Anthem Blue Cross of California announced that they will be making major changes to their small group health insurance plans effective July 1, 2009. Specifically, they will be adding 14 new plans. Beginning January 1, 2010, Anthem Blue Cross will discontinue 9 plans. Anthem calls their entire portfolio of [...]
Blue Shield of California has announced that they will raise rates on many of their individual and family plans effective July 1, 2009. The rate increases state-wide range from +7% for the Vital Shield plans; +14-15% for the Balance Plans; and a whopping +23-24% for the Essential 1750 plan. [...]
Many people ask "why is health insurance so expensive?" The obvious answer is that medical care is expensive. Then, why is medical care so expensive? Dr. Atul Gawande has written a seminal piece in the New Yorker that answers this vexing question. The article, entitled, The Cost Conundrum, explores why [...]
Tomorrow, June 1, 2009, Senator Kennedy is supposed to release the report of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension (HELP) Committee's recommendations for comprehensive reform of the health care & health insurance system. Word has it that the Obama administration wants to pass health insurance reform legislation in 90 [...]
Wellpoint, the largest health insurance company in the United States, and parent company of Anthem Blue Cross of California, is partnering with the XPrize to develop a solution to the problem of ever-increasing medical costs; rising numbers of uninsured people; and medical providers claiming to receive too little payment. The [...]
In the debate and discussion of methods of financing high quality medical care is the daunting challenge of the ever-rising cost of care. While some may blame the insurance companies for excessive rate increases, the reality is that no matter who pays for medical care, be it insurance companies with [...]
I heard Angela Braly, President and CEO of Wellpoint (parent of Anthem Blue Cross of California) speak today at the Town Hall in down town Los Angeles. Wellpoint provides health insurance to 35 million Americans - 1 in 9 people - and has $60 Billion in annual revenue. It is [...]
"Medicare for all" has become a frequent refrain from health care advocates. This sound bite statement implies that the U.S. would be better off if all citizens were covered under the government-run Medicare program. Currently, eligibility for Medicare is limited to those age 65 and over; some age pre-65 [...]
If you were recently laid off or fired and you are considering whether to enroll in COBRA you're in luck. On February 17th, President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (HR 1) which mandates that employers pay 65% of the COBRA premium for "involuntarily terminated" employees. [...]
If you're an employer with 20 or more employees and you're wondering how to comply with the COBRA subsidy in the Obama Stimulus Plan, here's some helpful information. On February 17th, President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (HR 1) to help stimulate the US [...]