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Your Prescription History May Keep You From Getting Health Insurance

Databases with the prescription drug histories of 200 million Americans are now being used by many health insurance companies to evaluate applications for individual health insurance. The data work like a credit report for health. The data originate with pharmacy benefit managers and contain details like the prescribing doctor, dates, drugs, dosages, etc.. The benefit companies then give their client insurance companies access for a fee. Insurance companies can better evaluate the expected risk for a particular applicant so this... read more

Posted by Phil Daigle on August 5, 2008 3:04 PM
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Necessary Medical Care Increasingly Ignored

One in every 5 Americans put off or avoided necessary medical care in 2007. That’s a 43% increase in this behavior over the past four years. Obviously, the higher cost of medical care was a big factor. So was the increased cost of health insurance, leading to more uninsured residents – 38% of uninsured residents ignored necessary medical care. The report is available online.... read more

Posted by Phil Daigle on June 30, 2008 2:54 PM
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People Are Sicker Without Health Insurance

A Harvard Medical School study (published recently in JAMA) found that older individuals got sicker than insured people in a comparable age group. Additionally, the differences in health were quickly reduced when the uninsured individuals became eligible for Medicare at age 65. The study also found that previously insured participants experienced no significant change in their health as they transitioned to Medicare, while participants who previously had little or no prior coverage experienced a significant slowing of the decline of... read more

Posted by Phil Daigle on January 4, 2008 1:07 PM
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Give The California Health Plan a Chance

The status quo of American health care is unacceptable. What makes it a political nightmare to fix is that what one side really wants is a single payor government system like Medicare and what the other side really wants is to minimize government involvement and let a free market bring about changes naturally. How's that working for us so far? Pragmatists, including most presidential candidates, occupy the middle ground seeking workable solutions at the risk of loosing their political constituancies.... read more

Posted by Phil Daigle on December 19, 2007 1:43 PM
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Walgreens Drops Some CVS Caremark Prescription Drug Plans

Walgreens is no longer going to fill prescriptions for these four CVS Caremark plans: ArcelorMittal, Johnson Controls, Progressive Casualty Insurance, and the Wisconsin Education Association Trust managed plans. These plans are available in Ohio, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan. Wallgreens says they can't make money on these four plans, saying "The reimbursement rates are unreasonably low and below-market". Wallgreens is trying to preserve profits while CVS Caremark is trying to lower the cost of health care for its members. In... read more

Posted by Phil Daigle on December 4, 2007 2:42 PM
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Hospital Bill Padding Bankrupting the Uninsured?

Hospitals routinely pad their bills. For that matter, so do other health care providers. If you have health insurance and you've been hospitalized or had an outpatient procedure recently, you've probably been astounded at the difference between what the health care provider charged versus what the insurance company or Medicare paid them. Hospitals and providers claim that bill padding is their defense against the aggressive fee cutting efforts of insurers and government programs. But the end result is that the... read more

Posted by Phil Daigle on November 30, 2007 2:45 PM
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Wal-Mart Improves Health Benefits for Employees

Wal-Mart continues to improve health insurance coverage for employees. The company has enrolled an additional 100,000 workers in health plans. For the last few years, Wal-Mart has been heavily criticized for not offering affordable health insurance to employees. While they still provide health insurance to less than half of their employees, they have been improving rapidly. During 2008, Wal-Mart is offering employees a selection of health plans as well as 2,400 generic medications for $4. Enrolled employees can call a... read more

Posted by Phil Daigle on November 15, 2007 2:26 PM
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Ford & UAW Reach Deal on Retiree Health

United Auto Workers- UAW - reached a tentative agreement with Ford Motor Company for a four-year contract similar to General Motors and Chrysler. Central to the deal is the creation of a voluntary employees' beneficiary association - VEBA. Ford will transfer billions of dollars in retiree health care liabilities to a trust controlled by the UAW. The VEBA is expected to become operational in 2010. Until then, Ford will continue to fund its retiree health care. The UAW will also... read more

Posted by Phil Daigle on November 6, 2007 3:01 PM
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MEGA Life Sued Again

MEGA Life and Health Insurance, Mid-West National Life Insurance, and their parent company HealthMarkets, Inc are being sued by Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley for routinely misleading people about what their health insurance policies cover. These are serious new allegations of misrepresentation and unfair and deceptive practices. The complaint also charges MEGA Life with disclosing the personal information of applicants and policyholders to various third parties. The suit seeks to require MEGA LIFE and Mid-West to pay refunds and make... read more

Posted by Phil Daigle on August 27, 2007 2:11 PM
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Most People Satisfied with their Health Insurance Plans

The Consumer Reports September 2007 issue, contains the results of a survey of over 37,000 people with health insurance. Between May 2005 and April 2006, the subjects reported their satisfaction on issues like choice of and access to doctors, quality of care, billing and administration, and claims processing.Two thirds of those surveyed were either "very satisfied" or "fairly satisfied".... read more

Posted by Phil Daigle on August 13, 2007 12:05 PM
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