Some experts say that insurance agents, brokers and small insurance companies may become victims of the massive health care overhaul set to kick in in 2014. The health care reform bill will impact nearly every corner of the health care industry which makes up one-sixth of the US economy. According to a report by Time Magazine, agents and brokers are concerned they’ll soon be viewed as redundant under the new legislation.

At a recent meeting of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, 25 commissioners passed a resolutions stating that health care reform should “recognize and protect the indispensable role that licensed insurance professionals play in serving consumers.” At issue is how insurance companies should now calculate their medical and administrative expenses. Most experts believe health care reform will put an end to agent and broker commissions which make up anywhere from 5-20 percent of premiums. Health care reform may also make their roles as sales people and marketers unnecessary as new state insurance exchanges will be posted online by 2014. This will be a place where people and small groups can go to purchase insurance directly.

One role that brokers and agents are confident they’ll still be able to fulfill is that of a navigator through the health insurance maze. “More of the upfront stuff will be done online, but it won’t replace the service,” Janet Trautwein, CEO of the National Association of Health Underwriters, which represents agents and brokers, told Time Magazine.

A proposed  health insurance rate hike in New Mexico prompted death threats against top staff at Blue Cross Blue Shield, according to TV station KOB. Extra security was hired to protect high ranking Blue Cross Blue Shield officials at a hearing held this week in Santa Fe. There were also four additional officers provided by the Public Regulation Commission, according to reports.

The hearing was held in response to Blue Cross Blue Shield’s request to regulators to approve a 21.3 percent rate increase on 12 of their insurance plans. The proposed hike would impact thousands of residents in New Mexico, according to KOB. State officials listened to information provided by the Attorney General’s office and Blue Cross Blue Shield about whether or not the hike was justified and necessary.

Towards the end of the hearing the public was allowed to provide their thoughts on the proposed increase. Many argued that it wasn’t necessary when Blue Cross Blue Shield has a reported reserve fund of about $7 billion, according to KOB. But Blue Cross Blue Shield argued that the $7 billion was for emergencies like pandemics and said that higher expenses warranted a rate hike. Company officials say they actually needed a 36 percent increase to break even, but settled on 21.3 percent increase. Officials aren’t expecting any decisions to be made for about a month.

Forty-five states are getting $1 million dollar grants to keep an eye on insurance premium increases. The Obama administration said the money is only the beginning in a $250 million, five-year program to help states limit rate increases. Premiums have at times jumped as much as 30 percent in one year, and many people are paying double what they were paying a decade ago, according to the Washington Post.

Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius said some states are already regulating premiums well, others can do a better job. “Some states have full and rigorous rate review and [the right of] prior approval, so before a company raises a rate it goes through intense actuarial analysis. . . . In others the company doesn’t even have to file [with state authorities],” she told the Washington Post.

The states that already regulate premiums closely will be using the grant money differently than states who don’t. For example, Maryland already has a system in place for regulating insurance premiums. Officials there say they’ll use the $1 million to hire consultants to investigate what additional data needs to be requested from insurers. Some states say they plan to start requiring insurance companies to get pre-approval before any rate increases are implemented. Delaware Insurance Commissioner Karen Weldin Stewart thanked the Obama administration for the money. “This important grant will help my department and I not only protect Delawareans from redundant rate increases, but will also allow me to pave a critical path toward modernizing our approaches in reaching the goal of affordable, accessible and first rate care for all,” Stewart told the Dover Post .

Starting in 2014 states will have the ability to punish insurance providers that raise rates unreasonably. They’ll be able to exclude those companies from subsidized state-run insurance programs. Five states opted out of the first round of grant money. They are Alaska, Georgia, Iowa, Minnesota and Wyoming.

While insurance companies argue that rate increases are a direct response to rising medical costs, Sebelius believes there needs to be better oversight of the industry. “Just having transparency . . . in itself is going to change the dynamics of what is happening in terms of the massive rate increases in this country,” Sebelius told the Washington Post.

A mansion, Arizona real estate, luxury cars and investments were all paid for by money authorities say a Chicago cardiologist scammed from Medicare, according to a report by the Associated Press. The suburban doctor practicing in Burr Ridge was sentenced to five years in prison for what authorities say amounted to more than $13 million in Medicare reimbursements for care that was never provided.

Authorities say 50-year-old Sushil Sheth pleaded guilty a year ago to one count of health care fraud, and received his sentence this week. He’ll begin serving a five year prison term in two months. The fraud happened between January 2002 and July 2007. In June 2007, the Associated Press says that federal agents seized more than 600 uncashed checks from insurance companies totaling more than $6.7 million.

The Chicago Tribune reported that Sheth “lied thousands of times to Medicare and other insurers in order to receive millions of dollars he did not earn for patients he never treated,” according to a statement released by the  U.S. attorney’s office. According to the Chicago Tribune, Sheth stole patient information from three unnamed hospitals and used it to bill Medicare and other insurance companies for services he never performed and patients he never treated.

Some experts say Medicare may be around a little longer than originally projected. Trustees who oversee Medicare and Social Security are adding another 12 years onto the life of Medicare and they say it’s because of President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul. But others remain skeptical that the program’s life has really been extended, according to an Associated Press report. The trustees were careful to add that these projections, “do not represent a reasonable expectation” for hospitalizing America’s elderly.

Originally, Medicare was projected to run out of funds in 2017, but the new report says the program will have enough money to be sustained until 2029. Meanwhile, Social Security is expected to run out of funds in 2037. And the trustees also say they’re not enough money to include a cost-of-living increase in next year’s social security checks.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said the report showed positive gains, but that much work was left to be done. “We must continue to make progress addressing the financing challenges,” he said according to the Associated Press. “Those reforms require that we achieve very substantial improvements in efficiency and productivity.”

Analysts say that in the future, more of the economy will be taken up by Medicare costs. Right now 3.6 percent of the economy goes to Medicare, but by 2050, experts say that will grow to eight percent, which equates to hundreds of billions of dollars. John Rother, Executive Vice President of the AARP says the affect of Obama’s health care plan won’t be fully known for a while. “The purpose of the law was to slow the growth in health care costs,” Rother said to the AP. “The fact is we really won’t know until some of the regulations get spelled out.”

The recession isn’t helping matters. For the first time since the 1980’s Social Security will hand out more money than it collects. It’s expected to return to a surplus, but then once again have a deficit in 2015. And by 2037 it will only collect enough money to pay out about three-fourths of the benefits that are owed to citizens. “The fact that the costs for the program will likely exceed tax revenue this year is not a cause for panic, but it does send a strong message that it’s time for us to make the tough choices that we know we need to make,” Social Security Commissioner Michael J. Astrue told the Associated Press. Social Security built up a $2.5 trillion surplus, but the government has borrowed that money over the years to fund other programs.

Missouri voters hit the polls to vote on Proposition C. They were the first in the country to speak their minds with ballots on whether health care should be mandatory. And voters said loud and clear, no. About 71 percent of Missouri voters supported Proposition C, which prohibits the government requiring citizens to carry health insurance or from penalizing anyone who doesn’t.

But what the vote actually accomplishes is up for debate. Federal law always trumps state law, but some say it may change the outcome of the upcoming November elections. According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Republican National Chairman Michael Steele believes it’s a big blow to the Obama administration and believes it’s a sign that Republicans will regain the majority in November. “By rejecting ObamaCare with nearly three-quarters of the vote in a critical swing state, Missouri sent a clear message to Democrats and the Obama administration that government-run health care is a gross overreach of the federal government that needs to be repealed and replaced,” Steele said in a statement to the Post-Dispatch.

Other states have similar upcoming votes including Arizona and Oklahoma. Georgia, Idaho, Louisiana and Virginia have passed similar measures, but did not put them on a ballot.

Next Tuesday Missouri voters will tell the world what they think of the recently passed federal Health Care Reform Act when they head to the polls. Missourians are the first in the nation to vote on the issue. They’ll be voting on Proposition C, a law that would prohibit the government from forcing people or businesses to buy health insurance, according to Fox 4 News.

If it passes, the public would be saying that the government could not issue fines to those who refuse to buy health insurance. But, a no vote would mean they support health care reform. “If Proposition C is passed, it’s also going to cause a lot of the uninsured to continue going uninsured,” Mase Hakes, who plans to vote “no” on Proposition C, told Fox 4 News. “And no one will be forced to change their policy if they’re happy with something they already have, they don’t have to change it. This is just something to make it available for those who cannot.”

According to the Associated Press, a recent Mason-Dixon poll conducted for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and KMOV found that 61 percent of people opposed the federal health care law. Federal law says that the new health insurance program will go into affect in 2014.

The Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan is kicking into gear. President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act into law back in March, which included the creation of the PCIP which makes health insurance available to those who aren’t able to get it because of a pre-existing condition. There are some requirements you must meet in order to be eligible for this government insurance.

• You must have been uninsured for at least six months.
• You must have a pre-existing condition or have been denied health coverage because of your health condition.
• You must be a US citizen or be residing here legally.

This program is only temporary and will only be in affect until 2014 when access to affordable health insurance becomes mandatory. The programs are run differently in each state so you’ll need to research your state’s PCIP. However, funds are limited so many states are offering the program first come first served.

But if you are able to secure a place in the program you will receive benefits such as:

• Coverage for primary, specialty and hospital care as well as prescription drug coverage.
• Fair premiums that aren’t based on your existing condition.
• Premiums that aren’t based on income level.

A new study released by the Kaiser Health Foundation found that millions of people who pay for their own insurance are facing big increases in premium costs. The study says that most people in the US get health insurance through an employer, but there are 14 million under the age of 65 who purchase it through the individual market. And three out of four of those people have recently been told their rates were on the rise.

The study found that the average recent rate increase was 20 percent. Most are paying the increase, but some are switching plans or changing to a different company. “With people in the individual market being hit with average increases of 20%, the survey shows that the steep increases we have been reading about over the last several months are not just extreme cases,” Kaiser Family Foundation President and CEO Drew Altman said in a news release.

The survey found that the average annual premium for someone paying for their own insurance is $3,606 while those with employer-sponsored coverage have annual premiums that are $4,824 on average. Typically older people say they’re paying higher premiums than younger people.  The survey questioned 1,038 people between the ages of 18-64 who pay for their own health insurance coverage.

California officials are cracking down on unnecessary and unfair premium rate increases. According to Examiner.com, California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner announced that any major insurance company filing for a rate increase will be reviewed closely under strict new rules. The review will be conducted by an independent company.

According to reports, 90 percent of California’s health insurance market is controlled by four companies: Anthem Blue Cross, Aetna, Health Net and Blue Shield of California. This new review policy comes in place after Blue Cross’s announcement last spring that it would raise rates by as much as 39 percent on individual policies. Poizner hired outside actuaries to determine if the rate hikes were justified and according to that review, significant mathematical errors were uncovered. Blue Cross’s rate increases never went through.

The review of Blue Cross was conducted by Axene Health Partners. Axene is now reviewing rate increases submitted by Aetna and Blue Shield. Many hope this new step will eliminate unnecessary rate increases for Californians.

New laws in New York make it harder for insurance companies to raise premiums. The governor signed into law the Governor’s Program Bill No. 278 which gives the New York State Insurance Department authority to review and approve insurance premiums before they are issued. It passed with overwhelming support in a 111-17 vote.  Before this new law the insurance industry was pretty much self-regulated, according to a report by dotmed.com. “Deregulation of health insurance premiums is a failed experiment leading to unjustified premium increases and more people losing their health insurance coverage,” Governor Paterson said in prepared remarks.

Now, if insurance companies want to raise rates, they have to apply for approval first. “Before, health insurance companies could raise premiums as much as they wanted, and all we could do is check long afterward if, in fact, they were overcharging,” David Neustadt, spokesman for the New York State Insurance Department, told DOTmed News. “The current rates are increasing at a much faster rate than before [the file and use law].” This way governing bodies can make sure any increases are justified, and not just created by insurance companies so they can increase bottom lines.

The law will impact any rate increases set to take effect on or after October 1, 2011. “I applaud New York on its bold move to hold insurance companies accountable and prevent the kind of unreasonable rate increases that have made health insurance unaffordable for many American families,” said U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius in a statement, according to dotmed.com. “This is the kind of action that, together with the Affordable Care Act, is shifting power back to consumers.”

People who get laid off on or after June 1 can no longer turn to the government for help to cover 65% of their premium costs for COBRA health coverage. COBRA lets workers stay on their former employer’s group health plan for a period of three months. This assistance that once came from the government expired on June 1, and it does not appear that lawmakers will continue it according to the Wall Street Journal.

A new jobs bill once held an extension of the COBRA payment plan, but it was removed. The bill is now in the Senate. Those who lost their jobs between September 2008 and May 31, 2010 could still apply for insurance assistance for up to 15 months. Their former employer would be responsible for paying health insurance costs plus a two percent administrative fee. Under subsidies provided by the economic stimulus package, premiums run $387 on average. Without the assistance, family premiums jump to over $1100 a month. For those who lose their jobs after June 1, the government will no longer pick up that $720 difference.

Families USA found that those laid off after June 1 would have to spend 84% of their monthly unemployment insurance checks on COBRA premiums in order to keep their families covered. Unemployment checks are about $1,313 on average. However in 11 states unemployment income actually would not be enough to cover insurance costs. ”It’s ironic that in a little over two months after health reform passed and is designed to achieve significant coverage improvement, in the short term we will go backwards,” said Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA, in a Wall Street Journal report.

Another option would be finding individual coverage which could be cheaper, as long as there are no preexisting conditions. “Cobra coverage is so expensive, but the alternatives are either going without coverage or having to go to the individual market,” Park said to the Wall Street Journal. “As long as there’s not a gap of 63 days or more in coverage, you’re guaranteed access to the individual market so insurers can’t deny you. But it may not provide the same comprehensive benefits.”

Even if you already have health insurance, the cost of prescriptions can still be extreme. According to a 2009 poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation, six out of ten people have skilled or delayed healthcare because of the cost. Three in ten people have not filled a prescription because of the cost and one in five have cut pills in half or skipped doses because of the cost.  There are lots of programs available through non-profits and even drug companies that help people cut costs of medicines. Whether you have insurance or not, try checking out these assistance programs.

HealthWell Foundation: The HealthWell Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit created in 2003 in order to help those who have insurance, but can’t afford copayments, coinsurance, and premiums.

Xubex: Xubex offers affordable quality care through a Patient Assistance Program, Free Medication Program and other resources. Xubex offers assistance for generic medications which are historically not included in assistance programs.

Rx Outreach: Through Rx Outreach, qualified patients can buy more than 150 medications for $20 for a 180-day supply. You must meet certain income requirements and apply to receive the discounted medications.

Pfizer Connection to Care: Various drug companies, including Pfizer, offer free medications to those who qualify. Pfizer’s Connection to Care program offers free medicines through your doctor’s office for those who meet household income guidelines.

NeedyMeds: To do more of your own research on available assistance programs head to NeedyMeds.com. Simply search for your medication and you’ll find a list of available programs that offer free or reduced prices. There is also a list of state-sponsored programs that offer help to residents.

A new initiative could help four to six million uninsured restaurant employees get coverage. According to the Chicago Tribune, the National Restaurant Association along with UnitedHealth Group Inc teamed up to make health insurance coverage easier for restaurant workers to get. The move comes three years before the US government will require everyone to have health insurance and will help roughly ten percent of the uninsured workforce.

An array of insurance plans geared toward the restaurant industry will be unveiled by officials. Plans will be released first in Pennsylvania and Colorado, then expanded to California, Florida, Illinois, Texas and other states within the upcoming year. Eventually the plan will encompass the whole year. “Because of the narrow profit margins of the restaurant business, it has been an ongoing real challenge for our industry to find affordable [insurance] products they could offer to employees,” said Dawn Sweeney, chief executive of the influential restaurant group, which represents about 380,000 employers nationwide, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Officials from UnitedHealthcare say they’ve been working on the program for two years. “We hope that by working together, we can make inroads in covering the people who don’t have insurance,” said Austin Pitman, chief growth officer for UnitedHealthcare, according to the Nation’s Restaurant News. He says the program will also offer a 24-hour health care hotline and wellness programs. The NRA’s chairman of the board, Mike Gibbons believes that health care reform will put a huge burden on the restaurant industry, but this plan may alleviate some of that. “The cost of health care reform could be potentially devastating,” he said. “The alliance will give lower cost health care alternatives.”

The restaurant industry employs nearly 13 million people around the country, but has one of the lowest levels of health care coverage. Sweeney says that’s why identifying health care was identified as a top concern of the association. So what’s included in the plan? According to reports restaurant owners and employees will have a web portal dedicated to them to shop for UnitedHealth insurance products. Restaurant owners could use the site to find plans for their employees, and the site would also offer individual plans for workers whose workplace doesn’t offer the benefit of health insurance. A variety of employer-sponsored plans would be available including plans that offer coverage for preventative care, routine medical visits, catastrophic events and more.

This week the White House unveiled new details about a plan that will allow young adults to stay covered under their parents’ health insurance policies until they’re 26-years-old. The new policy forces companies offering employer-sponsored  health plans to offer coverage for their employees’ children up to the age of 26. The rules don’t require the young adult to live with his or her parents, attend college or even be a dependent. The twenty-somethings can also be married or unmarried.

Health and Human Services Secretary, Kathleen Sebelius estimates that 1.2 million people currently without health insurance coverage will have it because of this new rule. According to a report in the New York Times, the health department estimates that it will cost $3,380 in 2011 to cover each new insurance customer and $3500 in 2012. In 2013 it will cost about $3690 for this coverage. This equates to about a one percent increase in family premiums, according to government officials.

These new rules will begin to take effect September 23, but there are some exceptions. Companies are allowed to exclude adult children of their employees until 2014 if the children already have access to their own insurance through their employee. Some companies are offering this additional coverage now, and they aren’t waiting until the upcoming deadlines. Under the new rules, employers must give young adults a 30-day enrollment window for signing up under their parents’ coverage.

Some people feel the rules or too lenient. “Regulatory agencies may have stretched their authority in writing these rules. Adult children can live 2,000 miles away from their parents, be married and not have spoken to Mom and Dad in a year, and they could still be added to the parents’ employer-sponsored health plan just like any other child,” said James P. Gelfand, director of health policy at the United States Chamber of Commerce, to the New York Times. However, according to the Chicago Tribune, other companies are getting a jump on the new rules. Trustmark, an insurance provider to more than two million people across the US, started offering the coverage My 1. “This early implementation will ensure graduating college students maintain health insurance coverage without falling into the ranks of the uninsured,” said John Anderson, the company’s senior vice president . “This ultimately closes the possible gap in coverage that would have occurred until this fall.”

Two studies came to two very different conclusions when it comes to healthcare reform’s impact on jobs. The Center for American Progress released results that showed four million new jobs would be created over the next decade as a direct result of health care reform. On the other side of the spectrum is a study done by the Heritage Foundation, predicting that 690,000 jobs would be eliminated due to health care reform. While the new law’s impact on jobs may be debated, it’s easier to tell how certain professions will be impacted.

For instance, insurance agents are likely to see increased demand since the 32 million Americans currently without insurance will need to purchase some. That rule goes into affect in 2014. Anyone who doesn’t own insurance by then will be forced to pay a $695 fine. On the downside, the reform could mean less money will be left to pay commissions for insurance agents.

As far as doctors are concerned, some will benefit from increased Medicare payments. Many physicians will be eligible for incentive payments equal to 10 percent if they meet certain requirements. However, some argue that those payments are still too low when you factor in the costs of many procedures. Since the healthcare debate remains very heated, it’s hard to determine what the outcome will be. Americans are probably best off researching the facts, and making their own decisions.

It didn’t take long. Scam artists are already using the new health care overhaul to cheat and confuse Americans. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius warned of the scam artists this week. “Unfortunately, scam artists and criminals may be using the passage of these historic reforms as an opportunity to confuse and defraud the public,” Ms. Sebelius said in a letter to state insurance commissioners and attorneys general, according to the New York Times.

The scams to watch out for include people establishing toll-free phone numbers and door-to-door salesmen looking for buyers of fake insurance policies. The scammers are spreading lies about requirements in the new health bill, confusing Americans even more. Similar scams were seen during the H1N1 epidemic. Sebelius said that any rip-offs should be investigated and prosecuted. She believes senior citizens could be a big target for the crime.

It’s important to note that the insurance changes created under the new bill do not go into effect until 2014, unlike the crooks are saying. So if you are approached by someone selling an insurance product who makes claims about the new health care bill, make sure you do your research before becoming a victim.

The Arena Football League is back in the game last weekend after taking a season off. They resumed play with 15 teams, but none of those teams are in California. According to the New York Times, the AFL didn’t return to California because of the state’s worker’s compensation system, which allowed retired players to collect big money for claims that wouldn’t have qualified in other states.  “It’s definitely part of the decision-making process,” Jerry Kurz, the league’s commissioner, said to the New York Times. “I bring it up in the first conversation I have with anyone interested in bringing a team to California.”

There has been interest from ownership groups wanting to launch a team in California. But costs from retired athletes have halted the move. The AFL has a league-wide insurance policy which distributes costs evenly among the 15 teams, regardless of where the team is located. But California carries such high liability that the ownership group there would have to cover insurance costs themselves through a separate policy.

The problem lies in the fact that AFL runs slimmer profit margins as compared to the NFL. So a few extra insurance claims can mean the difference between a good year and a bad one. “The big guys can afford it — it’s a blip on the radar to them,” said Andrew Kline in an New York Times report, a senior managing director of the investment bank Park Lane who has advised potential California ownership groups. “It’s massive to the AFL team.”

Should the government be allowed to force Americans to buy health insurance? More than a dozen states are saying no. Attorneys General from 13 states filed suit in a northern Florida federal court saying that mandating individuals to buy health insurance should not be permitted. Virginia filed a separate complaint as Virginia law states, “No resident of this Commonwealth … shall be required to obtain or maintain a policy of individual insurance coverage.” This statute gives Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli the ability to challenge the federal law since it immediately conflicts with state law. The 13 other states are claiming that if the federal government is allowed to force the  purchase of health insurance, then they would be allowed to mandate the purchase of an unlimited number of other products or services. Those involved in the suit are:

1. Florida
2. South Carolina
3. Nebraska
4. Texas
5. Michigan
6. Utah
7. Pennsylvania
8. Alabama
9. South Dakota
10. Louisiana
11. Idaho
12. Washington
13. Colorado

But whether or not the states have a case is also up for debate. Roger Pilon, Vice President for Legal Affairs at the Cato Institute told the Arena Digest he believes they do. “Do the 13 state attorneys general have a case against the health care bill? Absolutely. It will be an uphill battle, because modern “constitutional law” is so far removed from the Constitution, but a win is not impossible. There are three main arguments. First, under the Constitution, properly interpreted, Congress has no power to enact such a plan. Second, the plan conscripts state governments into carrying out and paying for federal mandates. Third, the individual mandate amounts to an unlawful capitation or direct tax.” But Theda Skocpol, a professor at Harvard University disagrees. “This is all just pot-banging for political purposes. Even the most ridiculous judges won’t buy this. The key indicator is no case law cited in the filings,” says Skocpol.

President Barack Obama heads to Iowa– his first stop after signing the healthcare reform bill earlier in the week. Obama will make a speech at the University of Iowa Field House, located in Iowa City. It’s the same place where he first announced his healthcare plans as a candidate in May of 2007. “I’m sure there will be parents of those that attend the University of Iowa that will have some interest in keeping their children on a health insurance policy through the age of 26,” White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Wednesday, according to Reuters. Some highlights of the bill include:

• Insurance for 32 million Americans who are without.
• Ban on insurance companies’ ability to refuse coverage to people with pre-existing medical conditions.
• More health insurance for the poor.
• New taxes on the wealthy.

“The president believes it is important to continue to talk about the many aspects of the law that will do precisely what he said they’re intended to do,” said Gibbs, according to Reuters. According to a new poll released by Quinnipiac University, before the House of Representatives passed the bill, 54 percent of Americans didn’t agree with it, while 36 percent supported it. After the vote, 49 percent disapproved. But those surveyed said they trust Obama more than Republicans in Congress to manage healthcare. Forty-five percent supported Obama, while 35 percent supported Republicans.

Republicans unanimously voted against the bill and are trying to repeal it. Officials from 14 states have filed federal suits saying the law violates the US Constitution. But some groups who support Obama are planning to spend $5 million on TV and radio ads thanking him, and targeting Republicans.

The health care debate is heating up and even though there are lots of angles to argue– no one can deny that insurance is expensive. According to the Commonwealth Fund it’s going to keep increasing. In the past decade the average annual family premium plan doubled in cost, jumping from $6,958 to $13,436. And some say it could double again in the next ten years, reaching a whopping $24,000 by 2020.

Soaring premiums have forced some healthier Americans to forgo insurance coverage altogether. Delaware’s Daily Times says that’s the case for resident Dequilla Hurt who canceled her insurance and won’t have any coverage until her probationary period ends at her new job. They interviewed Hurt for a recent report on the state’s rising health care costs. “I have this window of time where I have no health insurance. If something happens to me, if I go to the emergency room now, the total cost will be on me. Will I be able to afford the cost of an emergency room visit? That worries me,” said Hurt.

A Gallup poll found that the salary you bring in greatly impacts the likelihood of having insurance. Of young adults making more than $48,000 a year, 86 percent have insurance. But of those who bring in half that annually, less than $24,000, only 58 percent spring for a health plan.

Some are pointing to the insurance industry’s lack of competition as the reason why costs are increasing at such a fast rate. In just over a dozen years the industry has experienced more than 400 mergers and the number of choices for consumers has dropped by 20 percent which means fewer options for employers looking for the best deal. The Government Accountability Office says that the five largest providers of small group insurance control 75 percent or more of the market share in 34 states. In fact, one out of every nine Americans has insurance with WellPoint, which is the parent company of Blue Cross Blue Shield and Anthem.

Some say that while insurance companies can carry part of the blame for rising premiums, there are other sectors of the health care industry that are driving up costs for Americans. The Journal Sentinel in Wisconsin talked to a Harvard professor who believes part of the problem lies with consumers themselves. “The primary reason that health care costs and health insurance premiums are rising so rapidly is the amount of health care that we consume,” said Katherine Baicker, a professor of health economics at the Harvard School of Public Health. “Now, that is not to say there are no problems with the insurance industry.”

A panel of CEOs reported to the White House at the request of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. Sebelius wanted to know why insurance premiums were increasing so rapidly in recent months. Attending the meeting were CEOs of United Health Group, Inc, WellPoint Inc, Aetna Inc, Health Care Service Corp, CIGNA HealthCare Inc, as well as representatives from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. President Obama also visited the meeting and read a letter from a 50-year old cancer survivor from Ohio who had experienced a 25% hike in insurance premiums since 2009.

According to reports, Sebelius wanted to hear from the executives as to why there was a recent jump in premium rates in several states. “I asked them to explain why these crushing burdens are being placed on middle-class families and what we can do to lower costs,” Sebelius said in a report on Insurance Networking News. “I also asked the CEOs to post the actuarial justification for these stunning rate increases online in an easy-to-understand manner, so that consumers can see why premiums are skyrocketing to the point that some people in the individual market can no longer afford coverage. I hope they will act quickly and make this information available to all of us. If insurance companies are going to raise rates, the least they can do is tell us why.”

The report says that Aetna CEO Ron Williams defended the increases, saying they were reflective of costs that insurance companies were paying to drug makers, hospitals and other health-care companies that were forcing increases to the cost of medical care. “The rate is really reflective of our other parts of the health-care delivery system,” said  Williams in a Wall Street Journal report. They said that trying to lower premiums without addressing those costs was destined to fail.

NAIC’s President says the hikes are another example of why all states need to be allowed to regulate their own insurance premiums. “State regulators are best positioned to perform rate review and many of us do so with great success,” said Jane L. Cline, NAIC President and West Virginia Insurance Commissioner. “Some, however, have not been given the authority by their state legislatures to review and deny unjustified increases. We believe that a federal backstop could help encourage these legislatures to provide that authority.”

Sebelius asked the CEOs to post information online that explains their breakdown of revenue including how much goes towards administrative costs, how much is spent on marketing and what goes towards actual care. She said making that information easy to access by consumers would increase transparency about what is happening in the health care industry and why rates are increasing.

The health insurance market is flooded with options. You have health insurance from employers, insurance for the self-employed, insurance that covers everything, and insurance that provides minimal coverage. Many people sign up for the best policy they can find or just whatever their employer offers.

The government is back at it, with the ‘it’ being health insurance negotiations. After a short breather and a regrouping of pro and con forces, President Obama has proposed a new health insurance bill that will cost $950 billion over 10 years. There are a lot of questions, of course, concerning how to pay for the almost trillion dollars of expense, but that will need a lot more debate. In the meantime, consumers want to know what this bill means for their families and their household expenses.

In other words, consumers want to talk about the nitty gritty of how these proposals are going to impact their ability to get and/or keep health insurance and how much it will cost. All the partisan bickering is getting tiresome for many consumers, but they will have to listen to a lot more before a health care bill ever makes it to the Obama’s desk.

In the meantime, the same consumer question remains: what will it cost ME? The new Obama plan remains as ambitious as the old plan. The White House says the new Obama plan makes health insurance more affordable for those Americans in the lower to middle income tax bracket. The plan would add approximately 31 million people to health insurance plans by offering tax credits to offset the cost of the policy. In addition, the Medicaid program would be expanded. Medicaid is funded with both federal and state funds.

The Obama plan also includes new taxes. One of the taxes is on high value insurance plans often called “Cadillac Plans”. A 40 percent tax would be charged on insurance plans that cost more than $27,500 a year and would start in 2018. Fees are placed on drug makers too.

In addition, there is a mandate ordering all Americans to carry health insurance. This particular provision in the bill is highly unpopular with some consumers. People who refuse to get health insurance would have to pay the higher of a 2.5 percent income tax as a penalty or a flat annual fine of $695. There is an exemption for lower income people. The purpose of the mandate is to force healthy people into the insurance pool so that health insurance premiums do not have to go significantly higher.

Yet those who have interpreted the financial impact of the Obama plan say that health insurance premiums will increase by as much as 39 percent.

Another provision in the bill is that employers with more than 50 people on the payroll are required to offer health insurance to employees. If the employer fails to offer insurance then the workers will get a government subsidy to purchase insurance elsewhere and the employer must pay a $2,000 fine per worker.

Senior citizens would see cuts in Medicare Advantage too. This is a program that offers Medicare benefits through private insurance.

There is no public option in the Obama plan.

What happens now? That is the big question. The President convened a bipartisan summit but most do not expect much bipartisan support to come out of it. But President Obama has made one thing clear: He expects some kind of health care overhaul bill to be passed in the near future.

There is so much going on in a single health insurance policy that it can be overwhelming to compare two separate policies. You may not know which points to look at or which points should get more weight in your decision than others.

Health insurance is an investment in your future. Health problems spring up at the unlikeliest and most inconvenient times so you need to be financially ready to deal with them.

After you have taken all the time to get the right health insurance policy, do you know the correct way to go about filing a claim?

Sometimes your medical provider does not take on the burden of filling out the claim form on your behalf so you have to figure out how to do it.

Here are the steps you will want to take to do this successfully and well as some tips to make sure that your claim is successful.

High deductible insurance plans are presented as the answer to those who cannot afford high insurance premiums. With so many people currently uninsured or who have trouble paying for their health insurance, these high deductible plans seem like the answer.

Everyone knows that going without health insurance is unacceptable so perhaps this is the workable alternative.

Any way to save money on health care costs is worth looking into. Health savings accounts allow you to plan ahead and set aside money that will be spent on health care costs in the coming year.

Domestic partner health insurance is an insurance that can be shared by an unmarried couple who have a committed relationship. When you think of couples sharing insurance plans you usually think of married couples but this type of insurance extends to unmarried opposite sex and same sex couples.

Health insurance is an investment in your future. Health problems spring up at the unlikeliest and most inconvenient times so you need to be financially ready to deal with them. Unless you have endless amounts of money stashed away and want to risk spending it all on some health problem, you will want to invest in health insurance.

Everyone is seeking new and less expensive ways to get health insurance. The costs of having health insurance are often too taxing but the risks of not having health insurance are so potentially devastating that not having health insurance is inconceivable.

When you look for a new job then insurance matters are probably not the foremost thoughts on your mind. While you will be thinking about maintaining your health insurance coverage, you will be more focused on advancing your career, trying something new, or just enjoying gainful employment.

In this time of pinching pennies you want to look for absolutely every way you can cut back, but this does not mean that you want to use every method of saving money that you find. Some methods come with more risk than you should take on.

The sea of health insurance options seems endless. There are types of health insurance that are slight variations on the norm and others that are radically different. The fact that they exist indicates that they are plans that a sufficient number of individuals think are worthwhile. One such unique plan is known as temporary insurance. It may not be for everyone but it might be for you.

The constantly rising costs of health insurance are a burden to many. Even worse, many people go without health insurance because of these high costs. This dire situation has led many to seek out cheaper versions of health care coverage or cost effective alternatives. One possible alternative is the idea of medical sharing.

Finding health insurance for a small business can be challenging. You need to find affordable plans that provide enough coverage to be worthwhile to your employees. Because health insurance is such a pivotal part of a compensation package, it can directly affect employee job satisfaction. You need the right health insurance package to take care of your employees and your burgeoning business.

Pre-existing conditions can make it difficult or even impossible to get good health insurance or any health insurance at all. Health insurance companies tend to shy away from those with these conditions because these policy owners will cost them more money.

The debate on healthcare in the United States rages on amidst the emergence of a House health bill. Many Americans are simply overwhelmed and polarized by the debate, with so much at stake and a clear dose of partisan politics thrown into the mix. All that can be done is try to make sense of what is currently being proposed and continue to offer counter-solutions until a compromise bill is reached.

Let’s face it, health insurance discussions create feelings of great weariness. Is the new legislation going to lead to Americans obtaining health insurance without causing even more household budgeting problems?

Apparently, certain liberal groups have taken aim at Senator Max Baucus through some targeted health-care ads, which have appeared on television. The focus of progressives is to get a more liberal health care bill the attention they feel it deserves.

As surprising as it may sound to most Americans, where you live may actually determine what sort of health insurance you have – if you have any at all.

With the introduction of the Senate Finance Committee’s health care plan, a glimmer hope has been rekindled for those American who have been turned down for health insurance because of pre-existing conditions.

One of the major issues that are being highlighted by the current health-care reform debate is the plight of the uninsured in the United States. The controversy is a heated one, dividing along party lines in many cases and making any sort of bi-partisan solution difficult to conceive – let along execute.

Republicans in the House of Representatives have already called for a hearing that would focus on the President’s decision to probe one of the country’s major insurance companies at the request of Senator Max Baucus.

One of the most recent proposals was issued by the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee in an effort to bolster a bipartisan health care bill. The comprehensive plan would include provisions for reforming the health care system as well as a new fee aimed at insurance companies that would help with covering the currently uninsured.

The chances that a viable government insurance plan will be passed are sinking by the day as legislators continue jockeying for support in their respective quarters.

Now, more than ever, Americans are rating their health insurance company lower in terms of overall coverage and performance much lower than their auto insurer, life insurer, or bank.

While speculation abounds concerning what effects a serious effort at revamping the U.S. health-care system would have on Medicare, there remain questions that can only be answered by those who currently maintain and operate the program’s multi-faceted features.

While there is this impression that Democrats and Republicans are squarely split over the particulars of President Obama’s health-care agenda, a vital truth is being obscured. There is a surprising amount of agreement between the two parties regarding certain proposals that would give millions of Americans a shot at medical insurance.