http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2011/01/04/1953639/insurer-for-high-risk-clients.html
Insurer for high-risk clients lowers rates
Posted: Tuesday, Jan. 04, 2011
COLUMNISTS »
Karen Garloch
Karen Garloch writes on Health for The Charlotte Observer. Her column appears each Monday.
E-mail Karen Garloch
(704) 358-5078
There's good news on the health insurance front in 2011.
Inclusive Health, the N.C. organization that administers state and federal high-risk health insurance pools, has reduced monthly premiums for those in the federal program.
Rates for those up to age 55 have dropped by 10 percent, and for those 63 and over, premiums have decreased as much as 31 percent.
This is the result of a new interpretation of a provision in the new federal health care reform law passed in 2010. The provision says premiums for older people can be no more than four times those of younger people.
The biggest beneficiaries are those 55 and over.
"This is the heart of our population," said Executive Director Michael Keough. "People who are waiting for Medicare. These are people who have more pre-existing conditions and may be better candidates for the high-risk pool."
For example, Inclusive Health's federal program sells a policy with a $2,500 deductible followed by an 80 percent/20 percent split of medical charges.
The premium for a 64-year-old non-smoker has been $592 and now drops to $412. For a 50-year-old non-smoker, the premium has dropped from $346 to $315.
There is no difference in charges for women and men.
N.C. legislators created Inclusive Health in January 2009 as a more affordable insurance option for people with pre-existing medical conditions who don't have access to employee-sponsored insurance or government programs such as Medicare and Medicaid. Inclusive Health also offers insurance to those who have exhausted COBRA benefits or have been laid off because their jobs were sent overseas.
Last summer, Inclusive Health also began administering the new, temporary federal high-risk pool for people who have been without insurance for at least six months.
"Our message to North Carolinians with pre-existing conditions...is that you are insurable," Keough said. "With these rate reductions and premium subsidies, Inclusive Health is more affordable than ever." For information: www.InclusiveHealth.org, 866-665-2117.
Other health law benefits
Nationally, here are some other changes that took effect Jan. 1 because of the health care reform law:
Medicare Part D beneficiaries who enter the coverage gap known as the "doughnut hole" can get a 50 percent discount on eligible brand-name prescription drugs.
Medicare beneficiaries no longer have to pay deductibles or co-pays for preventive services such as annual checkups, mammograms, prostate screenings, colorectal cancer screenings or bone-density measurements.
To expand availability, Medicare will give a 10 percent bonus to providers of primary care services and to surgeons practicing in areas with shortages of health professionals.
For more, check the Kaiser Family Foundation website: http://health reform.kff.org .
Insurer for high-risk clients lowers rates
Posted: Tuesday, Jan. 04, 2011
COLUMNISTS »
Karen Garloch
Karen Garloch writes on Health for The Charlotte Observer. Her column appears each Monday.
E-mail Karen Garloch
(704) 358-5078
There's good news on the health insurance front in 2011.
Inclusive Health, the N.C. organization that administers state and federal high-risk health insurance pools, has reduced monthly premiums for those in the federal program.
Rates for those up to age 55 have dropped by 10 percent, and for those 63 and over, premiums have decreased as much as 31 percent.
This is the result of a new interpretation of a provision in the new federal health care reform law passed in 2010. The provision says premiums for older people can be no more than four times those of younger people.
The biggest beneficiaries are those 55 and over.
"This is the heart of our population," said Executive Director Michael Keough. "People who are waiting for Medicare. These are people who have more pre-existing conditions and may be better candidates for the high-risk pool."
For example, Inclusive Health's federal program sells a policy with a $2,500 deductible followed by an 80 percent/20 percent split of medical charges.
The premium for a 64-year-old non-smoker has been $592 and now drops to $412. For a 50-year-old non-smoker, the premium has dropped from $346 to $315.
There is no difference in charges for women and men.
N.C. legislators created Inclusive Health in January 2009 as a more affordable insurance option for people with pre-existing medical conditions who don't have access to employee-sponsored insurance or government programs such as Medicare and Medicaid. Inclusive Health also offers insurance to those who have exhausted COBRA benefits or have been laid off because their jobs were sent overseas.
Last summer, Inclusive Health also began administering the new, temporary federal high-risk pool for people who have been without insurance for at least six months.
"Our message to North Carolinians with pre-existing conditions...is that you are insurable," Keough said. "With these rate reductions and premium subsidies, Inclusive Health is more affordable than ever." For information: www.InclusiveHealth.org, 866-665-2117.
Other health law benefits
Nationally, here are some other changes that took effect Jan. 1 because of the health care reform law:
Medicare Part D beneficiaries who enter the coverage gap known as the "doughnut hole" can get a 50 percent discount on eligible brand-name prescription drugs.
Medicare beneficiaries no longer have to pay deductibles or co-pays for preventive services such as annual checkups, mammograms, prostate screenings, colorectal cancer screenings or bone-density measurements.
To expand availability, Medicare will give a 10 percent bonus to providers of primary care services and to surgeons practicing in areas with shortages of health professionals.
For more, check the Kaiser Family Foundation website: http://health reform.kff.org .
