Humana brings dental coverage, network to New York

A national insurer announced that it will offer dental benefits plans to people in New York, including New York City, Albany and Rochester, as part of its continuing dental plan expansion.

HumanaDental of Humana, headquartered in Louisville, Ky., will offer three plans to New York residents: Traditional Preferred, PPO and Preventative Plus plans.

These plans offer a variety of coverage and cost options. The Traditional Preferred and Preventative Plus plans provide members coverage for any dentist, while the PPO plan covers members’ visits to in-network dentists.

All three plans offer the option to cover 100% of costs for preventative services such as oral exams, and 50% to 100% of costs for basic services such as fillings.

Thanks to ifawebnews.

Health insurance companies invest billions in fast food chains

Did you ever wonder how health insurance companies drum up future business? It's easy: Just invest in companies whose products cause chronic degenerative disease, driving people towards more health care needs and therefore more health insurance.

And that's exactly what the health insurance industry is doing. A new article published in the American Journal of Public Health reveals that U.S. and Canadian health insurance giants own nearly $2 billion worth of stock in fast food giants like McDonald's, Burger King, KFC, Taco Bell and others.

So profits made by health insurance companies are reinvested in industries that make people sick and diseased, bringing them back to buy more health insurance down the road. It's a pretty clever business model for an industry that seems focused on the almighty dollar and obviously has no concern whatsoever for the actual health status of its customers. If anything, these health insurance companies hope you get sicker!

Health Insurance Underwriting Guidelines

One of the craziest things that has ever happened to me as a webmaster in health insurance happened when I started getting inundated with harassing phone calls and emails from the insurance companies for posting underwriting guidelines in my website.  I don’t know why these documents are so secretive and guarded but I can say I was threatened with losing contracts and lawsuits if I didn’t pull them.  As a result I caved in, sort of. I left the guidelines up but with no real way of navigating to them.  The links were down in other words.

Most health insurance companies do not pay attention what I do over here so it seemed odd that I was getting ganged up on a daily basis during this period.  What had happened was Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida had found my postings and literally ratted me out to everyone.  Usually, these companies would murder each other given a chance, but they were working together to protect their awful secrets.

Well, what has changed? Not a whole heck of a lot though we have grown both in size and stature in the industry and my blog (where you are reading this) is not really part of a commercial website so if you are wondering, I am going to republish at least a few of them.  This blog doesn’t sell health insurance or make attempts to represent the carriers we work for in our professional lives so I am pretty sure it will fly unnoticed.

Why are these documents so carefully protected?  I am not sure as it is not like most agents and carrier personnel don’t have easy access to them, but for some reason if they got into the hands of the general public who gets declined it could potentially be used in a lawsuit?  I don’t know this is mostly conjecture.

California Health Insurance Exchange – Update

Benefits cafe is writing...

I recently had the opportunity to hear Susan Kennedy speak at the Milken Institute Forum entitled: Federal Health Reform: Can It Achieve Its Goals?Susan Kennedy was Gov. Schwarzenegger’s chief of staff and she is his appointee to the board that will oversee the California Health Benefit Exchange. She was also deputy chief of staff for Gov. Gray Davis. Here is a link to a video of the California Health Insurance Exchange presentation.

I was very impressed with Ms. Kennedy. Anyone interested in the future of health insurance of California should watch the presentation. Hat’s off to the Milken Institute for putting on this event. The Milken Institute has an amazing ability to gather the people at the center of major public policy decisions and allow the public to watch, listen, and ask questions. All Californians and all Americans owe a huge debt of gratitude to the Milken Institute.

Health Reform Changes to Expect at Your Doctor's Office

The authors highlighted a number of problems that exist: rates of readmissions, medication errors, and infections are much too high at nationwide hospitals. And American patients fail to take full advantage of preventive services like counseling for smoking cessation and screening for cancer. "Physicians will need to embrace rather than resist change," the study authors wrote, in order for the new legislation to successfully reverse these problems and reduce healthcare costs in the long term. That means doctors need to move away from a system where they're paid for ordering more tests and performing more procedures and toward one that reimburses them for coordinating care among a number of specialists and preventive health professionals like nutritionists and nurse practitioners. The goal is to keep you healthier and out of the hospital. Here's what you can expect at the doctor's office if not now, soon.
1) You'll get the healthcare you need—no more, no less.
2) You will receive healthcare from a team of health professionals.
3) Your care team will reach out to you in an attempt to prevent future health problems.
4) Technology will improve the efficiency of your healthcare.

New health insurance business model appears in Md. retail store

A Baltimore insurance broker started an insurance retail store to provide consumers with direct access to insurance advice and enrollment in light of the health care reform law.

HealthPlan Headquarters (HPHQ), which opened in Overlea, Md., late last year, offers insurance in a retail location where clients can walk in and shop for insurance coverage. The store provides self-service kiosks and one-on-one consultations with insurance specialists. It also provides seminars on health and well-being, and educational seminars about insurance such as health care reform and Medicare.

“Our goal was to create an easily accessible and comfortable environment where everyday people can stop by and speak with licensed insurance specialists…about obtaining affordable health, life, disability, and property and casualty insurance,” Suzanne Thompson, founder and president of HPHQ, said on its website. A 24-year insurance vetaran, Thompson is a principal at Landmark Insurance and Financial Group in Timonium, Md.

Simple guide here.

Health insurance companies stockpiled billions in profits

Nonprofit health insurance companies have been stockpiling billions of dollars in surpluses while raising members' rates, according to an analysis conducted by the nonprofit Consumers Union.

"Consumers are struggling to afford health coverage," report author Sondra Roberto said. "Those funds could be used in some cases to mitigate these rate increases."

Insurers are legally required to retain a minimum surplus in order to cover medical bills in the event of a financial downturn. Because no maximum surplus is set, however, many insurers have taken to amassing massive stockpiles.

To assess the degree of this problem, Consumers Union analyzed the surpluses of nonprofit Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans, which cover one in three privately insured U.S. residents. Surpluses ranged between two and seven times the minimum required.

Article from Natural new.