health insurance

...to actually qualify for Medicare, a reminder:

The Medicare Annual Election Period for 2011 is Oct.15-Dec. 7.

SHIIP can help you compare plans and enroll. SHIIP is a service of your North Carolina Insurance Commissioner. Call 1-800-443-9354 or go to www.ncshiip.com for help with Medicare plan selection this year.

WISE, VA: A pregnant woman’s water broke as she awaited free dental care at the Wise County, VA fairgrounds on Saturday. She had stood in line in hot and muggy weather with over a thousand others to get a numbered ticket at the 12th annual Remote Area Medical (RAM) Health Expedition. According to RAM staffer, Jean Jolly, she didn’t want to leave and lose her place in line.

An ambulance standing by eventually took her to town in time to have her child in a hospital instead of an animal stall. The child might have been the first ever born at a RAM free clinic. But not without a number, joked one of RAM’s 1,700 volunteers.

Far from Washington’s "debt crisis" abstractions is another crisis, an American reality one cannot describe in words nor experience secondhand.

From ABC News:

A 59-year-old man has been jailed in Gastonia, N.C., on charges of larceny after allegedly robbing an RBC Bank for $1 so he could get health care in prison. Richard James Verone handed a female teller a note demanding the money and claiming that he had a gun, according to the police report.

In 2010 Renee Ellmers attacked Bob Etheridge for supposedly voting to cut Medicare. Now in 2011, Ellmers is not only voting to cut Medicare, but end the program as we know it.

As a consequence, company also issues refunds and credits of $638,000 to overcharged policyholders. Total impact: $1.3 MILLION.

Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin today announced a settlement with CIGNA Healthcare of North Carolina, Inc. over violations discovered during a routine market conduct examination. The settlement resulted in a fine of $600,000 on top of the refund of $638,000 to policyholders (individuals and businesses). As required by state law, the monetary penalty component collected will be distributed to the state public school system.

On the verge of being screwed again, the NC public is facing a new health insurance exchange law that, according to the News & Observer, is being "orchestrated by Blue Cross/Blue Shield." The new law requires that the health insurance exchange board be made up of a permanent seat for BC/BS and also two other insurance company representatives, someone from the business community, someone from the state medical society, and someone from the hospital association.

No consumer groups or advocates will be included.

The law is getting fast service in the legislature who are again, swapping campaign dollars for dead people.

I have privately purchased insurance, costing me about $170 a month. I got a check-up in December. It will cost me $785 out of pocket. Worse, because the check up was in December, the $785 won't even count towards my deductible, because the deductible resets on Jan 1. I am healthy and single, make about 40k a year, and affording medical care is a challenge for me.

North Carolina's Insurance Commissioner, Wayne Goodwin, and the Department of Insurance are going after yet another person charged with illegally dropping health insurance for employees of a small business.

Several months ago I penned - typed? - an entry entitled "Good News When It's Rare". In the news these days, particularly with election season bringing out some of the worst in various folks, good news is often overshadowed or crowded out.

Well, in case you missed it somehow, some of the best news in a long time happened last week and it involved historic insurance refunds I announced totalling $155.8 million for 215,000+ policyholders, savings of an additional $14 million on premiums, cutting of filed rates for certain health insurance policies, and a special visit I made to the White House.

And kudos as well to BCBSNC CEO Brad Wilson for his leadership and partnership, as well as to my agency technical experts, in making this success come about.