Between 2008 and 2010, the number of insured employees with annual deductibles of at least $2,000 doubled, now representing about 10% of all covered workers. As a result, it looks like more people are postponing or not seeking medical care. But that hasn’t stopped the health insurance companies from continuing to ask for rate hikes. [More]
health care
Report: Families Paying More For Health Care While Employer Contributions Fall
By 5.12.11
A new study looking at the cost of health care for American families has found that people are not only paying more for their medical needs but that employers are contributing less money to employees’ coverage plans. [More]
Supreme Court Won't Hear Health Care Law Arguments Until Lower Courts Have Had Their Chance
By 4.25.11
Earlier this year, those fighting the Constitutionality of the national healthcare reform legislation asked for permission to skip the appeals process and bring their arguments straight to the Supreme Court. Earlier today, the Supremes denied that request. [More]
Vicodin: The Most Popular Prescription Pill In America's Medicine Cabinet
By 4.20.11
With the White House and the FDA dreaming up ways to curb the pain-pill problem in the U.S., we got to wondering just what are the most popular (legal) drugs in the country? Thankfully, the folks at Time.com were thinking about the same thing, because they put together a handy/dandy list of the 10 most-prescribed meds, none of which is Viagra. [More]
Program Lets Artists Trade Performances For Health Care
By 4.18.11
The career path of “struggling artist” doesn’t normally come with benefits, but a New York nonprofit is out to give performers a means to use their talents to barter for discounts on medical procedures. [More]
Allegra Is Now Non-Prescription, So It Costs Me More. Sigh.
By 3.23.11
Good news if you prefer the allergy medication Allegra: it’s now available over-the-counter. Bad news, if you’re reader Cynthia: it’ll cost more for you out of pocket, and you can’t get it from the Kaiser mail-order pharmacy anymore. [More]
Ask An Insurance Expert About Health Care Reform
By 3.23.11
The Affordable Care Act celebrates its first birthday today, but the future of the legislation remains in limbo and many Americans still have questions about the costs and benefits of the law. Luckily, our sister publication Consumer Reports Health has a resident insurance expert, Nancy Metcalf, who is willing to answer those questions. [More]
Worst Company In America Round One: UnitedHealth Vs. WellPoint
By 3.22.11
Let’s hope no one gets hurt during this shootout between two health care hellions, because there’s a good chance they’ll deny themselves coverage. [More]
If At First Your Health Insurer Denies Your Claim, Try Try Again
By 3.21.11
Among the items on recent list of things your health insurer won’t tell you was the fact that you shouldn’t give up if your insurance claim is initially denied. Now a new report from the Government Accountability Office says that upward of 50% of appealed claims ultimately get paid. [More]
Things Your Health Insurer Isn't Telling You
By 3.7.11
Health insurance is often complicated, with a seemingly endless variety of plans to choose from, all with their own particular loopholes and problems. Over at SmartMoney.com, they have put together a round-up of things your insurance company may not be telling you. [More]
Illinois Blue Cross To Pay $25 Million After Denying Coverage To Sick Kids In Need Of Nursing Care
By 2.24.11
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois, the largest health insurer in the Land of Lincoln, has agreed to pay $25 million to settle allegations that it denied coverage to sick kids who needed nursing care. [More]
New Blue Cross Blue Shield Plan Steers Patients To Cheaper Hospitals
By 2.10.11
If you live in Massachusetts and have Blue Cross Blue Shield health coverage, you may end up paying more if you want to go to certain hospitals. [More]
Virginia AG Asks Supreme Court To Hear Health Care Case Now
By 2.3.11
Rather than wait for his case against the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to run the appellate court gauntlet, the attorney general for the commonwealth of Virginia has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear arguments about the legislation now. [More]
Cancer Patient Loses Health Insurance Over $.02 Error
By 1.27.11
The wife of a Vietnam War vet with multiple myeloma accidentally typed a “7” instead a “9” when she made a payment to Ceridian, the company that administers his COBRA benefits, meaning the $328.69 payment was short by two cents. And as the couple learned, being .006% in arrears is enough to have one’s health coverage canceled. [More]
Only 56% Of Dialysis Technicians Pass New Skills Test
By 1.26.11
Almost half of the dialysis technicians in California are failing a new Federally-mandated skills test, throwing the industry’s tarnished reputation under the magnifying glass once again. [More]
Did Banfield Mislead Dog Owner Into Expensive Pet Care Contract?
By 12.30.10
Beware any service that’s sold to you with the promise that you can “cancel at any time.” Brian claims that he was misled into buying a $29/month “wellness plan” for his dog. He was told that he could cancel the plan after the first year with no early termination fee. That’s apparently not what the actual contract says, and now he’s stuck paying either a fee, or for another year of the plan. [More]
Why Does US Have Worst Fatality Rate From Kidney Dialysis?
By 11.9.10
Just about anyone diagnosed with kidney failure can get their kidney dialysis fully covered under Medicare. So why are taxpayers paying $20 billion a year for a program that lets 25% of the patients die within a year, the worst fatality rate of the first world? Why do only two chains run 2/3 of all clinics? And why won’t the government release important data that could improve the quality of care? An investigation in The Atlantic probes this issue in depth. [More]
Will McDonald's Drop Health Care?
By 10.1.10
McDonald’s is or was at least kicking around the idea of dropping health care for 30,000 workers, in what seems to be a nose-thumbing reaction to government health care reform. [More]
