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Affordable Health Insurance Key to Diabetes Treatment

2009-11-09T19:10:00.000-08:00

CNN's Health.com reveals to us that nearly 24 million Americans have diabetes, with another 57 million likely to get it in their lifetime.

But what they don't reveal is how affordable health insurance could play a part in lowering those numbers.

In their segment titled "8 common diabetes questions answered" they address a common concern among those at risk for this life threatening disease: how will I know if I have diabetes?

The answer is deceptively simple - you ask a doctor.

But what do you do if the lack of affordable health insurance in America makes that an impossibility? Of the 47 million uninsured Americans, how many of them will die from diabetes complications because they couldn't afford coverage?

Diabetes and its treatments cost us billions of dollars a year, but by making affordable health insurance available to citizens, those costs, and diabetes-related deaths, could be drastically reduced.

Health Coverage Legislation: How Will it Impact Medicare Supplemental Insurance?

2009-11-09T12:03:00.000-08:00

With health coverage legislation in the news every day, many seniors are stuck trying to filter through all the information out there to understand how potential change could impact their Medicare Part C plans, and whether or not supplemental insurance will be an important factor.

According to The Examiner, the major change that seniors could see would be higher premiums for Medicare Part C, also known as Medicare Advantage. This is based on the claim that insurers are able to lower premiums for Medicare Advantage because they are being subsidized by taxpayers when they overcharge for Medicare A and B.

But, if Medicare Advantage will cost more, will supplemental insurance be affected? Will it be more useful?

Medicare supplemental insurance - also known as Medigap - is health coverage offered by private companies that works in conjunction with Medicare to supplement its coverage. Supplemental insurance doesn't always offer drug coverage, but it has almost no co-pays.

Since supplemental insurance is offered by insurance companies, it will be impacted by health coverage legislation. But, since it isn't an alternative to Medicare, it isn't going to face the same legislation as Part C.

If Part C premiums will go up based on insurance companies no longer being able to overcharge for Medicare A and B, supplemental insurance could become more popular as a means of getting better coverage to compensate for Medicare gaps.

This means that unless insurance companies are regulated to prevent overcharging, supplemental insurance prices could go up based on demand.

However, if supplemental insurance is offered by the non-profit cooperatives that are part of current health coverage legislation, it could mean that Medigap plans won't see a price change.

Either way, there is talk in congress of NOT raising costs for those who already have Medicare plans of any kind, so those who rely on Part C or on supplemental insurance for now may be in the clear.

Senators Ask Key Questions About Small Business Health Insurance

2009-11-03T19:32:00.000-08:00

Following disturbing news that small business health insurance costs would be going up as much as 15% next year, the chairman of the Senate health committee sent letters to major insurers asking for key information.

The main points in the letters basically point out that small business health insurance is, according to the article at Reuters, "dysfunctional" and simultaneously "lacking in transparency."

And then there's the little issue of how many insurance CEOs are making more than $5 million a year.

U.S. lawmakers have been putting pressure on insurance companies in the last year, threatening to reinstate anti-trust laws that had been waived for them, and of course, working to offer Americans a public insurance option in order to create competition among insurance agencies.

Small business health insurance is often more expensive than that offered to large corporations, since larger numbers of enrollees lower the cost ratio for insurance agencies. In any large group, most people will stay healthy, and their premiums pay for the unhealthy.

But is it fair that small businesses, which struggle to provide insurance based on tighter budgets and suffer more sensitivity to economic downturns, should also be saddled with higher insurance costs?

Most say no. Insurance companies are swearing that it's the rising cost of health care that leads to inflated premiums, not them. However, as one senator put it very succintly: "they're just lying."

Lack of Family Health Insurance Takes Toll on Kids

2009-11-02T19:12:00.000-08:00

Most people are aware that the inability to find affordable health insurance has a negative impact on adults - if you get sick and you don't have coverage, you're more likely to die. Period.

However, few realized how the lack of family health insurance was affecting kids. At least, we weren't all that aware until just recently, when a study published by John's Hopkins made it all too clear.

Released at WebMD's children's page, the study finds that "nearly 17,000 deaths of hospitalized children might have been prevented" if they had access to a good family health insurance plan throughout their youth.

While the specifics of how and why these kids are more likely to die aren't laid out in the article, the doctors behind the study make it clear that this finding mirrors that related to adults. In other words, it's a very sad finding, but not one that is very surprising.

With fewer and fewer employers able to offer individual coverage, let alone family health insurance, parents are finding it more difficult today to get coverage for their kids.

And kids without medical coverage don't get important checkups, or necessary vaccinations.

So while the debate rages on regarding how to make affordable health insurance a reality for sick adults, it's probably even more important to remember the littlest victims of a health care system that has become too expensive and too unwieldy to protect 7 million uninsured children throughout the U.S.

House Democrats Unveil Plan for Affordable Health Insurance

2009-10-29T20:25:00.000-07:00

One key aspect of the current debate over health care legislation and affordable health insurance for all Americans appears to have finally been resolved this week.

According to the LA Times, House Democrats have finally agreed upon a health care bill that would provide affordable health insurance for millions of uninsured Americans right now.

Their bill, which will be passed to the Senate and then melded with theirs, offers a few key details that have been in and out of the news for weeks.

It includes a law that would require all Americans purchase health coverage. This would force those who don't think they need health insurance - namely the young and healthy - to pay for coverage. Their premiums would then offset those of the less healthy, effectively lowering all national health care costs, much as group health insurance plans do on a smaller scale.

It also offers a public option, which has been hotly contested by Republicans, as well as insurance companies who feel that the competition would drive them out of business.

There would also exist non-profit health cooperatives designed to help people find coverage they need, at a price they can afford. And insurance companies would no longer be able to deny coverage to people with pre-existing conditions.

While this bill would provide affordable health insurance to most of the millions of uninsured in America, some still argue about the costs.

It isn't clear whether or not it would exceed the $900 billion dollar benchmark set by President Obama, with some saying it would and others saying it won't.

But, as this bill heads towards the Senate, it isn't expected to be subject to a vote until the end of the year. How it looks and what it retains at that point remains to be seen.

Will Nationwide Group Health Insurance Laws Benefit Insurance Companies?

2009-10-26T19:23:00.000-07:00

A group health insurance plan on a nationwide level has been touted in the news and in recent legislation as the answer to rising health care costs. The notion is, that if everyone is legally required to purchase medical coverage, costs will go down much as they do for coverage purchased by big companies.

It's the law of averages - the good health of most people balances out the bad health of others. If everyone had to purchase coverage as they do in a group health insurance setting, the the premiums paid by the healthy would offset the costs of the unhealthy.

But is this really a move that will help consumers? According to the Los Angeles Times, the legislation going through the House and Senate right now might force everyone to purchase coverage, but it doesn't place limits on how much insurance companies can charge. This means that while we would all need to find some type of medical coverage, it still might cost more than we can pay.

The article states that this move has been carefully planned by health insurance agencies since 2006, who were aware that one day Americans wouldn't stand for the same plans we've been overpaying for. The group health insurance plan could lower health care costs, but if the LA Times is correct, we might not benefit from it.

So will health insurance companies get the last laugh? Maybe not. They strongly oppose the public option, since it would provide competition and force insurance companies to lower their costs. And, recent attacks on their exemption from antitrust laws have many insurance companies on the defensive.

It's not clear yet how legislation will play out, and we have no idea what type of coverage we'll end up with. It's likely that America will function like one great group health insurance plan, but whether or not the public actually benefits from that remains to be seen.

Lack of Affordable Health Insurance Impacting Prostate Cancer Treatment

2009-10-21T19:40:00.000-07:00

A recent medical study finds that black men are twice as likely die of prostate cancer than white men. Why the disparity? The answer is really socioeconomic in nature, and essentially comes down to a lack of affordable health insurance for those men who are lower on the economic ladder.

At myrtlebeachonline.com, the study from the Journal of Cancer reveals that raising awareness of the disease just hasn't been enough to combat this problem. More than 8% of black men report having no health insurance, compared to only 3% of white men.

When prostate cancer strikes, as it will do for thousands of men every year, this leaves black men without options for treatment that will save the lives of white men who are insured. The article states that, "it is well established that uninsured patients, regardless of race, delay getting needed care. And once they do seek medical attention, uninsured patients often receive less aggressive treatment than patients with health insurance."

So, men who cannot afford health insurance not only take longer to get care for prostate cancer, they're also not likely to get the best kind of treatment anyway.

As premiums go up, more and more men will suffer the same consequences. In this tough economic climate, it isn't just those lower on the economic scale that can't find affordable health insurance, many middle class men and women can't keep up with the rising costs of health care either.

With cancer deaths predicted to double in the upcoming decades, we will have to do something soon to make health insurance, and life-saving care, available to all Americans who suffer from prostate cancer, or any disease at all.

Group Health Insurance May Go National

2009-10-19T19:25:00.000-07:00

Recent polls released by the Washington Post reveal that public opinion regarding current health care legislation has rebounded quite a bit, including a more favorable response to the public option, and to mandates that would inspire nationwide costs and coverage similar to what workers get with group health insurance.

According to the article, 57% of polled Americans now support the idea of a public option for health care, especially if it's restricted to those who can't afford individual health insurance. And a surprising 71% support the notion of a health care mandate that would control costs much like group health insurance plans do today.

Group health insurance has historically been less expensive and easier to get because the larger numbers of insured people offset the costs for the insurance company. To simplify things a bit, the premiums paid by the healthy pay for the costs accrued by those who aren't healthy.

If everyone in the U.S. had to purchase insurance, similar rules would apply. In fact, one of the major reasons that health care costs have become so high is that young and healthy people often don't purchase insurance until they get sick. This means that insurance companies have a vested interest in keeping those with pre-existing conditions out of the ranks of the insured.

Of course, there's also much concern over the definition of "pre-existing conditions" according to insurance companies. Many of them see simple procedures, minor illnesses, and even pregnancy as a "pre-existing condition," and punish buyers accordingly.

This is why government oversight is also important in terms of health care legislation. Having a nationwide group health insurance plan would be a great way to lower costs, but only so long as insurance companies aren't allowed to unfairly reject those Americans who need coverage the most.

Group Health Insurance Cooperatives Get Senate OK

2009-10-13T18:30:00.000-07:00

It appears that health care coverage isn't dead yet.

According to the Chicago Tribune, the Senate Finance Committee has come to a tentative agreement regarding a health care coverage bill that features group health insurance cooperatives instead of a publicly funded government plan.

The bill still needs to be adjusted to suit the entire Senate, and who knows how long that could take. But in the mean time, a year of "congressional wrangling" has finally come to an end.

The more popularly supported group health insurance cooperatives would bring down insurance costs by allowing people to buy into plans served by nonprofit entities.

And with a legal requirement to purchase health care coverage, the higher number of healthy people forced to purchase insurance would offset the costs of the less healthy, leading to lower premiums and out of pocket costs.

Hopefully there would also be an end to the practice of denying people based on "pre-existing conditions."

Of course, Democrats and Republicans are still finding a way to argue about it. Democrats don't like that the bill doesn't offer a universal health insurance option, while Republicans complain that the bill could cost too much without adding enough coverage for the 48 million Americans who can't afford insurance right now.

Historically, group health insurance plans have cost less than the individual health insurance market, so for those who have been struggling in the individual market this could mean a huge boost.

And for those who have no coverage at all, even a little bit of help is better than going without health care at all.

Will Small Business Health Insurance Benefit from an Exchange?

2009-10-05T19:29:00.000-07:00

The New York Times is calling it the "Travelocity" version of health care coverage - the health care "exchange" idea, which has garnered a lot of support from Senate members.

But business owners are still worried - would such exchanges make small business health insurance any easier to afford?

The idea would be that should such a plan pass, consumers would be able to choose from a variety of medical health coverage plans. But opponents are arguing that just because the options are easier to understand doesn't mean that they'll cost any less.

Small business health insurance rates are notoriously high, and choices are limited since in many states the majority of insurance is offered by only a few big carriers. Like it says in the article, "small business owners frequently complain they when they have limited choice among insurers, they have little bargaining clout."

The result? For many employers small business health insurance plans have gone up as much as 29% in a single year.

The hope in Washington, of course, is that the millions of new health insurance customers will drive down costs, and lead to a more competitive market.

But the truth is that many people don't buy insurance because they think they don't need it. This brings the "legal mandate" issue into the equation - should the government require all American citizens to purchase health insurance, or face a legal penalty?

The legal mandate issue has fewer fans than the health insurance exchange does, but unless everyone is forced to purchase health care coverage, it isn't likely that small business health insurance is going to get any cheaper any time soon.

Did Congress "Blow It" with Affordable Health Insurance?

2009-09-28T19:15:00.000-07:00

While there's still three months left to get a bill on President Obama's desk, the Pittsburgh Business Times is already predicting that Congress "blew it" in terms of creating an affordable health insurance plan for the public.

It's true that public opinion has drastically changed regarding health care legislation. And at the same time, the seemingly endless political infighting that has made the news since legislation came to light has lead many Americans to conclude that affordable health insurance won't be coming their way any time soon.

Many lobbyists for small businesses argue that Congress overreached itself, and didn't focus enough on insurance market reforms. Instead, all of the political and public focus went to the threat of a 'public plan' and how that might impact the market.

Still, there are those who hold out hope for a decent and affordable health insurance plan to appear on Obama's desk in time.

Since everyone - regardless of what side of the political spectrum they might find themselves on - agrees that our current system is unsustainable, it's likely that some type of change will happen soon.

Just what that means for individuals, employers, and the health insurance industry remains to be seen.

How to Lower Costs for Affordable Health Insurance

2009-09-21T20:08:00.000-07:00

Responding to critics who claimed that his health care bill would be too expensive for low and middle income families, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus said today that he would revise his health care reform bill designed to make affordable health insurance available to all Americans.

Factors to consider will be, according to Baucus, the expansion of subsidies to help purchase insurance, and a reduction in penalties for those who don't. Many of Baucus' critics felt that his affordable health insurance plan just didn't take into account how many American families are struggling to get by.

Meanwhile, a study released today at the Wall Street Journal finds that smoking bans in public places have saved Americans billions of dollars in treatments for conditions caused by second hand smoke.

Perhaps incentivizing good lifestyle decisions, like not smoking and staying within a healthy weight range, could be another way to lower costs, and keep people healthier in the long run.

And it would make affordable health insurance plans easier to find, and easier to keep, regardless of what type of income people rely on.

Small Business Health Insurance and the Flu

2009-09-14T19:03:00.000-07:00

The US News and World Report urged employers to "protect your workforce" with the upcoming Swine Flu season on its way.

But with small business health insurance premiums on the rise, it stands to reason that small business owners and employees could be facing a larger burden to maintain their health.

The swine flu seems to target children and young adults, though workers who have children might need to stay home to care for little ones. With fewer and fewer businesses able to afford small business health insurance for their employees, let alone family members, a dangerous or extended bout of illness could lead to medical bankruptcy.

The best ways to protect your business - and your workers - from the swine flu is to encourage vaccination, improve hygiene and access to hand washing, and keep sick employees at home. Those employers who can afford to offer small business health insurance should encourage employees to know what is and isn't covered by their plan, in case someone needs to be hospitalized.

Are Individual Health Insurance Mandates Back on the Table?

2009-09-08T19:48:00.000-07:00

While President Obama's campaign was marked by his opposition to individual health insurance mandates, he might be forced to change his mind.

According to USA Today, the violent opposition faced by current health care legislation - and in particular to the notion of a government-run medical coverage plan - has put President Obama in a sticky situation. Bipartisan agreements don't appear to be on the horizon.

As a result, a new proposal being by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) involves a fine for Americans who do not buy Individual health insurance. The notion is that when everyone is forced to buy medical coverage, the risk for insurance companies is spread out: the healthy pay for some of the treatments of the unhealthy, and the result is lower prices for everyone.

But when only unhealthy people seek to purchase insurance, costs skyrocket. This is a problem since so many young and healthy people don't see the need to purchase individual health insurance.

Of course, figuring out how people will be able to afford purchasing coverage is another issue entirely, and will probably result in even more bickering in Washington.

Health Insurance Companies Speak Out at Town Hall Meetings

2009-08-24T19:35:00.000-07:00

Health insurance companies aren't all that popular these days. Even with all the bickering and sniping between Democrats and Republicans regarding health care, no one will disagree with the notion that today's medical coverage situation is a bad one.

And almost all agree it's the fault of the health insurance companies.

Which is why, according to the Wall Street Journal, many of them are sending brave employees to the now infamous Town Hall Meetings to speak out about what health insurance companies are offering the Senate.

This includes lower profit margins for insurers, and a promise to accept all who apply for insurance, regardless of any pre-existing conditions.

Still, it's remarkable how unclear many of these companies can be.

What would be the cost of these plans? And, what would be covered? What wouldn't? How about premiums, deductibles, out of pocket expenses?

The truth is that most Americans are so fed up with health insurance companies that they don't care what the industry has to offer.

Which is why insurers are more than a little concerned these days, inside those Town Hall Meetings and out.

Health Co Ops Could Offer Low Cost Group Health Insurance

2009-08-18T19:57:00.000-07:00

Facing opposition to the government-run health insurance plan originally proposed in President Obama's health care legislation, health co-ops have been suggested as a means of providing affordable group health insurance to many Americans.

So what is a co-op? How does it work?

A health cooperative is a form of group health insurance, in which members get together to purchase their coverage, select doctors and hospitals, or even own part of the business itself. Co-ops are supposed to be non-profit and geared towards consumer needs, which would theoretically make them less susceptable to the kinds of pro-business, anti-consumer behaviors current health insurance companies are famous for.

But not everyone thinks that health cooperatives are the answer to the health care dilemma.

According to the Washington Post, "Cooperatives would face potentially greater difficulty getting off the ground and obtaining discounted rates from doctors and hospitals." And if not enough people enroll in a health co-op group health insurance plan, they wouldn't have the power to negotiate favorable rates with health-care providers.

Many opponents fear that the result would be federal funding, leading the argument back towards the dreaded government-run and funded health care issue.

But if government regulation could make health co-ops a viable solution, they could provide the competition needed to keep health insurance rates down.

For those consumers looking to compare health insurance plans, they would then have a new option that wouldn't be based on pre-existing conditions or individual rates.

President's Individual Health Insurance Plan Goes Online

2009-08-10T21:01:00.000-07:00

In response to the surprisingly aggressive attacks on his individual health insurance plan, President Obama's health care has hit the Internet with the launching of a health insurance website designed to address the fears of the nation.

Concerns (and even myths) addressed include the notion that Medicare will be reduced, that those who enjoy their insurance will lose it, and that a government run individual health insurance plan would mean poor quality care.

House Democrats seemed unprepared for Republican attacks, and have scrambled to recover. Obama himself, though unfailing optimistic, has ordered his message to come across more clearly, and sought to address concerns at recent Town Hall Meetings.

He insists that a government run option will cover those who don't have coverage now, and allow for greater competition when Americans are able to compare health insurance plans and choose a more affordable health insurance option.

Individual Health Insurance Waits Until September

2009-08-03T19:07:00.000-07:00

It appears that individual health insurance reform will be waiting until September 15th, instead of passing through the Senate in August, as had originally been planned.

Which is, according to U.S.News and World Report, a good thing. After all, major individual health insurance reform on a nation-wide scale deserves more than 2 days of reading. And, with the latest bill totaling more than 1,000 pages long, most senators wouldn't be able to read it by the previous deadline anyway.

Perhaps they're all remembering what happened with the Patriot Act, another lengthy bill passed in record time, that later came back to haunt those who agreed to it without knowing what they were really agreeing to.

Regardless, house Democrats are already suggesting that if Republicans can't finish the bill by the new deadline, they'll find a way to pass it without bipartisan support.

But with so many differing opinions on both sides of the aisle, what type of individual health insurance plan we really end up with remains to be seen. Still, it's good to see some kind of change on the horizon, and hopefully there will be some kind of financial and medical relief coming for those millions of uninsured Americans now waiting to see what happens on September 15th.

Will the cost of Obesity Prevent Access to Affordable Health Insurance?

2009-07-28T09:38:00.000-07:00

Obesity is in the news again, as the LA Times reports that in the eight years leading up to 2006, the number of Americans categorized as obese shot up a whopping 37%, causing a $40-billion-a-year rise in health care costs.

Could it be true what health insurance companies have been saying all along? That the lack of affordable health insurance today is due to a rise in health care costs, not due to a blatant manipulation of profits by the companies themselves?

After all, the disturbing truth is that the most fatal, and most costly, of preventable diseases are all linked to obesity, including heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes. With insurance companies expected to absorb these costs, their claim that affordable health insurance just isn't possible anymore takes on more meaning.

Then again, the boost in health insurance companies' profits over the last 10 years is pretty good evidence that it's not all our fault in every way.

Such evidence citing obesity as both costly and dangerous is why President Obama wants to focus on preventative care in order to make affordable health insurance finally affordable. Unfortunately, you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink. And along the same lines, you can show someone how to take better care of themselves, but you can't make them do it.

Opponents to the "preventative care" notion argue that those who don't take good care of themselves should pay more for coverage than those who do. However, opening up this argument to claims of discrimination is a whole different can of worms.

Insurers Ready to Fight Against a Government Run Individual Health Insurance Plan

2009-07-21T20:55:00.000-07:00

The prospect of a government-run individual health insurance plan seems to be making health insurance companies very uncomfortable, particularly when it may disrupt what appears to be a near monopoly on the market.

At Businessweek, a report released by the American Medical Association claims to have found that "out of 314 metropolitan areas across the nation, 94% can be defined as highly concentrated, with two companies or even a single provider dominating the market. In 15 states, one insurer has half or more of the entire market, and in seven states, a single insurer has 75% or more."

In other words, for those searching for a good individual health insurance plan, there aren't a whole lot of options, and that lack of options might explain why health insurance premiums have gone up 9% annually over the last 7 years, while health care spending has only gone up 6.7%.

This kind of data is popular with Democrats, and President Barack Obama, who use it as evidence to support the notion of a government-run health insurance plan. Such a plan would offer basic care at a fraction of the cost.

However, opponents argue that the plan would drive the individual health insurance market under, and leave Americans to deal with a federal health insurance giant like Medicare, complete with the many flaws and substandard coverage that Medicare is reported to provide.

No one has mentioned quality of coverage either, leaving consumers to wonder exactly what kind of care, and at what cost, would be available to them should the health care plan pass.

Of course, to the 47 million uninsured Americans out there right now, minimal coverage is still better than none.

Wal-Mart Comes Out in Support of Business Paying for Group Health Insurance

2009-07-13T11:39:00.000-07:00

The role of big business in current health care debates has just gotten a bit murkier, as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. supports proposals that would legally require companies to provide group health insurance for employees.

According to Chron.com, the National Retail Federation and the Chamber of Commerce lead opposition to the congressional health care proposals that include a group health insurance mandate for employees.

Wal-Mart isn't a member of either group, and a spokesman for the company states that 94 percent of its 1.4 million U.S. workers have coverage through the company, and that they need to focus on "containing costs."

Of course, both the opposition, as well as The United Food and Commercial Worker's Union, wonder how Wal-Mart's support of group health insurance mandates will contain those costs.

It will be interesting to see in coming months how these arguments play out as health care legislation slowly makes it way through congress, towards the desk of the President.

Small Business Health Insurance Supposedly Exempt from "Pay or Play" Option

2009-07-06T20:50:00.001-07:00

Small business health insurance buyers can hopefully breathe a sigh of relief, since it appears that they won't be affected by the struggle over employer based coverage currently debated by Congress.

CNN Money is right - the question of whether or not a government run health care system would "upend" the employer insurance that currently covers 160 million Americans is one of the touchiest issues involved in the current drive to overhaul health care. It would be too easy for many employers to simply drop coverage, and allow employees to enroll in a government plan, funded by taxpayer dollars.

The answer to that concern is the "pay or play" clause that has been suggested. "The Health Committee bill includes a "pay or play" provision that would require employers to provide adequate coverage for their workers or subsidize a system that will."

Small business health insurance plans would be particularly vulnerable to fines imposed for not offering enough coverage. Often caught between providing for employees and making ends meet, many small business owners are simply unable to pay for higher premiums, and owners have been nervously awaiting the outcome of current health care debates.

But, according to the article, businesses of 25 employees or less would be exempted from the "pay or play" rule, protecting them from high fines and/or high premiums that could drive their businesses under.

Now, if small business health insurance could be purchased at a more affordable price, and still offer enough coverage to protect employees, that would be even better. But until then, keeping small businesses out of the "pay or play" debate is the only way to keep such employers from folding under.

Public Health Insurance Plan Option Wobbles

2009-07-02T15:18:00.000-07:00

Perhaps the most contentious piece of potential health care legislation facing Congress today - namely the public health insurance plan option - seems to be suffering from a lack of concrete supporters.

According to a recent article by The Wall Street Journal, the public health insurance plan "may be losing momentum in Congress," forcing supporters to fight for it.

The issue is whether or not such an option would drive the private health insurance plan off the market. Opponents argue that with so many perks coming at a better price, no one will want to purchase individual health insurance themselves.

Supporters argue that this would force the private market to offer better coverage at more affordable prices.

Potential solutions include "a network of regional health co-operatives, and a public plan with a "trigger" that would kick in if private insurers fail to cover certain groups."

In other words, only those who are denied coverage for pre-existing conditions could qualify for a "trigger" plan, since a private company isn't likely to take them on.

This, unfortunately, does little to mediate the issue of cost. For those who can't afford coverage there must be an option.

And, as 47 million Americans can attest, there are a lot of people who can't afford a decent health insurance plan right now.

Key Issues Keep Affordable Health Insurance Bill at Bay

2009-06-30T15:17:00.000-07:00

As Congress prepares to return from it's July Fourth recess, four divisive issues still appear to be hampering attempts to make affordable health insurance available to all Americans.

Neatly summed up by the Associated Press, these include the staggering cost, creating a government run plan, taxing workers' benefits, and penalizing employers that don't offer coverage to workers.

It's proving to be a nasty and complicated process to revamp health care, and provide affordable health insurance to the 47 million uninsured Americans out there right now.

The issue of cost is an easy one to understand: ranging from 1 to 2 trillion dollars, it's ironic that providing an affordable health insurance option won't come cheap. And, as the country struggles to free itself from a terrible economic situation, racking up new costs doesn't seem quite smart.

However, there's also the issue of billions of dollars lost for covering the uninsured and for dealing with inadequate medical record-keeping, which could save us money if we could minimize their costs.

Taxing worker's benefits and penalizing employers who don't offer coverage is a big issue with labor unions, who suggest that this will squash economic growth. These options aren't very popular, but affordable health insurance won't be affordable unless someone pays for it, and health care costs are going nowhere but up.

And the most contentious of all is the potential to create a government-run health insurance plan. Republicans argue that by providing such an option, the private insurance market will be driven into the ground.

In contrast, Democrats argue that the private insurance market, not known for its "customer friendly" policies these days, needs the competition in order to force them to lower costs and revamp the policies that could make their product more appealing to the public.

Health Insurance Companies Duck and Cover

2009-06-25T14:53:00.000-07:00

Major American health insurance companies are sweating bullets these days. With a potential public option for health care on the table from President Obama, the big agencies that provide coverage would have serious competition should his plan be signed into law.

Which is exactly why the President wants to provide such a plan. But now it's getting even worse. According to The Washington Post, a recent report released by the staff of Senate Commerce Committee finds that health insurance companies have "forced consumers to pay billions of dollars in medical bills that the insurers themselves should have paid."

How so? Mostly it involves those consumers who pay extra for the luxury of going outside their network for doctors and treatments. Insurance companies usually pay a percentage for what they call "usual and customary" rates for services.

And of course, they get to decide what is "usual and customary," which tends to be quite a bit lower than it should be when major health insurance companies are footing the bill.

This is just one more reason why consumers have to pay close attention to every detail when it comes to their health and health insurance coverage.

Whether or not a public plan will be devised by the end of the year remains to be seen, but let's hope that if it does, it won't involve lengthy and complicated application forms, or long-winded agreements that can leave consumers in the dark and out of luck.