If you’re unemployed, health insurance becomes an important matter. If you had a group plan at your old job, you may first consider COBRA coverage, which guarantees health benefits for people who’ve lost their jobs.

But COBRA rates are expensive because you are now responsible for paying the full amount for your healthcare coverage. Whereas when you were employed, your employer paid a significant portion of the cost of your group plan and you paid a much smaller amount.

So if COBRA is too expensive, there are alternatives. Over the next few blogs we’ll take a look at some different individual health plan solutions.

Short-Term insurance is a great product to consider first. It’s inexpensive and helps fill a temporary need. You can pay on a month to month basis for your coverage and often qualifying for coverage is a little easier. Since unlike COBRA, with individual health plans you have to qualify/be underwritten to be accepted for a plan.

Short-Term plans often have several different deductibles to choose from. If you take a higher deductible, it will really keep your monthly rate down, while keeping you protected from an unforeseen accident or illness. For healthy people on a tight budget, Short-Term health insurance is ideal. 

You can get coverage starting tomorrow, by learning more today.

KPS Health Insurance describes in detail what is involved in the serious crime of health care fraud on their website.  Health care fraud is committed when a provider or customer submits false information to a health insurer for use of obtaining a payout of some sort.

There are many different forms of health care abuse.  One of the most common is filing a claim for services or medications not really performed.  Billing for non-covered items using codes for items that are covered in a health insurance plan.  There is also altering billings or medical records or accepting gifts for patient referrals.

KPS Health Plan is working hard to ensure they protect their policy holders.  They have a dedicated special investigation unit who works to review all cases of fraud and health care abuse.  They verify all providers’ credentials to ensure consumer safety.  They encourage all of their members to protect their KPS Health Plan Identification cards as if it were one of their credit cards.  Identity theft through health insurance can be just as serious, if not more.

The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association issued a statement on the US Department of Health and Human Services’ National Summit on Health Care Fraud held in January.

BCBS believes health care fraud is a serious crime and they commend Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Attorney General Eric Holder for bringing the summit together.  They bring together private sector stakeholders, law enforcement, Medicare beneficiaries, health insurance companies, and other experts to help combat health care fraud.

Blue Cross Blue Shield companies across the country work together aggressively to discover fraud and educate consumers in an effort to protect them from fraud.  BCBS anti-fraud activities resulted in about $350 million in savings in 2008.  BCBS wants to protect all of their customers, from Medicare customers to Go Blue health insurance.  They continue to work with the Obama administration to fight against this very expensive crime which compromises an effective health care system.

The struggling economy is causing significant issues for many states which provide health plans to assist low-income families.  Many states are being forced to pare back these health insurance programs at the worst possible time…when the number of unemployed Americans continue to rise and people need assistance the most.

The methods by which various states attempt to shave the costs of these programs range from cutting benefits, to freezing new enrollment, to raising the costs that must be picked up by the enrollee.

Among some of the state sponsored low-income health plans that are in trouble include:

• Washington Basic Health – Will fold in July unless $160 Million in additional Revenue.  About 300 Washington residents are added to waiting list each day.
• CoverTN – Tennessee’s state sponsored program.  Halted in December.
• CharterOak Health Plan – Connecticut’s program.  Must freeze enrollment this year unless lawmakers can find more money to keep it open.
• AdultBasic – Pennsylvania’s Program for low income adults.  Increasing fees.  Waiting list doubled in 2009
• General Assistance medical Care Program – Minnesota’s Program will end in March, existing members will be moved over to MinnesotaCare.

Among other viable options for low-income adults who are looking to lower their monthly health insurance costs, while insuring that they will be covered if they fall ill or are in a serious accident, would be to increase the deductible of their existing health plan.  This will keep monthly premiums down, but will require greater out of pocket costs if you should need to utilize medical care.

Health care reform is still a possibility according to the article “State of the Union: Renewed Hope for Health Care Reform?” by Jeffrey H. Toney on blog.nj.com.  This is at least the feel that came from President Obama’s State of the Union address to the nation on Wednesday night.

There needs to be reconciliation between the two bills “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act” and the “Affordable Health Care for America Act” and it’s worth the effort.  President Obama pointed out in his speech that the ultimate goal continues to be to lower health insurance quotes, bring down the deficit, get more Americans insured, make Medicare for seniors stronger and stop health insurance company abuses.

President Obama urged Congress to not walk away from the idea of health care reform because they are very close and a solution is in the near future.  He continues to fight hard to keep his promises and achieve the ultimate goal to better our health care system.