Federal Employees’ Health Benefits Explained
As part of our series, "Are You Covered? A Look at Americans and Health Insurance," KHN and NPR examine the federal health benefits program, which is considered a model for the nation.
Insurance
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For Federal Workers, Insurance Plan Offers Many Choices
As part of our series co-produced with NPR, Are You Covered? A look at Americans and Health Insurance, today we profile Rhonda Dorsey and her daughter Toni, 13, who feel lucky to have health care coverage that helps to pay for Toni's diabetes medicine.
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Public Option? Arizona Has Had One For Years
As the debate continues on what might happen if the government enacts a public health care option, Arizona's experience may serve as a touchstone. The state has offered small businesses a public option since 1985 - and it has gotten mixed reviews. This story comes from our partner
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Some Insurers Trade In Jargon For Plain English
A number of insurers are replacing jargon with plain English. Aetna has published a book called "Navigating Your Health Benefits for Dummies." CIGNA employees are taught, for example, that they should use "doctor" instead of "provider" in communicating with the public.
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Confusing Insurance Jargon Prompts Call For Reform
Insurers sometimes make it difficult for consumers to understand and use their benefits. One U.S. senator has drafted legislation to hold insurers to higher standards, but the industry is already moving to make changes.
By Harris Meyer -
Economists Debate ‘Public Option’ On Health Care
The idea of creating a government-run health care plan to compete with regular insurance companies has received mixed grades among economists. The debate is over whether the plan would eliminate waste in the system as advertised.
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Workers Face Higher Costs for Employer-Sponsored Insurance
Employers are passing on more of the expense of rising health insurance costs to their workers through higher deductibles and co-payments, according to new survey.
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A Market ‘Fundamentally Changed’: How Health Proposals Could Affect Americans Who Buy Their Own Insurance
New rules being debated by Congress could mean consumers couldn't be rejected because they have health problems and would include subsidies for lower-income people to buy insurance. But the rules won't solve all the problems faced by those who don't get insurance through their jobs.
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Health Bills Might Not Protect Some Needy Americans, Experts Say
As lawmakers weigh trimming legislation, some consumers might end up burdened by medical and insurance costs.
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Health Insurance: How Much More Should Older People Pay?
Maria Bishop, age 60, pays $500 a month for health insurance. Chris Denny, 27, pays $117. In most states, insurers can charge older customers far more than younger ones. As Congress wrestles with a health care overhaul, lawmakers are debating new limits that could narrow the difference.
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What Can A Medical Billing Advocate Do For You?
When a claim is denied, an out-of-network fee is too costly, or an uninsured patient confronts an unclear or towering bill, an advocate may be able to help.
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Code Blue: Out-of-Network Charges Can Spur Financial Emergency
When Gary Diego's wife, Ellen, had bleeding in her brain, she ended up in an out-of-network emergency room. And he ended up with a huge bill. In a practice known as balance billing, insurers pay a portion of the out-of-network charges, and the rest is dumped on patients.
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Transcript: President Obama’s Colorado Town Hall Meeting On Health Reform
President Barack Obama spoke about health insurance, a pressed for a need to overhaul the health care system at town hall meeting in Grand Junction, Colorado on Saturday.
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Transcript: President Obama’s Montana Health Care Town Hall Meeting
The White House released a transcript of President Barack Obama's town hall meeting in Belgrade, Montana. He begins with prepared remarks and then answers questions from the audience.
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Transcript: President Obama Town Hall Meeting In New Hampshire
President Barack Obama continued his press for public support of health reform initiatives Tuesday at what The White House called a "Health Insurance Reform Town Hall" meeting in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
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Community Health Centers Fill Big Need During Recession
As the economy has worsened, community health centers - which provide free and reduced-cost care to millions of Americans - have felt the pinch . Facilities, such as the Walker-Jones Health Center in Washington D.C., will have even more patients if Congress passes a health overhaul that expands coverage.
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Community Health Centers Strained By Recession, Face Bigger Caseloads Under Reform
While health reform legislation includes additional funds for community health centers, proposals to expand health coverage to the underserved and uninsured could overwhelm facilities that already provide reduced-cost care to 18 million people.
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Are Insurers’ Profits As Low As They Claim?
A trade group says insurers only make 1 cent off every dollar spent on health care. But that figure measures insurer profits against all the money pumped into the U.S. system. Economists say profits are traditionally calculated by how much insurers spend versus how much money they take in.
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Insurance Agents Look Into The Future, See Uncertainty And “Opportunity”
For the tens of thousands of individual insurance agents nationwide, proposed changes to the health care system could radically alter how they do business.
In interviews, two agents talk about how they are bracing themselves for the post-reform environment. One thinks her fellow agents are too complacent, the other says "in every adversity, there is opportunity." -
Coming To A Doctor’s Office Near You: Photo ID Check
The little-known crime of medical identity theft can cause havoc - victims end up with big bills and wrong medical records. A new federal "Red Flags Rule" would require physician offices, among other businesses, to spot phony IDs. Doctors protest that the regulation could have "serious adverse consequences" for patients, even as the government tries to protect them.
By Jenny Gold