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The first wave of participants eligible for COBRA and state continuation subsidies are reaching the end of their nine-month subsidy period. 

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act provided eligible COBRA and state continuation participants with nine months of subsidized premiums. Participants who became eligible in this first wave on March 1, 2009, received a 65 percent premium subsidy through November 30, 2009. They will be responsible for paying 100 percent of the premiums beginning in December 2009. For example, if a participant’s subsidized premium was $105 in November 2009, that premium will increase to $300 for December 2009. This is a significant increase and may be unexpected for some participants who may have lost track of the nine-month end date.

Subsequent waves of the nine-month subsidy period will expire monthly hereafter. For example, the subsidy will expire on December 31, 2009, for COBRA and state continuation participants who became eligible on April 1, 2009. It will expire on January 31, 2010, for participants who became eligible on May 1, 2009, and so on.   

Employers and group administrators may experience: 

• an increase in calls from impacted participants, many expressing concern with their ability to pay the increased premiums.
• a possible increase in member terminations due to non-payment of increased premiums.

COBRA employers currently receiving federal subsidy reports will continue to receive those reports as long as they have participants receiving the subsidy. 

The subsidy program will end on December 31, 2009, for any new COBRA or state continuation applicants. Assuming there is no extension, the final wave of the nine-month subsidy period will end on September 30, 2010. 

The government is currently considering an extension of the subsidy beyond the program’s December 31, 2009, end date. We are monitoring this possibility. If there are any changes or an extension to the subsidy law, we will communicate that as soon as possible.

If this is explains your current situation please contact an agent at Texas Health and Life and we will shop all of the major carriers in Texas we work with to find you a plan that meets your budget and personal needs.

Thanks for reading and be well!

To learn more about health insurance, visit http://www.texashealthandlife.com.

Premiums Could Rise for Individuals: According to a new analysis from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO)released Monday, the Senate’s health care reform bill may increase premiums for individuals purchasing insurance, unless they qualify for government subsidies. The report also indicates that employees from large companies would see premiums decrease, while those from small firms would see premiums remain largely unchanged. On Tuesday, The Wall Street Journal editorial page made the case that, according to the CBO, employer-sponsored insurance costs would remain roughly in line with the status quo; a result tantamount to failure, considering the overall cost-cutting goals of reform. 

Are you ready for healthcare reform that spends millions while increasing premiums for most individuals? 

Texas Health and Life encourages our customers to get involved and contact your senator or congressman no matter what your party affiliation is and tell them what you think about reform

Thanks for reading and be well!

To learn more about health insurance, visit http://www.texashealthandlife.com.

Was UNICARE health insurance company your health insurance carrier?

You like many others have received the letter from UNICARE explaining that they are not going to offer health insurance in the state of Texas any further.  What are your options and how do you figure out what to do from here?

There are some very important details that you need to know before you make a switch to the carrier they are allowing you to switch to without any medical underwriting.

Texas Health and Life and their agents have extensive knowledge on your options to make sure that you are still getting the best benefits at the best cost.

Please shoot us an email or call us to show you the best transition from your current UNICARE plan.

Thanks for reading and be well!

To learn more about health insurance, visit http://www.texashealthandlife.com.

Have you received a fax or email with a heading Affordable Healthcare ?

Beware of plans that state “Association Members Benefits Include or Pre Existing Conditions OK”

These plans are often oversold and serious under-deliver when you use them. 

If you are looking for something other than health insurance because of the price call Texas Health and Life.  We have partnered up with several top notch accident plans carriers that are well worth the monthly amount.

Thanks for reading and be well!

To learn more about health insurance, visit http://www.texashealthandlife.com.

Is your COBRA expiring and you need to explore your options for individual health coverage? 

You can visit www.texashealthandlife.com to compare plans.

Is your COBRA stimulus expiring with your employer and you are now responsible for 100% of the premium?

We at Texas Health and Life have recently helped several customers in this situation and we actually have a carrier that will cover you with most any pre-existing condition.

Please let us know how we can be of service to you.

Thanks for reading and be well!

To learn more about health insurance, visit http://www.texashealthandlife.com.

Are you concerned about Health Care reform and how our Congress and Senate are so concerned in passing a bill that will affect the entire US population quickly!  Seems to me no matter where your views sit with a political party that we should take our time with this bill and get it right!

Until we have had a chance to read the full 2,074 page Reid Bill, it’s impossible for Americans to fully grasp what the Majority Leader has cooked up behind closed doors. It is my hope that Sen. Reid will afford all Americans the same courtesy that he had: ample time to study the legislation and deliberate the best way to proceed.

What we do know so far, as reported by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO), is that this bill will have a wide, negative impact on Americans across the board – from seniors on Medicare to small business owners to future generations of Americans who will be footing the bill. The bill will increase taxes on all Americans by nearly half a trillion dollars and breaks the President’s pledge not to raise taxes on working families earning less than $250,000—at a time that unemployment is at a 26-year high.

While CBO has not been given time to analyze the Reid bill’s impact on premiums, every other independent analysis to date has found that Reid’s new mandates and taxes will increase health care premiums on American families. The Reid bill increases taxpayer spending and liability for health care over the next ten years—instead of reforming our already insolvent entitlement programs. It will gut the already insolvent Medicare program by $464.6 billion, hurting access to care for seniors. It includes a government-run public option that will, according to CBO, have premiums higher than private plans and cause millions of Americans to lose the coverage they currently have. The largest expansion of Medicaid since it was created means the Medicaid program will be the only coverage option for 60 million Americans. It will also impose $28 billion in punitive taxes on employers who do not comply with Washington’s new job-killing mandates.

These initial findings are troubling, to say the least.  You can access the full text of the Reid bill from :http://cornyn.senate.gov/public/?p=HealthCareReformHQ.

It is essential that Congress take the time get health care reform right. If the President and Majority Leader are more interested in getting health care reform right for all 300 million Americans than they are in putting a political feather in their cap for the midterm elections, this shouldn’t be an issue.  (part of the above article provided from newsletter of Senator John Cornyn).

Please take the time make your voice heard no matter what your view is on healthcare reform by contacting your congressman or woman and or senator.

Also know that if true healthcare reform is passed into law that none of the changes will make an impact until around 2014–so don’t let your plan cancel or lapse in expectations of an guaranteed option covering your needs in the immediate future.

Thanks for reading and be well!

To learn more about health insurance, visit http://www.texashealthandlife.com.

Did you know that Round Rock medical center has a service that anyone can access if they are at increased risk for heart attack or stroke due to undetected arterial blockage or a looming aneurysum–and not even know it.   

This service is being performed at the St Davids medical center in Round Rock for only $139.95 –with or without health insurance–it does not matter.  The service includes Stroke/Carotid Artery screening, and Abdominal Aortic Aneurysum Screening, and Peripheral Artery Disease Screening.  Plus you get the results 4 business days after the procedure. 

Call 1-888-802-3115 to make an appointment.

Thanks for reading and be well!

To learn more about health insurance, visit http://www.texashealthandlife.com.

Have you done your research on what is being proposed on healthcare reform and the possible public health option or do you believe what you hear on the radio and see on the TV?

Read the information below and see if it gives you a clearer picture on what is truly being proposed.  We at Texas Health and Life do have an obvious interest in keeping health insurance in the private market but we also agree that we need the health insurance companies to develop better ways to control premiums from year to year.  It makes our job much easier when we can keep a customer with a carrier for 3 to 4 years rather than moving them every year because the premium has gone up over 20%–ridiculous!  We are not supporting either side of a political view in our blog but just the position that healthcare reform needs to be a complete overhaul of our current system and not the public health option.

Read some interesting information below about the bad and some good of the proposed healthcare reform:

The large proposed cuts of federal reimbursements to hospitals are also of particular concern. Hospitals are required to provide millions of dollars in uncompensated care to uninsured residents. Our rural hospitals, which serve a low number of patients, operate with little to no profit margin. Reducing these hospitals’ badly needed federal reimbursements could result in reduced services, or even worse, the closure of entire facilities. Additionally, to keep their doors open, hospitals may be forced to pass these cuts to patients with private insurance, resulting in even higher premiums and driving up health care costs further in Texas.

The proposals being put forward will reduce patient choices, drive insurance companies out of business and have minimal impact on the uninsured population. Further, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has repeatedly stated that both House and Senate bills will not bend the curve on cost growth over the long term.

Reform must provide an opportunity for everyone who wants health insurance to obtain it. The insurance market must be one in which competition is encouraged between insurance providers based on transparency and value, making health insurance a buyer’s market in which patients have affordable choices and know what plans cost and offer.  The Health Care Freedom Plan would provide a $2,000 voucher for individuals and $5,000 voucher for families to purchase health insurance on the private market. Increasing the number of insured will increase competition in the market place and bring down costs. This bill ensures individuals receive the same tax benefits that businesses receive for health insurance coverage, allows individuals to keep their insurance policy, and lets them keep the doctors they trust even if they change jobs. By enacting these reforms, and by simultaneously containing skyrocketing costs through payment reform, prevention initiatives, and the provision of adequate care for those with chronic conditions, we could achieve quality health care reform.

Thanks for reading and be well!

To learn more about health insurance, visit http://www.texashealthandlife.com.

I just saw a commercial while watching Monday Night Football about Wal-Mart’s low cost prescription plan that you allows you to get many generics at a 90 day supply for only a $10 copay and free shipping to your home address–pretty cool!  You can visit www.walmart.com/pharmacy and see a list of prescriptions that are covered under this plan.  I personally knew that Wal-Mart had a large list of $4 copay medications but this one was new to me.  You can access this plan with Wal-Mart without health insurance by going to their site and filling out the form.  Hopefully someone learns something from this blog they did not know and if you like the information pass it onto to a friend or family member.

Thanks for reading and be well!

To learn more about health insurance, visit http://www.texashealthandlife.com.

Breaking News!!–Are you a UNICARE Health Insurance customer in Texas?  UNICARE has decided to pull out of the state of Texas and will no longer write group or individual health, dental, or life insurance effective immediately.  UNICARE has a transition plan for the customers to a similar plan with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas.  Customers of UNICARE should start to receive letters from UNICARE in the very near future of this change.  What if you do not want the Blue Cross plan UNICARE is going to offer?  You can stay on your current UNICARE plan until June 2010 and then you have to choose another plan or go with Blue Cross.  We have posted the letter that was sent to us below from UNICARE and there are numbers you can call with questions but we know their phone are going to be flooded with calls and we recommend you call your broker or call us at Texas Health and Life at 1-800-371-2015 or 512-246-9955-you can also email us at justin@texashealthandlife.com or tamara@texashealthandlife.com to determine your best strategy moving forward!

UniCare has made a difficult strategic decision to exit commercial health insurance markets in Texas. Following a transition period, UniCare will no longer provide health benefits in Texas.

BCBSTX will be in contact with you soon to discuss an offer to transition your customers’ health benefits. In the meantime, if you have questions regarding UniCare’s decision, please use the below contact information:

• For questions regarding Large Group, contact your UniCare Account Manager or BCBSTX Sales Representative
• For questions regarding Small Group and Individual, contact your UniCare Agent Support team at 877-864-2468

If your customers also have dental, vision, group life or disability coverage through UniCare, the BCBSTX offer will also include that coverage.

Thanks for reading and be well!

To learn more about health insurance, visit http://www.texashealthandlife.com.