There are many provisions which are  black and white  such as forbidding discrimination against  youth  with pre-existing conditions.  Another straight forward example is allowing children to stay  on their  parent’s insurance until they are 26 years old.  (A study finds that children who Edit this text on their parents’ insurance will raise employer premiums by 1  percent  .  Over  three thousand dollars  for each dependent.)

But  within  the  two-thousand  pages of the  Health-Care-Law  , there are 1200 instances where the  HHS Secretary (Health and Human Services)  can act at their discretion.  That means there are 1200  grey-zones   with wiggle-room that  need to be worked out.  Health Insurers can influence  Washington  in those decisions.  

So for those Insurers who  believe  they lost their influence on the Bill, they still can work to shape the Law .  Insurers need to make their case how to provide services at the best cost without just pushing the costs to the  insurer or to the employer .

Insurers shouldn’t  wage a war they can’t win  .  They should work within the spirit of the law, instead of just  looking for  loopholes like  some groups  did when they said they could get around insuring children with pre-existing conditions, not by dropping those children, but by not issuing them a policy .

The provisions must be completed by September 23rd, so there is a lot of work to be done .  These few months will affect the Industry for decades to come .  You can make grey areas work for you .

Rick Sabian

Insurance School

Insurance License Florida

Republicans were nearly unanimous in opposing the plan that would expand coverage to tens of millions of Americans who lack it and place tough new restrictions on the insurance industry.

Read More at
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091108/ap_on_bi_ge/us_health_care_overhaul

What do you think about the new bill?

The first thing you’re going to have to do is determine what kind of coverage you need. If you are younger, a non-smoker, and don’t have any major pre-existing medical conditions the plan you need is going to be a lot different than if you’re older, have a family, and have some pre-existing medical conditions.

Group health insurance is always going to be more affordable health insurance than just individual insurance. If you’re self employed you may not even realize it but there may be a group of other self employed individuals who have formed a membership in order to get group rate insurance. This will take a little digging on your part, but will be well worth it if you find such a group.

If a group rate policy for whatever reason can’t be found for you, then you’re going to have to buy an individual insurance policy. One of the best ways to get affordable health insurance is to shop around for a good quote. Thanks to the internet, this is easier than ever. You just have to fill out some basic information and you can get an instant quote.

You should also be aware of the different types of insurance that will be available to you. There are network based insurance companies and there are non-network insurers. A network based insurance policy is more likely to be the more affordable health insurance policy. With these types of policies you’ll be covered by an HMO, a PPO, or a POS.

The most affordable health insurance would be a HMO. Basically, you have very little say in what doctors you can and can’t see. You can only see doctors who are in the network.

The second most affordable health insurance would be the POS. The POS is kind of like a cross between an HMO and a PPO. You have to go to a physician who would then refer you to a specialist if need be. If you see the physician first, and are referred to a specialist than the policy will cover whatever costs your policy covers. If you choose to just go to a specialist without the referral, your policy may not cover the costs.

The last type of health insurance is a PPO. This would be the most expensive. With a PPO insurance policy you don’t have to have any doctor make any referrals. You can see whatever doctor you want when you want. However, if you use the preferred doctors you will be charged less for the services used.

Affordable health insurance is possible to find because of the competitive nature of the industry. You just have to make sure you have the right coverage that you can afford. You may have to do a little digging and some research. However, the time spent researching the right insurance can mean big savings on your insurance rates.

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Nearly 45,000 annual deaths are associated with lack of health insurance, according to a new study published online today by the American Journal of Public Health. That figure is about two and a half times higher than an estimate from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) in 2002.

The study, conducted at Harvard Medical School and Cambridge Health Alliance, found that uninsured, working-age Americans have a 40 percent higher risk of death than their privately insured counterparts, up from a 25 percent excess death rate found in 1993.

“The uninsured have a higher risk of death when compared to the privately insured, even after taking into account socioeconomics, health behaviors, and baseline health,” said lead author Andrew Wilper, M.D., who currently teaches at the University of Washington School of Medicine. “We doctors have many new ways to prevent deaths from hypertension, diabetes, and heart disease — but only if patients can get into our offices and afford their medications.”

The study, which analyzed data from national surveys carried out by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), assessed death rates after taking into account education, income, and many other factors, including smoking, drinking, and obesity. It estimated that lack of health insurance causes 44,789 excess deaths annually.

Previous estimates from the IOM and others had put that figure near 18,000. The methods used in the current study were similar to those employed by the IOM in 2002, which in turn were based on a pioneering 1993 study of health insurance and mortality.

Deaths associated with lack of health insurance now exceed those caused by many common killers such as kidney disease. An increase in the number of uninsured and an eroding medical safety net for the disadvantaged likely explain the substantial increase in the number of deaths, as the uninsured are more likely to go without needed care. Another factor contributing to the widening gap in the risk of death between those who have insurance and those who do not is the improved quality of care for those who can get it.

The researchers analyzed U.S. adults under age 65 who participated in the annual National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES) between 1986 and 1994. Respondents first answered detailed questions about their socioeconomic status and health and were then examined by physicians. The CDC tracked study participants to see who died by 2000.

The study found a 40 percent increased risk of death among the uninsured. As expected, death rates were also higher for males (37 percent increase), current or former smokers (102 percent and 42 percent increases), people who said that their health was fair or poor (126 percent increase), and those who examining physicians said were in fair or poor health (222 percent increase).

Steffie Woolhandler, study co-author, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, and a primary care physician at Cambridge Health Alliance, noted: “Historically, every other developed nation has achieved universal health care through some form of nonprofit national health insurance. Our failure to do so means that all Americans pay higher health care costs, and 45,000 pay with their lives.”

“The Institute of Medicine, using older studies, estimated that one American dies every 30 minutes from lack of health insurance,” remarked David Himmelstein, study co-author, associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, and a primary care physician at Cambridge Health Alliance. “Even this grim figure is an underestimate — now one dies every 12 minutes.”

Other authors include Karen E. Lasser, Danny McCormick, David H. Bor, and David U. Himmelstein. The study was supported by a National Service Research Award.

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