New Bill to Open Up Health Insurance Market
Some more changes are in the air for health care. One of the latest ideas comes from Arizona congress. Since TheHealthQuote.com works in multiple states, we think this is a revolutionary idea for health care.
Being based in California, we have some of the higher rates compared to many other states. If individuals and families had the option to obtain rates and plans from various states, the population of uninsured individuals may drop significantly.
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A new House bill introduced by Arizona Republican John Shadegg will allow people to buy health insurance across state lines, reported The Washington Times. The bill is designed to make health insurance markets more competitive and reduce the number of people without insurance.
The cost of health insurance varies dramatically from one state to the next. A policy that costs $60 a month in one state may cost several hundred dollars a month in another.
Why such a large difference in pricing? State laws have a lot to do with it. Many states mandate benefits that all insurance policies must offer, driving up the cost of coverage. Other states mandate that all health insurance applicants must be accepted by private insurance companies, which also drives up the cost of coverage.
Representative Shadegg’s bill would “introduce true competition to health insurance by creating a nationwide marketplace,” said David Merritt of The Center for Health Transformation.
Policy experts and political commentators don’t expect the bill the pass. The recent showdown between Congress and the White House over the State Children’s Health Insurance Program demonstrated how much disagreement there is over the direction of health coverage in the United States. It also demonstrated how little each side of the debate was willing to compromise.
Health Care: A Change In The Air!
Millions of Americans are constantly frustrated with our healthcare system. While it has so many positive aspects to it, there are also many negative issues that must be fixed. Many insurance companies are finally making some changes to the way they do busines
Wellpoint, the parent company of Blue Cross, is one of the places making some good changes!
INDIANAPOLIS, Nov 14, 2007 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ — WellPoint, Inc., (NYSE: WLP) the nation’s largest health benefits company, today launched the State Health Index, a program that incorporates public health data from the 14 states in which the company’s Blue Cross and/or Blue Shield licensees operate to identify major state health issues. WellPoint’s state plans will then work with community and state leaders to design programs that will help address those health issues and, in turn, improve the health of millions.
The states where WellPoint operates Blue plans include California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Virginia and Wisconsin.
“Given that one in nine Americans is covered by a WellPoint health benefits plan, our company has a mission and a unique responsibility to understand and help improve not only the health of our members, but also the overall health of the communities we serve,” said Angela F. Braly, president and CEO of WellPoint.
“The State Health Index will provide WellPoint and our public and private partners with a roadmap to help improve the overall health of millions of people.” Developed from data collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the State Health Index will track 23 measures of public health established by the CDC. WellPoint has selected these measures of improvement for its focus during the first several years of the program as they have the most potential to be positively influenced by the actions of the company: Prenatal Care in First Trimester Physical Activity Levels Low Birthweight Infant Rate Cigarette Smoking Rate Adult Influenza Immunization Rate Diabetes in Adult Population Adult Pneumococcal Immunization Rate Heart Disease Death Rate WellPoint and its state plan representatives are collaborating with local and state officials, as well as community organizations, health care professionals, and consumers to research the reasons behind prevalent health deficiencies in each state, and to design policy solutions and implement or enhance programs aimed at improving the overall health of all residents in each state.
“The guiding measures selected for the State Health Index provide a broad snapshot of the overall health of a state’s population,” said Sam Nussbaum, MD, executive vice president, clinical health policy and chief medical officer of WellPoint. “WellPoint is making significant monetary and resource contributions through the implementation or scaling of public health programs that have proven successful in other states, including smoking cessation, physical activity and adult immunization programs.” The State Health Index is a companion program to WellPoint’s Member Health Index, launched earlier this year. WellPoint’s Member Health Index uses data from the company’s own nearly 35 million members to track the improvement of the quality of health care members receive. In comparison, the State Health Index uses data pertaining to all the residents of a state to identify the most serious heath issues facing each unique population and enables WellPoint and its state plan representatives to partner with organizations to help improve and benchmark all consumers’ health through unique partnerships and programs.
“Together, WellPoint’s Member and State Health Indices clearly demonstrate our company’s commitment to measurably improving the quality of life for both our members and all of the people who live in the communities in which we live and serve,” said Braly. “We believe these innovative initiatives set a new industry standard and will help improve the health of Americans.” About WellPoint, Inc.
WellPoint’s mission is to improve the lives of the people it serves and the health of its communities. WellPoint, Inc. is the largest health benefits company in terms of commercial membership in the United States. Through its nationwide networks, the company delivers a number of leading health benefit solutions through a broad portfolio of integrated health care plans and related services, along with a wide range of specialty products such as life and disability insurance benefits, pharmacy benefit management, dental, vision, behavioral health benefit services, as well as long term care insurance and flexible spending accounts. Headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, WellPoint is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association and serves its members as the Blue Cross licensee for California; the Blue Cross and Blue Shield licensee for Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Missouri (excluding 30 counties in the Kansas City area), Nevada, New Hampshire, New York (as Blue Cross Blue Shield in 10 New York City metropolitan and surrounding counties and as Blue Cross or Blue Cross Blue Shield in selected upstate counties only), Ohio, Virginia (excluding the Northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C.), Wisconsin; and through UniCare. Additional information about WellPoint is available at www.wellpoint.com.
Thanks to cnbc.com for this information! (more…)
