Archive for the ‘In The News’ Category

Aetna Health Insurance

Posted on: May 27th, 2009 by Bill

Aetna continues to be one of the leading health insurance carriers for Florida small group and individual markets. Aetna health insurance plans offer a great balance between premium, coverage, and underwriting.

Starting in July of 2009 there are brand new Aetna small group insurance plans at very reasonable prices.

Blue Cross Blue Shield

Posted on: May 27th, 2009 by Bill

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida, Florida’s top carrier offers several types of plans to fit your needs. Although some may be too expensive they have several very affordable plans. Blue Cross Blue Shield HSA’s – Health Savings Accounts have some of the lowest rates I have seen for Florida health insurance plans.

Cover Florida Health Insurance

Posted on: December 11th, 2008 by Bill

These plans will be available as of January 5, 2009. Cover Florida is a partnership between the State of Florida and 6 private health insurance companies. No tax dollars were required to create the Cover Florida health insurance plans, so i would expect the eligibility requirements will be as stringent as other programs like Florida Kidcare. The objective is to make affordable health insurance available to the 3.8 million uninsured Floridians.

Of course affordable is a relative term and from what I have seen, on their website, these plans are quite expensive for what they offer. So, if you can make it through underwriting for an individual or family plan then these plans are not for you.

You can read the rest of the article here: Cover Florida Health Insurance

Cut Your Health Care Costs Now

Posted on: March 8th, 2006 by Bill No Comments

Cut Your Health Care Costs Now

Brief:

This is one of those articles that you need to read!

Nine ways to lower health insurance premiums.

  1. Shop Around for Health Insurance- even in good years
  2. Consider Health Savings Accounts
  3. Find a broker (like me) who works FOR YOU
  4. Tweak the finer points of your health insurance plan – consider higher deductibles
  5. Careful who you are covering
  6. Be your own insurer – get a high deductible plan
  7. Jump in the pool
  8. Outsource it
  9. GET HEALTHY

You can read the full article here.

Effect of State Regulations on Health Insurance Premiums

Posted on: March 7th, 2006 by Bill No Comments

The Heritage Foundation

Brief:

This is a rather lengthy (and kind of boring) article on the effects state regulations have on health insurance premiums.

Fact is that increased legislation results in increased health insurance premiums.

States that require health insurance to be guaranteed issue have health insurance premiums that are twice as much as those states that don’t. This means that healthy people are subsidizing the unhealthy people.

See for yourself this link will take you to the New York Department of Insurance website.

Get Healthy and Stay Healthy if you want lower health insurance premiums.

You can read the full article here.

Health Savings Accounts Cut Costs

Posted on: January 10th, 2006 by Bill No Comments

Bizwomen: Where women in business meet to network, connect, support, learn and grow.
Health savings accounts cut costs

Brief:

“It’s no secret that I am a big fan of Health Savings Accounts and I recommend them to just about everybody I talk to.”

Now that HSA’s have been available for a while they are starting to gain in popularity. This article provides some key statistics demonstrating this.

  • Insurance Giants like Humana, Aetna, Cigna, United Healthcare have entered the market.
  • HSA customers have accumulated over $141 million in their Health Savings Accounts. This money used to go to the insurance companies or just got lost in the health care system.
  • 45 million Americans don’t have health insurance.
  • People insured by traditional insurance plans (HMO’s, PPO’s, and POS plans) pay an average of $200 more per month in health insurance premium.

Comments:

The hardest part of getting an HSA is understanding how it can help you. You have to give it chance and be patient. If you have a good agent ask questions.

Instant Miami Health Insurance Quotes

Posted on: June 18th, 2006 by Bill No Comments

Instant Miami Health Insurance Quotes

I have been getting a lot of emails specifically about health insurance in Miami, so I put a Miami Health Insurance page on the main website. Here you’ll find health plan descriptions, types, and company recommendations for health care coverage in Miami-Dade county.

Click here to read the article: Instant Miami Health Insurance Quotes

Insurance Plan Shows Potential

Posted on: January 26th, 2006 by Bill No Comments

Insurance Plan Shows Potential – Tallahassee Democrat

Brief:

Florida State employees can now get Health Savings Accounts. The important thing is that the HSA’s have premium savings of about $400 per year for an individual, and about $1,330 per year for families. PLUS the state is also contributing to the employees HSA, $500 for individuals and $1,000 for families. PLUS-PLUS The employee gets to keep the HSA money when they leave.

What a deal! If you are an individual you get health insurance that is $400 a year less AND you get $500 for nothing. Families save $1,330 on premiums and get $1,000 for nothing. So state employees now have an extra $900 – $2,330 in their bank accounts if they get a health savings account in Florida.

OK so here is the bad news only 1% of the employees (844 employees) opted for this plan (one of them is Gov. Busch). I can’t believe that so few have taken advantage of this.

If anyone reading this is a State employee please contact me so I can explain this to you. HSA’s are great for everybody, but in this case it is even better because the state covers a good portion of the cost for the employee.

Miami Dade Blue by Blue Cross Blue Shield

Posted on: June 2nd, 2009 by Bill

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida (BCBSF) in partnership with Miami-Dade County has introduced a new health insurance product called Miami-Dade Blue. Miami-Dade Blue has been specifically designed to meet the needs of individuals, families searching for family or individual health insurance in Miami. Miami-Dade Blue is also available for groups of 2-50 employees seeking small group health insurance in Miami. More about Miami-Dade Blue

Top 10 Issues for the Health Care Industry in 2006

Posted on: January 21st, 2006 by Bill No Comments

PricewaterhouseCoopers Forecasts Top 10 Issues for the Health Care Industry in 2006

Brief:

PricewaterhouseCoopers released a report high lighting the Top Ten Issues the health care industry is facing.

  1. Medicare Drug Plan (also known as Medicare Part D) – will put negative pricing pressure on the pharmaceutical industry.
  2. Uninsured (over 45 million Americans) – Hospitals and other providers are seeing the “bad-debt” levels rise.
  3. The Rise of the Health Care Consumer – $10 co-pays are OUT, (plans are too expensive when you have to pay for your own insurance), High deductible health plans and HSA’s are IN. This causes the consumer to be more conscious of their medical spending.
  4. Wellness is IN, Fatness is OUT – consumers with poor health are paying more for their health insurance, if they can get it.
  5. Patient Safety – investments in IT will help reduce errors and improve tracking and reporting.
  6. Diminishing Drug Pipeline – pharmaceutical profit margins are slipping.
  7. Pay for Performance – increased emphasis on reimbursement being tied to performance.
  8. Report Card Fever – increasing demand for transparency in health care.
  9. Technology Backbone – Slow adoption of technology causes many issues in the health care industry.
  10. Labor Shortages – increases in automation, outsourcing, subsidized training, aggressive recruitment and retention.

_Healthcare Reform

Posted on: August 4th, 2009 by Bill


This video on Healthcare Reform is definitely worth watching.

It might take a couple of minutes to load. You can also follow this link http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?play=1&video=1199148604