Shorter Form for Medical Healthcare Insurance

Banks and  lenders have made efforts in simplifying their disclosure forms so consumers can more easily understand the types of fees and terms they are getting.

This time federal officials are trying to do something different. US health officials are trying to reduce the number of paper necessary for people to apply for coverage under the new health insurance marketplaces, or exchanges, that are to begin operating this season. The exchanges are part of the Affordable Care Act.

Previously the form from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services was a 21-page booklet that would have taken an estimated 45 minutes to complete.

After long efforts of consumer advocates that form which needs to be filled up was too overwhelming for most of people, the government introduced shorter versions. The form for individuals who aren’t offered insurance by their employer is now three pages, while the form for families is 12 pages.

The nonprofit group aims to educate consumers about the new law and help them obtain coverage.

But Kaiser Health News questioned whether the forms were actually simpler, or just shorter. The form for families, for instance, previously had pages to list health information for six separate family members. Now, the news service says, the form just has space for two people. So if your family is larger, you’ll have to make photocopies of the page for the additional members.

The forms can be submitted beginning Oct. 1, according to the agency. Consumers can fill out the application on paper, over the phone or online. The online version should take less time, according to the centers, because it will eliminate some questions based on the applicant’s responses.

What do you think of the new forms? Do you plan to apply for coverage through the new marketplaces? Leave your thoughts via Comments or via mail we will discuss this and try to pass on same to law makers.

Healthcare Reform in form of ICD 10 in Healthcare insurnace

Healthcare industry in US brings one more change as most innovative of itself. We all know about ICD codes. From past decades US healthcare Industry was  working of ICD 9 codes. Now to drill down more appropriate coding as per disease and increase in various health issues Healthcare industry in world had taken steps and introduced new range of coding and named them as ICD 10. Different parts of world have already started using ICD 10 in their healthcare insurance but US being one of the vast and biggest contributor in this industry is now changing to ICD 10.

ICD 10 is equivalent to learning another language and this will require proper training and education.
In US the pace at which hospital administrators , health professionals and compliance employees are moving toward this ICD 10 transition has raised concern among Healthcare industry leaders. As per Latest survey about 20 percent of small and mid sized hospital have yet to begin any education or training for what's been billed as once the biggest of US healthcare industry of World healthcare industry shifts to ICD 10.
The surveys says that nearly half are lagging behind on the centers for Medicare and Medicaid services timelines for ICD 10 preparation  Surveys results shows that 40 percents of have not begun ICD 10 CM Training for coding staff , 55 percents have not begun ICD 10 PCS training for coding staff , 47 percent have not begun document improvement education for medical staff and about 31 percent do not plan to dual code prior to Oct 1 ,2014.
It is clear that the industry is not making the amount of progress that is needed for a smooth transition  Factors that are contributing to this slow progress includes the change of compliance dates , completing internal priorities and other regulatory mandates. Also despite they know they have to change to ICD 10 respondents are planning to submit ICD 10 coded claims to payers for testing prior to the transition.

US Healthcare - Trends 2013

In Previous year 2012 lot many things happened in U.S. health insurance industry. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) continued to charge ahead despite widespread controversies including a ruling by the Supreme Court and became charged with a fresh line of life when President Obama won his second term in office.

Last year we witnessed the rise of private health exchanges, payer-provider mergers, Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs), 2013 is now poised to see some important developments and new trends in the U.S. healthcare sector. Some of the landmark changes that are sure to gain dominance in 2013 include:


1. The Year of the State Health Insurance Exchanges – Although the ACA has declared January 1, 2014 as the official Go-Live date for state health insurance exchanges, both state and federal exchanges are expected to open for public enrollment in the last quarter of 2013. As current controversies and conflicts around health exchanges spill into 2013, exchanges are expected to remain the hot topic of debate throughout the year.

2. Increased Measures to reduce Healthcare Costs – Lot many Federal programs such as “Pay-for-Performance” and Medicare’s “Hospital Re admissions Reduction Program” sought to reduce healthcare costs in 2012 through improved efficiency and quality in administered care. With healthcare costs reigning at the top of the industry’s primary challenges, 2013 will likely yield stringent measures aimed at restraining growth in healthcare costs.

3. Growth in Private Health Insurance Exchanges – Private health insurance exchanges is gaining popularity in group markets, providing visible advantages such as increased flexibility in health coverage and higher predictability in costs as compared to ACA-mandated public exchanges that are still shrouded in uncertainties. Increased employer demand for Defined-Contribution Plans led to the launch of several private health insurance exchanges in 2012, with the trend expected to continue strong into 2013.

4. Surge in Employer-sponsored Wellness Services – With employers’ healthcare costs sky rocketing at alarming rates, employee wellness programs have been pushed to the forefront of health benefits. As employee engagement gains unprecedented popularity, insurance carriers and wellness providers are adapting their health benefit portfolios to encourage healthy lifestyles among employees.

Despite several nerve-racking events, President Obama’s healthcare law survived last year. As we step forward into 2013, the U.S. healthcare industry is expected to become fraught with increased activity as federal and state exchanges gradually emerge onto the U.S. landscape, private exchanges gain ground in group markets, Medicare and Medicaid receive an overhaul, and consumers get acquainted with the new, digital way of purchasing their health insurance.

The U.S. healthcare industry’s journey through 2013 will be a sight to watch as trends continue to emerge.

HIPAA - Healthcare Health Insurance

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996  was enacted by the United States Congress and signed by President Bill Clinton in 1996. It was sponsored by Sen. Nancy Kassebaum .

Title I of HIPAA protects health insurance coverage for workers and their families when they change or lose their jobs.
Title II of HIPAA, known as the Administrative Simplification (AS) provisions, requires the establishment of national standards for electronic health care transactions and national identifiers for providers, health insurance plans, and employers.

A major goal of the Privacy Rule is to assure that individuals’ health information is properly protected while allowing the flow of health information needed to provide and promote high quality health care and to protect the public's health and well being. The Rule strikes a balance that permits important uses of information, while protecting the privacy of people who seek care and healing. Given that the health care marketplace is diverse, the Rule is designed to be flexible and comprehensive to cover the variety of uses and disclosures that need to be addressed.

HIPAA required the Secretary to issue privacy regulations governing individually identifiable health information, if Congress did not enact privacy legislation within three years of the passage of HIPAA. Because Congress did not enact privacy legislation, HHS developed a proposed rule and released it for public comment on November 3, 1999. The Department received over 52,000 public comments. The final regulation, the Privacy Rule, was published December 28, 2000.2

In March 2002, the Department proposed and released for public comment modifications to the Privacy Rule. The Department received over 11,000 comments.The final modifications were published in final form on August 14, 2002.