Yesterday healthcare.gov launched which, among many other resources, contains links to where you can apply for the new state high-risk pools which are for uninsured folk with pre-existing conditions. [More]
medicare
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]
Hustlin' Healthcare: The Board Game!
By 5.12.10
HUSTLIN’ HEALTHCARE is a fun new boardgame that brings the thrill of being a large insurance company into your home! Deny claims, jack up your premiums, and undercut the competition. But be careful, if too many of your patients die, then you can’t collect their payments and you’ll go out of business. The game is a thesis project by Clay Ewing. It uses real Medicare claims data to form the prices. [More]
Obama Says Hospitals Must Allow Visitation Rights
By 4.16.10
President Obama issued a memo last night instructing HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to write rules that will allow patients to designate visitors at facilities that accept Medicare and Medicaid. This move would benefit same-sex couples, unmarried heterosexual couples, widowed adults, members of religious orders and others who want to have someone other than an immediate family member as a visitor or decision maker for medical care, notes the WSJ Health Blog. [More]
This Is How You Debate Health Care Reform, Brooklyn Style!
By 3.21.10
“The Republican Party is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the insurance industry.” So said Rep. Anthony Weiner of Brooklyn last month in front of Congress. As we move towards a historic vote on health care reform, let’s take a moment to throw some gas on the fire and revisit some of the awesomely incendiary rhetoric of this statesman on revamping our health care system. Now this a healthy health care debate! [More]
Humana Won't Let You Cancel Your Insurance Because Your Signature Doesn't Match Your Signature
By 3.15.10
I got cocky. I thought after several emails with a Humana communications person and a story on Consumerist, the insurance company would surely relent and let Dean’s father, Thomas, cancel his unnecessary supplemental Medicare insurance. Nope. After all our efforts, Humana called Thomas only to tell him, once again, that they won’t let him cancel. This time, because they say the signature on his request form doesn’t match the signature on his policy. Which is odd, because Thomas is the one who signed both. [More]
Obama Mulls Over Republican Tweaks To Health Care Plan
By 3.2.10
A week after unveiling the White House version of the proposed National Health Care Plan, President Obama says he’s opened his ears up to a handful of suggestions from the Republicans. [More]
Obama Wants To Expand Coverage To 31 Million Uninsured People In Health Care Plan
By 2.22.10
Using the Health Care bill signed by the Senate on Dec. 24 as a jumping-off point, President Obama unleashed his version of the plan this morning on the White House website. [More]
Insurance Company Mails Out Postcards With SSNs
By 11.20.09
It’s always nice when an insurance company mails your Social Security Number out on bare naked postcards for anyone to ogle, right?
How Would Health Care Reform Affect You?
By 9.25.09
Consumers Union has put together a breakdown of the health care bills in Congress to let you see how they would affect you, based on your age and what kind of insurance you currently have (if any). It’s an interesting tool to see what the various proposed changes are.
Note To Seniors: Proposed Medicare Reform Does Not Include Plans To Kill You
By 8.5.09
Yesterday, Consumer Reports noted that an anti-health reform politician is trying to convince senior citizens that they’ll be required to take lessons in euthanasia if any reform is passed. Regardless of what side you come down on with health care reform, this is flat out wrong. We care about this lie, which is still bouncing around the media, because it might interfere with the very real and useful tasks of setting up living wills and determining health care proxies—things that matter to both the elderly and the terminally ill.
Social Security And Medicare Will Be Insolvent Even Sooner Than Predicted
By 5.12.09
If you plan on retiring after 2037, you’d better get really serious about saving now. It might not hurt to also take a vow of poverty; that way you’ll feel like it’s your decision to live off of cardboard and dumpster fruit in your sixties.
Medicare Costs Going Up In 2009, So Be Ready To Compare Plans
By 9.27.08
If there’s one group of Americans who don’t carry their weight and need to pay more money to the healthcare industry, it’s those layabout senior citizens! That’s why their Medicare drug premiums are increasing by an average of 31% for the 10 most popular plans beginning in 2009. If you were with Humana, formerly the cheapest Medicare drug plan you could get (its premium was $9.51 in 2006), you can expect to pay $40.83 per month in 2009, an increase of 60% over this year’s rate. As you would expect, Humana is no longer the cheapest option—so it may be time to shop around for a new plan.
Los Angeles Hospitals Accused Of Using Homeless 'Patients' In Insurance Fraud Scams
By 8.7.08
Hospitals in Los Angeles and Orange counties submitted phony Medicare and Medi-Cal bills for hundreds, perhaps thousands, of homeless patients—including drug addicts and the mentally ill—recruited from downtown’s Skid Row, state and federal authorities allege.
Watch Out For Medicare Scams
By 2.25.08
The March issue of Kiplinger’s features an article that will help you spot a medicare health scam before you (or your family) get taken for a ride. Watch out for sneaky insurance agents who ask for personal information or say they are from medicare and can reduce your premium:
By 2.18.08
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If you don’t have private insurance, you’re more likely to get a cancer diagnois after the disease is in its later stages, a new study shows. [NYT]
Humana Delays 93 Year Old's Medicine For 3 Weeks
By 2.11.08
John writes:
Had a problem with my Mom’s Medicare Part D Prescription Drug plan with Humana. Their mail order pharmacy (RightSource) advertises a two-week turnaround from date of sending-in an order to receipt of medications. However after three weeks, RightSource had not acknowledged receipt of the order. A RightSource phone rep said the logging-in of orders was being delayed by two to three weeks due to heavy volume. This delay — in the case of meds for a 93 year-old lady — was unacceptable.
