Wednesday, 28 February 2018

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Medical Mutual of Ohio is enhancing its autism coverage for many of its insureds "on the spectrum." I've already reached out to one client that I know of who's likely to benefit from this.

Coverage enhancements include speech, language and occupational therapy, as well as screening and diagnosis benefits.

Yasher koach.

Last time we looked at the burgeoning Life Settlements industry, I mentioned my own uneasiness with the concept:

"It's not that I have any particular ethical qualms; after all, it's my client's policy, so why should I care? It just feels ... weird to bring this up."

But our friend Allison Bell reports from that industry's annual convention that they're facing an equally difficult challenge:

"Life insurers and life settlement firms are struggling to comply with new tax reporting rules without an official tax form, a draft tax form, or a clear idea of what the Internal Revenue Service might like to see."

Turns out, even though viaticals have been deemed 'kosher' for some 20 years, their fraternal twin Life Settlements are facing different tax treatment (which makes sense, one supposes), and the IRS still hasn't gotten around to providing a fix.

Whether or not that will prove an insurmountable obstacle remains to be seen.

And speaking of relatively new, burgeoning industries, I've been spending a lot of time lately educating folks on the Direct Primary Care model (since I no longer sell ACA-compliant health plans, and still want to provide some service to clients). The challenge is that I really didn't know where to send folks for local DPC practices.

Now, thanks to FoIB John Chamberlain, I've been clued in to this helpful site which offers an interactive map of nearby DPC's.

Nice!


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Tuesday, 27 February 2018

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Via The Banana News Network (courtesy FoIB Holly R):

"About 9 million fewer Americans will have health insurance next year thanks to the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress, a new report estimates"

Translated:

9 million people will have the choice of finding lower priced, better coverage ACA alternatives, thanks to Donny Two Scoops




Related:

"20 states sue Trump administration to end Obamacare after mandate repeal"

The logic seems to be that deleting the tax fine penalty somehow "invalidates the mandate and all of Obamacare."

Interesting.




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Monday, 26 February 2018

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Another day, another chapter on the on-going train-wreck we lovingly call the Much Vaunted National Health System©:

"NHS crisis: Patients face delays for vital treatment amid 'staggering increase' in cancelled operations"

Well no wonder. I'm old enough to remember this (from last month):

"Every hospital in the country has been ordered to cancel all non-urgent surgery until at least February in an unprecedented step by NHS officials."

Things (obviously) haven't gotten any better, with the Independent reporting that:

"Nearly 1,000 urgent operations have been cut so far this winter for patients with life-threatening illnesses due to pressures on hospital resources ... It’s unsurprising that urgent operations have come to be cancelled at a greater rate over these years of spending restrictions and increasing demands on services."
No kidding.

But remember kids, national health care schemes are proven to reduce costs and provide excellent, timely care.

Plus: Free!

[Hat Tip: FoIB Michael Bertaut]


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We first blogged on the (so-called) Donut Hole in Medicare over a dozen years ago:

"The donut-hole comes into play whenever a covered person (“beneficiary” in Medicare parlance) reaches a specific threshold, and leaves that person without prescription drug cover until another threshold is reached."

And it's a big problem for seniors, since that demographic tends to use a lot of meds.

Recently, our friends at Cornerstone alerted us that:

"For Medicare Part D beneficiaries with high prescription drug expenses, the “Doughnut Hole” means they pay more for their medicine once costs reach a certain threshold. Narrowing each year since the Affordable Care Act was passed in 2010, the gap was scheduled to close in 2020. With the 2/16 budget deal, the doughnut hole will now close in 2019."

So, good news, right?

Well, maybe not. As co-blogger Bob V explains:

"Medicare drug donut hole to close in 2020 as part of Obamacare. Trump closed a year earlier in latest budget deal. Carriers are unhappy because they will have to pay more for drugs. Also CMS trying to shift expensive drugs currently covered under Part B to Part D."

To which I (who should have known better), replied:

"Ah. Well too bad for the carriers, but seems like okay for insureds?"

(Yeah, dumb)

Bob put it to rest:

"Rule #1. Carriers don't pay for higher costs.

Consumers do.
Higher premiums, copay's, deductibles, OOP [out-of-pocket]"

Yup.

"I'm from the government..."


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Thursday, 22 February 2018

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Medical Tourism has been a frequent topic here at IB, so this tweet from FoIB Dr Kris Held caught my eye:
Perhaps not-so-coincidentally, I recently received this in email:

[click here for full graphic]

There are, of course, downsides to traveling to foreign lands for health care, and one wonders how (or even if) such care is covered under one's insurance. But there's no question that actually receiving timely care seems to be a lot more important than owning an insurance ID card that doesn't actually provide it.

[Hat Tip: Lisa B]


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Tuesday, 20 February 2018

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Tomayto, tomahto. From CMS Secretary Seema Verma:


And Reuters' more, um, progressive take:

"U.S. to extend skimpy health insurance outside of Obamacare"

Well first, no one's "extending" anything: Short Term Medical plans have been around for a long, long time.

And let's talk about that rather loaded term: "skimpy"

Most STM's offer deductibles as low as $500 (or lower), with out-of-pocket exposure (MOOP) limited to a few thousand dollars.

Contrast that to typical ObamaPlans with deductibles over $7,000 a person, and MOOPs in the tens of thousands. But yeah, the STMs are "skimpy."

All this particular ruling does is restore the maximum policy length to the status quo ante, before the previous administration unilaterally (and illegally) cut those short.

So which one's "skimpy," skippy?

[Reuters Hat Tip: FoIB Holly R]


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Monday, 19 February 2018

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Interesting story about the (perhaps not so precious) Much Vaunted National Health System©, courtesy of co-blogger Mike:

"[Prime Minister Teresa] May spoke of the importance of “taking a balanced approach to government spending, so we get our debt falling but can also invest in the things that matter -- our schools, our police and our precious NHS.”

The article's author points out that this is a rather odd description of a government bureaucracy, and he goes on to explain why it's rather troubling.

It's been a while since we've posted on Alzheimer's; last May we noted that "[m]aple syrup isn't just delicious, it could also cure Alzheimer's disease."

Now, thanks to FoIB Holly R, we learn that "scientists have successfully reversed Alzheimer's in a middle-aged lab mouse."

That's the (potentially) good news.

The bad news is that the day before this breakthrough was announced, another clinical trial of the med was called off "due to safety fears."

Hopefully they can get those resolved.

A Lone Star state mother appears to have chosen poorly:

"A Texas mother of two died Sunday from flu complications after reportedly deciding that the $116 medication to treat the virus was too costly."

As FoIB Jeff M (who tipped us to this sad story), "the funeral is likely to cost even more."

Her widower defended her decision thusly:

"She wouldn't go get medicine because she's a mama. Mamas are tough ...  I don't think she is being irresponsible. I don't think she thought she was that sick. It happened so quick."

The truly tragic part is that her husband actually picked up the drugs for her, but by them it was too late.

Tragic, but easily preventable.


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