My health

Two moderate Democratic Senators facing re-election battles this year said Tuesday they would oppose using a legislative tool that requires only 51 Senate votes to get health care legislation to President Barack Obama's desk.

Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Indiana, called the move, known as reconciliation, "ill-advised," while Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Arkansas, issued a news release rejecting the procedure.

"I will not accept any last-minute efforts to force changes to health insurance reform issues through budget reconciliation, and neither will Arkansans," Lincoln said in the statement. Read the rest of this entry »

While the majority of health insurance reform provisions go into effect in 2014, there are a number of provisions that take effect in 2010. Here's an overview of the provisions that become effective this year: Read more at http://www.easytoinsureme.com/

Health insurance quotes

Immediately at enactment

• Grandfathering – Plans and individuals that "renew" their coverage are exempt from any provisions of the law. These "grandfathered plans" must comply, however, with the following provisions of the law: extend dependent coverage through age 26, prohibit rescissions, eliminate waiting periods greater than 90 days, and eliminate pre-existing condition exclusions for children

• Small employer tax credits – provides premium subsidies for small groups with 25 or fewer employees and average salaries of $40K or less

Less than six months

• High-risk pool program – establish a temporary national high-risk pool for individuals with pre-existing medical conditions. (effective 90 days post enactment through January 1, 2014)

• Temporary reinsurance for employer retirees – Creates a temporary reinsurance for employers providing health insurance coverage to retirees over 55 who are not eligible for Medicare (effective 90 days post enactment through January 1, 2014)

Six months plus

• No lifetime limits – Eliminates all lifetime limits on the dollar value of coverage (effective six months post enactment)

• Restrictions on rescissions – Prohibits insurers from rescinding coverage except in the cases of fraud (effective six months post enactment)

• No pre-existing conditions for children – Eliminate pre-existing condition exclusions for children under 19 (effective six months post enactment)

• Dependent age 26 – Extends dependent coverage to age 26 (effective six months post enactment)

• Preventive care with no cost sharing – Eliminates cost-sharing for certain preventive services (effective January 1, 2011)

• Appeals process – Individuals  have access to an  internal and external appeals process to appeal decisions by their health insurance plan.

Most Americans who have health insurance are covered through an employer’s plan. However, some employers do not offer health insurance coverage. If you work for one of these companies, you will need to purchase private individual health insurance.
There are certain advantages to purchasing health coverage in the private market. Instead of choosing from plans pre-selected by an employer, you decide which plan features you want, and pick a plan accordingly. For example, by choosing a plan with a higher deductible, or one that doesn’t cover certain services, you may realize a substantial premium savings each month.
Instead of having your coverage tied to a place of employment, coverage through a private health plan is yours to keep no matter where you work. A health insurer can’t drop you as long as you pay your premiums on time.
But along with these advantages come some potential disadvantages—
Read the rest of this entry »