tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-311804792011-04-21T18:30:16.248-05:00Healthcare news and discussion for insurance professionals and employers.Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08994930447939628654noreply@blogger.comBlogger171100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31180479.post-1156729069296751342006-08-27T20:29:00.000-05:002006-08-27T20:37:49.306-05:00

Today was the first day of the exhibit hall at NAIFA's annual convention. My company, 4myBenefits, is an exhibitor at this year's show and is our first time to NAIFA. Thus far I have to say the experience has been fantastic. We typically exhibit at 3 or 4 shows a year. Everyone here at NAIFA is uncommonly friendly and engaging, which is not always the case. Kudos to NAIFA and its members for

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08994930447939628654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31180479.post-1156643481904289802006-08-26T20:44:00.000-05:002006-08-26T20:51:21.996-05:00

I have the pleasure of attending NAIFA's Annual Conference. This is my first NAIFA conference, which happens to be in San Francisco this year. It looks to be an excellent event with some great speakers and programs. I'll be live blogging from the conference this weekend until Tuesday the 29th. Stop back soon!

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08994930447939628654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31180479.post-1156516889958788972006-08-25T08:16:00.000-05:002006-08-27T13:51:44.636-05:00

Most workers think of health insurance as benefits they can use on an almost daily basis. But reality is spreading like a bad flu these days, even effecting Fortune 500 companies that traditionally offered the richest benefits for little to no cost. Today's Wall Street Journal reveals how dramatically different today's common perception is from cold hard reality.For many workers, it is a matter

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08994930447939628654noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31180479.post-1154961108222624312006-08-07T09:11:00.000-05:002006-08-27T00:31:49.856-05:00

Last week WSJ had an interesting article on errata found in health insurance provider directories.We did some checking to see how well some major insurers are managing. We searched five insurers' online directories by ZIP Code (a common starting point for searches), then called the offices of the first five doctors on each list to verify the phone number and address, as well as whether the doctor

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08994930447939628654noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31180479.post-1154442996879817082006-08-01T08:42:00.000-05:002006-08-01T10:04:21.946-05:00

Kroger, one of the nations largest grocery stores, is in a bit of a fight with a North Carolina Union regarding health insurance costs. Kroger is home-officed here in my hometown, Cincinnati, OH. They have about 300,000 employees nationally and pull in more that $60 billion in annual sales.One thousand employees from the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 204 are preparing to strike over

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08994930447939628654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31180479.post-1154355161951080732006-07-31T09:05:00.000-05:002006-07-31T09:12:41.953-05:00

A recent study at Health Affairs is making waves. According to the study HSA's work very well at reducing expenses for the very healthy and the very sick, but actually increase costs for larger middle ground. From MSNBC's analysis: So can the healthcare industry be reformed to bring down costs for everyone? The study's thoughts are to add more "bite" to HSA, either by increasing cost-sharing

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08994930447939628654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31180479.post-1154354642843274552006-07-31T08:52:00.000-05:002006-07-31T09:04:02.853-05:00

This weekend's LA Times had a fascinating article on a growing practice of offshore healthcare. Used as another cost containment strategy, self insured employers have begun looking oversees for operations that are very costly in the US. Carl Garrett of Leicester, N.C., will fly to a state-of-the-art New Delhi hospital in September for surgeries to remove gallstones and to fix an overworn

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08994930447939628654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31180479.post-1154353784019857522006-07-31T08:12:00.000-05:002006-07-31T08:50:46.770-05:00

Today's WSJ asks whether or not aggressive health insurance profits are beneficial in the long run. Last week Aetna shares fell 17% on news of rising medical cost versus premium ratios as well as a 30% cut in their projected participant growth for the remainder of the year. Last year, the top seven U.S. health insurers earned a combined $10 billion -- nearly triple their profits of five years

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08994930447939628654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31180479.post-1154099594281086352006-07-28T08:33:00.000-05:002006-07-28T10:17:37.576-05:00

A recent article at Insurance Newsnet describes a disappointing situation (subscription required): In response to the growing consumerism movement in health care, insurance brokers have begun providing wellness and other health management services to employers.But even though most of the services are available at no cost-brokers offer the services to differentiate themselves-most brokers say they

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08994930447939628654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31180479.post-1153854442587953702006-07-25T12:31:00.000-05:002006-07-26T08:07:56.080-05:00

Is the growth of medical technology driving the cost of healthcare? Are increases caused by overutilization? How much impact are prescriptions having?Amy Finkelstein, an Assistant Professor of Economics at MIT, has released new research on the Health Insurance market that seeks to answer a fascinating question: Has the expansion of health insurance itself increased the cost of healthcare? The

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08994930447939628654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31180479.post-1153843861658934952006-07-25T10:47:00.000-05:002006-07-25T16:06:41.523-05:00

More interesting stuff from WSJ:A new WSJ.com/Harris health-care poll indicates growing U.S. support for charging higher insurance premiums or out-of-pockets medical costs to people with unhealthy lifestyles.The online survey of 2,325 U.S. adults found that 53% of Americans think it is fair to ask people with unhealthy lifestyles to pay higher insurance premiums than people with healthy

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08994930447939628654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31180479.post-1153839270498499402006-07-25T09:23:00.000-05:002006-07-25T10:47:02.123-05:00

Some good news from today's WSJ (subscription only):The two PBMs, Medco Health Solutions Inc. and Caremark Rx Inc., each handles the drug benefits for tens of millions of Americans. They have agreed to participate with eight smaller PBMs in a purchasing model that would require them to pass on to clients their own costs for acquiring retail and mail-order prescriptions. They also have agreed to

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08994930447939628654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31180479.post-1153837237324089942006-07-25T08:59:00.001-05:002006-07-25T09:22:53.340-05:00

Early studies from Hewitt and Milliman are estimating a average rate increase of 10 percent for 2007, about 1% lower than 2006. While this is certainly positive, increasing health insurance costs are still outpacing by a wide margin.In 2004, CDHPs accounted for just 1% of total premiums for health care, he says. That grew to 2.5% of the total a year later. “Are you going to see it double again?”

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08994930447939628654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31180479.post-1153755780425431772006-07-24T10:29:00.000-05:002006-07-24T14:26:08.263-05:00

Over at Dow Jones Market Watch - According to Ernst & Young LLP and VentureOne studies recent increases in venture capital activity have been driven by the healthcare market, representing almost a third of overall VC spending for 2006.The biggest gains this year have come from the health-care sector, where investments grew 25% during the second quarter, with $2.24 billion flowing into 160 funding

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08994930447939628654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31180479.post-1153754854225077432006-07-24T08:20:00.000-05:002006-07-24T10:28:50.343-05:00

Sunday's Washington Post featured a Cindy Williams article on the Department of Defense's health insurance woes. The cost of the Defense Health Program has more than doubled in the last 6 years. The author correctly attributes the increases to several problems including the general, nationwide cost increases in healthcare. Another significant factor is Clinton era legislation that extended

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08994930447939628654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31180479.post-1153007629842718512006-07-15T18:02:00.000-05:002006-07-25T23:19:07.616-05:00

On July 12th, United Healthcare released a summary of a recent study on the longterm trends of Consumer Directed Health Plans. Advocates of consumerism and HSA's will undoubtedly point to the release as proof that consumerism works. Considering their recent less than saintly behavior and the fact that their release includes no supporting data, I think some skepticism is warranted. That being

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08994930447939628654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31180479.post-1152998567562838582006-07-15T16:22:00.000-05:002006-07-15T20:00:23.560-05:00

Welcome to HealthFlux! HF is a blog all about healthcare for insurance professionals, employers, and even consumers. America's healthcare system is undergoing important changes today in order to correct recent, unsustainable cost trends. It is imperative that the people on the front lines stay informed and help steer the national discussion on healthcare. Feel free to contribute stories, studies

Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08994930447939628654noreply@blogger.com0