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Is anybody surprised that enforcement of the "Red Flag Rule" (requiring "Creditors" to have a plan to prevent identity theft) has been postponed once again?  Link to one of many previous posts.  This time, the Federal Trade Commission postponed at the request of Congress. 

Here is the link: Friday's FTC Announcement

Improving health is always worthwhile, but results are not immediate and sometimes not attainable.

Individuals with existing medical conditions may face significant "wellness" restrictions and limitations under their health plan if they can’t meet certain health targets, such as a particular cholesterol number, blood sugar measurement or body mass indexes. The penalties may be so significant that it may render health insurance unaffordable and usel...

What charges are you supposed to pay if you have a PPO, POS. or an HMO type of insurance plan? Deductibles and copays, right? If you receive a bill from a non participating provider, you may be asked to pay more than your fair share of the bill. In some situations you may not even know you were receiving services from a non participating provider, or even had a chance to choose a provider, which is often the case when the doctor or hospital you did choose, uses the...

Republicans oppose the public option for many reasons, but in part because it is really necessary if the reform is to work--to bring down costs as well as to expand access. In the end, am I certain that we will wind up with a public plan in the bill that passes Congress this fall? No.

But any realistic assessment of reform suggests that, ultimately we willrequire a government plan to rein in run-a-way reimbursements. This is why I am convinced that even if it is ...

If nonprofit hospitals spend far less money on providing charity care for the poor and uninsured than the value of their federal, state and local tax exemptions, do they deserve those exemptions? What about if they turn away indigent patients or hound them with aggressive collection practices?

More on this...

&...

Doctors and the fee-for-service system are at the center of the health care debate. This article defines how insurance was created in 1929. A very simple concept that has been controversial since inception. Well worth reading this from the NY Times.

www.nytimes.com

Once again, Wendell raises some really strong points that America needs to listen to. His words speak volumes. Having been an insurance insider myself for many years, sitting on many boards, and WAY too many Kool-Aid meetings, I echo his sentiments. Seems at the moment that the public option has strong support, but the fear tactics raised by the opposition are casting a large and ever growing shadow upon it.

We can not afford to kill reform like we did in the 90's. The ...

In reflection of just how delicate this debate has become, the 250,000 member physician group AMA has largely backtracked from its opposition of a public plan.

"Make no mistake: health reform that covers the uninsured is AMA'stop priority this year," a clarifying statement from the group read. "Every American deserves affordable, high-quality health care coverage.

If you don/t follow Maggie Mahar - I suggest you do. Here is one of her posts:

The American Medical Association has announced its opposition to a public-sector health plan that would compete with private insurers. Why? Because the AMA fears that Medicare E (for everyone) might not pay some specialists as handsomely as private insurers do now.  Why do private insurers pay more? Because they can pass the cost along to you and I in the form of higher premiums. ...

Tax-exempt hospitals do not have to pay federal income taxes. The Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation estimates the value of these tax breaks at more than $6 billion a year.

Before 1969, the Internal Revenue Service required hospitalsto provide charity care to qualify for tax-exempt status. Since then,the agency has not specifically required charity care, but communitiesmust benefit in other ways.

Consumer groups and Patient Advocates can̵...

PUT YOUR CAR KEYS BESIDE YOUR BED AT NIGHT

Put your car keys beside your bed at night. If you hear a noise outside your home or someone trying to get in your house, just press the panic button for your car. The alarm will be set off, and the horn will continue to sound until either you turn it off or the car battery dies.

If your car alarm goes off when someone is trying to break into your house, odds are the intruder won't s...

As if access to healthcare wasn't already overwhelming and increasingly limited, new tactics will be utilized by hospitals beforeyou even walk through the door. Why bother obtaining and paying for a high deductible policy which you can't afford, only to discover that healthcare is still out of your reach?

Access to healthcare will be left to those who are still employed and who also work for larg...

Recently the AMA filed class action lawsuits against Aetna, Cigna and Welpoint for underpaying out of network claims. The AMA was also recently awarded $350m against United Healthcare for the same allegations.

In recent years some of these same industry giants lost litigation related to denying claims for medical necessity. In those class-action lawsuits, physicians a...

The American Medical Association is among several medical societies that have filed a class action lawsuit against WellPoint, Inc., the largest health insurer in the United States.  The lawsuit, filed earlier this week in Los Angeles federal court, alleges that WellPoint colluded with others to underpay physicians for out-of-network medical services, resulting in patients paying an excessive portion of the medical bill. 

The AMA filed similar class action lawsuits...

Excellent free tools for creating business plans, cash flow projections and more!              

Business plans & more

What treatment does my doctor recommend, and do I understand it?
What are my other treatment options?
How do I choose the right care for my needs and pocketbook?
How to do I locate doctors, facilities and pharmacies?

The law is on your side!!  Prohibitions on balance billing that have been enacted in 

many states are very supportive of consumers and will stop medical debt 

collectors. 

TeamGail can help you!!! 

Health Claim - Balance Billing Prohibited: A contracted or non-contrac...

The Fed is making a list and checking it twice. But, financial institutions must comply with that list well before Christmas. On Jan. 1, new regulations from the Federal Reserve Board went into effect requiring all banks and financial institutions to improve efforts to combat identity theft.

These RED FLAG RULES