According to the article “Retailers Take Shot At Health Insurance” by Grace Gagliano on Bradenton.com, retail health clinics are becoming a growing trend of supermarkets and drug stores.  Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida was the first health insurance company to offer health care cards in October.  They partnered with Winn-Dixie and in November they partnered with CVS Pharmacy. 

The Go Blue health insurance plan is the most accessible for those looking for affordable health care since it guarentees acceptance, but it does exclude coverage on visits to the ER, hospital stays, surgeries, and maternity expenses.  This may cause some consumers to avoid purchasing the plan because these are some of the most expensive costs of health care. 

Go Blue Florida does have a lot to offer though.  Monthly premiums are very low, usually between $24-$59 with in-network, up to $50 paid towards a physician’s bill, up to $50 on dental care, up to $15 paid towards prescriptions and 100% paid towards in-network lab tests at locations which are approved through BCBSFL.  Many experts are saying that retailers getting involved in the health insurance business is a new trend that may be growing, according to the article.  Some are not sure it will replace in-store health clinics, but it is interesting to see consumers looking for other options as health care costs continue to soar. 

According to Medigapadvisors.com, Humana One is a Fortune 100 company with 50 years experience in health care and is committed to offering great benefits, wellness programs, and excellent customer service.  Humana is generally known for offering Part D prescription coverage but they also offer Medicare supplement insurance plans in many states. 

Humana One, which is a division of Humana, Inc, is one of the largest publicly traded health insurance companies.  With them offering medicare supplement insurance it broadens their customer base.  You can find the plan that suits you best by reviewing many of the benefits which include basic benefits, skilled nursing coinsurance, foreign travel insurance, at-home recovery and preventative care. 

Not all plans are available in all states, but you can order a brochure to compare benefits and costs.  It’s important to understand what benefits will bring you value when looking at the differing costs of each plan.  Medicare supplement insurance can be overwhelming, but very helpful in times of need.

Most readers of this blog understand the benefits and problems of the health care system status quo. And they can make an educated guess at how the various health care reform proposals will impact their world. Most voters (and much of the media, I might add), don’t have as informed a view on these issues.

Into this vacuum comes the Obama Administration with a state-by-state description of the current health care system in the jurisdiction and its view as to the benefits health care reform will deliver to the states’ residents.

Yes, the site is aimed at building support for health care reform. Still, it provides some interesting data and observations. For example, it warns that the “amount of uncompensated care provided will more than double in 45 states” by 2019 as the number of uninsured grows by at least 10 percent in every state and by more than 30 percent in 29 states.

It’s worth spending some time. You may disagree with some of what’s presented. And some of it is inaccurate — it claims, for instance, that health care reform would establish a high risk pool in California, but the state already has one. And it seems to imply that 100% of the individual market would buy through the exchange, something no one is claiming (that I’m aware of). So read it with a handful of salt. However, the reports do provide an interesting, more granular glimpse into health care in America than is usually available. And the more detailed look we all give to reform, the better.

Economic times are tough, so lots of people are looking for ways to save money on their health insurance. Many companies need to save money, too, and they’re shifting more of the costs of health insurance to employees. This may make group coverage more expensive for those who get coverage through their work.

Open enrollment, which is taking place now in most companies, is the perfect time to compare your group coverage with what’s available to you in an individual health plan. Start by looking at the costs, benefits and eligibility requirements of your employer’s 2010 group plan.

• Does your group health plan require your pay higher copays or higher deductibles in 2010?

• Is the amount you’re paying for health insurance going up?

• Do you have the opportunity to enroll your spouse and children under your plan?

If you don’t have access to affordable, adequate group health coverage, consider quoting individual health insurance. An individual health plan may offer you lower monthly premiums, more deductible choices, and options to cover spouses and children.

To find out if an individual health insurance plan might be the solution to the affordable coverage you need, explore the many resources at www.celtic-net.com and get a quote today!

The Senate has just spent most of today (Saturday) engaging in a debate on whether to allow a debate on comprehensive health care reform. Later this evening 58 Democrats and 2 Independents will vote to allow Majority Leader Harry Reid’s health care reform bill come to floor for debate and consideration of amendments. 40 Republican Senators will vote unanimously against allowing this to happen. Senator Reid’s Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is still alive. It is unlikely to survive in its current form for long, however.

Don’t get me wrong. Tonight’s vote is significant, very significant.  The vote is a test of President Barack Obama’s and Senator Reid’s ability to line up enough votes to keep the bill alive.  The debate leading up to the vote has been an opportunity for Republican Senators to present their opposition to HR 3590. (Yes, the Senate has taken a bill passed by the House and moved to the Senate, gutted that language and substituted their health care reform package. Consequently, the Senate legislation has a House bill number.) And the vote to allow debate has served as an action forcing event, sort of, for Democratic moderates.

Those moderates could have sided with the Republicans killing the bill before it could be brought to the floor. Instead, they joined with their liberal colleagues and kept health care reform alive. While there are 18 moderate Democratic Senators (including Senator Joe Lieberman, who is an Independent), it eventually came down to three:  Senators Mary Landrieu, Blanche Lincoln and Ben Nelson. All three made clear they would seek amendments to the bill before voting for it. And all three are among those moderates making it clear further changes to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is necessary before they’ll commit to voting for it.

We’ll learn more about the changes moderates will demand over the several weeks before a final vote on health care reform is held in the Senate.  Democratic leaders are hoping to hold that vote before the end of the year. The legislation would then move on to a conference committee that will attempt to reconcile it with legislation the House passed earlier this month.  More importantly, that conference committee, made up of an equal number of Senators and House members, will seek to fashion legislation they hope will earn the support of a majority of House members and 60% of Senators. As I’ve noted before, passage of legislation by the Senate is merely the final playoff game. The World Series — the conference committee — is yet to come.

Uniting the Democrats to allow debate on health care reform is a victory for the Obama Administration and for Senator Reid personally. That it took this much effort, however, demonstrates the challenges they yet face. Republicans appear to be uniting in opposition to the legislation. Even Senator Olympia Snowe, who voted for a health care reform bill in the Senate Finance Committee, is expected to vote against bringing HR 3590 to the floor.

I’ve written before about the power moderates have to determine if health care reform legislation will pass Congress and what the final bill will contain.  Now we’ll see that power put forward. Some of what they’ll ask for will be parochial. (That there’s a provision in Senator Reid’s bill that would send additional Medicaid money to Senator Landrieu’s state of Louisiana is neither a coincidence or accidental). But most of their demands wil concern public policy issues. Moderate Democrats tend to be more fiscally cautious than their more liberal colleagues, giving them pause to legislation that greatly expands governmental powers,  spends nearly a trillion dollars over the next decade and taxes corporations and individuals to pay for it. These are the issues on which they will focus.

Republicans will have their own pet issues, but those are unlikely to influence the outcome. Having already declared their unmoving opposition to any health care reform Democrats could claim keeps their campaign promises, the GOP has removed themselves from negotiations. (A couple of the Republicans, most notably Senator Snowe and her colleague from Maine, Susan Collins, might vote what moderate Democrats fashion. But whether they’ll be able to insert provisions without committing to voting for the bill if their amendments are accepted is unlikely. 

We don’t know yet what changes to HR 3950 moderate Democrats will demand, but the possibilities are extensive. They could eliminate a public option — or at least postpone its implementation until after other reforms have had a chance to take effect. They could  demand additional cost containment provisions. They could strengthen — or weaken — the requirement that all consumers obtain coverage. Certainly they will modify what taxes and fees are imposed to pay for health care reform.

What’s important to remember is that moderate Senators will have two shots at the bill. They’ll extract as much as they can during the current Senate debate. Then at least two or three of them are likely to agree to vote for the bill “in order to keep the process moving forward.” However, they’ll also make clear they want significant changes made to the legislation by the conference committee before they’ll commit to a vote that would place the legislation on the president’s desk. Liberals will insist they have compromised all they can, but in reality, the moderates (and the liberals) know that the progressives are likely to accept any legislation that can be called “health care reform” with a straight face. And as politicians, they have great skill in passing the straight face test.

Yes, Democrats have won the debate on whether to debate health care reform. What legislation eventually emerges from the Senate, if any, is still uncertain.