Health Savings Accounts (HSAs)
ALSO NOTED: Medicare health plans say they'll mend their ways; FL hospitals pleased by PIP reinstatement; and much more...
> Contending that they're chastened by recent federal sanctions, a group of large health plans offering Medicare-based products say that they're cleaning house. Read more...
Insurers, banks keep expanding medical credit offerings
As we've reported here previously, insurers and banks are continuing to expand their credit... Read more...
Trend: Consumer medical finance market grows
Bigger deductibles. Larger co-pays. More policy exclusions. It's hardly surprising patients are beginning to look for new ways to pay for their care. And the always-helpful consumer credit industry... Read more...
Health plans storm the banking biz
Hoping to make CDHPs more palatable--and to profit on deposits, of course--the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association is moving to expand the reach of its Blue Healthcare Bank. The bank allows BCBS members to establish health savings accounts, then use debit cards or checks to access HSA dollars. The idea is to make it simpler for consumers to use and track their HSA funds, while saving them the trouble of waiting for reimbursement checks. This, in turn, makes CDHPs more acceptable to …
... Read more...ALSO NOTED: Cancer center undergoes $15M expansion; A day in the life of a hospital; and much more...
> According to industry experts, HSAs are best for consumers who aren't afraid to become aggressively involved in their healthcare spending. Report
> Vanderbilt's cancer clinic is undergoing a $15 million expansion to double its size. expanding its cancer clinic. …
... Read more...Websites give consumers bargaining power
In the era of health savings accounts and consumer-driven health plans, it more important that ever that patients have access to procedure costs before they get hit with a steep bill. But oftentimes even providers don't know what patients will be billed, because the provider can have many different reimbursement schedules for the same procedure.
But patients paying their own way aren't completely helpless. "Despite the complexity, the Internet has begun to open a window on this …
... Read more...BCBS association opens HSA-oriented bank
The Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association has decided to enter the national healthcare banking business, angling for the dollars flowing into health savings account portion of their members' CDHPs. Blue Healthcare Bank, which has just gotten a federal savings bank charter, will be owned by 33 Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies. Between 12 and 15 of the Blues should begin offering HSAs by the end of this year, according to Blue Healthcare Bank CEO Robert Gross. The bank already offers …
... Read more...Insurers vigorously defend CDHPs
In recent weeks, various studies citing stats on CDHPs have hit the press, some favorable and others criticizing the plans' impact on patients. But few have had the impact of the CDHP study just released by the Employee Benefits Research Institute and the Commonwealth Fund. The EBRI/CF study, which seems to have touched a nerve, found that many of the consumers insured by CDHPs …
... Read more...Press Release: HSAs Receive a Major Opportunity From Congress
Press Release: HSAs Receive a Major Opportunity From Congress
... Read more...Press Release: Setting the Record Straight on Consumer Directed Health Plans
Press Release: Setting the Record Straight on Consumer Directed Health Plans
... Read more...