Cheap Car Insurance Finder Now Locates Rates in 50 U.S. States Online

April 20, 2014, 4:11 pm

≫ Next: Can Democrats Go Long?

≪ Previous: Collector Car Insurance Quotes Now Available in Real Time at Automotive Portal Online

$

0

0

Cheap car insurance finder introduced at the Quotes Pros website is now locating instant rates from all 50 USA states. Car owners can access this finder at http://quotespros.com/auto-insurance.html.

Bristol, VA (PRWEB) April 20, 2014

Motorists seeking ways to reduce the monthly or annual prices for vehicle coverage insurance can utilize the new finder tool at the Quotes Pros website. A national update has been completed to research cheap car insurance in all 50 states at http://quotespros.com/auto-insurance.html.

The issuance of the less expensive price quotations through the national search system this year is one of the first completed upgrades to the original system. The local rates that helped to promote the system earlier this year still exist although more insurance agencies can now be reviewed at the touch of a button.

"A definitive source of locating affordable insurance policies from North American providers can be found using our search tool and zero personal data is required in exchange for each quotation," a Quotes Pros source confirmed.

Apart from the lowered rates from national companies, several newer products to the insurance industry can be sorted and reviewed using the open tool. Drivers can choose between high risk products, collector car coverage and non owner plans that companies have the ability to customize for vehicle owners.

"The insurer system that we provide to the public to help locate various policies is now updated on a regular schedule to preserve annual premiums accuracy for drivers," said the source.

The Quotes Pros company has positioned its website to make research simpler for average products using its automated tools this year. Various providers of coverage plans not related to the automobile industry are also available to quote when visiting http://quotespros.com/health-insurance.html.

About QuotesPros.com

The QuotesPros.com company has constructed a simple to research platform for evaluating prices for insurance products throughout North America. This company utilizes a powerful software package to search on a national level to present price information to the public. The QuotesPros.com company is now presenting a range of auto, life, homeowners, renters, health and business insurance products premiums to users of its automated solutions on the Internet. A series of different updates that take place each day continues to maintain the accuracy of the search platforms. Reported by PRWeb 18 hours ago.

---

Can Democrats Go Long?

April 20, 2014, 6:55 pm

≫ Next: Health Law Fund-Raising Is Detailed

≪ Previous: Cheap Car Insurance Finder Now Locates Rates in 50 U.S. States Online

$

0

0

For more than 30 years, the right has been throwing long passes. The Democrats, with some fine individual exceptions in the Senate and House, have been playing an incremental game, eking out gains of a few yards at a time and often being thrown for big losses.Guess which side has been winning.Four decades ago, supply side economics was a joke. The idea that cutting taxes on the very rich was the key to prosperity had been laughed out of the debate as "trickle down economics." Now low taxes on the rich -- even the dead rich -- are national policy.Forty years ago, Richard Nixon was fighting mostly on territory defined by Democrats. He had a universal health proposal somewhat to the left of the Affordable Care Act. Nixon was even for a guaranteed annual income, and that was before Watergate.In the 1970s, both parties were environmentalist. Epic laws like the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act were approved with large, bipartisan majorities. Now, regulation is a dirty word.Meanwhile, Democrats have made nice incremental progress on laws like the Earned Income Tax Credit (a wage subsidy to industry that allows corporations to pay their workers less and have government make up the difference) while the distribution of wage and salary income becomes steadily more unequal.The Office of Management and Budget, under a Democratic president, waters down environmental regulations even before the Republican House of Representatives adds further obstacles.The Democrats have made incremental gains at insuring more people, as the entire health system is so dominated by commercial players that it is becoming generally unaffordable, and more and more people are under-insured.We've reformed a corrupted financial system with millions of pages of Dodd-Frank regulations to the point where the very complexity invites more corruption. Meanwhile, high-frequency traders and hedge fund operators are taking more and more of the total investment gains at the expense of regular people.So why not take a leaf from the right's playbook. Why not say what we're really for, and have a long-term plan to lead public opinion there?How about giving the financial system the drastic simplification that it deserves. No high frequency trading (which adds nothing except profits to insiders). No hedge funds exempt from the usual disclosure rules. No mega-banks that add only risk to the rest of the system?How about national health insurance, pure and simple?How about a minimum wage that's a true living wage?How about a massive public investment program in deferred infrastructure and a green transition, to provide good domestic jobs along the way?How about a "universal, portable pension" -- not the small-bore savings incentives offered by centrist policy wonks but an easy-to-grasp general expansion of Social Security.How about planting a flag?I know, I know, Congress won't vote for this stuff. But Congress isn't voting for the small-bore stuff either.At first, Congress did not vote for the policies the right was offering, but the right kept pounding away. They eventually managed to get policies enacted and ideologies entrenched that harm most people.Progressives, by contrast, begin with one big advantage. Public opinion is mostly on our side.The voters actually support Medicare for All, and expanded Social Security, and higher minimum wages, controls on Wall Street, higher taxes on millionaires, and increased investment in infrastructure. It's only elites who oppose them. How about leadership that validates what voters want?It's a thankless task for Democrats to run and govern as centrists. The policies do not solve large national problems. Voters see only more bureaucracy, and voters give up on politics.Who, after all, promotes "third way" policies? Financial elites wearing their Democrat hat, that's who. It's a great strategy for neutering the people's party and scaring away voters.Look at progressive causes that actually won big -- LGBT rights, disability rights, equal treatment in the workplace for women. They did not begin by asking for meager incremental gains. They began by making demands far outside the mainstream, and changing the mainstream.So let's say what we're really for, and bring public opinion to it. It may take a decade or two. It may require a genuine progressive to get nominated for president, backed by a mass movement.But if Democrats stick to the course they are on, they are likely to lose both the politics and the policies. It would be liberating, and energizing, to plant that flag.Robert Kuttner's latest book is Debtors' Prison: The Politics of Austerity Versus Possibility. He is co-editor of The American Prospect and a senior Fellow at Demos, and teaches at Brandeis University's Heller School.Like Robert Kuttner on Facebook. Follow Robert Kuttner on Twitter. Reported by Huffington Post 16 hours ago.

Health Law Fund-Raising Is Detailed

April 20, 2014, 7:40 pm

≫ Next: Top Companies for Telecommuting Jobs in 2014

≪ Previous: Can Democrats Go Long?

$

0

0

A Government Accountability Office report discussed how the Obama administration raised money from outside groups to promote enrollment in health insurance. Reported by NYTimes.com 15 hours ago.

Top Companies for Telecommuting Jobs in 2014

April 21, 2014, 12:03 am

≫ Next: Hardly Time to Call Obamacare a 'Success'

≪ Previous: Health Law Fund-Raising Is Detailed

$

0

0

SkipTheDrive lists their top ten companies for telecommuting and remote jobs in 2014, many of which are with Fortune 500 companies.

Cleveland, OH (PRWEB) April 21, 2014

http://www.SkipTheDrive.com is one of the leading job boards for telecommuting and remote jobs. Having thousands of job postings, we've decided to compile a list of the top ten companies offering the most telecommuting and remote job opportunities with us in 2014.

10.) Dell – An American owned and operated company specializing in computer products and services, Dell is one of the largest tech companies out there, employing over 103,000 people. Dell is listed number 51 in the Fortune 500 list. Some of the jobs offered by Dell in the past on SkipTheDrive include support advisors, report writers, and sales managers.

9.) Sanofi – Sanofi is part of a leading global healthcare company that discovers, develops, produces and markets innovative therapies to protect the health of individuals. Present in over 100 countries, Sanofi employs over 100,000 worldwide. Sanofi jobs we've seen listed include account managers, sales representatives, medical liaisons and more.

8.) Xerox – Xerox is the leader in document management and business management process services and currently has over 140,000 employees. Xerox listings can include project managers, sales directors, quality assurance analysts, and more.

7.) Apple – Yet another Fortune 500 company with a bunch of telecommuting job opportunities on SkipTheDrive, Apple is the leader of the personal computing market when traditional PCs and tablets are combined. We currently have many telecommuting opportunities with Apple, many of which are customer service related. Remote jobs with Apple we've seen range from customer service representatives to team managers, and sales positions now and then.

6.) Overland Solutions – Keep your eye on this company. Overland Solutions has been around for over 80 years and is the industry leader in premium audit services. Other services provided include loss control consulting, commercial inspection surveys and residential inspection surveys. With Overland Solutions, you can find positions for insurance appraisers, insurance inspectors, and phone auditors.

5.) American International Group (AIG) – Being a leading international insurance organization, AIG serves customers in more than 130 countries. AIG companies are the leading providers of life insurance and retirement services in the U.S. AIG has listed jobs for financial advisors, underwriting consultants, sales representatives and more.

4.) Aetna – Another big player within the healthcare system, Aetna is one of the nation’s leading diversified healthcare benefits companies. They have over 22 million medical members alone, and a plethora of job opportunities listed with us! Perusing through the Aetna listings you could find many opportunities for complaint and appeal analysts, Medicare/Medicaid case managers, and sales consultants.

3.) Humana – Headquartered in Lousville, KY, Humana Inc. is a for-profit American managed healthcare system that markets and administers health insurance. Don't be surprised if you find many listings for clinical advisors, business consultants, and marketing analysts.

2.) UnitedHealth Group – UnitedHealth group serves more than 85 million members worldwide with health benefits and services. Headquartered in Minnetonka, Minnesota, UnitedHealth Group is number 17 on Fortune magazines top 500 companies in the United States. Some of the listings we've seen include nurses, case managers, and IT consultants.

1.) Verint Systems – Verint is definitely what we’d consider a leader in the market for companies offering telecommuting jobs. Verint Systems is a global leader in actionable intelligence solutions and value-added services, helping organizations worldwide improve enterprise performance. With Verint Systems we've seen telecommuting jobs for account managers, sales managers, business development executives, and many others.

http://www.SkipTheDrive.com is a job board whose niche is telecommuting and remote jobs. SkipTheDrive is free for job seekers and requires no membership fees. To read more about us, please visit us at http://www.SkipTheDrive.com/about-us/. Reported by PRWeb 11 hours ago.

Hardly Time to Call Obamacare a 'Success'

April 21, 2014, 4:11 am

≫ Next: GAO Details Sebelius' Enroll America Fundraising Efforts

≪ Previous: Top Companies for Telecommuting Jobs in 2014

$

0

0

With 8 million Americans enrolled in health insurance through federal and state exchanges, President Barack Obama has declared the Affordable Care Act a success. That's disingenuous and big changes are needed to make the law work well. Reported by Newsmax 6 hours ago.

GAO Details Sebelius' Enroll America Fundraising Efforts

April 21, 2014, 4:22 am

≫ Next: New "Bill Pay at CVS/pharmacy®" Service Will Provide Customers Convenient, No Cost Health Insurance Payment Options at their local CVS/pharmacy

≪ Previous: Hardly Time to Call Obamacare a 'Success'

$

0

0

The General Accounting Office provided details about how the White House raised money to promote health insurance enrollment through Enroll America, a nonprofit. Reported by Newsmax 6 hours ago.

New "Bill Pay at CVS/pharmacy®" Service Will Provide Customers Convenient, No Cost Health Insurance Payment Options at their local CVS/pharmacy

April 21, 2014, 5:15 am

≫ Next: Government Hypocrisy, Thinly Disguised

≪ Previous: GAO Details Sebelius' Enroll America Fundraising Efforts

$

0

0

WOONSOCKET, R.I., April 21, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- CVS/pharmacy, the retail division of CVS Caremark, announced today that it is launching an innovative new service, Bill Pay at CVS/pharmacy, to help customers manage their monthly health insurance premiums. Members of participating... Reported by PR Newswire 5 hours ago.

Government Hypocrisy, Thinly Disguised

April 21, 2014, 7:05 am

≫ Next: BusinessRadioX®'s The Doctors Roundtable Features Dr. Karen Minyard, Executive Director at Georgia Health Policy Center

≪ Previous: New "Bill Pay at CVS/pharmacy®" Service Will Provide Customers Convenient, No Cost Health Insurance Payment Options at their local CVS/pharmacy

$

0

0

Last week, the headlines defied parody. In Washington, the U.S. Census Bureau conceded that it has changed its annual survey questions to make it impossible to determine whether Obamacare is succeeding in increasing the number of Americans who have health insurance.

“Ideally,” an unnamed agency bureaucrat wrote, “the redesign would have had at least a few years to gather base line and trend data.” Gee, you think? Reported by Huffington Post 4 hours ago.

---

BusinessRadioX®'s The Doctors Roundtable Features Dr. Karen Minyard, Executive Director at Georgia Health Policy Center

April 21, 2014, 7:08 am

≫ Next: Connecture To Present Webinar On What Brokers And Benefits Consultants Need To Know About Private Exchanges

≪ Previous: Government Hypocrisy, Thinly Disguised

$

0

0

The Doctors Roundtable interviews the Executive Director at Georgia Health Policy Center on the Affordable Care Act.

Atlanta, GA (PRWEB) April 21, 2014

Dr. Karen Minyard, Executive Director at Georgia Health Policy Center, spoke about the Affordable Care Act on the April 3, 2014 episode of The Doctors Roundtable with host Tanya Mack of HealthGate. Dr. Minyard came on the show to explain and answer questions about this newly implemented law.

The Affordable Care Act has caused confusion since it went into effect October 1, 2013. The new law is expected to significantly decrease the number of Americans without health insurance; however, there are still many questions surrounding the cost of health insurance, if one can keep his or her own doctor, etc. Dr. Minyard joined host Tanya Mack to address some of these questions.

“One of the challenges is the issue about what network is available to the individual,” said Dr. Minyard. “Many plans have narrow networks, so provider choice is limited. I advise people to pay attention to this when they sign up.”

Dr. Minyard is a translator of National Health Care Reform, has had 13 years of experience in nursing and hospital administration, and has been at the Georgia Health Policy Center for 19 years. She is a Board Member of both the National Network of Public Health Initiatives and the Physician’s Innovation Network.

To learn more about Dr. Minyard and her experiences with the new Affordable Care Act, tune in to this episode of The Doctors Roundtable.

About The Doctors Roundtable:
http://www.doctorsroundtable.businessradiox.com
The Doctors Roundtable is a forum for conversations with Atlanta’s leading doctors and thought leaders. Discussions are about cutting edge trends and topics in health, wellness and lifestyle issues. Hosted by Tanya Mack, the show airs live on Thursdays, Noon Eastern Time from the Sandy Springs Studio of BusinessRadioX® and is brought to you by HealthGate.

About BusinessRadioX®:
BusinessRadioX® interviews dozens of innovative entrepreneurs and successful leaders each week. Its mission is to help local businesses Get The Word Out about the important work they’re doing for their market, their community, and their profession. With a pro-business slant and a long-form interview format, guests don’t have to worry about being ambushed or talking in “sound bites.” Guests have enough time to tell their whole story and to share their insights and experience without interruptions. BusinessRadioX® hosts are business professionals interviewing their peers, drilling down on the critical issues, and delivering practical information to an engaged business audience. Business topics that are frequently covered include: Law, Finance, Healthcare, Technology, Trade Shows, B2B Marketing, Venture Capital, Training and Development and other issues impacting the business community. For more information, visit: http://www.businessradiox.com. Reported by PRWeb 4 hours ago.

Connecture To Present Webinar On What Brokers And Benefits Consultants Need To Know About Private Exchanges

April 21, 2014, 7:17 am

≫ Next: Vietnam's Pharmaceutical Market is Among the Fastest Growing in Southeast Asia, Driven by Increasing Affluence, an Aging Population, and an Expansion of Public Health Insurance

≪ Previous: BusinessRadioX®'s The Doctors Roundtable Features Dr. Karen Minyard, Executive Director at Georgia Health Policy Center

$

0

0

BROOKFIELD, Wis., April 21, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Connecture, Inc., the leading provider of Web-based information systems used to create health insurance marketplaces, invites brokers and benefits consultants to join them Wednesday, April 23 in an interactive webinar. "Tomorrow's... Reported by PR Newswire 3 hours ago.

Vietnam's Pharmaceutical Market is Among the Fastest Growing in Southeast Asia, Driven by Increasing Affluence, an Aging Population, and an Expansion of Public Health Insurance

April 21, 2014, 7:37 am

≫ Next: Ron Paul Warns The Nevada Standoff Is A Symptom of Increasing Authoritarianism

≪ Previous: Connecture To Present Webinar On What Brokers And Benefits Consultants Need To Know About Private Exchanges

$

0

0

BURLINGTON, Mass., April 21, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Decision Resources Group finds that Vietnam is currently one of the fastest growing pharmaceutical markets in Southeast Asia, recording a growth rate of nearly 17 percent and exceeding $3 billion in size in 2013. Increasing affluence, a... Reported by PR Newswire 3 hours ago.

Ron Paul Warns The Nevada Standoff Is A Symptom of Increasing Authoritarianism

April 21, 2014, 8:13 am

≫ Next: If The Facts Don't Fit, Change The Facts: How The Obama Administration Undercuts Public Confidence In Government Statistics

≪ Previous: Vietnam's Pharmaceutical Market is Among the Fastest Growing in Southeast Asia, Driven by Increasing Affluence, an Aging Population, and an Expansion of Public Health Insurance

$

0

0

Submitted by Ron Paul via The Ron Paul Institute,

The nation’s attention has for the past few weeks been riveted by a standoff in Nevada between armed federal agents and the Bundys, a ranching family who believe the federal government is exceeding its authority by accessing “fees” against ranchers who graze cattle on government lands. *Outrage over the government's use of armed agents to forcibly remove the Bundys’ cattle led many Americans to travel to Nevada to engage in non-violent civil disobedience in support of the family.*

*The protests seem to have worked, at least for now, as the government appears to have backed off from direct confrontation*. Sadly, some elected officials have inflamed the situation by labeling the Bundys and their supporters “domestic terrorists,” thus justifying any future use of force by the government. That means there is always the possibility of another deadly Waco-style raid on the Bundys or a similar group in the future.

*In a state like Nevada, where 84 percent of the land is owned by the federal government, these types of conflicts are inevitable.* Government ownership of land means that land is in theory owned by everyone, but in practice owned by no one. Thus, those who use the land lack the incentives to preserve it for the long term. As a result, land-use rules are set by politicians and bureaucrats. Oftentimes, the so-called “public” land is used in ways that benefit politically-powerful special interests.

*Politicians and bureaucrats can, and will, arbitrarily change the rules governing the land.* In the 19th currently, some Americans moved to Nevada because the government promised them that they, and their descendants, would always be able to use the federally-owned land.  The Nevada ranchers believed they had an implied contract with the government allowing them to use the land for grazing. When government bureaucrats decided they needed to restrict grazing to protect the desert tortoise, they used force to drive most ranchers away.

By contrast, if the Nevada land in question was privately owned, the dispute over whether to allow the ranchers to continue to use the land would have likely been resolved without sending in federal armed agents to remove the Bundys’ cattle from the land.* This is one more reason why the federal government should rid itself of all federal land holdings. Selling federal lands would also help reduce the federal deficit.*

It is unlikely that Congress will divest the federal government’s land holdings, as *most in government are more interested in increasing government power then in protecting and restoring private property rights. *

A government that continually violates our rights of property and contract can fairly be descried as authoritarian. Of course, the politicians and bureaucrats take offense at this term, but *how else do you describe a government that forbids Americans from grazing cattle on land they have used for over a century, from buying health insurance that does not met Obamacare’s standards, from trading with Cuba, or even from drinking raw milk!* That so many in DC support the NSA spying and the TSA assaults on our privacy shows the low regard that too many in government have for our rights. 

*History shows us that authoritarian systems, whether fascist, communist, or Keynesian, will inevitably fail.* I believe incidents such as that in Nevada show we may be witnessing the failure of the American authoritarian warfare-welfare state -- and that of course would be good. This is why it so important that those of us who understand the freedom philosophy spread the truth about how statism caused our problems and why liberty is the only solution. Reported by Zero Hedge 2 hours ago.

If The Facts Don't Fit, Change The Facts: How The Obama Administration Undercuts Public Confidence In Government Statistics

April 21, 2014, 8:38 am

≫ Next: As Medical Claim Denials Increase, Be Prepared To Be A Squeaky Wheel

≪ Previous: Ron Paul Warns The Nevada Standoff Is A Symptom of Increasing Authoritarianism

$

0

0

The Census Bureau's decision to change how it identifies the number of Americans without health insurance may be a coincidence, but it looks like one more effort to help Obamacare, and it is undermining confidence in government-produced statistics. Reported by Forbes.com 2 hours ago.

As Medical Claim Denials Increase, Be Prepared To Be A Squeaky Wheel

April 21, 2014, 9:30 am

≫ Next: As Medical Claim Denials Increase, Be Prepared to Be a Squeaky Wheel

≪ Previous: If The Facts Don't Fit, Change The Facts: How The Obama Administration Undercuts Public Confidence In Government Statistics

$

0

0

The good news from last week was that 8 million Americans have signed up for health insurance through the Obamacare-created exchanges. The not so good news is that because most of us have to buy coverage from a private insurer, we will always have to be vigilant to make sure our medical claims get paid and that an insurance bureaucrat miles from where we live doesn't succeed in denying coverage for medically necessary care.

While we've heard a lot recently about the growing number of folks who are at long last able to join the ranks of the insured, we haven't heard much at all about the important provisions of the law that make many of the previously common industry practices unlawful.

Among other things, insurers can no longer refuse to sell us coverage because we've been sick in the past or even take the status of our health into consideration when figuring out how much to charge us for a policy. They also can't charge women more than men or older folks more than three times as much as younger folks. And they must allow young adults to remain on their parents' health plans until age 26.

The reason health insurers discriminated against women and people of a certain age as well as anyone not in tip-top shape was because their discriminatory underwriting practices enabled them to sell policies with relatively low premiums to people who were least likely to need medical care. And for the big for-profit insurers that now dominate the industry, those practices made it much easier for them to meet Wall Street's relentless profit expectations.

Don't think for a minute, though, that the large institutional investors that own health insurers' stock these days are cutting the companies any slack when it comes to their profit margins.

As I've often said, the one thing most health insurers know how to do is make money. They make billions off of us every year. Obamacare won't change that. In fact, because Congress succumbed to pressure from the industry's lobbyists and ditched plans to create a "public option" to compete with insurers, billions more in premium revenue and federal subsidies will flow to them for years to come.

But investors and Wall Street financial analysts look far more closely at profit margins and earnings per share than total revenues.

To keep Wall Street happy, insurers undoubtedly have begun shifting resources from their underwriting departments to their so-called medical management teams. I'm confident that people who work in medical management are under more pressure than ever from the executive office to avoid paying claims whenever possible.

That has been my fear since the reform law was passed and the consumer protections went into effect. So it's especially important now to scrutinize those "Explanation of Benefits" statements our insurers send us after we get medical care.

Insurers know that many if not most of us do little more than glance at them before throwing them away. They're hard to understand by design. If you can't decipher them, chances are you'll give up and just hope that your insurer and health care providers are treating you fairly and that you are not being billed for care that your policy should cover.

Numerous studies over the years have shown, however, that patients have at least an even chance of prevailing if they go to the trouble of appealing a claim denial or a ruling by somebody in medical management that your doctor-ordered care was not medically necessary.

The most recent proof of that came last week in a Capital Public Radio story out of Sacramento. CPR found after analyzing several years of data compiled by California's insurance department that patients won about half of the appeals they filed with state regulators after getting a claim denial from their insurer. CPR also noted that a 2011 GAO report based on data from several states prior to the implementation of the Affordable Care Act found that patients were successful between 39 and 59 percent of the time when they appealed directly to their insurer.

Many patients who don't succeed that way, however, go the additional mile of reaching out to their state insurance departments or their state legislators or members of Congress -- or even the media. That enhances the chances their insurers will agree to pay the disputed claims.

"When appealing to a third party (such as the state insurance commissioner), patients also were often successful in getting the service in question -- winning as many as 54 percent of such decisions in Maryland, for example," CPR reported.

Bottom line here: With profit margins under pressure because of Obamacare, insurers likely will be denying more of your claims and inserting themselves even more between you and your doctor when it comes to medically necessary care, but you should never take a "no" as the final answer. Appeal -- and be a squeaky wheel -- whenever you get a denial. Chances are that if you do, you'll get the care you need, and get your insurer to pay for it. Reported by Huffington Post 1 hour ago.

As Medical Claim Denials Increase, Be Prepared to Be a Squeaky Wheel

April 21, 2014, 10:08 am

≫ Next: If the Koch Brothers Were President...

≪ Previous: As Medical Claim Denials Increase, Be Prepared To Be A Squeaky Wheel

$

0

0

The good news from last week was that 8 million Americans have signed up for health insurance through the Obamacare-created exchanges. The not so good news is that because most of us have to buy coverage from a private insurer, we will always have to be vigilant to make sure our medical claims get paid and that an insurance bureaucrat miles from where we live doesn't succeed in denying coverage for medically necessary care.

While we've heard a lot recently about the growing number of folks who are at long last able to join the ranks of the insured, we haven't heard much at all about the important provisions of the law that make many of the previously common industry practices unlawful.

Among other things, insurers can no longer refuse to sell us coverage because we've been sick in the past or even take the status of our health into consideration when figuring out how much to charge us for a policy. They also can't charge women more than men or older folks more than three times as much as younger folks. And they must allow young adults to remain on their parents' health plans until age 26.

The reason health insurers discriminated against women and people of a certain age as well as anyone not in tip-top shape was because their discriminatory underwriting practices enabled them to sell policies with relatively low premiums to people who were least likely to need medical care. And for the big for-profit insurers that now dominate the industry, those practices made it much easier for them to meet Wall Street's relentless profit expectations.

Don't think for a minute, though, that the large institutional investors that own health insurers' stock these days are cutting the companies any slack when it comes to their profit margins.

As I've often said, the one thing most health insurers know how to do is make money. They make billions off of us every year. Obamacare won't change that. In fact, because Congress succumbed to pressure from the industry's lobbyists and ditched plans to create a "public option" to compete with insurers, billions more in premium revenue and federal subsidies will flow to them for years to come.

But investors and Wall Street financial analysts look far more closely at profit margins and earnings per share than total revenues.

To keep Wall Street happy, insurers undoubtedly have begun shifting resources from their underwriting departments to their so-called medical management teams. I'm confident that people who work in medical management are under more pressure than ever from the executive office to avoid paying claims whenever possible.

That has been my fear since the reform law was passed and the consumer protections went into effect. So it's especially important now to scrutinize those "Explanation of Benefits" statements our insurers send us after we get medical care.

Insurers know that many if not most of us do little more than glance at them before throwing them away. They're hard to understand by design. If you can't decipher them, chances are you'll give up and just hope that your insurer and health care providers are treating you fairly and that you are not being billed for care that your policy should cover.

Numerous studies over the years have shown, however, that patients have at least an even chance of prevailing if they go to the trouble of appealing a claim denial or a ruling by somebody in medical management that your doctor-ordered care was not medically necessary.

The most recent proof of that came last week in a Capital Public Radio story out of Sacramento. CPR found after analyzing several years of data compiled by California's insurance department that patients won about half of the appeals they filed with state regulators after getting a claim denial from their insurer. CPR also noted that a 2011 GAO report based on data from several states prior to the implementation of the Affordable Care Act found that patients were successful between 39 and 59 percent of the time when they appealed directly to their insurer.

Many patients who don't succeed that way, however, go the additional mile of reaching out to their state insurance departments or their state legislators or members of Congress -- or even the media. That enhances the chances their insurers will agree to pay the disputed claims.

"When appealing to a third party (such as the state insurance commissioner), patients also were often successful in getting the service in question -- winning as many as 54 percent of such decisions in Maryland, for example," CPR reported.

Bottom line here: With profit margins under pressure because of Obamacare, insurers likely will be denying more of your claims and inserting themselves even more between you and your doctor when it comes to medically necessary care, but you should never take a "no" as the final answer. Appeal -- and be a squeaky wheel -- whenever you get a denial. Chances are that if you do, you'll get the care you need, and get your insurer to pay for it. Reported by Huffington Post 32 minutes ago.

---

If the Koch Brothers Were President...

April 21, 2014, 9:30 am

≫ Next: Less Than Half of GA Obamacare 'Enrollees' Have Paid For Plans

≪ Previous: As Medical Claim Denials Increase, Be Prepared to Be a Squeaky Wheel

$

0

0

I don't know about you but I'm pretty tired of all the media ink devoted to the Koch brothers. They are either libertarian heroes standing for freedom from big government or ultra-conservative jerks trying to buy our democracy. But whatever you believe, America spends way too much time worrying about them.

A much simpler solution would be to just give them the White House and get it over with.

For one thing, it would be amusing to see two Presidents in the Oval Office at once, sort of like a bizarre Fox sitcom targeted at the House of Cards crowd. Secondly, once they are in charge, at least we can stop stressing about what could happen. Call it the devil you know. Plus, these guys want it so badly that I just feel sorry for them.

But here's the important question: if Charles and David Koch really were Co-Presidents of the United States, what exactly would they do?

To answer that, here is a candid conversation between the two men on their first day in the Oval Office (overheard by an actual fly on the wall and leaked to Seriously Skewed by the fly):

*Charles*: Nice office. No wonder our taxes are so high!
*David*: Don't worry. The first thing we're going to do is sell this place and lease it back from the buyer. It will save the U.S. a bundle.
*C*: A sale-leaseback is a brilliant idea! I can't believe no one ever thought of that before.
*D*: They didn't have businessmen in the White House before - at least not real ones like us.

They give each other a high-five.

*D*: I'm also canceling all orders for pens. We waste too much money on that stuff.
*C*: But without pens, how is the staff going to write anything down?
*D*: They bleed, don't they? They can dip their fingers in the blood and write with it. The government is not a blank check for luxuries.
*C*: Good point. Hey, do you mind if we change our titles? I think Co-CEOs would be much better than Co-Presidents. It sends a clear signal of how we intend to run this country.
*D*: I like that. We should also set up some golden parachutes for ourselves in case we don't win reelection or get impeached.
*C*: Naturally. I think about a billion dollars for each of us is fair. But Congress will want to know where the money will come from.
*D*: That's what the Social Security fund is for. If they want us to do public service, they're going to have to compensate us for our troubles.
*C*: What about our salary?
*D*: I've been thinking about that. I think it looks good if we agree to take $1 per year with profit-sharing.
*C*: Profit-sharing? With our budget deficit?
*D*: Trust me, after we're done slashing government spending for things like welfare, Medicare, roads, parks, public day care, affordable housing, veterans benefits, etc, we'll have a surplus. There's a lot of money to be made here, Chuck.
*C*: Don't call me Chuck. You know I hate that.
*D*: Sorry bro. Just feeling like the most powerful man in the world right now.
*C*: Don't forget, we have a meeting with Janet Yellen today.
*D*: Oh yeah. I'm going to tell her to hike up interest rates till it hurts.
*C*: Are you kidding? You realize that will hurt our own businesses, right?
*D*: Nope. The banks want to lend to us - we're big clients - and we'll still be able to get cheap capital. But high borrowing costs will kill all those small businesses who compete with us. Plus, a conservative monetary policy is what we have always stood for so this will look really good on our resume.
*C*: Smart. Ok, so what's next?
*D*: I want you to call the CEOs of Big Oil. Tell them they can drill in the White House lawn for all we care, just as long as they fund our candidates in the midterms. Then I want you to set up meetings with the heads of the big health insurance companies.
*C*: But they are in bed with the other guys, Dave. They got the individual mandate they wanted in Obamacare.
*D*: Yep, and we're going to punish them for backing that socialist program. By the time I'm done with them, they're going to be crying for their mommies.
*C*: How are we going to do that?
*D*: By slapping a socialist tax on them.
*C*: A socialist tax? That sounds interesting.
*D*: I thought of it when reading about these workers in Michigan who want minimum wage. We need to squash out this unhealthy sense of entitlement in the country. It's un-American and it's killing capitalism. From now on, anyone who says or does anything that violates free markets will have to pay a socialist tax. That should put those jerks out of business.
*C*: Yes, but you know that will cause a huge ruckus. They'll call it McCarthyism.
*D*: We can turn that to our advantage too. The only ones who will object to the tax will be the socialists, so basically it's a great way to identify them.
*C*: And those are the people we will tax! Fantastic. It will save a ton of money in conducting a witchhunt.
*D*: That's right, bro. The witches will come to us.
*C*: Right, but aren't we against taxes in the first place?
*D*: We're not against taxes, Charlie. We're just against taxes for big corporations and people like us. No successful person can seriously be a socialist so they will never have to pay the new tax. It will be the rest of them.
*C*: You mean...
*D*: Yep, those people.
*C*: I'm so proud of you, Dave. Your ideas are just genius.
*D*: I know, it just comes naturally to me. Anyway, you haven't even heard the best one yet.
*C*: What's that?
*D*: So you know the whole federal debt ceiling thing? Well, it's going to come up again next summer, so here's what we're going to do. We're going to let the country go bankrupt.

Charles drops the Ronald Reagan beanie baby he's playing with.

*C*: What?
*D*: The U.S. has $17 trillion of debt, right? So we refuse to raise the debt ceiling, let the country go into bankruptcy and then offer to buy the debt holders out for 1/1000th of a cent on the dollar. That's $170 million for everything, which is a bargain for us.
*C*: But why would the debt holders or the bankruptcy court agree?
*D*: Because we control the Supreme Court. They will back our play and voila! We will have bought ourselves our own private country and for a fraction of the money we dumped into trying to get Mitt Romney elected.
*C*: Wow! I mean, wow!
*D*: Yep, I'm that good. But that's not the point. It will be the mother of all buyouts and we'll be the heroes of capitalism. After the buyout, we will own everything. We can even kill off public education completely the way we want to.
*C*: But what about private property?
*D*: Most of the private property in this country is owned by our good buddies, so together we will control every inch of the United States.

Charles frowns. He suddenly looks unhappy.

*C*: I don't know, Dave. A lot of people could get hurt by this too.
*D*: Don't be a softie. This isn't personal. It's just business.
*C*: Yeah, but now that we're both Presidents, we have a responsibility to the country too.
*D*: Sure, but my plan would benefit the country. After we've bought the place, we'll clean up the mess, make things more efficient, and create prosperity for everyone who's not a socialist. A lean and mean America. We can even give it a catchy name: Diet Koch.
*C*: Real funny, but haven't we tried that before? It's never really worked.
*D*: Because we keep worrying about the silly stuff, like equality and compassion. Once we are through, only the strongest will be able to survive, like Darwin said.
*C*: But we aren't just another species of animals. Humans are unique and have a responsibility.

David explodes.

*D*: Oh for God's sake, Chuck! Why are you making this so hard? Either get on the same page with me or I'm going to have you shot.
*C*: You can't do that. This is still a democracy.
*D*: Not for long. Not now that I'm President.
*C*: You mean we are Presidents...
*D*: Sorry, there is no "we" in "power".
*C*: Actually there is.
*D*: Ok, bad example. But anyway, I'm stripping you of the Co-Presidency.
*C*: By whose authority?
*D*: The Board of Directors, who else? Don't forget, I'm also its Chairman.
*C*: That's unethical.
*D*: Maybe, but it's not against the law, and that's all that counts.
*C*: Fine, but this is just your way of getting back at me because I'm CEO of Koch Industries and you're not. Whatever, man. You got any more M&Ms?
*D*: You mean the ones with the Presidential Seal on them? I threw those out. We're having new ones made with the Koch Industries logo on them.
*C*: And you really think that's a good idea?
*D*: It doesn't matter. Our branding people told me it's good for business. If it works, we'll change the flag too... Reported by Huffington Post 1 hour ago.

Less Than Half of GA Obamacare 'Enrollees' Have Paid For Plans

April 21, 2014, 9:31 am

≫ Next: Wasserman Schultz's Big Fat Obamacare Lie

≪ Previous: If the Koch Brothers Were President...

$

0

0

Over half of the 221,604 Georgia Obamacare "enrollees" the Obama administration claims as enrollments have not paid for their plans, thereby leaving them still uninsured. 

Georgia Insurance Commissioner Ralph Hudgens says only 107,581 Georgians have paid for coverage. 

"Many Georgians completed their application process by the deadline, but have yet to pay for the coverage," Hudgens said in a statement.

Hudgens also said that insurance department estimates that 400,000 Georgians may lose their current health insurance coverage because of Obamacare.

According to the New York Times, 20% of the individuals whom the Obama administration claims among its eight million Obamacare enrollees have not activated coverage by paying their premiums. Reported by Breitbart 1 hour ago.

Wasserman Schultz's Big Fat Obamacare Lie

April 21, 2014, 10:10 am

≫ Next: Upheaval in How Money Flows Leaves Hospitals Scrambling

≪ Previous: Less Than Half of GA Obamacare 'Enrollees' Have Paid For Plans

$

0

0

Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) has just stated that, " Thanks to the law, over eight million people have quality health insurance."

This statement is a big fat lie, considering that there is no way the Obama administration, or Wasserman Schultz can know how many Americans actually have health insurance plans, as a result of signing up for Obamacare.

But don't take our word for it, just go read what Obama's press secretary-The New York Times- has written about the enrollments.

The administration did not release two other crucial statistics that would help determine the success of the law: the number of people among the eight million who bought insurance for the first time and the number who paid their initial premiums.-NY Times Reported by Breitbart 30 minutes ago.

Upheaval in How Money Flows Leaves Hospitals Scrambling

April 21, 2014, 10:03 am

≫ Next: Free health care this week in S.F., Oakland

≪ Previous: Wasserman Schultz's Big Fat Obamacare Lie

$

0

0

Filed under: Health Care, U.S. Government, Barack Obama, Health Insurance, Consumer Issues

*Alamy*

By Dr. Michael F. Roizen

I frequently write about how you can stay young in face of events you can't control. Today, that focuses on the changes in the health care system that are and would occur due to cost pressures and transparency so big that even President Obama and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) can't make it easy for you.

That's why his statements ("If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor; if you like your health plan, you can keep your health plan") have proven to be false for so many. Even in the most powerful executive office in the U.S., Obama couldn't ensure that. But the errors in his statements simply reflect that the changes American medicine is undergoing are bigger than Obamacare -- and were occurring without Obamacare. Yes. Obamacare is shaping them, and maybe accelerating them, but these changes alter what you need to do to get care.

Let's look at this from how the most major payers of health care costs are responding -- the insurance companies and the U.S. government (through Medicare, Medicaid and payment for insurance for government employees) is responding. How is that changing your doctors' and hospitals' income statements? And then, what can you as an individual do for you and yours until these changes shake out? While finances often seem boring, it's probably causing your local hospital trustees' blood to boil, and we'll try to make it that exciting for you, too.

*Payment Rates at 18% to 38% of Bills*

Hospitals are seeing lower reimbursements now due to declining admissions -- and greater transparency and lower payment rates. I'll take the hypothetical example of a for-profit system, although the exact same logic goes in spades for a not-for profit academic system. This hypothetical but realistic hospital system currently bills about $3 billion for medical services and collects around $1 billion. That's right -- the institution, through insurance contracts and payment of fractions of bills by the government, gets 33 cents for every dollar it bills. It costs such a system around $900 million to provide all the services, and thus they are able to have a profit and invest $100 million in plant and equipment maintenance, as well as new equipment. And this hospital system was exceptional, as many community hospitals function on margins below this 10 percent figure -- like 5 percent.

A system like this one gets this revenue by collecting about 23 cents on the dollar billed from Medicare, about 18 cents on the dollar billed from Medicaid and about 38 cents on the dollar billed for the aggregate of commercially insured patients. We are sure this seems bizarre to someone from outside the U.S., and actually it does to us, too, but it's the way the system has evolved.

But now, insurance exchanges are helping more people chose policies that pay Medicaid rates -- nearer 18 cents for each dollar billed -- and it isn't just the uninsured that are choosing these policies, but those who work for small companies that do not cover health insurance for their employees. Eight million people have chosen these policies so far. That is increasing outpatient demand and reducing reimbursements -- going from a policy that paid 38 cents to one that pays 18 cents per dollar billed seems (from what I can learn from friends) to be hitting many hospitals and even academic health systems hard. That's right, being paid 20 cents less on each dollar billed on just 20 percent of the $3 billion you bill reduces our hospital system's income from $1 billion to $880 million, or a net loss of $20 million versus a profit of $100 million (remember it cost $900 million to provide the care the hospital provided). What would you do if you ran that hospital system? You'd cut every non-essential service you could, and darn fast. Your grass would get cut less often. And those decreases mean less money for everyone selling services to that hospital

*More Pressure from Reference Pricing*

Now couple that with reference pricing: An article in Health Affairs indicates that in California, the Calpers system -- the largest state-run health insurance provider -- has gone to reference pricing in some areas. Calpers gives employees $30,000 for a total hip or total knee replacement and lists the hospitals that charge less than that. Virtually all academic medical centers (those that provide care for the sickest, and those that train our future doctors, nurses, pharmacists, dietitians, etc.) fall into the high-cost group, and their share of the Calpers patient population that has hip or knee replacements went to 35 percent from 54, while the share for low-cost hospitals has climbed to 65 from 46 percent in less than two years. (Only one high-priced group hospital in California converted to a low-cost group hospital in the past three years. These trends have accelerated since 2012, we are told.)Many other states will soon adopt reference pricing, where you'll be guided to hospitals that charge less for a service (and maybe try to not take patients with conditions that increase cost). This means there will be less dollars for the hospitals that have taken the sickest patients to continue to do so in transfer from the lower priced hospitals, as well as less dollars to train doctors. And doctors are seeing less revenue as more of their patients are paid for at or near the Medicaid rate of 18 cents per dollar billed, versus the private or even Medicare rates of 38 and 23 cents on the dollar billed. So it's not just the for-profit hospitals that are seeing less revenue, but all health providers.

How long will the pain last for the hospitals and health service providers till we remodel the system so all practitioners practice at the limit of their license and only the sickest get nursing or physician care? We don't know how this will settle out. This change was tried twice in the U.S. and once in several Canadian provinces in my job lifetime, but each time political pressure -- "I want a great neurosurgeon when I want one, not when my back pain has lasted 10 weeks" -- forced reversion to something close to the prior system. But this time seems different. And for you to avoid a shortage of providers or find out that your doctor has dropped out of accepting your specific insurance here are four tips:

· Hug your doctor and your doctor's office manager, and do whatever you need to make sure your doctor is willing to make an exception for you and yours to be covered by her -- even if she takes no one else from that network.
· Hug your company HR director and CEO, and hope they provide insurance coverage and a plan that allows you to keep your doctor. It isn't the ACA or Obamacare that changed this; it is your company or its insurance plan. Also hope that they'll include the academic center nearest you -- in case you or yours need complex care. And tell these folks how much your company's health insurance plan means to you and your productivity.
· Get preventive care now. Do whatever you can to avoid toxins such as tobacco, secondhand smoke and the five food felons and learn to love physical activity and manage stress.
· Take your do-over, and stay as well as you can for three to five years until this all shakes out.

Michael F. Roizen, MD, chairs the Wellness Institute at Cleveland Clinic, the first such position at any major health care institution, where he actively coaches patients. He is a former editor of six medical journals and has published more than 175 peer-reviewed scientific papers. Board-certified in internal medicine and anesthesiology, Roizen co-founded with Mehmet Oz YouBeauty, a media company focused on helping women lead healthier, more beautiful lives and RealAge. He is 67 calendar years of age but his RealAge is 48.7. His RealAge series of books as well as his "You" series, written with Oz, are worldwide bestsellers. Roizen and Oz write a daily syndicated column that appears in more than 130 newspapers. Roizen has appeared regularly on "Oprah,""Today,""20/20" and "Good Morning America" and has a two-hour, 33-station radio show. He routinely tweets the week's top medical stories @DrMikeRoizen.
-*More from U.S. News*-

· When to Fire Your Doctor
· Pharmacist Recommended Cough, Cold and Allergy Medicines
· 8 Health Technologies to Watch for

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments Reported by DailyFinance 38 minutes ago.

Free health care this week in S.F., Oakland

April 21, 2014, 4:58 pm

≫ Next: Non Owner Car Insurance Rates Data Added to National Quotes System at Auto Company Website

≪ Previous: Upheaval in How Money Flows Leaves Hospitals Scrambling

$

0

0

More than 600 volunteer doctors, dentists and other medical professionals will operate free health clinics in San Francisco and Oakland on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday for people who can't afford care. The event is called Bridges to Health, and organizers expect to help as many as 3,000 people who either have no health insurance or can't afford the co-payments for procedures. [...] assisting with the clinics will be both cities' departments of health and mayors' offices, as well as San Francisco's Project Homeless Connect and Housing, Opportunity, Partnerships and Engagement office. Reported by SFGate 18 hours ago.