthen those privacy protections and make sure they apply to computer records. [...]

Insurance Executives Cannot Do Business Without the MIB, Inc.

Medical report files, sold to insurers by the nationwide specialty consumer reporting agencies Medical Information Bureau, Inc. (MIB), Ingenix, Inc., and Milliman, Inc. enable health and life insurance corporations to charge higher premiums and deny coverage to policyholders. Although consumers dislike these consumer reporting agencies, insurance corporations rely on such companies to provide them with [...]

MIB Inc. Catches Consumers Because it Can

Consumer medical report files, sold to insurers by the Medical Information Bureau, Inc. (a/k/a, MIB, MIB Group Inc.) enables health and life insurance corporations to charge higher premiums and power the technology behind rescission of coverage. Alarmingly, your medical report files may include both medical and non-medical information about you. For example, personal data collected [...]