Uninsured With A Pre-Existing Condition?

If you have a pre-existing condition, or know someone who has a pre-existing condition and have ever struggled to find quality health insurance it's important you read this article on the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan (PCIP). The Affordable Care Act included this unique program to bridge the gap until 2014 when health insurance companies will no longer be allowed to deny an individual health insurance due to a pre-existing condition such as asthma, diabetes, or heart disease.

Anyone who has had trouble getting insured understands how frustrating it can be to be turned down again and again because of a pre-existing condition. The PCIP ensures these individuals are treated fairly and have access to quality health insurance just like everyone else. It only makes sense that the people who need our health care system the most should have quality coverage to ensure their needs are met.

Health Insurance For Those With Pre-Existing Conditions

For years, millions of Americans have struggled to obtain quality health insurance because of a pre-existing condition such as cancer, heart disease, and even asthma. Congress recognized this as an issue and has incorporated law into the Affordable Care Act that says health insurers cannot deny someone coverage because of a pre-existing condition. While this is a great policy, it does not take effect until 2014. The Government wanted these affected individuals to feel relief immediately so they implemented the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan (PCIP) to bridge the gap until 2014.

The PCIP is targeting the specific group of people who cannot find health insurance and are continuously denied a policy due to their pre-existing condition. It even helps those who may have found coverage, but at very high rates, causing financial strain. The Federal Department of Health and Human Services says that a recent survey shows that around 36% of Americans with pre-existing conditions struggle to find the health insurance policy that suits their circumstances and meets their needs. The PCIP aims to help these individuals get a fair price on a quality health insurance policy and strives to make their lives a little easier through the complicated world of health care.

Individual Health Insurance Mandate: Is It the Right Thing?

Health care reform continues to be debated throughout the nation. One of the more controversial topics is the individual health insurance mandate that is leaving many Americans feeling pressured and strapped. There are arguments on both sides of the fence, but the bottom line is that the mandate is most likely happening within the next year or so. There will be exceptions made for certain groups and individuals, but overall everyone will be required to have health insurance protection or they may face a fine.

Some experts are worried people will not be able to afford the rising premiums of health insurance, but others say the Affordable Care Act will actually help bring down the cost of health insurance. If more people carry coverage, then the market may become more competitive and we may see prices go down. Not only could health insurance be more affordable, but there may be more variety and consumers may have an easier time finding a policy that fits their needs.

Another perk that is expected through health care reform, is that more people will carry health insurance, therefore more people will seek preventative care through their doctor. This could greatly reduce the amount of preventable diseases out there and improve the doctor-patient relationship significantly. Research also shows that people who visit the doctor regularly have longer life expectancies than those who do not. This is a tough topic and the debate is not likely to go away anytime soon, if ever. We'll just need to sit back and see what actually happens as Americans are forced to find health insurance coverage for them and their families.

Employer-Based Health Insurance Threatened

Employer-based health insurance has been a very common way for American's to carry quality health insurance benefits. Not only is it cheaper, but benefits and co-payments are often negotiated so ensure employees are getting a great deal. Health care reform has pros and cons as many would agree, but one concern experts have is what is going to happen to employer-based health insurance over time?

The Obama administration estimates that over 14 million Americans could lose their health insurance coverage through their employers over the next eight years according to US Representative John Barrasso's article on JuneauEmpire.com. The article "Watch for Dramatic Declines in Employer-Provided Health Insurance" says a McKinsey & Company study found that approximately 30% of employers will stop offering health insurance to their employees by 2014. This could devastate millions of families as they struggle to find affordable individual health insurance.

Ideally, the cost of individual health insurance will be managed through other aspects of health care reform, but it's hard to tell at this point what effect will be made by all of these changes. The Obama administration has already handed out waivers to 3 million Americans allowing them to opt out of the health insurance mandate. Most people will still be required to carry coverage or they will face a fine. Hopefully the estimates of how many employers will drop coverage are off and more companies will choose to keep protection for their workers.

Health Insurance Needs to Cover More Dental

Health care and health insurance in America continues to be a hot topic throughout the nation. It's too expensive, not comprehensive enough, and there's a lot of inconsistency. Health care reform hopes to fix some of these issues, but it's going to be years before that is fully implemented and Americans start feeling the effects of the changes. One thing that needs to change sooner than later is access to quality dental care. The article found on the LA Times by Jenny Gold about improving dental care says that 4.6 million children did not visit the dentist in 2008 because their family could not afford the cost. And about 60% of retired people did not have dental coverage even if they had Medicare. These numbers are not acceptable, and hopefully through reform they will improve.

Until then, advocates of dental care are working to make quality services readily available to needy patients. The Institute of Medicine is offering up some new ideas to get the ball rolling and make dental coverage a reality for more Americans. One idea is to encourage more dental students from minority, low-income areas. They also suggest investigating the expansion of Medicaid to cover more adults rather than just children. And by increasing reimbursement rates for dentists, research shows more children will get teeth cleanings based on a report completed by Sandra Decker of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the Journal of the American Medical Association. These may seem like minor efforts, but this is what we need to move in the right direction and truly improve dental care in America. Health insurance is far from perfect and we should always be making strides to try and improve policies and procedures.

Individual Health Insurance: Health Insurance Exchanges

The Missouri House started to put through one of the challenging parts of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) by voting to begin setting up an exchange program that strives to make individual health insurance easier to access with cheaper rates. They also aim to make health insurance for small businesses more attainable as well.

The article “Missouri House Begins Work on Health Insurance Exchanges” by Robert Joiner from STLBeacon.org says that some groups are unhappy with the Show-Me Health Insurance Act but despite this, the bill received an unanimous vote in the Health Insurance Committee. The new bill would allow individuals to compare health insurance rates and benefits in hopes of getting cheaper and higher quality health insurance out there.

The Committee’s chairman, state Rep. Chris Molendorp stated that the legislation plans to create more affordable health insurance for as many as 1 million individuals in Missouri by 2014 once the system is fully in place. Legislators may be rushed to get this done and could end up missing the deadline if they don't stay focused.

The ACA requires that states set up the health insurance exchanges by January of 2013, so they may be cutting it close to achieve this. They not only have to pass the bill by then, but they are also expected to design, test, and implement a federally approved internet program which would educate Missouri residents on the benefits of these health insurance exchanges. Hopefully through this ongoing education, health care reform can achieve what it has set out to.

Health Insurance for All Incomes and Ages

Health care reform intends to ensure everyone has some form of affordable health insurance, but until then companies are stuggling to find a way to ensure everyone. Charter Oak Health Plan is a unique example of a health insurer working for the people.

One of the big debates going on in Washington currently is whether or not health insurance is believed to be a privilege or a right. It's definitely a necessity and Charter Oak recognizes this for the people of Connecticut. Many residents, including small businesses, people in between jobs, recent graduates, and early retirees felt affordable health insurance was unattainable. Charter Oak Health Plan is hoping to change that through offering health insurance to all incomes and ages.

Since 2008, Charter Oak has been working hard to serve the people of Connecticut. Those who struggle to find affordable health insurance, or any health coverage at all can turn to Charter Oak for help. They offer coverage to many adults struggling with financial hardships and cannot afford to pay for non-group premiums on their own. This is refreshing in an economic environment leaving many Americans feeling stressed and lacking proper health care coverage.

Individual Health Insurance for Genders

Health insurance companies have always used gender as a factor when determining rates for individual health insurance. This was justified by the statistical data gathered over years which showed women spent more on healthcare than men. California has recently passed a new state law which will forbid health insurance companies in the state from using gender as a factor for pricing according to the article "State Law Levels Premiums" on DailyBulletin.com.

This law may have a huge impact on the way health insurers are conducting business. Many experts believe that gender rating negatively affects women and causes them to pay more for health insurance over a lifetime. The new national health care reform bill passed in 2010 will also prohibit gender pricing, but this will not take effect until 2014, so California is ahead of the game and it's possible other states follow suit and implement this practice before it's law in 2014.

The new California law will affect over 1 million women in the state purchasing individual health insurance policies according to Beth McGovern who is the legislative director for the California Commission on the Status of Women. It is going to apply to new and existing policies. Although this is a fairer way of pricing, health insurance companies will have to reevaluate how to make up for the differences in health care costs between men and women.

Health Care Reform Facts

With election season here, health care reform has been a hot topic across the nation. There is so much information flying around that it's hard to decipher the facts from fiction. There seems to be three main myths out there scaring consumers. Let's put some of the myths to rest.

Health care reform is not designed to raise taxes or cause job losses. The law actually includes the largest middle class tax cut for health care ever in the United States. Most Americans do not want to pay any more taxes than we already do and the administration recognizes this.

Some experts worry that the health care bill will force Americans to purchase health insurance policies they cannot afford. Between tax breaks and hardship waivers the plan hopes everyone can have affordable health insurance policies.

Another major myth out there is that Medicare is going to be cut dramatically and hurt beneficiaries. The plan does not include any Medicare cuts to beneficiaries, but rather it adds benefits such as free preventative health care and annual wellness visits.

Understanding reform is the first step in getting Americans on board so that the plan can actually work. Politics aside, health care reform will be in full effect by 2014 so everyone needs to work together to get the best possible results.

Washington Basic

According to the press release found on BasicHealth.com, over 100,000 people are on a waiting list for the state of Washington's Basic Health program. This is causing low-income Washington residents to find affordable health insurance to cover their needs.

To address this urgent matter Washington state is offering the Washington Health Program which is a non-subsidized version of the Basic Health program. Both Washington Health Program and Basic Health are administered by the Washington State Health Care Authority. Washington Basic is looking out for their residents.

Washington governor Chris Gregoire knows that health care reform is coming their way and he believes it will provide millions of Americans to quality health care. Unfortunately, he recognizes that many Washington residents cannot wait until the implementation of reform in 2014. They need coverage immediately and that is why they are taking steps to make it more readily available.

Healthy Indiana Plan Affected By Health Care Reform

Many health insurance providers and special state programs will be affected by health care reform in some way. This includes two well known plans, Healthy Indiana Plan and Washington Basic. This does not need to be a cause for concern though. Health care reform is designed to help as many Americans as possible have affordable health insurance.

There are some important timelines that Americans should be aware of in regards to when health care reform will take place. Within one year the new bill will be offering a $250 rebate for Medicare prescription drug plans for those whose benefits have run out. 90 days after the bill goes into effect there will be immediate access to high risk pools for those previously declined for pre-existing conditions. After 6 months of enactment, insurance companies will not be allowed deny coverage for those who get sick and they cannot deny children with any pre-existing conditions. This is a huge change that many will benefit from.

By the year 2014 most employers will have to offer health insurance to their employees. People who do not carry health insurance will face certain penalties. And by 2018, a 40% tax will be placed on high end health insurance policies. It won't be until 2019 that health insurance is extended to the promised 32 million people.

Health Insurance Reform - What Do Doctors Think

Lindsey Tanner wrote an article entitled “Doctors signal they’ll work with Obama” published in the Associated Press discussing Obama's meeting with the American Medical Association (AMA).

The AMA is a group of doctors representing the nation. Traditionally, the AMA is conservative and have fought previous administrations' health care reform attempts. There was speculation that they were going to create an obstacle for Obama and his health insurance plan. But after Obama spoke to the doctors at their annual meeting in Chicago, the AMA signaled that they won't close the door on his health insurance proposal. Specifically, they are not against the part where public health insurance will compete with private insurers.

Obama's trip to Chicago for this meeting shows how much the President values the AMA's support. They would have liked a stronger endorsement, but this is a small battle in the large fight ahead for the Obama administration.

Health Care Spending Needs to be Lowered

A report was released today by President Obama's economic team stating that the growth in health care spending needs to be decreased from 6% to 4.5% to show huge benefits for the economy. Some of these benefits would include creating up to 500,000 new jobs and increasing the average family income by $2600 over the next 10 years. Cutting these health insurance costs and covering the 46 million people who are currently not insured would increase economic stability by about $100 billion per year.

This goal is incredibly aggressive and barely seems possible. Obama's economic advisers realize that decreasing spending by 1.5% will be very challenging, but if the goal can be attained it could mean a huge benefit for companies, families and the US economy, which is definitely needed. Health care spending right now accounts for 18% of gross domestic product and could be up to 34% by 2040 if reform does not take place. Obama also met with industry leaders recently who are pledging to find $2 trillion in health savings over 10 years. It is definitely a priority on Obama's agenda and he thinks reform is a must.

Affordable Health Care Resources for Uninsured

The Orlando Sentinel recently highlighted community health care clinics, which provide health care services to the uninsured. Otherwise, many of these individuals would either go to the emergency room for minor ailments or go without treatment entirely.

Most clinics either treat all comers for free, or charge fees on a sliding scale depending on the patient's income. The clinics are run either by private groups or by state or county governments. They tend to serve a role similar to a family doctor, handling minor illnesses or primary care. Care that requires a specialist (e.g. mental health treatment, vision and dental care) , however, is far harder to come by for the uninsured. And people with chronic, life-threatening conditions such as cancer are in an even worse state, because there is only so much the clinic can do.

Clinics often serve a limited number of patients per day and have long waiting lists for care. If at all possible, finding basic coverage with low health insurance rates is ideal. However, free health clinics are a good resource in the mean time.

Obama Plans to Approve Children’s Health Insurance Funding Increase

President Barack Obama is doing an awful lot in his first 100 days: he is soon expected to sign into law a bill presented by the U.S. House soon after he takes office that will increase spending on government funded children's health insurance plans. The SCHIP bill was ratified by Democrats in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, but was vetoed by former President George W. Bush last year.

The bill would essentially add 4 million children to the existing roll of 7 million who are already receiving government subsidized health insurance. The bill proposes that increased taxes on tobacco will cover the $32 billion it will cost to expand the health coverage. Some Republicans believe this is an unfair burden on smokers.

Under the proposed bill, states are now given the option of eliminating the 5 year waiting period on providing government funded health insurance coverage to legal immigrants as well as pregnant immigrants.