Re: Health Insurance Prices, Restrictions Now On Federal Consumer Website
- From: "Glenn" <minorgo@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 4 Oct 2010 19:08:36 -0500
"arthur wouk" <awouk@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:1286234138.477378@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
In article <i8bk1f$igo$1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
Glenn <minorgo@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
:
:"El Castor" <No_One@xxxxxxxx> wrote in message
:news:tt6ia65555ao695l7bcjii898feaoet8o7@xxxxxxxxxx
:> On Sun, 03 Oct 2010 18:42:07 -0400, Jim_Higgins
:> <gordian238@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
:>
:>>Health Insurance Prices, Restrictions Now On Federal Consumer
:>>Website
:>>http://tinyurl.com/2dyzsf4
:>>
:>>Oct 01, 2010
:>>
:>>http://www.healthcare.gov/
:>>
:>>Healthcare.gov, the website created by the new health law to be a
:>>one-stop consumer resource, today unveiled detailed cost and
:>>benefits
:>>information about health plans available in the individual
:>>insurance
:>>market. It's the first time such data have been made public -
:>>either by
:>>the government or industry.
:>>
:>>The site will also list the percentage of applications turned down
:>>and
:>>of people who are charged more than that health plan's advertised
:>>price.
:>>
:>>HHS officials say now consumers will be able to solve some of the
:>>mysteries behind costs and denials. By entering basic information
:>>such
:>>as age range, location and health status, visitors can compare
:>>plans
:>>based on monthly premium estimates, maximum out-of-pocket limits,
:>>annual
:>>deductibles, and coverage for benefits such as mental health,
:>>substance
:>>abuse and pregnancy.
:>>
:>>Since its July 1 launch, healthcare.gov has had more than 1.8
:>>million
:>>visits, according to Todd Park, the chief technology officer of
:>>the
:>>Department of Health and Human Services, who says visitors are
:>>"overwhelmingly positive" about the site.
:>>
:>>KHN reporter Jessica Marcy recently spoke with Park and Karen
:>>Pollitz,
:>>who heads the consumer support division at HHS Office of Consumer
:>>Information and Insurance Oversight. Here are excerpts of the
:>>interview:
:>>
:>>What exactly are the prices? Are they sticker prices or real
:>>prices?
:>>
:>>Karen Pollitz: Sticker price would be a good way to describe it.
:>>Price
:>>has always been sort of an elusive concept in the individual
:>>health
:>>insurance market and it remains so today. Insurers all have a base
:>>price, or a sticker price, that they may advertise or they may
:>>post for
:>>a health insurance policy. But, the price that you actually pay
:>>will
:>>depend on characteristics unique to you - your age, your family
:>>size,
:>>where you live, your gender, also your health status and your
:>>health
:>>history. While some of these demographic factors may be posted and
:>>knowable to you, you won't really know until you try to apply for
:>>the
:>>policy whether you'll be accepted at all or be given something
:>>close to
:>>the sticker price. [Editor's note: while in car dealerships the
:>>"sticker
:>>price" usually is higher than the price the buyer negotiates, in
:>>this
:>>case, the "sticker price" is the lowest, or base, price.]
:>>
:>>Something that is unique now, and it's really a breakthrough, is
:>>that we
:>>show on healthcare.gov the sticker price -- what we call the
:>>premium
:>>estimate, for each of the policies that is displayed. Then we also
:>>give
:>>consumers new data about how often applicants for that policy get
:>>turned
:>>down or get charged more than the advertised price, so it's at
:>>least
:>>clueing you in to what to expect when you leave this information
:>>site
:>>and go out to buy coverage.
:>>
:>>What do you think will be the impact of publishing the
:>>information?
:>>
:>>Todd Park: We believe that information empowers consumers and
:>>empowered
:>>consumers make for more efficient and effective marketplaces --
:>>marketplaces that are more competitive, that pay more attention to
:>>what
:>>consumers want, where consumers can express their preferences more
:>>energetically and aggressively.
:>>
:>>Consumers currently can't sign up directly for policies on the
:>>site.
:>>Does that discourage users and will they ever be able to buy
:>>coverage there?
:>>
:>>Park: They will not be able to buy coverage on healthcare.gov.
:>>Secretary
:>>Sebelius has been very, very clear that she never wants
:>>healthcare.gov
:>>to become a sales site. She wants it to be an information utility
:>>that
:>>people use to research their options.
:>>
:>>Pollitz: Down the road, when [health insurance] exchanges are
:>>developed,
:>>there will be an option for consumers to select a health plan and
:>>enroll
:>>online if they want to purchase coverage through the exchange.
:>>
:>>Would you like to add any more features or data? If so, what and
:>>when?
:>>
:>>Pollitz: Absolutely. The next thing is to provide comparable
:>>information
:>>for small employers to what [is available] for individuals and
:>>families.
:>>We will be developing measures of plan performance and other
:>>important
:>>information tools for consumers so that they can understand more
:>>about
:>>how these plans will operate in practice, how they would actually
:>>cover
:>>not only specific benefits but also whole episodes of care. We
:>>have a
:>>long way to go and a lot of exciting things to come.
:>>
:>>Why do you think so many Americans continue to be confused by the
:>>new
:>>health law?
:>>
:>>Pollitz: The health care system is incredibly complicated. Sorting
:>>all
:>>of that out is going to involve a lot of changes. Certainly there
:>>has
:>>been continued argument about whether we should be moving down
:>>this way,
:>>so there's a lot of disinformation. I'm hoping that whatever else
:>>is
:>>happening in the fray, that this website continues to stay on the
:>>path
:>>and just give people straight up information -- not a sales job
:>>one way
:>>or the other of products or politics.
:>>
:>>If the GOP does take over Congress, is there any concern that they
:>>might
:>>defund the program?
:>>
:>>Pollitz: I can't really speak to that. Right now, what I do is
:>>very much
:>>focused on implementation [of the new law] and this week on
:>>implementation of healthcare.gov.
:>
:> I wandered around and found myself on this page.
:>
:http://finder.healthcare.gov/more_info/medicare?age=4&audience=sr&no_afford=n&situation=existing&state=CA&vet=y
:>
:> They started out with a bald faced lie, or at best a cleverly
:> twisted
:> version of a half truth:
:>
:> "How the Affordable Care Act makes Medicare and your health care
:> better now:
:> * Your existing Medicare-covered benefits won't be reduced or
:> taken away."
:>
:> I am in a Medicare Advantage plan, and my annual enrollment and
:> pricing period comes up next month. I fully expect my wife and I
:> will
:> be impaled.
:
:
:What really hurts is that Art and Obama say it was a deception by
:the GOP to destroy Medicare. Both wallow in better care programs
:than us common folk, but in their thinking themselves superior, they
:deserve it and we don't.
:
i am not the only one who says so.
i pay for my better program. check out geha high plan.
it is worth it to me.
i would not have gone into an advantage plan if i did not have this. there was
aways the option for me to go into an advantage plan, but i rejected it.
good medical care is worth the money.
--
Politicians are there to give you the idea that you have freedom of
choice, You don't. You have no choice. You have owners. - George Carlin
"to email me, delete blackhole from my return address
At Mayo, no one in the medical field asks about payment, that's for the administration. Theoretically everyone from Medicaid to a Saudi prince gets the same level of care. My brother just had cataract surgery from Mayo and he now claims 20/15 in both eyes -- paid for by Medicaid. However princes like the late President Reagan rent a floor so naturally it's hard not to notice. Art, your insurance only gives you better care in your mind, not in the clinic.
--
Glenn
.
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