Obama’s Healthcare Plan Hangs In The Balance…
August 22, 2009
…while President Obama goes on vacation. It is not going to be easy to pass the healthcare reform bill by Autumn. The plan aims to insure the uninsured in the U.S. – 47 million of them. In addition the aim is also to drive down the spiraling healthcare costs. The Republicans look like they are opposing the bill and not all Democrats are supporting it either.
The Democratic party has two wings and one is convinced that only government intervention can solve the problem while the other one believes otherwise. Only a compromise between these two factions can lead to the passing of the bill. Some believe that the high cost of proposed healthcare reform is the problem. The solution is to reduce the inefficiencies in healthcare.
The people in the Democratic party who are opposed to President Obama’s plan are called the “Blue Dogs.” Many people distrust the government’s new plan because it resembles communism. Many people see the Obama plan as the only option because it aims to insure all the uninsured.
The solution that seems to be appearing from the studies is to nip the problem in the bud. Allow people to detect problems in early stages so that costs on medication are reduced. Also motivating people to remain healthy seems to be the solution.
Various Perspectives in the Health Care Debate
August 9, 2009
The health care debate has various aspects to it. The debate is become more about what say the government should have in medical matters. While the debate is focusing about this issue, the important practical considerations are being overlooked. Both sides agree that patients need more consumer protection so that they should be able to get insurance cover for a treatable, costly illness.
The bill will be able to protect consumers, whether they have cancer or high cholesterol. The medical history would not be the major deciding factor for charging premiums although companies could charge people above fifty years of age more than they charge those in their twenties.
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What Makes Health Care Reform So Critical
August 8, 2009
Economic growth. Health care reform is a key factor in economic growth according to many including President Barack Obama. This is the reason Obama has promised to implement health care reform by the end of the year. The aim of the reform is to protect people from unfair business practices. In addition every American needs to be provided quality, affordable insurance. This will bring down rising costs and skyrocketing family budgets.
Obama said that health insurance reform was higher than national politics – it was about the well being of the American people. Reform would not only give the 46 million people who did not have insurance what they lacked but would also give security and stability to the insured.
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The Health Insurance War
August 3, 2009
At stakes in the health insurance war is public good. It is the luxury of a few people against the necessity of the nation. The health insurance industry has profited at the expense of the people it insures. These people have lived in luxury and the people who were insured have often been denied insurance when they most needed it.
The facts are that H. Edward Hanway (Cigna Insurance) makes more in a day than the average American makes in a year. He will be retiring with $73 million. The world is in recession but the health insurance industry is still way up in the green.
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Are we heading to a “sicker” future?
March 22, 2009
As unemployment is rising, insurance coverage is falling. As many people are not insuring themselves, we are heading to a future with more emergency room admissions. Are we heading to a sicker future?
When you lose a job, you miss many aspects of it. You may miss your work, colleagues or the drive to and from work. But what many people are now missing about their jobs is their health insurance. Once taken for granted, health insurance become a necessity and your realize it only after the job is gone. Read more
Getting rid of the inefficiency of Medicare
March 21, 2009
Creating an efficient health care system is one of the primary problems being faced by President Obama. Although the U.S. spends a lot of money on health care, compared to other countries, the systems are less efficient. This is something that needs to be addressed. One way to generate efficiency is by creating meaningful competition between public and private health insurance. Also competition between drug companies also needs to be created.
Market driven health care may not be the answer. Medicare Part D aimed at letting the elderly get medicines cheaper. This was to be done by encouraging competition. Although access to prescriptions has improved, the cost to taxpayers has gone up more than proportionally. This has been revealed in a study in the journal- Health Affairs.
Health Insurance Company Strategies
March 15, 2009
People from the health insurance industry have been viewed negatively for a long time. The reasons for this are public knowledge. These are denial of coverage and refusal to pay for treatment. Now the people of the health insurance industry are looking to cast themselves in the mould of indispensable partners in health care overhaul.
They are now pitching to lawmakers saying that they can help ensure universal coverage by getting rid of waste and help improve quality. Beyond loud language these people are now beginning to come up with concrete ideas for quality improvement and value.
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Obama’s Big Plan Draws Flak
March 14, 2009
In his effort to reform all the American systems, President Obama has created a number of different routes to solution. Whether the plans will yield fruit is debatable, but for now many of them are drawing flak. The latest among such plans is a big new public health insurance program that has been envisioned by Obama. This plan is a bone of contention.
Details of the proposal have not been released by the White House or the Congressional Democrats. There is dissaproval among some Republicans as well as people in the insurance industry about whether the plan would be good for the system even before the details of the plan have been released. Socialized medicine is the term that is being given to these moves by President Barack Obama.
Lack of student insurance
March 9, 2009
The 2009 Statistical Abstract of the United States says that 30 percent of the surveyed 18 to 24 year olds were without health insurance. In college health care needs have to be paid out of the pocket. A typical case might be that the parents dropped their offspring from a plan and they never got back on. As a student with only a part time job, good medical insurance may be hard to come by.
Many students can only afford a low quality plan and that leads to the question of whether the insurance is really required. And that is the bottom line, often students cannot afford insurance. Many students arrive in hospitals and one third of those do not own health insurance.
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Shop Health Insurance in the Mall
March 8, 2009
The number of uninsured Americans is increasing. In this environment, the largest Health Insurance company in the country is finding success with a new idea. The new idea is direct sales of insurance to people through retail stores.
The typical insurance store could well be confused for a mobile phone store from the outside. The storefront is friendly and it is well located in a new shopping plaza. When you take a peek inside you would be a little surprised to see that the goods being sold is insurance for your health.
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Americans Unmedicated Due To Rising Unemployment
March 3, 2009
Americans are skipping medications. The reason, unemployment and the ensuing loss of insurance. The economy has nosedived and people have had to sacrifice homes and retirements to pay for medical bills. High costs are forcing people to forego medical care. Budgets of state, county and city are shrinking and this is forcing a cutback of essential programs. Medical personnel are being reduced and safety net hospitals are being reduced as well.
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The Health Insurance Obstacles
February 28, 2009
There are many obstacles to enjoying health insurance. Even though people may be eligible, often they do not have health insurance. The reason is the daunting paperwork and other such hurdles that need to be crossed. In fact it is startling to know that more than a third of New York State’s Medicaid receipients fail to reenroll due to such obstacles.
This is according to a study by the NYSHF. This nonprofit is making an effort to improve pubic health through education as well as more high quality care access. The organization says that people fall off the rolls because of the annual recertification process. The reapplication then costs the state more money.
According to Davind Sandman, SVP of the New York State Health Foundation, the doors to the program are wide open but the back doors should be shut so that eligible people stay in. In the focus group, participants said that they valued the health insurance programs and wanted to stay enrolled. However they had lost their coverage because of the daunting re-enrollment process.
The process is so complicated that it takes someone with a deep knowledge of law to fill out the paperwork. Some people realize their coverage has lapsed only after reaching the doctors office for an appointment. Now why don’t we just cut the red tape?
Health Insurance Prices May Dip
February 24, 2009
Your health is the most valuable asset you have. All your other assets depend upon and build from this basic asset of your life. If you have lost a job, maintaining your health insurance coverage becomes extremely important. If you are unlucky enough to become ill while uninsured, you will wish you had taken that health insurance cover.
COBRA is the most popular way to stay insured in the event of loss of job. This safety net lets you remain insured for up to 18 months after job loss. The premium and fees of COBRA amounts to about $500 per month for the average person. Now with the government subsidizing the health insurance costs up to 65 percent in the first 9 months of coverage people have a reason to cheer.
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Losing Health Insurance? Here Are Some Ideas
February 21, 2009
As a result of the recession jobs have vanished into thin air and with them, the health insurance. There are a number of ways Americans can avoid the emergency rooms and stay healthy. Losing health insurance results in medication costs, doctor costs and the resulting stress on how the individual is going to handle them.
One number you may call is 311. This is the Baltimore Healthcare Access Hotline – they might be able to help. According to them there have been more calls for medical assistance than ever the last three months. Many callers qualify for programs available based on their income, if the income is too high, they don’t qualify.
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Job Cuts And Lower Insurance Rates
February 15, 2009
About 598000 Americans had to lose their jobs in the past month. The unemployment rate is now 7.6 percent. This means the number of uninsured people have increased as well. Since December, the unemployment rate is up 0.4 percent. This is the data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics. South Carolina’s rate of unemployment increased by 1.1 percent making it 9.5 percent.
Of the unemployed, only 1 in 5 has private insurance. This is according to a new report from Families USA. This organization has said that losing a job equals losing insurance. Many of those laid off cannot afford COBRA. They also do not qualify for public health safety net programs.
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