Healthcare Archives - Page 2 of 3

New Fitbit App, Connects Patients To Doctors

Fitbit has created a new health care platform called Fitbit Care that will help coach people with their health and wellness. Now people can use this platform and the new app connected to it, Fitbit Plus, to stay connected with their doctors, employers, and social groups. This platform and app will even connect you to health coaches so you can stay on track.

The new FitBit app will help your doctor stay connected with you. — *The new FitBit app will help your doctor stay connected with you, and updat your records.*

What It Includes

The Fitbit Care platform will all people to track activity, sleep, heart rate, and more. It will have interventions for weight loss, smoking cessation, and helps manage conditions such as congestive heart disease and depression. It offers the management of other conditions, even chronic and complex ones.

Once you are enrolled in the Fitbit Care platform, whether through employer or health plans, they will have access to the new app, Fitbit Plus. Fitbit Plus will be able to track your blood pressure, and glucose levels. It will work on a lot of different devices, to which you choose to connect it to.

The Goal

Employers are interested in this new Fitbit app because it will help keep employees health on track. In turn this will essentially keep healthcare costs low. People with the app can connect to support groups if they need to. Employers can put motivating messages on it as well. Doctors can stay connected with their patients and can check their

*Keep track of your heatlh with the new FitBit app.*

metrics. The doctors will be able to tell if a treatment plan they have set is working or if they need to adjust it.

This advancement in technology can help save someone’s life. The alerts can help those who are part of the platform know if a person’s metrics have dropped too low, or if something is wrong. Just like Apple’s new watch which has saved people from having a major heart attack, this app hopes to do the same, and more. The cost of Fitbit Care is not set, and is dependent on the case. For employers it will be based on the business and how many employees they have.

Healthcare Mergers Continue, What This Means For Consumers

Healthcare boundaries have recently begun to blur, starting with CVS and Aetna merging, and continue to blur. Insurance companies, doctors, and hospitals have teamed up in order to cut costs due to the Republicans halting subsidy payments. The halt will cut some federal programs funding. Now, UnitedHealth has plans to buy a large physician group, DaVita. These mergers are an attempt to provide quality care for consumers at affordable lower costs.

Because Republicans halted subsidy payments, companies are beginning to merge. — *Because Republicans halted subsidy payments, companies are beginning to merge in order to save and provide quality care.*

First CVS and Aetna have plans to create “hubs” for customers to come in and receive care, which will result in better care at a lower cost. Now, joining the bandwagon, UnitedHealth’s Optum unit plans to merge with DaVita to do the same.

The Plan

UnitedHealth Optum manages pharmacy benefits and provides health services. The merge will now add more doctors to UnitedHealth’s existing 30,000 doctors, giving people more variety within their network.

DaVita is a for-profit organization that has chains of dialysis centers. They operate nearly 300 clinics that serve 1.7 million patients across six different states. The states are California, Florida, Colorado, Washington, New Mexico, and Nevada. They will add to UnitedHealth’s 250 Med Express urgent care centers and 200 surgical centers.

“I am so proud of the DaVita Medical Group accomplishments, including our excellent clinical outcomes,” said Kent Thiry, DaVita chairman and CEO. “The combination of DaVita Medical Group and Optum should lead to even higher levels of performance.”

In a statement, Larry C. Renfo, Optum’s chief executive said “Combining DaVita Medical Group and Optum advances our shared goal of supporting physicians in delivering exceptional patient care in innovative and efficient ways.”

*The merge between UnitedHealth and DaVita is hopeful for the future of healthcare costs and care.*

When This Will Happen

The $49 billion merge is expected to close next year. The goal is to offer clinics that give a lot of the same care an emergency room at much lower rates. They will offer nearly 50 percent cheaper costs for procedures such as outpatient surgery.

Other industries are taking note of UnitedHealth Optum’s move, making it appealing for them to create a design of their own possible merge. As insurance companies, doctors, hospitals, and pharmacies begin to unite, it seems that not only will they benefit, but consumers as well. Healthcare lines continue to blue with these mergers. If all goes accordingly, then consumers will be offered a large range of doctors, and quality care at almost half the costs.

Healthcare Rates to Rise in 2019

In 2017 when President Trump did away with cost-sharing subsidies, it forced insurers to raise premiums. The cost-sharing subsidies helped pay back insurers for giving customers lower premiums due to their income status. Due to the halt in the subsidies, health insurance premiums have been rising. Mainly for those who have to buy their own insurance, approximately 34% in 2018 for silver plans. Insurers are now brainstorming what they will charge and if they want to participate in the ACA exchanges for 2019.

Insurers have been participating less and less in the market exchange, leaving customers with fewer choices. If more insurance companies decide to pull out of the exchanges, it will mean that customers will have even fewer choices available to them, at higher costs.

Health Insurance rates are increasing next year — *Health Insurance premiums and deductibles are increasing next year*

Premium Increase

Premiums will continue to keep growing without the cost-sharing subsidies to help with the costs impacted on insurers. The hike in premiums could be as much as 30% for 2019. It is projected that those that will be impacted the most are those who make too much money to qualify for premium support subsidies.

Eyles and Ceci Connolly, president and CEO of Alliance of Community Health Plans both voiced their disappointment of Congress failing to take action to fund cost-sharing subsidies.

“What’s happened is that several pieces of the puzzle have been pulled away. It is hard for me to isolate CSRs, what we are looking at now is a puzzle that is falling apart piece by piece,” Connolly said. “Losing the individual mandate, losing the cost sharing reduction subsidies and losing any hint of reinsurance, not to mention the risk corridors that were already gone, you’re just running out of options to manage the cost of this program.”

Funding

Midterm elections are approaching which brings up the issue of health care. While both political parties will be criticized, the polls have shown that voters hold Republicans more responsible for the high costs. Both parties have come to an agreement to include health insurance funding in the spending law. However, they could not agree on the details of what to fund exactly. Republicans are pushing for abortion restrictions stating insurers can cover abortions but cannot use federal funding for them, while Democrats do not agree.

Lawmakers are hoping the stabilization effort of adding funding to the bill will offset the costs of insurance. Health-policy experts disagree on how much it will help. Health experts state that the higher premiums will be offset for people by other subsidies they will be qualified for.

Republicans are not thrilled to stand behind the idea of the stabilization funding. They view it as saving the insurers of the health law, ACA, which they promised voters they would repeal. They blame the ACA’s regulations which stopped competition and drove up premium costs. Congress is leaning towards unlikely passing the stabilization bill.

Insurers are expected to announce the premium price hike sometime in the fall.

Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway, and JP Morgan Team Up To Repackage Healthcare

In January, three major corporations- Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway, and JPMorgan Chase, announced they will join forces to form an independent healthcare company for their employees. They are offering a “not-for-profit” system for their own employees, with the potential to be extended to all Americans. They are hoping this will lead to lower healthcare costs and better medical outcomes for their employees.

These companies' ideas of merging are to save money for employees when it comes to health insurance costs. — *The ideas of merging are to save money for employee’s health insurance costs.*

Why The Alliance?

The alliance between these companies is due to the frustration of businesses with the nation’s healthcare system and costs for medical treatment. In an interview with Business Insider, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said “Look, America has an issue, OK? We spend 17% of our GDP in healthcare. You know we have the best of all worlds, some of the best healthcare in the world. And the worst of all worlds. We don’t do very good preventive medicine. It costs too much.”

The companies are self-insured employers. This means that when an employee goes to the doctor, the employer is paying the bill instead of a health insurance. The goal is to help make their employees healthier, therefore reducing healthcare costs. JPMorgan has lowered deductibles for employees making less than $60,000 a year, and even lower depending on how healthy their lifestyles are. “If you do your wellness stuff now, if you take care of yourself, if you don’t smoke, we give you benefits and the deductible effectively goes to zero,” he said. “So we’ve kind of really made it easier for folks to get proper medical care.”

“We said, we know we can do more. We know we can do more just thinking through every single part of it,” Dimon continued. “Whether that be giving employers more information on their phones, which could in turn help with their overall wellness. Keeping employees healthier for longer in turn, could cut down on healthcare spending by preventing patients from getting sicker.

If this succeeds, hopefully it paves a way for future healthcare. — *This alliance will hopefully propose a better future healthcare system.*

What This Could Mean

The three companies will no doubt make a big impact on healthcare coverage. Giving incentives for employees to become healthier will not only lower the costs for them but essentially be beneficial for the employees. Lower deductibles and healthier, happier lifestyles would be the outcome.

Amazon has begun making its way into the medical world by launching an exclusive line of over-the-counter health products to hospitals and doctors’ offices.

“Some of the ways Amazon could use its know-how to make a dent in prices: Negotiate rates directly with health care providers and drug manufacturers, use technology to ease consumers’ ability to make appointments or consult with doctors outside of the office and improve access to price and quality information about physicians, procedures and prescriptions to allow consumers to shop around,” said Frederick Isasi, executive director of FamiliesUSA, a health care advocacy group.

If these three corporations succeed in the model they are proposing in order to lower medical costs, hopefully it will be adapted and extended to the rest of the country. This would mean Americans can receive affordable healthcare, which is appealing because the future of healthcare is unsure right now with government reforms taking place. This model may work and it will be interesting to see it unfold in the near future.

Double Check Your 2018 Information Now!

When enrolled in a Marketplace Insurance plan, it is important to make sure your household information is up to date every year. There may be benefits you are missing out on and possible consequences if you do not update.

What Changes To Report

Changes to your income for the year, whether a raise or demotion
Changes in health coverage: Whether someone in the household is getting job-based insurance, and/or receiving public coverage such as Medicaid, CHIP, or Medicare. Also, if someone is losing coverage that is job-based or public.
Changes to your household or individual members: If there is a birth or adoption, placement of a child for adoption or foster care. If someone becomes pregnant, and/or getting married or divorced. Child turning 26 years old. If there is a death, gaining or losing a dependent, and if you are moving to a permanent address.
Make sure names, date of births, and Social Security numbers are correct
Changes in status: Such as disability status, tax filing status, change in citizenship, whether there is American Indian member, and/or incarceration or released from incarceration.

Why You Should Report The Changes

If your income goes down or you gain a household member, then you may qualify for more saving than you are currently receiving. This can lower your monthly premium payments.

The flip side is if your income goes up or you lose a household member, then you could qualify for fewer savings. If you do not report this change, it will result in owing money when you file your federal tax return.

How To Update

Who you will contact for help is dependent on whether you got your plan from the Marketplace, or from a provider such as EZ.Insure. If you got a plan from one of our agents, you can always call 855-220-1144, or email us at replies@ez.insure to speak to your agent and update your information.

You can report any change by updating your application online after logging into your account on Healthcare.gov. Click on your application, choose “report a life change,” and then save it when done.
Contact a representative at the Marketplace Call Center at 1-800-318-2596. Or call your advisor at EZ.Insure.
If you move to a different state, log onto your account in HealthCare.gov, select a new application; select the year for coverage, and the new state. Finally, choose “apply or renew” to start a new application.
If you are switching to a job-based insurance plan, or to Medicare, make sure to cancel your current plan.

Do not forget to update your 2018 information, because it can cost you in the end when you file your federal tax return. And more importantly, you can possibly lose out on extra savings you should be receiving!

If you are looking for a new plan or have questions regarding your coverage, EZ.Insure can help. Our agents specialize in short term plans in your area and can answer any questions you have to find out if it is right for you. You will be given your own advisor who will go over different plans, and help sign you up free of charge. To start saving, enter your zip code in the bar above to get instant quotes, email us at replies@ez.insure, or call 855-220-1144. We guarantee we will be able to find you a plan that is affordable and meets your needs.

Higher Minimum Wage Could Lead To A SMALLER Check

Americans have been striking and pushing for a higher minimum wage from $7.25 to $15 an hour. Higher minimum wage would have many unforeseen negative effects, especially on taxes and health insurance benefits. With a higher wage for their employees business owners would be less likely to offer benefit packages. The employee would also end up paying more in taxes, adding that to the fact that they would also have to pay for their own insurance and benefits, it might cost more than you think to get that raise.

Saving could become even harder with a higher minimum wage due to an increase in out of pocket expenses!

The problem with raising the minimum wage so much is the funnel of confusion that it creates for already established businesses. Raising the minimum wage means a business would also have to raise the hourly wages for the employees who have been with the company for several years. If they leave their wages the same someone who has been with the company for five years could end up making less than, or the same as someone who just started. This means the business would have to lower their profit margins and take a cut in order to account for paying everyone. For larger businesses this is no problem, but when you look at small business it could be detrimental. For a business that already has slim profit margins they could end up losing money just to pay their employees. This limits the number of employees a business will take on, puts more stress on employees because they can end up understaffed, and prevents any growth in the business. If they also have to take away benefit packages offered to employees because of their new wages this also decreases the likelihood of an employee staying. This in turn could push out unhappy employees creating a higher turnover rate, which costs businesses even more money to interview, hire, and train the right people.

Companies would not only have to limit how many people they hire, they would have to cut back on the healthcare they once offered. According to research, if the minimum wage was increased by $1, then 9-50 percent of the employees wages were offset by a decline in the employer’s health insurance coverage. Employer-provided health insurance would begin to diminish in order to save money. A 2014 study of 400 US Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) by Campbell Harvey, Ph.D., J. Paul Sticht Professor of International Business at Duke University, found that 40% of CFOs would reduce employee benefits if the minimum wage were raised to $10 an hour.

If employers are be less likely to offer health insurance coverage, employees are left to cover their own insurance and studies show employees are less likely to go and get their own coverage through the ACA, even if they were entitled to subsidies. Employees would rather go without coverage than seek insurance from the exchange.

Increasing wages also affects the amount of government assistance people recieve. If someone is working a minimum wage job and is offsetting their income with government programs, tax refunds, and assistance than this wage increase could actually end up costing them more. <You needed an introduction for this. You never mention these affects and just jump into an example about them. For example, a single mother making $7.25 an hour would receive more of her pay than those who made $10 an hour. Raising wages results in that mother losing about $70 in earned income tax credit refunds, and $528 in child care subsidies. She then ends up paying $37 more in payroll taxes and $45 more in state income taxes. This happens because the more an employee makes, the more they pay into benefits and increases their tax payments, and decreases their eligibility for government programs .

While raising the minimum wage sounds like the perfect solution to raising everyone’s quality of life it actually creates a whirlwind of new problems. People could lose their jobs, their health insurance, and their tax credits which would in turn cause them to take home even less than they had with the current minimum wage. On top of affecting the individual it will make it nearly impossible for small businesses to thrive next to larger corporations and will put many smaller companies out of business. Instead of simply raising the wages the economy has to find a better solution, one that allows people to not ‘make more’ but to take home more.