Health insurer's letter seeks to get coverage canceled - San Jose Mercury News

Citing an effort to hold down costs, health insurance giant Blue Cross wants doctors in California to report conditions it could use to cancel new patients' medical coverage, it was reported Tuesday.

The state's largest for-profit health insurer is sending physicians copies of health insurance applications filled out by new patients, along with a letter advising them that the company has a right to drop members who fail to disclose "material medical history," the Los Angeles Times reported on its Web site.

"Any condition not listed on the application that is discovered to be pre-existing should be reported to Blue Cross immediately," according to the letter obtained by the newspaper.

One of the conditions noted in the letter that could force a new patient to be dropped by Blue Cross—pre-existing pregnancies.

WellPoint Inc., the Indianapolis-based company that operates Blue Cross of California, said it was sending out the letters in an effort to keep costs at a minimum.

"Enrolling an applicant who did not disclose their true condition (and the condition is chronic or acute), will quickly drive increased utilization of services, which drives up costs for all members," WellPoint spokeswoman Shannon Troughton said in an e-mail to the newspaper.

Health insurer's letter seeks to get coverage canceled - San Jose Mercury News

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Health insurer's letter seeks to get coverage canceled

Citing an effort to hold down costs, health insurance giant Blue Cross wants doctors in California to report conditions it could use to cancel new patients' medical coverage, it was reported Tuesday.The state's largest for-profit health insurer is sending physicians copies of health insurance applications filled out by new patients, along with a letter advising them that the company has a right to drop members who fail to disclose "material medical history," the Los Angeles Times reported on its Web site."Any condition not listed on the application that is discovered to be pre-existing should be reported to Blue Cross immediately," according to the letter obtained by the newspaper.One of the conditions noted in the letter that could force a new patient to be dropped by Blue Cross—pre-existing pregnancies.WellPoint Inc., the Indianapolis-based company that operates Blue Cross of California, said it was sending out the letters in an effort to keep costs at a minimum.

San Jose Mercury News - Health insurer's letter seeks to get coverage canceled

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US Employer Health Premiums Up 6.1 Per Cent

Employer sponsored health insurance premiums in the US went up on average by 6.1 per cent in 2007 compared to 2006, outstripping workers' pay (rose by 3.7 per cent on average) and overall inflation (up by 2.6 per cent).

These are the key findings of the 2007 Employer Health Benefits Survey announced this week by the Kaiser Family Foundation and Health Research and Educational Trust. A version of the report is published in the September/October issue of the journal Health Affairs.

The average health insurance premium for a family now amounts to 12,106 dollars a year, with workers on average paying 3,281 dollars.

Dr Drew E Altman, President and CEO of Kaiser said while there was evidence of some "moderation" in the increases (this latest figure is an eight year low in the rate of increase) there was still no cause to celebrate:

"Every year health insurance becomes less affordable for families and businesses. Over the past six years, the amount families pay out of pocket for their share of premiums has increased by about 1,500 dollars."

The morality of health care finance

As a class, are the old and sick needier than the young and healthy? No they are not. They have more assets and less poverty than any other group.

As a class, are the old and sick unluckier than the young and healthy? Considering people as beings with duration in both time and space, no they are not. The overwhelming majority of old and sick people were once young and healthy. They got to be young and healthy, and old and sick.

As a class, are the young and healthy more responsible for the bad health of the old and sick? Quite the reverse. Many people in the old and sick category did nothing at all to deserve their fate; they just aged or were victims of fate. But some members of the "old and sick" class contributed to their fate. Contra many of my interlocutors, there are a lot of very expensive diseases that have a substantial lifestyle component: high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, diabetes, lung cancer, emphysema/COPD, congestive heart failure . . . many of our nation's biggest killers, and consumers of health care dollars. So as a class, the old and sick are somewhat responsible for their poor healthcare outcomes, although I will leave it up to the doctors to argue exactly how much responsibility they bear.

When Insurance Doesn't Pay

Bad things happen. That's why you bought insurance. But do you really know what your policy covers?

Too many small-business owners don't. And when disaster strikes and it comes time to make a claim, plenty of policyholders are shocked to find that they weren't as protected as they thought they were.

Health Insurance and the Web Worker

While we watch this insurance-reform-through-the-tax-code wind its way through the political process, there are some resources online to help us make insurance decisions today. Apologies to our international readership, this post only applies to web workers living in the United States. If you live outside the US, and have tips to share, please leave a comment.

Insurance Information Institute

The mission of the Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.) is to improve public understanding of insurance -- what it does and how it works.

For more than 40 years, the I.I.I. has provided definitive insurance information. Today, the I.I.I. is recognized by the media, governments, regulatory organizations, universities and the public as a primary source of information, analysis and referral concerning insurance.

Each year, the I.I.I. works on more than 3,700 news stories, handles more than 6,000 requests for information and answers nearly 50,000 questions from consumers.

Health Care Blog

POLICY: Why Is Fixing American Health Care So Difficult?

Almost all the problems with the American health care system boil down to two questions. How do we create a system that ensures that all citizens, and perhaps residents, have access to health insurance? And how do we contain the huge cost increases?

Of course, behind these questions lies the question of how to reform the nation's largest industry that serves and richly rewards many powerful interests. Continue.

POLICY: Health insurance 101