Let’s be clear about pre-existing conditions
With the passage of a new healthcare bill in the House of Representatives (it’s still not a law) and a heartfelt monologue by Jimmy Kimmel, there’s been a great deal of talk about pre-existing conditions. Unfortunately, in the discussion, many have lost sight of what exactly that means. Let’s review. What are pre-existing conditions? […]
Why health insurance has high deductibles
For those of you shopping for new insurance, you probably want the most affordable plan out there. Even if you find an inexpensive plan, there’s a catch. Plans that are less expensive month-to-month have high deductibles as a trade off. That means if you actually need a doctor, medication or hospitalization, you’ll be paying a […]
Do you repeal all of Obamacare?
As someone that believes in healthcare for all Americans, even I know Obamacare fell short. It turns out the Affordable Care Act isn’t so affordable. But there are a couple popular aspects of the ACA that will make it exceedingly difficult to repeal all of Obamacare. Some aspects will have to stay and if you’re […]
The Unaffordable Care Act
If you read this blog, you know I’ve written about the Unaffordable Care Act on a number of occasions. If you don’t know, you can refresh yourself here, here and here! The verdict is in: It really is the unaffordable care act The dominoes have fallen. The Affordable Care Act was designed to bring […]
For the healthy in healthcare, it comes down to price
This article in the NY Times starts off, “It is all about the price.” When it comes to healthcare, price is the ultimate pain point. I’m not saying it’s the only pain point but eventually, the consumer wants to know their out-of-pocket cost. Whether they’re paying out of pocket because it’s a cosmetic procedure or […]
Affordable Care Act: Surprise but no surprise
I was incredulous. I couldn’t believe the tone of surprise in two articles published yesterday in the Wall Street Journal and the NY Times regarding the Affordable Care Act. I’ll get to the details in a second but the reason I was so shocked and unable to form a coherent sentence was the suggestion in both articles that […]
Physician Payment Sunshine Act
A new law wrapped into the Affordable Care Act was the Physician Payment Sunshine Act. The idea behind this law is to shine a light on any financial relationships between pharmaceutical industries or applicable manufacturers, and the doctors and hospitals with whom they work. With increased transparency, and by publishing these relationships online here, the government […]
New Medical Bills!
In a recent NY Times article, several examples are used to highlight a new phenomenon. New, unexpected, medical bills. Now that consumers are shouldering more of the burden of their healthcare costs with high deductible health plans, coupled with lower reimbursement from insurers to providers (doctors, hospitals, etc), patients are receiving medical bills for things […]
Who Really Pays for Health Care?
Implementation of the Affordable Care Act has more or less come and gone. But it’s interesting, regardless of what side of the “for” or “against” fence you’re on, there are misconceptions about what changed in the health care landscape and what stayed the same. Here’s a great article from NPR that highlights some of those […]
Job Loss with the ACA: The law of unintended consequences!
Watch CNN and you’ll see spin from one angle. Watch FOX News and see another. For a balanced assessment of a recently released non-partisan report from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), read this! According to the NY Times, the CBO released a report on Tuesday that was quite shocking to many, including me. The […]