Kevin Knauss: Health, History, Travel, Insurance
Posts related to hospitals and health insurance, network status, costs, coverage, participation.
January 30th: Blue Shield and Sutter sign 2015 contract update January 5th Blue Shield Sutter falling out below Blue Shield of California jolted their members with a New Year’s announcement that they were dropping Sutter Health hospitals and doctors from many of their plans for 2015. The reason given was that Blue Shield was not […]
Even with the Affordable Care Act extending health insurance to millions of Americans, medical debt can still be a burden to many families. Toni Turner of Financial Education Services was kind enough to put together this summary of surviving medical debt and restoring damaged credit ratings Surviving medical debt A serious illness or injury can […]
There was tremendous confusion over which doctors were in-network for the new individual and family plans offered through Covered California in early 2014. While the major health insurance plans offering PPO and EPO plans maintained the provider networks were the same regardless of whether they were purchased on or off the exchange, doubts persisted fueled […]
When it comes to keeping Certified Enrollment Counselors (CECs) informed about updates and changes, Covered California has been doing a great job. I only wish the communication was as good when it comes to keeping Certified Insurance Agents (CIAs) current with information. The September 10th Community Partner Webinar has lots of good information that is […]
In what could be the first consumer driven attempt in California to push down rising health care costs Anthem Blue Cross is flagging facilities in California that are unwilling to pass on deep discounts to its members. Anthem Blue Cross has introduced Tiered Networks into several counties in California with its new ACA compliant health plans in hopes that subscribers will choose less costly facilities
Open enrollment for the new Covered California health plans launches October 1st. But you don’t have to rush into unknown waters and sign up for coverage that doesn’t start until January 1, 2014. Because these health plans are new, it would be prudent to avoid immediately enrolling until the health plans have been reviewed and all the details are known.
The attending emergency room physician slipped her camera phone out of her pocket, focused on the patient’s leg and snapped a picture. As the patient sat in slightly stunned silence, the doctor posted the picture to her Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter pages with the caption, “Has anyone ever seen a nasty leg rash like this before?”
When we look at what has been called “cuts” to Medicare, it is evident that the changes to Medicare spending are on the provider side, not the beneficiary side.
The U.S. does a decent job of helping a variety of different groups of people get access and affordable healthcare through either insurance or direct aid. Folks in the middle are at the mercy of the market place.
How do we know the insurance companies aren’t getting the same cash discount? If the hospital accepts $500 from the patient to satisfy the bill, has the plan member they really met their deductible?
