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October 29, 2007
Health Savings Account Consumers Could Be Saving on Health Costs
Results from a study released by HealthPartners shows that people using Health Savings Accounts and Health Reimbursement Accounts could be saving significant money on medical costs.
The company's findings indicate health care costs were 4.4 percent lower for members who used consumer directed health plans (CDHP), even after adjusting for differences in members' health status.
The study also found that CDHP members were significantly healthier and were expected to use 28 percent fewer health care services than those enrolled in traditional plans. CDHP members were also younger.
"We also wanted to know how CDHPs impact members to get proper health care," said Andrea Walsh, executive vice president of HealthPartners. "It turned out people were getting preventative visits, taking their medicine and getting treatment for illnesses such as diabetes."
The study compared 140,000 continuously enrolled members in traditional health plans with 5,000 members in account-based plans such as Health Savings Accounts and Health Reimbursement Arrangements.
Participants of CDHPs were also more likely to use HealthPartners' Web site to calculate medical costs, compare quality care information and search lists of facilities that offer the most cost effective services for various procedures.
Eileen Smith, communications director at the Minnesota Council on Health Plans, said studies looking at CDHP provide a short-term glimpse at the product because people just recently started using the plans. But it is important, she said, because more employers are offering it and employees are choosing CDHPs over traditional health plans. According to its 2006 annual industry overview, 243,205 people in Minnesota who are insured through the council's members used health savings and health reimbursement accounts, compared with only 85,960 in 2004.
"Employers are scrambling to keep coverage for employees and for some [health savings and health reimbursement accounts] is the best option," Smith said.
Learn more about Health Savings Accounts at: http://www.health--savings--accounts.com
Posted by Wiley Long at 07:34 AM | Comments (0)
October 24, 2007
The Health Savings Account Effect on Doctors
Overall, healthcare costs have been rising faster than inflation, but not all medical costs are skyrocketing. In a few pockets of medicine, costs are down while quality is up. The continued use of Health Savings Accounts will help sustain this new trend.
Dr. Brian Bonanni has an unusual medical practice. His office is open Saturdays. He e-mails his patients and gives them his cell-phone number. "I need to be available 24 hours a day," he says. "I want to be there when a patient has questions, and I want to be reachable."
I'll bet your doctor doesn't say that.
Bonanni knows he has to please his patients, not some insurance company or the government, because he's paid by his patients. He's a laser eye surgeon. Insurance rarely covers what he does: reshaping eyes so people can see without glasses.
His patients shop around before coming to him. They ask a question that people relying on insurance don't ask: "How much will that cost?"
"I can't get away with not telling the patient how much exactly it's going to cost," Bonanni says. "No one would put up with it. And the difference of a hundred dollars sometimes makes their decision for them."
He has to compete for his patients' business. One result of that is lower prices. And while the procedure got cheaper, it also got better. Today's lasers are faster and more precise.
Prices have fallen and quality has risen in other medical fields where most people pay for care themselves, like cosmetic surgery. Consumer power works -- even in medicine.
When government and insurance companies are kept away from the transaction, good new things happen.
A doctor in Tennessee I talked to publishes his low prices, such as $40 for an office visit.
Most doctors would say you can't make money this way. But Dr. Robert Berry says you can. "Last year, I made about the average of what a primary-care physician makes in this country," he said.
Berry doesn't accept insurance. That saves him money because he doesn't have to hire a staff to process insurance claims, and he never has to fight with companies to get paid.
His mostly uninsured patients save money, too. Unlike doctors trapped in the insurance maze, Berry works with his patients to find ways to save them money.
Sometimes the $4 pills from Wal-Mart are just as good as the $100 ones.
Speaking of Wal-Mart, medical clinics are popping up in Wal-Mart stores and in other similar markets. The clinics offer people with simple problems like sore throats and ear infections relatively hassle-free care ... cheap. Almost everything costs $59 or less. And the clinics are typically open seven days a week.
While some politicians claim that their health care programs requiring everyone to have insurance are not socialized medicine, the effect is not that much different. The main difference is that the insurance companies are rationing the health care instead of the government. It still introduces a layer of cost on the treatment that is extracted through lower income to the doctor and lower service to the patient. Whenever you distort the free market whether by the socialist system or the insurance system, you are transferring the decision making process from the patient to someone else. That is why Health Savings Accounts, where the patient is responsible for at least the first $1000, helps restore balance to the entire process.
Posted by Wiley Long at 10:06 AM | Comments (2)
October 21, 2007
Bank of America and Health Net Partner on HSA Program
Health Net and Bank of America Partner to Offer a Consumer Friendly Health Savings Account Program:
Health Net and Bank of America have partnered to help employers and employees better manage the rising cost of health care. This collaboration will provide members greater control over their health care spending by pairing affordable health insurance coverage provided by Health Net with a tax-advantaged Health Savings Account (HSA) from Bank of America.
Effective January 1, 2008, members who enroll in Health Net's EZAccess HSA program will be offered a Bank of America Benefit Solutions(tm) HSA. The HSA funds belong to the member, earn interest, and are completely portable, providing a long-term consistent account that will move with the member through all of life's changes, including a new job, or even retirement. Additional benefits of a Bank of America HSA include:
- No set-up fees, and no minimum dollar amount required to open an account
- A low monthly fee of only $3.95
- A 3.5% investment yield on non-invested cash accounts
- Online enrollment and account management, which includes online bill pay, expense tracking, investment tracking and 24-hour access to online reporting seven days a week
- A Bank of America HSA Visa® debit card and access to online bill pay to request payments for qualified health care expenses
- 14 Columbia Investment Mutual Funds to choose from, each rated 4 Stars by "Morningstar"
Combined with the Health Net user-friendly wellness and decision support tools, members can make more informed decisions about their health care and control how they spend their health care dollars.
This partnership will provide an alternative option to employers and individuals who wish to improve their health care experience while curbing their rising medical costs.
Those members currently enrolled in Health Net's EZAccess HSA program with a Wells Fargo account do not need to do anything. They own their accounts and can choose what to do with them. They can stay with Wells Fargo or they can roll their account over to Bank of America.
http://www.health--savings--accounts.com
Posted by Wiley Long at 11:28 AM | Comments (1)
October 18, 2007
Health Savings Accounts Create More Choice
According to John Goodman, president of the National Center for Policy Analysis, health insurance is an institutionalized, bureaucratized market that is heavily influenced by tradition and the fact that normal market forces have been suppressed, and we agree.
One thing that would help loosen things up is to liberalize the laws for Health Savings Accounts (HSAs):
- Currently, HSAs are limited to people with high-deductible policies; but if they were widely available, they would confer more choices -- and more consumer buying power.
- For example, a person slated for a $50,000 surgical procedure may want to have it done in a different city even if it costs more.
- If the patient had money saved in an HSA, it would provide more flexibility; once millions of people began using HSAs, doctors won't think it's so odd to be asked for prices.
Health insurance that allows patients to pick providers would also help lower costs in chronic care, which generates the highest costs in health care, says Goodman. Currently, insurance pays by task and care is fragmented. A diabetic, for example, must visit many different providers. Once a real market comes into existence, patients would be able to shop around. Full-service diabetic centers would compete for business.
Learn more about Health Savings Accounts at: http://health--savings--accounts.com
Posted by Wiley Long at 10:35 AM | Comments (0)
October 15, 2007
Blue Cross Blue Shield Health Savings Account Information
According to research published by Atlantic Information Services, Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies have at least 3.1 million Consumer Driven Health Plan (CDHP) enrollees and at least 1.7 million members with Health Savings Account (HSA) eligible products.
The BCBSA survey found that HSA-eligible enrollees represent all age segments, with demand also coming from broad income and education levels of the population.
In addition, those consumers enrolled or eligible for a Health Savings Account reported that they are not forgoing care at a higher rate than consumers that receive traditional healthcare coverage.
Responding to the growing interest in CDHP products, Blue Cross Blue Shield opened the Blue Healthcare Bank SM in early 2007. The bank provides healthcare-related banking for individuals with Health Savings Accounts, Flexible Spending Accounts and Health Reimbursement Arrangements. In addition, Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies across the country are offering members personal health records to help them better track and manage their care.
"These innovative offerings demonstrate Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies' commitment to improving the quality, safety and efficiency of healthcare," commented Vachon, executive director, Marketing and Consulting Services Group, Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. "We continuously are finding ways to promote greater healthcare quality and cost transparency and are pioneering programs to encourage consumers to adopt healthy lifestyles."
To view Jennifer Vachon's presentation, CDHPs: Consumer Perspectives to the Consumer Driven Healthcare Summit, visit: http://www.bcbs.com/news/bluetvradio/consumerdriven2007/
Posted by Wiley Long at 07:30 AM | Comments (0)
October 10, 2007
As Premium Costs Rise Health Savings Account Plans Gain Popularity
About half of all employers are expected to soon offer Health Savings Account (HSA) plans to their employees. This projection offers the best hope for restraining runaway health care costs, according to John Goodman, president of the National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA).
"The best way to control health care costs is to put patients in control of more of their health care dollars," said Goodman. "The increasing popularity of Health Savings Accounts is a result of managed care's failure."
According to a report recently released by Hewitt and Associates, a global human resources company, "account-based plans are gaining traction by employers as a way to control costs." Hewitt's research found that more than 20 percent of companies offer, or plan to offer, a high-deductible health plan with a Health Savings Account by the end of this year and almost half are considering offering one at a future date. While just 3 percent of employees elected these plans last year, most companies anticipate that enrollment will grow to 20 percent in 5 years.
A major factor in the movement towards HSA plans is the ever-increasing premium rates. While employers enjoyed a nine-year low in health care cost rate increases this year -- a 5.3 percent average increase, down from 7.9 percent in 2006 -- that is expected to change in 2008. Premiums are expected to rise by an average of 8.7 percent in 2008. For example:
-- Premiums for traditional indemnity plans increased 9.1 percent in 2007 and are expected to increase 9.0 percent in 2008;
-- Premiums for HMOs increased 8.7 percent in 2007 and are expected to increase 9.0 in 2008;
-- Premiums for point-of-service (POS) plans increased 3.9 percent in 2007 and are expected to increase 8.5 percent in 2008;
-- Premiums for preferred provider organizations (PPOs) increased 2.4 percent in 2007 and are expected to increase 8.5 percent in 2008.
"While the movement towards HSA plans is encouraging, the real issue is much deeper than putting patients in the driver's seat," said Goodman. "We are suffering today because we systematically suppressed the market in every aspect of medical care for more than 100 years. The solution is long overdue: bring the market back to life."
Learn more about how Health Savings Accounts can help solve our healthcare crisis at: http://www.health--savings--accounts.com
Posted by Wiley Long at 07:21 AM | Comments (0)
October 05, 2007
Can Health Savings Account Money Encourage Weight Loss?
According to a study published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, people will lose weight for money, even a little money. This is a welcome sign for employers looking for ways to cut health care costs.
By getting employees to sign up for a Health Savings Account (HSA) then offering monetary HSA incentives to lose weight, employers can cut their cost on health insurance at the same time they are encouraging their employees to live a healthier lifestyle. In the end, this is a win win situation for both employer and employee.
The OEM study involved employees split into three groups: one group received no incentives while the other two groups received $7 or $14 for each percentage point of weight lost. The results:
- Employees in the $14 group lost the most weight, an average of nearly 5 pounds after three months.
- Those offered no incentives lost 2 pounds; those in the $7 group lost about 3 pounds.
- Those in the $14 group were more than five times as likely to lose 5 percent of their weight -- the amount research has shown to be clinically significant, according to the study.
While there are some federal guidelines on offering HSA cash incentives, the idea is relatively new and will likely require further study before many employers are willing to try such a program, said Dr. Jeffrey Dobro, a consultant with the human resources consulting firm Towers Perrin.
But LuAnn Heinen, director of an institute that studies the costs and effects of obesity for the National Business Group on Health, said the study will be welcomed by employers who realize participation in other health programs remains low or that they're paying for people to lose the same 10 pounds over and over again.
Learn more about Health Savings Accounts at: http://www.health--savings--accounts.com
Posted by Wiley Long at 10:55 AM | Comments (0)
October 01, 2007
Disputing Hospital Bills Paid with Your Health Savings Account
If you run into a billing problem or misunderstanding with a hospital or doctors office for which you're planning to use money from your Health Savings Account, you could have some extra work to do.
If you have a Health Savings Account, you must have a high deductible health insurance plan. If you are using money from your Health Savings Account to pay a medical bill, it means that you have not hit the deductible of your policy yet.
What does this mean to you when you run into a billing dispute?
Insurance companies have a comprehensive system for dealing with billing disputes when they have covered a hospital stay or doctor visit. But when they haven't covered it because you are still within your deductible, that comprehensive dispute resolution system doesn't necessarily apply.
Here are some points to keep in mind when you are dealing with a hospital in a billing dispute, and you have paid with Health Savings Account money. These important points come from an expert in this field named Dr. Vincent Riccardi, who is the owner of American Medical Consumer (www.medconsumer.com), a company dedicated to helping people resolve billing disputes with hospitals and doctors.
Heres what Dr. Riccardi has to say:
1. First, discuss the issue with your physician. Sometimes the problem stems from an incorrectly applied billing code and the doctor can easily change it to please the hospital and resolve the problem on the spot.
2. Negotiate in person. Especially if you just dont have the money to pay a bill, it makes the best sense to negotiate face-to-face with the person at the hospital who has the authority to reverse or reduce the charges. Hospitals would often rather be paid part of a bill than risk losing the entire bill. Be honest and forthright and you may have a good chance in negotiating a reduced fee from the hospital. This includes the situations where it was a misunderstanding on your part. Its at least worth a try.
3. Dont bother going to the State Medical Board. In most cases, they are not able to help you. This is the case with most government agencies. Even the Departments of Insurance cannot help, because this isnt an insurance problem, it is technically a fee-for-service situation.
4. Recourse to a lawyer is usually not fruitful unless there is a big amount involved. For amounts less than $5,000 (which is what most HSA-style deductibles are), a lawyer probably wont be able to help you.
5. Remember that the only things that count in negotiations like this are the things that have been written down. If a doctor mentioned something to you but didnt write it down, it probably wont help you. Get things in writing all the way through the process.
I think of Health Savings Accounts as a way to be your own insurance company for the small stuff (under your deductible). That is its power. But it also means that when it comes to disputes, you also have to be your own insurance company and take charge of the negotiations with the hospital, just like an insurance company would. Your willingness and ability to negotiate will influence your ability to get unfair charges reversed or, at least, lessened. But its a do it yourself situation, so be aware of that when you sign up for an HSA.
Learn more at: http://www.health--savings--accounts.com
Posted by Wiley Long at 07:43 AM | Comments (0)