Health Insurance Videos

Are you buying health insurance or medical discount plan? Some medical discount plans claim to provide big discounts  for a wide range of services from doctor visits and dental exams to hospital stays and prescription drugs. Affordable Health Care Plan Pre-existing conditions? No problem! No Deductible or Co-pays Thousands of providers in our PPO network Discounts up to 60% Claims like these in magazines, on television, or on the Internet may sound like they’re selling health insurance. Probably not. Most of the time, they’re pitching a medical discount plan, card, or program, and chances are, they’re aimed at people who are in the market for ways to reduce the cost of health care. Medical discount plans can be useful for some consumers looking to save money on health care. But they’re not the same as health insurance. Medical discount plans don’t pay any of your health care costs; instead, they require you to pay a fee for a list of health care providers and sellers of health-related products who are willing to offer discounts to members of the plan. According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation’s consumer protection agency, some medical discount plans claim to provide big discounts from hundreds of providers for a wide range of services, from doctor visits and dental exams to hospital stays and prescription drugs. But many plans fail to make good on those claims. The FTC and many states have found that although some medical discount plans provide legitimate discounts that benefit their members, many take consumers’ money and offer very little in return. Check it Out When considering your options, know what you’re getting — medical insurance or a medical discount plan. If you’re not sure, check with your state insurance commissioner to see if the company offering the plan is registered to sell insurance in your state. If the company is not registered to sell health insurance and you want to buy health insurance, consider shopping elsewhere. Remember that if you buy a health insurance plan, it generally covers a broad array of services, and pays you or your health care provider for your medical bills. If you buy a medical discount plan, you generally are paying for a list of providers and sellers who may be willing to offer “discounts” on some of their services, products or procedures. If you’re interested in buying a medical discount plan, you should investigate the details before you pay any money. For example, *  Look for a telephone number or website of the company you’re considering doing business with so you can get more information. * Before you pay any money, ask the company for a list of providers who participate in its plan. Call the providers and ask about the services and discounts they’re offering. * If the plan doesn’t provide a list of providers promptly, consider taking your business elsewhere. * Investigate the details of any plan carefully. Read the fine print, paying special attention to the refund policy. If a plan doesn’t readily provide information and answers before you buy, it isn’t likely to be responsive once they have your money. * If your usual medical or dental providers don’t participate, see whether other doctors in your area accept the plan and will give you the discount the plan promoters promise. Some legitimate plans offer a “get acquainted” or “initial consultation” visit so you can meet a practitioner who participates in the plan before you commit to becoming a member. * Do the math. Try to calculate what your total payment for a discount plan will be for a given amount of time. You could be responsible for paying a substantial amount up front, in addition to monthly fees and other costs. The costs of the program may total more than the savings you anticipate. Indeed, you may be able to negotiate a similar discount directly with your provider, without having to join a medical discount program. * Call your local consumer protection office, state Attorney General, or Better Business Bureau to find out whether there are complaints about the business offering the discount plan. For more information visit the Federal Trade Commision Photo: esstat17

On the eve of the historic vote on the Affordable Health Care For America Act H.R. 3962, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz took to the floor of the House of Representatives to talk about why she's voting for health insurance reform.

If you pay attention to any piece of news, you no doubt have heard SOMETHING about health insurance over the last few months. Coincidentally, in the midst of potential health care reform, it is open enrollment for many individuals covered under employer sponsored health plans. [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

SAN FRANCISCO - October 28th/SF Bay Area Independent Media Center More than two dozen protesters blocked the entrances to the San Francisco office of Blue Shield of California early in the morning of October 28. They were joined by close to 200 other single payer system health care advocates, who festooned the building with crime tape and chanted loudly. The demonstrators charged Blue Shield with crimes including murder, breach of contract, and subversion of democracy. Participants in the protest represented a range of local organizations including Health Care for All-California, Vote Health, Code Pink, AFSCME Council 57, Single Payer Now, Pride at Work, LAGAI-Queer Insurrection, Labor for Single Payer, Wellstone Democratic Club, Direct Action to Stop the War, California Physicians Alliance, Gray Panthers, and more. Protesters charged the health insurance industry with crimes including: Murder: A new Harvard study found that 45,000 Americans a year die because they don?t have health insurance. For the insured, denial of care and delays in approving care cause an uncounted number of deaths (see ?Patient stories? sheet in this packet). Causing sickness and suffering for millions of people with treatable health conditions who can?t get the care they need because claims are denied, policies canceled, or deductibles and co-payments set so high that patients can?t afford to seek treatment. Breach of contract: Insurance companies routinely cancel the policies of many thousands of people after they became sick. A report released in June by House Committee on Energy and Commerce showed that Blue Cross ? evaluations included reports of how many policyholders they dropped and how many millions worth of medical care they saved the company. ?The committee investigation uncovered several rescission practices that one lawmaker called egregious, including targeting every policyholder diagnosed with leukemia, breast cancer and 1,400 other serious illnesses,? wrote Lisa Girion in the June 17 edition of the L.A. Times.

SAN FRANCISCO - October 28th/SF Bay Area Independent Media Center More than two dozen protesters blocked the entrances to the San Francisco office of Blue Shield of California early in the morning of October 28. They were joined by close to 200 other single payer system health care advocates, who festooned the building with crime tape and chanted loudly. The demonstrators charged Blue Shield with crimes including murder, breach of contract, and subversion of democracy. Participants in the protest represented a range of local organizations including Health Care for All-California, Vote Health, Code Pink, AFSCME Council 57, Single Payer Now, Pride at Work, LAGAI-Queer Insurrection, Labor for Single Payer, Wellstone Democratic Club, Direct Action to Stop the War, California Physicians Alliance, Gray Panthers, and more. Protesters charged the health insurance industry with crimes including: Murder: A new Harvard study found that 45,000 Americans a year die because they don t have health insurance. For the insured, denial of care and delays in approving care cause an uncounted number of deaths (see Patient stories sheet in this packet). Causing sickness and suffering for millions of people with treatable health conditions who can t get the care they need because claims are denied, policies canceled, or deductibles and co-payments set so high that patients can t afford to seek treatment. Breach of contract: Insurance companies routinely cancel the policies of many thousands of people after they became sick. A report released in June by House Committee on Energy and Commerce showed that Blue Cross evaluations included reports of how many policyholders they dropped and how many millions worth of medical care they saved the company. The committee investigation uncovered several rescission practices that one lawmaker called egregious, including targeting every policyholder diagnosed with leukemia, breast cancer and 1,400 other serious illnesses, wrote Lisa Girion in the June 17 edition of the L.A. Times.