Posted on Monday, December 8, 2014

What’s a Co-Pay Again? Demystifying Health Insurance

Many people have to choose their health insurance this time of year, and the terms you hear about when looking at plans can be very confusing. But understanding those terms can be the difference between make the right choice and getting it very wrong.

The first term you should know is “co-pay.” A co-pay is your portion of the payment for a healthcare service. For example, your doctor visit may cost $100 and your co-pay may be $10. That means you will pay $10 per visit and your insurance will pay $90 (or whatever price the insurance company agreed to pay).

Many people are confused about the various terms used when they choose which insurance to buy. In addition to a co-pay, you need to know what your “monthly premium” is. For example, you may pay $150 permonth for healthcare coverage (your premium); however, you may still have a co-pay for some healthcare services.

You will also want to know what your “deductible” is. A “deductible” is the amount you have to pay each year before your insurance will begin to pay for your healthcare services. If you have a “high deductible,” you may have to pay $3000-$5000 out-of-pocket before your health insurance will pay for certain services.

When you are evaluating which insurance to buy, you need to know each of these numbers in order to figure out which insurance is best for you. For example, if you are very healthy, you may want to pick a plan with a high deductible since you are unlikely to need many healthcare services. Insurance Plans that have high deductibles normally have a lower monthly premium.

All of this information and more will be explained in MyHealthSpin’s soon-to-be-released book, Easy Healthcare: Choose Your Health Insurance. For more information, go to myhealthspin.com.

Posted on Friday, December 5, 2014

Helpful Health Care Links: December 4, 2014

Our helpful health care links focus on many topics dealing with both personal health and the government — the effectiveness of this year’s flu shot and the status of ObamaCare enrollment after the second week. We also include a story from the Miami Herald touching on the court rejection of Florida Governor Rick Scott’s drug testing for welfare applicants. All are worth your time. And, as always, if you ever come across a healthcare story that you think merits more attention, please send it our way!

CDC: Flu Shot Less Effective This Year Because Current Virus Has Mutated

Scientists are concerned about what they’re seeing so far this flu season. The CDC agency advised doctors that this year’s flu vaccine is not as effective because the current strain of the virus has mutated.

Scientists Find Why Male Smokers May Run Even Higher Health Risks

Male smokers are three times more likely than non-smoking men to lose their Y chromosomes, according to research which may explain why men develop and die from many cancers at disproportionate rates compared to women.

Running Linked to Lower Alzheimer’s Death Risk

Running more than 15 miles a week may reduce the risk of dying from Alzheimer’s disease, new research suggests.

Court Rejects Florida Gov. Rick Scott’s Drug Testing of Welfare Applicants

A federal appeals court on Wednesday dealt another blow to Gov. Rick Scott’s crusade to conduct drug tests on welfare applicants when it upheld a lower court ruling that the practice was unconstitutional.

ObamaCare Enrollment at 765K After Week 2

About 765,000 people have chosen a private health plan on the federal ObamaCare marketplace since year-two enrollment began on November 15.

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Although we’d all like to avoid it, it’s likely that most of us will at some point be admitted to the hospital. Whether you are staying in a hospital for a happy event, such as the birth of a child, or are being admitted due to an emergency or serious illness, you should understand how a hospital works. MyHealthSpin’s Easy Healthcare: Your Hospital Stay reveals the easy and practical answers that only an insider knows.

Available for download NOW!

Posted on Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Is Amazon Storing Your Health Information?

Surprisingly, yes.

Medicare announced that insurance companies can use the Amazon cloud to report their required ObamaCare information to the government.

Under ObamaCare, insurance companies must provide information to the government to determine if they owe money or will receive money from the government. This is an important aspect of ObamaCare as it forces insurance companies to have both “risk and reward.” This information is required to avoid large premium increases in the first 3 years.

Insurance companies previously had to buy expensive hardware to provide the information to the government. Medicare decided that the information could also be stored on the Amazon cloud.

Insurance companies are concerned about:

The security of the health information;
The redundancy of other systems insurance companies already have in place;
The Amazon option being offered too late to get an accurate picture of the risk pool. Article

This is simply another example how health information is becoming more available in locations that the healthcare provider and patient would never know about. As a result of these rapid changes, healthcare providers and consumers must be vigilant that they monitor their health information and have the mandatory HIPAA and security measures in place. If there is a breach of health information, the healthcare provider does not want to take the liability when the information is now in so many varied locations by many different companies. As a patient, make sure you notify your healthcare provider if you find that your healthcare information has been leaked to an unauthorized source.

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Healthcare has changed radically. Gone are the days when the only medical professional a patient saw was their trusted local doctor. MyHealthSpin’s Easy Healthcare: Healthcare Privacy walks you through the practical steps you can take to safeguard your healthcare privacy as a patient.

Available for download NOW!