Interview with Gary McNelley – by Health Converter
The Health Converter team recently caught up with Gary McNelley, owner and operator of MarketHealth.com. Gary runs the worlds largest purveyor of health and beauty product offers online. Established in 1998 and formerly known as Joe Bucks, Market Health has become a juggernaut in the affiliate marketing world. The Market Health Affiliate Network allows you to market and promote the world’s leading health and beauty offers on the net.
The Market Health Network is a global leader in the health and beauty industry offering a wide variety of business opportunities for our affiliates and merchants. Our goal is simple…To help merchants and affiliates work together in growing both of their businesses in the health and beauty industry.
From our experience with Market Health, we can attest to the fact that they are an energetic and accomplished company focused on creating the highest converting products on the internet today. Their affiliates and merchants are the most important asset to their company and support is their number one priority.
One of the greatest challenges that Market Health faces is keeping its affiliates compliant with FTC regulations. As any network knows, when you have thousands of active internet marketers promoting your product lines it becomes difficult to keep track of their promotion methods. Gary McNelley runs a compliant network and works vigorously to stop misleading advertisements placed by his affiliates.
This year Gary and his team will travel to the Affiliate Summit East in New York. This is a great show and a must attend for all serious Affiliate Marketers, Networks, and Merchants. We met up with the Market Health team at the last show and had a great time. Be it that the affiliate marketing industry is so high tech, going to these shows and meeting people is the high touch that takes things to the next level.
Market Health has been one of the top advertisers on Health Converter for quite some time now. To read the interview with Gary McNelley
Navigating Health Plans After College
It’s graduation time. Do you know where your health insurance is? Depending on your health plan, it might be gone. For many American students still covered under a parent’s insurance, health coverage ends upon graduation; they will be left to navigate the increasingly expensive and complicated world of health insurance as they struggle to find jobs.
Luckily for some, since 1994, 30 states have passed laws extending the age at which young adults are allowed to be dropped from their parent’s plan. In Massachusetts, insurance companies must cover children for two years after they lose dependent status or until age 26, whichever comes first. In New Jersey, a dependent may stay on his parent’s plan until 31 as long as he is unmarried. Connecticut, New York and Maryland, among others, all have similar laws that extend coverage, while California and Washington, D.C. have no such laws. Obama’s health care plan would guarantee that children remain eligible for their parent’s plan until age 26.
Despite these laws, young adults aged 18 to 25 are the most likely age group to be uninsured. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2008, 28 percent of Americans aged 18 to 24 lacked health insurance. Given that only 11 percent of children under 18 lacked health coverage in 2004, this is a precipitous decline for those children who now fall into the 18 to 24 age group. The likelihood of being uninsured decreases with age over 25, and in total, 15 percent of Americans were uninsured in 2008.
The Independent talked to a number of seniors and recent graduates about their attitudes toward their health insurance decisions. On the whole, most seemed more interested in finding a job than in finding health coverage.
What You Should Know About Health Plans
In general, large monthly premiums mean small deductibles and small monthly premiums mean large deductibles.
A monthly premium is the amount of money you pay per month for your coverage. A deductible is the amount of money that you must pay out of your own pocket before the health insurance company will begin to pay for any health care costs. For example, if you have a the BlueChoice HSA plan from Blue Cross Blue Shield, your deductible is 00 per year. In a given year, you will have to pay 00 of your own money on medical expenses before Blue Cross will start to help you out. So, logically, if you are responsible for paying a large deductible, then you won’t be responsible for a high monthly fee, and vice-versa.
Your out-of-pocket expenses in one year will not exceed a set amount.
One of the most important aspects of health insurance is that even if you have a catastrophic year of medical problems, you will hopefully not go bankrupt. Let’s say you have been hospitalized and have already paid enough to cover your deductible. The BlueChoice plan says that once you have paid the deductible, hospitalization will only cost you 0 per day while Blue Cross pays the rest. However, you will not have to pay more than ,250.
Some plans require that you pay coinsurance once you have reached your deductible.
Health insurance companies can specify a percentage of health expenses that you must pay until you have reached your out-of-pocket maximum.
When you visit the doctor or get a prescription, you usually only have to pay a co-pay and the insurance company will pick up the rest.
A co-pay is the fixed amount of money that your health insurance company charges for doctors’ visits or prescription medication. Co-pays for visits to specialists cost more than those to a primary care doctor, and co-pays for generic drugs are lower than for brand-name ones. If you have the BlueChoice plan, preventative care, like annual check-ups to your primary care doctor or OB/GYN are totally free, but if you choose to see a doctor for any other reason, you must pay the full cost of the visit until you have paid your deductible. After that, you only pay your co-pay.
You can save money, tax-free, for health care.
Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), created in 2003, operate just like savings accounts for health care expenses. If you have a plan with a large deductible, it will most likely offer you an HSA. You can deposit money into the account, before taxes, and it will accrue tax-free interest. You can withdraw the money to pay for a long and comprehensive list of “qualified” health care expenses. If you withdraw the money for any unqualified expenses you are subject to a ten percent fee.
The type of plan you have will determine your doctor “network.” Visits to doctors outside of your network may not be covered by your plan.
A Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) plan has the most restrictive rules but it is usually are the cheapest option. You are required to have a primary care physician who will see you for most of your appointments and refer you to specialists if need be. Your plan will only cover visits with doctors who have specifically made an agreement with your HMO-your network. Another choice is a Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) plan, which does not require that you have a primary care doctor and offers a much larger network of approved doctors. You can also choose to see a doctor outside of the network, but this will cost you more.
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Health Savings Accounts
As the owner of an independent health insurance agency and the founder of a website for comparing health insurance providers I often get asked, “What type of health insurance do YOU have?” Of course, no one health insurance company or health insurance plan is right for everyone because everyone has different needs, lives in a different area, etc… but I can certainly feel comfortable telling people that I personally have a Health Savings Account (HSA) and I absolutely love it!
Here are 7 reasons why I love my HSA:
#1 All Contributions to my HSA are Tax Deductible
Every single dollar that I contribute into my HSA http://www.easytoinsureme.com/united-health-one.html every year is deductible on the front of my personal 1040 tax return (up to certain annual limits imposed by the IRS – for 2010 the maximum deductible HSA contribution is ,050 for singles and ,150 for families with those age 55 or over getting an extra ,000 allotted maximum contribution amount). This HSA contribution deduction is great because it is an “above the line” deduction meaning that it is deducted before arriving at your Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) number. To make this deduction even better there are absolutely no income phaseouts for the HSA contribution deduction so you could be Bill Gates or Warren Buffet and still take the full HSA contribution deduction. The more money you make the more attractive this deduction is to you.
#2 The Money in my HSA Grows Tax Free
All of the money in my Health Savings Account grows tax free as long as I use the money in the account for qualified medical expenses or wait until I am age 65 or older and use it for my retirement. Yes, you heard me right “Tax Free” not just “Tax Deferred” as you may be accustomed to hearing about with a 401K or other similar tax deferred account.
#3 I Can Choose any Health Insurance Company I Want
Another reason I love my HSA is that the HSA itself is simply a savings account with some special paperwork so that it receives special treatment from the IRS. The HSA itself is NOT health insurance but is simply the second component of what is commonly thought of as a HSA health insurance plan with the first component being a high deductible health insurance plan (according to the IRS a high deductible health insurance plan is any health plan with a deductible of at least ,200 for singles and ,400 for families – so still pretty low minimums). What this means is that many different banks offer Health Savings Accounts and you can choose the bank that you prefer to set up your HSA and then buy your high deductible health insurance plan from any insurance company that you like. You can even purchase a plan from United Healthcare one year and then shop around in year two and switch to a potentially cheaper plan with Humana and then in year three switch to Blue Cross Blue Shield, etc. This ability to constantly comparison shop and not be tied to one particular insurance provider is a great benefit to an HSA (as your actual savings account component of the plan still stays with your original bank).
#4 I Pay Very Low Monthly Premiums
The higher the deductible is on your health insurance plan then the lower your monthly premium payments will be. Since a high deductible health insurance plan is a requirement for opening a Health Savings Account then one of the nice things about the plans is that the monthly premiums are comparatively very low! I would much rather save a large sum of money every month by paying less in premiums each month than paying extra for a very low deductible and co-pays.
#5 I Am Firmly In Control of My Health Care Dollars
The beautiful thing about an Health Savings Account as compared to a Flexible Spending Account is that while Flex Spending Accounts require you to use up the money in the account every year all of the money that you contribute to an HSA rolls over from year to year. In fact, as mentioned above, even if you don’t end up using the money in your HSA for medical expenses (a good thing!) then when you reach age 65 you can withdraw the money tax free for your retirement. Most HSA custodians will give you an option to place your HSA money into a savings account, investment account, etc. as the decision is up to you as to where you place your HSA account money.
#6 I Can Rest Easy
Admittedly some people simply sleep better at night knowing that they have a very low deductible and low co-pays for things like doctor’s visits and prescriptions and I understand that but I like to think of it like this - After your first year of contributing the maximum to your HSA then unless you use up all of the money with a large unforeseen medical bill then you will have enough money in your HSA for years two and on that even if you have to meet your deductible then as long as your HSA health insurance plan covers all expenses 100% once the deductible is met then you effectively have zero out of pocket costs because you already have the money in your HSA account! Sure, if you start an HSA tomorrow and you have only contributed a couple hundred dollars into the account so far and you get hit with a big medical bill then you will have to come out of pocket for your deductible amount but once you have maxed out your HSA contribution for a year or two then you are essentially home free with potentially no additional out of pocket costs even for large medical bills!
#7 HSA Setup is Very Easy
If you can open a savings account then you can open a Health Savings Account just as easily. If you can apply for a regular health insurance plan then you can apply for a high deductible health insurance plan just as easily. Almost every bank has HSA’s available and almost every health insurance company has high deductible health insurance plans available. Setting up an HSA is so easy that I probably took twice as long to write this article as it would take you to apply for both a Health Savings Account at your bank and a high deductible health insurance plan at your health insurance company.
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health care reform failed to cure prices
The health-care law of 2010 is, as Vice President Biden put it, a “big [expletive] deal.” It sets us on the road to universal health insurance. It is a favorite target for Republicans gunning to take over Congress. Lawmakers who supported it could lose their jobs. And it will remain a central focus after the midterms, as Democrats defend it against legal and political challenges through 2014, when it takes full effect. Easy To Insure ME
But the Democrats’ effort to sell the law to the public may be undermined by what even some ardent supporters consider its biggest shortfall. The overhaul left virtually untouched one big element of our health-care dilemma: the price problem. Simply put, Americans pay much more for each bit of care — tests, procedures, hospital stays, drugs, devices — than people in other rich nations.
Health-care providers in the United States have tremendous power to set prices. There is no government “single payer” on the other side of the table, and consolidation by hospitals and doctors has left insurers and employers in weak negotiating positions.
“We spend fewer per capita days in the hospital compared with other advanced countries, we see the doctor less frequently, and we swallow fewer pills,” said Jon Kingsdale, who oversaw the implementation of Massachusetts’s 2006 health-care law. “We just pay a lot more for each of those units than other countries.”
The 2010 law does little to address this. Its many cost-control provisions are geared toward reducing the amount of care we consume, not the price we pay. The law encourages doctors and hospitals to join “accountable care organizations” that have financial incentives to limit unnecessary care; it beefs up “comparative effectiveness research” to weed out inefficient treatments; and it will eventually tax the most expensive insurance plans to restrain consumers’ superfluous use of health care.
Such measures could reduce redundant tests, emergency room visits and hospital readmissions, which would help control the costs of Medicare, where the government sets rates. But they are less likely to lower prices outside Medicare and stem the growth of private insurance rates.
The main reason for this is politics. Remember how drawn-out the health-care battle was? It started in the spring of 2009 and was waged for a full year. The bill’s proponents in the White House and in Congress had some inkling of how tough the fight with the insurance companies would be. Taking on hospitals, doctors, and drug and device manufacturers as well — the people you’d face in a showdown over prices — might have been fatal.
So there was no price fight. The law will go on to face a likely post-midterm Republican onslaught — and dismantling it may be easier if Americans think it does little to restrain costs. It is one of those fine political ironies: The law derided as socialism may have had an easier time winning favor from a skeptical public if it was, well, a little more socialist.
It’s pretty far from socialist as it stands. The administration decided not to seek lower drug rates for Medicare, and it didn’t press for a “public option,” a government-run insurance plan that people under 65 could buy into. While supporters of the public option sold it as a way to compete with insurers, the real target was hospitals and doctors. A public option would have created a nationwide purchaser of health care that could have exerted leverage on providers to cut prices. This would have lowered the law’s costs by reducing the subsidies needed to make insurance affordable.
To avoid the wrath of hospitals and doctors, proponents of the bill rarely emphasized this cost-control argument. Nonetheless, when conservative “Blue Dog” Democrats weakened the public option in committee, they cited opposition from providers. And when the bill’s supporters floated a close alternative to the public option — letting people over 55 buy into Medicare — the reaction from Sen. Olympia Snowe, the moderate Maine Republican, said it all: “I am talking to a lot of my providers . . . and I know they are mighty unhappy.” Snowe exposed where the lobbying strength lay: No senator ever spoke of listening to “my insurers.”
“The public hates the insurance industry and trusts doctors and hospitals,” said Richard Kirsch, head of the liberal coalition Health Care for America Now. “But what killed the public option was the hospitals, not the insurance industry.”
Politicians wanted to avoid a confrontation over providers’ prices. So a different policy argument took hold: The real reason everything cost so much was the overuse of health care, not the actual prices of treatment.
This argument came primarily from Dartmouth College researchers who had amassed data showing wide disparities in Medicare spending among different regions. Hospitals in the lower-spending areas, mostly in the Upper Midwest and the Northwest, seized on the study to argue that the key to controlling costs was to reward providers like them. The case was popularized by Atul Gawande’s widely read New Yorker article in June 2009 focusing on McAllen, Tex., one of the highest spenders in the Dartmouth rankings. If health-care delivery in places such as McAllen could be brought in line with lower-spending places such as the Mayo Clinic’s home town, Rochester, Minn. — through the formation of integrated networks of salaried doctors — costs could be reined in.
The theory caught fire at the White House. It gave President Obama and his then-budget guru Peter Orszag a way to talk about costs without taking on doctors and hospitals; instead, the White House could simply differentiate between providers that offer “value” and those that don’t.
But the Dartmouth rankings, and the concept they supported, did a “disservice” to the debate, said Robert Berenson of the Urban Institute. For one thing, he and others say, the figures overstate regional differences in Medicare spending, which shrink when socioeconomic factors are taken into account. Second, rates of Medicare spending are not necessarily representative of health-care spending for people under 65. Some of the places that do well in the Dartmouth rankings charge high prices for non-Medicare patients — and were, not surprisingly, among those pushing hardest against a public option.
More broadly, the skeptics argue that merely providing care in smaller quantities will not sufficiently lower costs. They note that Americans already have shorter hospital stays and fewer doctors’ visits than people in other advanced countries. What sets us apart is our high prices for these health-care “units” — a finding trumpeted in a landmark 2003 paper by Princeton’s Uwe Reinhardt and others titled “It’s the Prices, Stupid.” The price problem is only getting worse, researchers and antitrust investigators have found, because of consolidation among providers, and it could be exacerbated by goading them to form even bigger networks.
But the notion that we pay more, despite using health care less, never caught on during the long march to reform. The main culprits driving our health-care costs were deemed to be inefficient doctors in a few corners of the country and demanding consumers — say, people seeking unnecessary surgery or patients with unhealthy habits and chronic conditions.
The camp that believes volume is the main problem disputes the idea that bigger networks of hospitals and doctors would make the price problem worse. “The more we’re able to encourage integrated systems of care, the better,” the new Medicare director, Donald Berwick, a Dartmouth data champion, told me before his nomination by Obama.
Berwick and his allies say they never meant for overuse of care to become the sole focus. Elliott Fisher, the lead Dartmouth researcher, said he did not intend for his data to be “interpreted as letting off the hook” those providers that kept overuse in check but charged high prices. “We clearly need to do both” prices and volume, he said.
But we didn’t do both in the health-care law, which raises the question of what will happen once the overhaul proves inadequate to the price problem. Perhaps the public option will be reconsidered, as many liberals hope. Perhaps there will be a new push for lower drug prices. Or maybe there will be a return to the rate-setting that prevailed decades ago, when hospitals, insurers and state officials worked together to agree on prices. Maryland is the only state that still does this, and data suggests that it has kept its cost growth lower than average. Massachusetts is considering a similar approach.
Would such measures have a chance? Perhaps. For one thing, as skeptical as insurers are of government intervention, they are glad to discuss reform that aggressively goes after providers. “We have a major cost problem, and we have to get on with the job of attacking it — with every stakeholder who is responsible for that,” said Karen Ignagni, the insurance industry’s chief lobbyist.
And the public? The Brookings Institution’s Henry Aaron predicts that there may be support for tougher action on high prices once the principle of universal health coverage is established, since taxpayers will be on the hook for more of the cost of insurance. “If we attacked costs right at the front end, [the legislation] would have died,” he said. “Now, we’ll have a mechanism that will force us to address it. There are only so many fronts you can fight a war on at the same time.”
That’s assuming, of course, that the law survives long enough to enjoy any embellishment.
Health Savings Accounts Reduce Business Costs
If you’re a business owner, you may want to consider a health savings account because it can save you money. Whether you provide health insurance benefits to your employees or you are the only employee, when you combine the health insurance benefit with the benefit of a health savings account, you and the business come out winners. The first benefit is that you can typically get lower rates on a group plan than you can on an individual plan. Couple this with the fact that group plans tend to have better coverage, and you’re already a couple steps ahead. Add in the health savings account to the mix, and now you have an opportunity for each employee to reduce their annual income tax obligation too. Easy To Insure ME
Businesses, too, benefit from the use of these types of special savings accounts that coordinate with the group health plan. The primary benefit is it gives employers or business owners the opportunity to put health care control in the hands of the employees. In essence, this lifts the burden from the shoulders of the business owners or managers. This equates to less paperwork for the business to manage, adds privacy for the employees, and decreases overhead expenses to the business.
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In order to reap the benefits of a health savings account, employees do have to take the step to start up the health savings account. The high deductible health insurance provider typically recommends an institution, such as a bank, but the employee can choose their own institution that offers health savings accounts. The money employees deposit into this account is tax deductible so it reduces the tax obligations of the employee at the end of the year.
The bottom line is that to maximize the tax benefits of health savings accounts, employees have to contribute as much to the account as possible. The maximize amount of contributions allowed depends on the age of the employee and whether the coverage is for a family or an individual. Investing in a health savings account allows employees and self-employed individuals to kill three birds with one stone; it provides health care coverage at an affordable rate, allows them to put away money tax free to cover medical and health expenses not covered by the policy, and reduces tax liabilities. In the end, this is a cost saving account for the individual employees and for the businesses that have handed over control to the employees themselves.
deadline on health care bills
The Legislature has until the end of the month to pass or reject several key health bills, making this week a turning point for some reforms related to the new federal health law.
Among the measures heading for a final floor vote are bills that would regulate health insurance rates and set up an “exchange” through which consumers would buy insurance under the federal law.
The legislative session is set to end Aug. 31, so lawmakers must act on the pending legislation, or the bills will die.
“I’ve not seen a year with such a combination of significant health care legislation that could be potentially passed and signed,” said Anthony Wright, executive director of Health Access California, a statewide consumer and labor advocacy coalition.
Several of the bills are generating controversy. A bill that would set up California’s health insurance exchange, the virtual marketplace of health insurance options required in 2014 under the federal law, passed the Assembly on Friday. The bill, authored by Sen. Elaine Alquist, D-Santa Clara, is scheduled to go back to the Senate and be voted on with a companion bill.
Insurers are against both bills, as are several Republican lawmakers, without amendments that would limit taxation on insurers and require more legislative oversight. They argue that the bills set up a new bureaucracy with broad powers to tax them and create disadvantages for smaller health plans in the exchange.
“Our concern is that (the bill) sets up very broad authority and powers,” said Charles Bacchi, executive vice president of the California Association of Health Plans. “We believe if they make wrong decisions, it could result in fewer choices for consumers.”
Health insurers are also fiercely opposed to several bills that propose various forms of rate regulation, an issue that gained traction earlier in the year after Anthem Blue Cross proposed a 39 percent rate increase on 800,000 individual California policyholders.
Power over rate increases
The rate-hike proposals include a bill by Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, that would require insurers to justify rate increases, and one by Assemblyman Dave Jones, D-Sacramento, that would give state regulators the power to approve or deny rate hikes.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed a separate plan that would require health care insurers to hire actuaries to review their proposed premium increases.
Bacchi, referring to the Jones bill, said rate regulation diverts attention from the need to curb medical costs. “Health care costs are going up enough,” he said, “without having to create overly burdensome and expensive new government bureaucracies to handle this.”
The California Medical Association and the California Hospital Association join the insurers in their opposition, arguing that if the insurers are squeezed, they’re likely to turn around and squeeze doctors and hospitals through lower reimbursement rates.
“We think the solution to the problem has already been approved as part of federal health care reform: mandating that plans meet a minimum medical loss ratio,” said Andrew LaMar, spokesman for the physicians group, referring to the requirement that insurers spend at least 80 percent of their revenue on patient care.
Coverage of vaccinations
Separately, the medical association is backing a bill that would require insurers to pay the full cost of acquiring and administering vaccinations, a potential mandate the health insurers oppose.
The California Hospital Association, which represents the state’s hospitals, is supporting a bill that would extend deadlines for some hospitals to seismically retrofit their buildings and is opposing a bill that would require hospitals to disclose the cost and quality of procedures.
But the main focus is on bills that would direct the state on how to manage the new health law.
“The 800-pound gorilla staring us all in the face is health care reform legislation, but there’s still so much unknown because regulations haven’t been drafted on the federal level,” said Jan Emerson, spokeswoman for the hospital group. “We’re on the precipice of some major changes to our health care system, but how that plays out on the state level is not yet fully understood.”
Countdown on health care bills
Here are some of the key health care bills that the Legislature must act upon before the session ends Aug. 31:
Assembly Bill 2578: Authored by Assemblyman Dave Jones, D-Sacramento, it would require approval from state regulators for increases in health coverage premiums.
Senate Bill 1163: This bill by Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, would require insurers to justify denials and premium increases.
Senate Bill 900 and Assembly Bill 1602: These companion bills authored by Sen. Elaine Alquist, D-Santa Clara, and Assembly Speaker John Pérez, D-Los Angeles, would establish the health insurance “exchange” required under federal law.
Electronic Health Records – Don't Get Sick Without One
Electronic health records (EHRs) started as way for doctors to organize their records, make ordering more convenient, reduce repetitive tasks, reduce errors caused by bad writing and so on. However, the physician side of EHRs has been somewhat slow to catch on because of the huge barriers to entry, such as converting existing records, changing the way documentation gets done and the cost of implementing a comprehensive system. Recent government financial incentives are boosting acceptance of the MD office-based EMR.
On the consumer side, some of the same issues have hindered large scale adoption of EHRs. First of all, it takes a long time to input the information and secondly, the record is only useful if it is kept up to date, placing a lot of pressure on people to manage the information correctly. However, as technology has improved, especially with mobile applications that make it easy for the user to retreive and enter data, the use and value of EHRs for consumers has grown.
Most families keep some kind of health records, even if it’s just copies of medical reports. Unfortunately, that kind of recordkeeping isn’t all that helpful when you’re in a doctor’s office and you can’t remember when you got your last tetanus shot. Storing information electronically can improve accuracy, provide information where you need it, when you need it and allow you to analyze yours or your family’s health. But how do you choose a record keeping system to use?
Frankly, we think that there’s still quite a long way to go in this area and none of the record keeping systems do everything that we’d like. But, there are some excellent programs out there. We have selected twelve recordkeeping systems that we liked the most and explained why we think so.
(1) HealthVault
Microsoft has made a huge investment in their personal health record program and it shows. Their system offers an extensive recordkeeping system, the opportunity to create family records and links to many other applications that enhance the value of your information. Through HealthVault’s “ecosystem” of connected, patient-friendly applications, you can store copies of your health records; upload information from health and fitness devices; provide information to your doctor, coach or therapist; and access products and services. We think that Microsoft is leading the pack in this area.
We love the device integration, the tab that gives you a history of the changes that have been made and the tab that allows you to select who you will share information with. However, Microsoft is so busy promoting its affiliates that it’s hard to figure out how you as an individual user can enter data. They also use some overly technical language such as “continuity of care” documents that are quite confusing. Interestingly, there’s no real emphasis on prevention tools and that’s a big gap, in our opinion. They also need a crumb trail; we thought we saw some prevention management tools at one point, but could never find our way back to the same page!
(2) Google Health
Google is another major player that has invested a lot of time and money into their EHR. Their record is quite comprehensive with lots of dropdown menus. We found, however, that the menus weren’t always complete enough so they can create confusion. This program can link to small group of other databases. If yours is listed, it’s great. For example, if you belong to Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, you can directly import the last two years of your medical information, saving time and improving accuracy.
There are many applications you can link to that help manage medications, find clinical trials, convert paper records, get coordination assistance, link your record to doctor’s office and more. This EHR is easy to use and contains lots of management tools but it still feels quite “young “in its evolution. Once again, not much emphasis on prevention or, if there is, it’s not obvious.
(3) Health Minder
This is a great EHR system! It’s very comprehensive, covering not just the basics but includes medical expense and claims tracking, pet medical history, family history, smoking, exercise, lifestyle issues, observations (so you can make a note when you experience something different and track what you are worried about), reminders, job related risks, environmental issues and more. The system is very easy to use. It does not have the linking and expanded apps opportunities available through the biggies such as Google and Microsoft but it’s more comprehensive and easier to use. Apparently other organizations agree because it’s won quite a few awards. It costs annually.
(4) My Healthe Vet
The VA really got it right with this online personal health record. This well designed system not only includes all of the usual health tracking options, vets can also refill prescriptions electronically, access benefit information and do research on their conditions.
(5) Health Manager
This offering from the Mayo Clinic works with Microsoft HealthVault and gives you advice from Mayo Clinic experts when you need it. Recommendations are created just for you and updated in response to your health information. The more complete your profile, the more tailored your recommendations become, making it easier for you to proactively maintain your health. This is a great marriage of Microsoft’s database function and Mayo Clinic’s diagnostic expertise.
(6) Cloud PHR Pro
Cloud PHR Pro is the paid version of Cloud PHR. You may or may not need the paid version; we just like what this mobile application does for you. There are a lot of mobile PHR apps being promoted; we like this one best. The Pro version gives you the option of caching your data, allowing you browse your health record in a doctor’s office without Wi-Fi or cellular service. The user interface is also improved, with faster load times and a more readable display of health information. Profiles can be assigned pictures, allowing you to manage your family’s health information in a more natural way. Whether you use the free or paid version, this mobile app brings information where you need it.
(7) AccessMyRecords.com
This EHR takes a somewhat different approach. Their system is designed to collect information that can be used in an emergency or in a doctor’s office. The scope of information is much greater. You are able to upload documents such as your will or trust, passport, driver’s license, birth certificate, transcripts, homeowners, automobile and life insurance policies, real estate closing documents, and more. You are issued a card that gives EMS or other helpers the ability to access your data.
There are a number of these kinds of offerings including those that put info on a microchip in a bracelet or on a memory stick that you wear around your neck. We thought this group was unusual and interesting in that it added proxies and other information that can be very relevant in an emergency situation. The service costs per individual; per couple; add children at each.
(8) GlobalPatientRecord
In addition to the usual health information, this EHR also provides a central location for all legal information, such as living will, power of attorney and Do Not Resuscitate information, emergency contacts information, reminders of future check-ups, medical history and is also available as a mobile application. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get the demo to work and the site makes it a bit difficult to know how to sign up.
(9) myMediConnect
This is one of several EHRs that eliminates the problem of getting all that information loaded. You can add your own info or pay to have the service add the information for you. This record keeping system is very comprehensive and interactive, including prescription reminders, health savings calculator, health education, and links with Microsoft HealthVault. Sign up is free but retrieval services can be expensive.
(10) CheckUp
This EHR is fairly comprehensive, as well, with the addition of automatic risk assessments. We liked the way this system handled information but found that it is very standalone with no integration with any other applications.
(11) MedsFile.com
This free system looked good but we couldn’t access the demo so we couldn’t test it very well. The EHR stores lists of medications, supplements, allergies, emergency contacts, immunizations, personal and family history, procedures and surgeries and emergency contacts. You receive a card that allows MDs or EMTs to access files from your cell phone.
(12) My Health Diary
This EHR is actually dedicated to issues related to blood such as donations and AIDS. And it has a very nice personal health record system. You can create charts of your clinical investigations including blood pressure and blood sugar readings, all types of clinical tests, treatments, diagnosis and medical images with the ability to access reports & data online. There are some excellent health calculators available here as well. It’s an interesting product with a lot of information but doesn’t seem well integrated.
In summary, you can gain a lot of insight into your health by using an EHR and remain in better control of your information. Don’t get sick without one!
New Direction for Health Care Reform
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act became the law of the land in 2010, but debate over its existence and implementation will rage on in the New Year. The law’s serious policy flaws are already impacting health insurance and costs, but these are part of a deeper and broader issue: the proper role for the federal government in Americans’ health care. The public’s stance on this issue has been anything but settled in the wake of the new law’s passage. Easy To Insure ME has the answers
As ramifications of Obamacare continue to play out, it becomes clearer that the changes made are the wrong ones. The new law cuts 5 billion from Medicare, but uses the savings to fund a new health entitlement, rather than deal with the financial insolvency that Medicare faces. “Bending the cost curve” was one of Obamacare’s original goals, but Medicare’s actuary reports that while the the new law indeed bends the curve, it is in the wrong direction: up, not down.
Furthermore, countless employers have said Obamacare accelerated increases in their health insurance premiums, prompting them to consider dropping coverage or pass more of the cost onto employees and their families. Mandates and new regulations are likely to further inhibit businesses’ ability to offer health insurance to employees, and also threaten to negatively affect the economy at large. Finally, when the law comes fully online and the true costs are accounted for, Obamacare is expected to significantly increase the nation’s deficit spending.
But the debate extends beyond these policy errors and into the realm of the federal government’s rightful role in health care. Obamacare significantly increases Washington’s influence over every aspect of the U.S. health care system—not just in the insurance market, but right down to the patient’s bedside. Medicare beneficiaries will be especially affected by the creation of new bureaucratic entities and top-down, cost-containing mechanisms included in the law.
Meanwhile, Americans continue to oppose parts or all of the new health reform law. Pollsters like Rasmussen show that Americans’ support for repealing Obamacare has ranged from 50 percent to 63 percent since the law’s passage. In November, American voters chose to send a wave of new lawmakers to Congress, many of whom campaigned in support of repealing the law. The provisions in Obamacare are not consistent with what Americans want, strengthening the case for repeal and a new direction for health care reform.
So what’s the alternative? Reform should transform the health care system to strengthen individuals’ control over their health care spending and decision-making. Patients, including those covered by Medicare and Medicaid, should have the opportunity to choose health care plans in the private insurance market that best suit their needs.
Market-based reforms would foster greater competition among insurers and more choices for consumers, enabling them to seek out the best value for their dollar. This bottom-up approach to reducing health care costs would maintain the quality of care available in the United States. It would put doctors and patients, not Washington bureaucrats, in charge of decisions relating to individuals’ care.
As the conversation continues, plans that embody these principles are gaining greater traction. U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan’s “Roadmap for America’s Future” would drastically change Medicare, Medicaid, and the health care system at large, to put patients in the driver’s seat. Ryan and Alice Rivlin, both members of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, together offered a similar plan for Medicare and Medicaid that would replace the highly centralized, bureaucratic system with a defined-contribution program, offering beneficiaries greater autonomy.
In 2011, repeal must remain a priority for the new Congress, not only to undo the disastrous consequences of Obamacare, but as the first step to reform that will fix the health care system in ways that empower patients, not bureaucrats.
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How to Take Health Care Responsibility
“Doctors are the same as lawyers; the only difference is that lawyers merely rob you, whereas doctors rob you and kill you too.” – Anton Chekhov, Russian playwright
The World Health Organization reports that the United States has the 37th best health care system in the world. America’s health care system is fraught with problems and its patient satisfaction is rated among the worst in the world. Even though America’s health care system is envied by the world, it ranks at the bottom of many health care indicators. In the developed world, the United States is at the bottom of the list for infant mortality and life expectancy.
Health care responsibility is the process is taking control of your health care. The health care system has many problems, but great health care can be obtained if you are a smart health care consumer.
Being educated does not mean that you need to have a medical degree or even a high school diploma; it means that you know how to get and transmit critical information.
Having a system to organize and communicate your health information will significantly improve health care. You need a system to organize your medical information. Having this information improves the relationship with your doctor and having a good relationship with the physician who serves as your primary care provider is an essential step to getting optimal health care.
The current capitalistic health care system focuses on profit instead of patient care. This does not mean that you cannot receive great health care in the current system. It does mean that you will have to do more than have a good doctor. You need to take responsibility for your health care. Health care responsibility includes understanding your health and disease states, organizing your health information and communicating it with the system.
Five fast and easy things that you can do to improve your health care:
Become educated
Learn to communicate at doctors appointments
Prepare before each doctor’s appointment
Know what preventative testing and treatments you need
Practice healthy lifestyle changes – exercise and eat well, avoid smoking, tobacco and excessive alcohol
The Week In Health Reform
The Week in Health Reform—Federal Legislative Overview
The White House
On March 3, President Obama continued his push for Members of Congress to complete health insurance reform legislation within the upcoming weeks. He delivered a statement to a group of medical professionals in the East Room of the White House, in which he said that he has asked Senate and House leaders to finish work on health reform and schedule final votes in the next few weeks. The President went on to say that the issues have been debated thoroughly and that now is the time to make a decision. Although he did not specifically mention the budget reconciliation process, the President said that the American people deserve an “up or down” vote on health reform in the same way that welfare reform and tax cuts were approved by Congress in the past under reconciliation rules.
The President said that health insurance reform would change three things:
* End the “worst practices” of health insurance companies
* Give individuals and small businesses the same kind of choices members of Congress have
* Bring down health care costs for families, businesses and the government
The President made numerous references to the health insurance industry and stated that there is a fundamental disagreement between Republicans and Democrats about whether there should be more or less regulation of health insurance companies. The President concluded by emphasizing that he will do everything in his power to make the case for health reform in the coming weeks, and he also urged the American people to make their voices heard.
In addition, the President said he is open to exploring policy priorities identified by Republicans at the bipartisan summit such as:
* Conducting undercover investigations of health care providers that receive reimbursement from federal programs.
* Appropriating funds for state-based demonstration programs to test alternative approaches, including health courts, to resolving medical malpractice suits.
* Linking Medicaid eligibility expansions to higher Medicaid reimbursement for physicians.
* Clarifying that Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) may be offered through the proposed health insurance exchanges.
On March 4, Health Care Service Corporation President and CEO Pat Hemingway Hall attended a meeting at the White House, along with CEOs from other leading health insurance companies and officials from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. The group met with Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and President Obama to discuss premium issues in the individual market.
House and Senate
Congressional leaders are now focused intensely on developing legislative language that could be supported by a majority of members in both chambers. The President’s comments last week send a strong signal that such legislation, once finalized, would move through Congress under budget reconciliation procedures.
Under reconciliation rules, the House first would have to pass the Senate version of the health care reform bill, H.R. 3590, which passed on Christmas Eve last year. After that, the House would then be required to pass a separate “corrections” bill incorporating specific changes to that bill that will likely be negotiated among White House officials and House and Senate leaders. After the House passes the “corrections” bill, under budget reconciliation procedures, the Senate would need at least 50 senators to vote for the “corrections” bill. Under reconciliation rules, only a simple-majority vote of 51 votes are needed for passage (Vice President Joe Biden would be the 51st vote if only 50 senators vote for the bill) and filibusters are banned.
In order to meet the goal of sending a final health reform bill to the President’s desk before the Easter recess (which is scheduled to begin on March 29), congressional leaders would need to send legislative language to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) for cost analysis in the very near future. On March 4, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said that President Obama hopes the House of Representatives will pass the health reform bill by March 18, so the rest of the process can move swiftly.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is now tasked with trying to corral votes in the House, while trying to assure those who are wary that the Senate will be willing to support the same measures. Some House members are worried about being left “holding the bag,” if the Senate decides it will not support some of the same legislative language.
In order to ensure the Democrats have enough votes, President Obama invited two groups of the Democratic Caucus to the White House on March 4 to continue to push for health reform passage. Members from the Congressional Progressive Caucus were:
Caucus Chairs Raúl Grijalva (AZ) and Lynn Woolsey (CA), Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus Chairman Mike Honda (CA), Congressional Black Caucus Chairwoman Barbara Lee (CA), Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chairwoman Nydia Velázquez (NY), Reps. Dennis Kucinich (OH), Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA) and Jan Schakowsky (IL), as well as delegates Madeleine Bordallo (Guam) and Donna Christensen (Virgin Islands).
Afterward, Obama met with key members of the New Democrat Coalition. The New Democrats, like the Blue Dogs, are a group of fiscally conservative Democrats. Attendees of this meeting included: Reps. Jason Altmire (PA), Melissa Bean (IL), Lois Capps (CA), Joe Crowley (NY), Ron Kind (WI), Allyson Schwartz (PA) and Adam Smith (WA).
Overview: Extension of Physician Payment “Fix” and COBRA Provisions
On March 2, the Senate passed H.R. 4691, the “Temporary Extensions Act of 2010″ and President Obama signed it into law. This legislation includes a one-month extension of the Medicare physician payment “fix,” premium assistance for unemployed workers with COBRA and state continuation coverage, unemployment insurance and several other legislative provisions that expired on February 28. Before voting on passage of the bill, the Senate first voted on an amendment by Senator Jim Bunning (R-KY) that would have offset the billion cost of the “extenders” package. This amendment was defeated and therefore no further legislative action was needed. The bill was later signed by the President.
Overview: The “Health Insurance Industry Fair Competition Act” – H.R. 4626
In a letter dated March 3, 22 Democratic Senators wrote to Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) urging him to bring H.R. 4626, the “Health Insurance Industry Fair Competition Act, to the Senate floor at its earliest opportunity. In the letter they state that “[this legislation] is an important step toward bringing competition to the health insurance market, and would ensure that anticompetitive abuses such as price fixing and monopolization are policed in the health insurance industry.” America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) CEO Karen Ignagni maintains the position on the legislation saying, “The rhetoric surrounding repeal [anti-trust exemptions] does not match the reality of the situation. Health insurance is one of the most regulated industries in America at both the federal and the state levels. The Act is extremely limited in scope and has nothing to do with competition within the health insurance industry. In fact, a wide range of insurer activities, including mergers and many types of business practices, are and always have been subject to federal antitrust laws and to enforcement by the Department of Justice.”