Why can’t families continue coverage for family members, such as children, as long as they want to?  Because insurers have the ability to “push” people out into higher risk groups, where they can charge more, or more easily deny coverage for pre-existing conditions.  This practice MUST be stopped.  The fact that only 18 states have laws allowing some type of coverage continuation speaks volumes to the need for federal regulation of the health insurance industry and an end to this onerous practice . . . jomaxx

Recent college graduates face challenges in obtaining health coverage.

An article on the front page of its Personal Journal section, the Wall Street Journal (see link below) reports that with the economy weakening, and entry-level jobs that offer health coverage harder to find, some recent graduates are coming up with creative ways to protect themselves. Stories of graduates who re-enrolled in college, without attending class, to stay on their parents’ insurance, and continued their parents’ coverage, “at a steep price,” through COBRA. Others “opted for a high-deductible” individual policy, and avoided routine visits that are not covered, or went “without insurance altogether, and hope[d] for the best.” The Journal notes that “[a]t least 18 states have enacted laws that require insurers to allow parents to extend coverage for older dependents, often whether they are in college or not.” For young people who do not reside in those states, or “who aren’t claimed by their parents as dependents,” other options include Medicaid and short-term insurance offered through some alumni associations.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121365626631779015.html.html

Monday, June 16, 2008

The following excellent article portrays the growing gap experienced by seniors due to the high cost of supplemental health insurance coverage – just one of of the issues faced by the public in accessing health insurance . . . jomaxx

Comfortable retirement a fading dream for many

“About a generation ago,…guaranteed monthly pensions gave way to 401(k)s that handed workers, rather than employers, the lion’s share of responsibility for funding retirement. And, healthcare costs began eating up ever-larger portions of seniors’ income,” leading to the need for seniors to work beyond retirement age. According to government data in released in April, “[a]mong those in the 65-to-69 age bracket,…30.7 % were working, or looking for jobs.” The Chronicle added that “rapidly rising healthcare costs prompted employers to cut back or eliminate retiree medical benefits, even as the gaps in Medicare coverage widened. Among private employers with 200 or more workers, 33 percent offered some kind of health benefits to retired employees in 2006, down from 66 percent in 1988, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.”

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/06/16/MNFK112ELJ.DTL