Health care reform has been one of the biggest hot-button topic for quite some time and it looks to only get hotter as both sides make their arguments on the White House’s plan for national health care. Leaving the pros and cons of the plan to the side for the moment, we just want to know how our readers are fixed for health insurance. [More]
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1 Out Of 5 Medical Claims Processed Incorrectly, Says AMA
By 6.14.10
Maybe you’re reading this on your iPhone while sitting in your doctor’s waiting room. If so, look around you. Because one out of the five of you in the room will have your claim processed incorrectly by your insurance company. [More]
Medicare Donut Hole Checks Being Sent Out This Week
By 6.8.10
Hey people with Medicare, you’re about to become a little more attractive to scammers. That’s because this week the government will start sending out its one-time tax free rebate checks to those of you who have already hit the donut hole gap in your Medicare coverage. The main thing to know, advises Medicare, is that you don’t need to provide any information to anyone to get the rebate–it’s automatic. [More]
Report: Growing Number Of Doctors Adding A La Carte Fees
By 6.7.10
Lest you think nickle-and-dime fees for services that were once free is the sole purview of the airline industry, a new report in USA Today claims that the more and more physicians in the U.S. are going the route of charging money for services they say aren’t covered by health insurance. [More]
Save On Drugs By Making Your Pharmacy Price-Match
By 6.2.10
What made Jules sicker than her strep throat was the price Kroger wanted to charge her for a 6-pack of generic Azithromycin. $38.72! “That’s highway robbery!” she told the them. Then Jules stumbled onto something most people don’t know that could save them serious money on prescription medication: you can price-match your pills. [More]
Use Doctor Finder To Prescreen Your Doctor
By 5.11.10
If you’re like most people, you pick a new doctor by going through an approved list provided by your insurer and selecting someone nearby. Doctor Finder from insiderpages.com hopes to make the process less random by providing reviews for doctors and dentists. You can search by zip code, then narrow down results by your insurer, distance, gender, specialty, language, and experience. [More]
Things You Don't Need To Buy For A New Baby
By 5.5.10
Cameron Huddleston, an editor at Kiplinger and a mom, has some advice on how to make the most of your new baby budget. The money you save on things like play mats, changing tables, and fancy first-year clothes can be used to pay for less pleasant but more important safety-net things, like life and disability insurance, health insurance, and a will. [More]
Watch Out For Balance Billing With Your Medical Expenses
By 5.4.10
If you receive a medical bill dunning you for whatever your insurer didn’t pay, take a closer look before writing your check. The New York Times writes that although balance billing is a common practice, it’s not always legal, and you may be able to ignore it. [More]
Woman Allegedly Fired For Carrying Breast Cancer Gene
By 5.4.10
A Connecticut woman is suing her ex-employer for firing her because she was genetically at a higher risk for developing breast cancer, according to her lawsuit. [More]
Email To Wellpoint CEO Gets Account Issue Fixed
By 5.3.10
I don’t know what health insurer Wellpoint’s problem is but it seems, judging from the stories our readers keep sending in, that lately you have to email the CEO to get simple account problems fixed. What’s going on in your call centers, Wellpoint? Maybe all the workers have rebelled and decided the best way to promote health care reform is to get all your customers to hate you. Zach was able to get his deductible rolled over, but only after he emailed the very top of the Wellpoint power pyramid, Angela Braly. Here’s his story: [More]
Should I Buy Property Insurance For My College-Bound Boy?
By 4.27.10
Caring mother Amy wants to know how much is too much to pay for property insurance for her college-bound kid when he goes off to school. [More]
Insurance Company For Web Cam Snooping School District Freaking Out
By 4.23.10
The school district outside Philly that has come under fire for installing and using remote webcam software to secretly take 56,000 photos and screenshots of students and others is now in trouble with their insurance company, says the Philadelphia Inquirer. [More]
Travel Insurance Won't Cover Newly Insured Trips Foiled By Icelandic Volcano Ash
By 4.20.10
That wacky Icelandic volcano ash is not only mucking up Europes skies and screwed up travel plans worldwide, it’s also clouding the morals of travel insurance policy issuers, which are refusing to cover new claims brought on by the disaster, the Wall Street Journal reports. [More]
Keep Your Hands On Your Urine If You Go To LabCorp
By 3.29.10
Mike was sent to LabCorp for some routine medical tests last week, and what he found was an understaffed, overcrowded dump where patients were arguing that their urine samples were missing, or in one instance stolen while the patient watched. This could just be one badly managed lab, but the Internet is swimming in LabCorp complaints around the country that all repeat the same problems. [More]
EECB Gets United Healthcare To Cough Up $1,100
By 3.29.10
Reader Monica used a trick she learned on Consumerist and got her health insurance company to pay her more than 11 big fat Benjamins. [More]
Insurance Covers Meds If Your Kid Is Clumsy, But If He's Autistic, He Owes $24,000
By 3.24.10
Nine-year old Nico owes $24,000. If he was just clumsy, he wouldn’t, but because he’s autistic, he’s got to cough it up, according to the insurance company—and the collections agency that keeps calling him every day. [More]
How To Find Affordable Therapy
By 3.24.10
I know of two great ways to deal with issues in one’s life: drinking heavily, or seeing a therapist. I’ve tried both, and I have to say that the therapy route is more efficient, because if done correctly it can help you figure out why you do what you do, so that you can properly enjoy your liquor without all the tears.
The problem is that therapy sounds expensive, but there are actually affordable options out there if you know where to look. Here are some tips.
Grok Health Care Reform With This Comic
By 3.23.10
This graphic by Heather at Image Think does a pretty good job of explaining the major features and changes of the health care bill that Obama is set to sign on Tuesday.
For Consumers, Clarity on Health Care Changes [Image Think via Jodi Beggs]
