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.

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Posted on Saturday, November 29, 2014

Helpful Health Care Links: November 29, 2014

This holiday week is a time for reflection. Our helpful health care links focus on many topics — changes in healthcare coverage for immigrants under President Obama’s new program and tighter FDA menu regulations for many restaurants. We also included a local story from The Wall Street Journal about a Detroit neurosurgeon arrested for alleged insurance fraud. 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!

A Warning on Nutmeg

During the holiday season, nutmeg is one of the most well-loved spices, but it has quite the twisted history. Toxicologists warn: measure your nutmeg carefully.

Illegal Immigrants Could Receive Social Security, Medicare Under Obama Action

Under President Obama’s new program to protect millions of illegal immigrants from deportation, many of those affected will be eligible to receive Social Security, Medicare, and a wide array of other federal benefits.

FDA Menu Labels May Freak Restaurants into Swapping Fries for Fruit

The Food and Drug Administration unveiled long-awaited rules requiring restaurants, grocery deli counters, convenience stores, and other outlets with more than 20 locations to post calories counts on their menus.

Turning 21? Here’s How to Avoid a Big Hike in Health Insurance Premiums

For those insured through the federal health insurance marketplace that operates in about three dozen states, turning 21 could mean a whopping 58 percent jump in health insurance premiums in 2015 if you don’t take the steps outlined in this article.

Detroit Neurosurgeon Aria Sabit Arrested for Alleged Insurance Fraud

A Detroit-area neurosurgeon was arrested for allegedly defrauding federal and private health-insurance programs by billing for spine surgeries that he either didn’t perform or that were medically unnecessary.

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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.

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Posted on Wednesday, November 26, 2014

3 Things Young Adults Should Know About ObamaCare

The ObamaCare enrollment period is upon us and the surprising fact is that 35% of the enrollees are young adults under 35.

Young adults enrolling in ObamaCare is good for everyone. Health insurance costs are often impacted by the people who are in what insurers call the “risk pool.” Older people tend to have more health issues. Young adults, on the other hand tend to have less. If there are many people in the risk pools who have varying degrees of health issues, that lowers the cost of healthcare for everyone.

If you are under 35 or have a young adult child who is under 35, here is what you should know:

You can no longer be denied health insurance coverage for pre-existing conditions.This means that you can easily change jobs and don’t have to worry that you won’t be able to get healthcare from a different employer.
There is no maximum cap on the total healthcare you use in your lifetime. In other words, if you get a serious illness, like cancer, you can’t be denied insurance coverage no matter how high the cost of your care is.
Consider whether it’s cheaper to stay on a parent’s health plan. A parent may be able to add a child under the age of 26 for little or no cost compared to the cost for him or her to buy insurance from the health exchange.

If you are a young adult and you have not signed up for coverage yet, open enrollment began on November 15, 2014 and ends on February 15, 2015. However, if you have a “qualifying life event,” such as losing your job, you will have 60 days to sign up for ObamaCare.

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Are you looking to cut through all the noise and find out what ObamaCare really is, what it does, and, most importantly, what it means to you? MyHealthSpin’s “Easy Healthcare: ObamaCare” ebook guide leaves the politics behind and gives you a straightforward, timely rundown of the changes the law made and whether or not they impact YOU.

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