There is a Medicaid program in each and every state. In Kentucky, Medicaid is administered by the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services. The guidelines and income standards that a person must meet in order to be eligible for Medicaid are somewhat different in each state. Medicaid is a public, or government run, form of health insurance. It is designed to provide access to health care to individuals and families who are low-income and who cannot afford to purchase a health plan from a private health insurance company. Medicaid is funded, in part, by the federal government. It also … Continue reading →

Blue Shield Life and Health company wanted to close most of its individual insurance plans. California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones disapproves of this closure, and says that it does not comply with state law. The insurer says that it will work with the Insurance Department before any rate hikes are imposed. In California, Blue Shield has stated that it intends on closing most of the individual health insurance plans that it currently offers. This is creating some controversy. The decision would affect around 248,000 people who live in California. To me, it sounds as though the insurer wants to get … Continue reading →

Once a week, the Insurance Podcast Roundup brings you brand new episodes of podcasts that talk about insurance related topics. This is a good way to stay on top of the changes that could affect the insurance policies that protect you and your family. NPR has an episode of “Morning Edition” that was released on May 21, 2012. This episode is called “Your Stories Of Being Sick Inside The U.S. Health Care System”. NPR did a poll on Facebook asking people to share their experience of the health care system. This episode goes over some of the stories shared by … Continue reading →

I am self-employed, and I recently found an affordable health insurance plan. Today, my husband was looking around on the internet, and he found some very interesting information. It turns out that people who are self-employed can include their premiums as a tax deduction. This is excellent news! The easiest way to find health insurance coverage is to be fortunate enough to have a job that comes with a health insurance benefit. Once a worker qualifies for their company’s health insurance plan they are assured of being approved for it. People who are self-employed have to put in a lot … Continue reading →

Ave Maria University, a Catholic university that is located in Florida, is considering dropping their student health insurance plan. Unlike Franciscan University, which is located in Ohio, Ave Maria University is concerned with how their students will be affected if they drop health insurance coverage. Recently, Franciscan University decided to drop their student health insurance plans. This will take affect for the upcoming fall semester. The university doesn’t appear to be particularly concerned about how this will affect the health of their students. Their website tells students: “We encourage you to decide how you are going to provide for accidents … Continue reading →

The Supreme Court has heard several hours of arguments regarding the Affordable Care Act. Soon, a decision will be made. If the Justices decided to get rid of the entire Affordable Care Act it will negatively impact people who were, until recently, considered to be uninsurable. What will happen to all those people? Before the Affordable Care Act, people who were considered to have a pre-existing condition were finding it impossible to be approved for health insurance. This is because people who are seriously ill tend to require more doctor’s visits, more prescription medications, and more hospital visits, than do … Continue reading →

What should you do if you get into a minor “fender bender”? Are there things that you shouldn’t do? State Farm has created a quick list of advice about what to do after you get into a minor auto accident. You might want to bookmark their blog, just in case you need fast access to their advice. The advice from State Farm Insurance is in a blog post called “The Do’s and Don’ts of a Minor Car Accident”. It gives you specific answers about what to do, and not to do, after you have gotten into a minor car accident, … Continue reading →

Last year, shortly before Christmas, Congress was gridlocked over what to do about the upcoming deadline that would require a cut to the Medicare payment for doctors and hospitals. Their solution was to pass a two-month extension of that deadline. Now, that extended deadline is approaching, and Congress is deadlocked, once again, over how to solve this problem. Shortly before Christmas of 2011, the United States Senate passed a bill that would have prevented a 27% pay cut for Medicare reimbursement to doctors and hospitals. There was a December 31, 2011, deadline coming up. If nothing was done, the massive … Continue reading →

Medicare, as we currently know it, is about to undergo some big changes. This will happen no matter who ends up becoming the next President of the United States. People who are currently using Medicare, or who expect to be eligible for it soon, will want to keep an eye on these changes. The baby boomers are about to see some changes to the Medicare program. It is very likely that things will change in ways that this generation was not anticipating. It doesn’t seem to really matter who ends up being elected as the next President of the United … Continue reading →

In 2010, the federal government passed a law under the Affordable Care Act. This law required all health insurance companies to provide everything that was officially considered as preventative care to their customers for free. The problem is, many health insurers have found “loopholes” to avoid having to give away free preventative care. According to HealthCare.gov, all health insurance plans that were purchased after September 23, 2010, are required to offer all preventative services for free to their customers. The insurer is not allowed to charge for those forms of health care, and cannot make their customers pay a co-payment, … Continue reading →