Universal Health Insurance is Schwarzenegger’s Way
January 31, 2008
According to Schwarzenegger, a golden opportunity to lead the way in universal health care was missed when his univeral health care bill did not survive the Senate committee. Schwarzenegger vowed to continue working for universal health care legislation.
With California being the largest US state, this bill has been closely watched all over along with the fact that health care costs are spiralling and affordable health care is sparse. These reasons have also led to health care being very important to the presidential campaign.
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Two Thirds of Uninsured May Get Insurance Through Blue Cross Blue Shield Proposal
January 27, 2008
A five point proposal was announced by the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association which would benefit two thirds of uninsured Americans. There are 47 million Americans without health coverage. The proposal gives wieght to incentives instead of mandates and moots public and private cooperation. Current health insurance is to be bettered via this proposal.
According to this proposal, the health delivery system is to be revised, not just expanded. Providers would be reimbursed based on third party quality standards. Electronic medical records are to be used according to this proposal.
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Democrats More Keen On Universal Health Care Than Republicans
January 24, 2008
According to a survey, twice as many Democrats as Republicans want to expand health insurance to include the uninsured. Opinions differ widely among Republicans and Democrats on what should be done to improve health care.
There are more and more uninsured Americans every year and health costs have grown astronomically. This has led to health care being an extremely important issue of the presidential election.
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Self Employed Pay More For Health Insurance
January 20, 2008
If you fall sick, not only is there monetary worry, but the uncertainty of illness worries you even when you are healthy. The self employed have to worry about this substantially more than others. This uncertainty can be lessened with proper health insurance. As you probably know, a small sum paid monthly as health insurance can result in a lighter head.
For the self employed there is a category of health insurance called self-employed health insurance. Among the self employed are included people like freelance writers, farmers, small business owners, lawyers etc. There are some differences between self-employed health insurance and other health insurance.
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Government Takeover of Health Insurance?
January 19, 2008
Wearing a mask of pluralism, the Democrats have a plan for a government takeover of health insurance. Senator Hillary Clinton has been attacking Senator Barack Obama for not accepting mandatory insurance. However they have some things in common. They both want universal health care entitlement.
In all the Democratic health plans, there are four basic changes mooted. One is that employers will be forced (except in some instances) to pay for health care. Second is to create new “purchasing pools” outside of the employer setting for group rated insurance. Also on the anvil is a government run insurance option. Finally subsidies to low income enrollees are part of the thought process going around.
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Health Insurance Penalties Should Be Higher According To A Panel Official
January 13, 2008
According to a member of an influential state panel, penalties for Massachusetts residents who do not opt for health insurance were too low. According to Jonathan Gruber, director Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector Authority, they need to “do what’s right”.
Last week a schedule of penaties was proposed ranging from $17.50 per month to $76 per month depending on income. The basis for this fine is a state law that makes either insurance or penalty mandatory. After a public comment period, the penalties would be finalized.
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Health Insurance Providers Taken To Task By Consumer Groups
January 12, 2008
In a report two consumer groups have revealed that the state’s leading insurance providers are covering less people while making record profits. In addition a smaller portion of their revenues are being spent on care. These two groups are The Washington Community Action Network and The Northwest Federation of Community Organizations.
Their report was based on an analysis of Premera Blue Cross, Blue Shield, Regence and Group Health Cooperative. In 2002 these companies were making a profit of less that $1 per member per month. In 2006 that figure stood at $18.23.
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Childrens Health Insurance Program Courtesy Texas AG
January 11, 2008
Children in the child support system of Texas state have something to cheer about. The Texas AG, Greg Abbott has made moves to provide private sector health insurance to the uninsured among them. The targets of this move are children who have not got insurance through either government programs or their parents jobs.
In addition to taking care of the needs of 200,000 children who are uninsured care will be taken to see taxpayer dollars are used well. This program needs legislative action. No cost estimate for the program was given.
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Steep Fines for Massachussets Residents Who Do Not Have Health Insurance
January 4, 2008
From Jan 1, 2008, Massachusetts residents who do not have health insurance are going to have to shell out more in fines. A set of guidelines have been released by the Department of Revenue for the determination of penalty. If an individual does not have health insurance he will have to pay $912 by year end and in the case of couples this amount is $1824.
In 2007 the penalty was just $219 and loss of personal income tax exemption. This new approach of health care officials is meant to push all Massachusetts residents towards purchasing health insurance. Officials hope the entire state gets covered by health insurance as a result of this new law.
New Study Indicates That Newly Insured Americans are Healthier
January 1, 2008
Those Americans who qualify for retiree public health insurance are healthier after spending years in the absence of medical insurance. This is the core finding of a report in the JAMA - the Journal of the American Medical Association. This comes in the backdrop of 15 percent of the US population going without medical insurance.
The subjects of the study were 7,233 people from 55 to 72 years old and the study lasted for 12 years. This shows that there is a link between health insurance and an improvement in health.
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