Posted by: AtlasMD

November 27, 2013

Touche. The Federal Health Exchange Website Mocked By Actual Insurance Company.

As low as this blow is, it seems almost destined. Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield has launched three ads that tell people to skip Healthcare.gov and visit their website instead. And what’s there reasoning? Because Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield’s site actually works.

Chris Matyszczyk of CNET reported on this advertising development (and included his own personal insurance woes). He writes, “Somehow, though, there’s always this nagging feeling with insurance companies — and, indeed, with the whole health industry — that the drive for a buck (with the frequent assistance of technology) is often at the expense of its customers’ mental, as well as financial, health.”

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Posted by: AtlasMD

November 26, 2013

Four In Ten Americans Are Clueless About Obamacare

You’ll have to read more about this disappointing survey yourself. It actually caused us physical pain to write that blog title. Mostly since that 40% obviously isn’t following our quest to cut red tape. Oh, and these results came only one day after a Gallup poll found that Americans respond more favorably to the name Affordable Care Act than Obamacare.

Obviously we’re fans of business and business depends on advertising to earn customers. We get that. But the idea that our government and media have turned this giant, singular fiasco into two separately perceived entities is troubling. Again, it’s a confusion that’s doing nothing to provide healthcare to anyone. Effectively it’s like spinning your wheels and saying, “Look how far we’ve gone.” And really we haven’t gone anywhere. We’re still waiting to hear stories about the great healthcare that’s going to magically manifest itself.

Posted by: AtlasMD

November 26, 2013

Medicare Penalizes Nearly 1,500 Hospitals For Poor Quality Scores

As you know, the health law’s insurance markets are struggling. Oh well, that hasn’t stopped the Obama administration from moving ahead with its second year of “meting out bonuses and penalties to hospitals based on the quality of their care,” says NPR.

And this year, it looks like more hospitals lost than won.

So how does this bureaucratic mousetrap work? The government determines if hospitals get more or less Medicare dollars for the work they complete based on patients’ surveys. And what were this year’s results? According to NPR, “Medicare has raised payment rates to 1,231 hospitals based on two-dozen quality measurements, including surveys of patient satisfaction and — for the first time — death rates. Another 1,451 hospitals are being paid less for each Medicare patient they treat for the year that began Oct. 1.”

NPR says half the hospitals will see negligible changes while others are going to see a noticeable difference.

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Posted by: AtlasMD

November 14, 2013

Uh Oh, WebMD Makes Millions Promoting Obamacare

Did you hear about this? About two months ago, a high-ranking healthcare official piled on the praise for WebMD. Why? Because they launched an online resource to help Americans navigate the complex law.

WebMD even had some nice things to say about Obamacare. According to The Washington Times, “In one article, it predicted doctors might pick up more patients and crowed in an article titled ‘7 Surprising Things About the Affordable Care Act’ that many consumers already had received insurance refunds under the law.”

Wow. Are they talking about the same Federal program we’ve been hearing about? Well, yes, but there’s a catch: “The company, which millions of Americans regularly read for health news, also stood to earn millions of dollars from a federal contract to teach doctors about Obamacare.”

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Posted by: AtlasMD

November 13, 2013

The Atlantic Says, Healthcare.gov Tech ‘Surge’ Might Miss Its Deadline

This new post from the Atlantic is worth a read. The deadline for Obamacare enrollment is creeping up on us. Are Americans going to be able to wrap themselves in double-thick red tape? Who knows? However, this piece brought something else to our attention–the law surrounding pre-existing conditions.

Patients who have a pre-existing condition must sign up for an exchange plan by the end of the year (Jan. 1, 2014) in order to qualify for the unmodified fees.

As you know, we take a somewhat unbiased approach to the exchange. Yes, we think it might be one step forward, two steps back, but we’ve said it many times–if Americans can get more affordable wrap-around coverage, excellent. Only problem now is that people with obesity, diabetes, cancers and other serious conditions will only have a tiny window of opportunity to find an approved plan. And being as healthcare.gov is comfortably dysfunctional, this isn’t looking good.

And not to use fear tactics, but the fact is that many doctors don’t want to accept the exchange plans because of concern they themselves won’t be fairly compensated. This makes for an unfortunate conundrum: If someone has diabetes, they are A) running out of time to get fairly priced insurance and B) if they do acquire it, doctors might not accept it.

READ THE COMPLETE POST FROM THE ATLANTIC

Posted by: AtlasMD

November 12, 2013

Have You Heard About The “Cadillac Tax” Yet?

Here’s a funny development in the Obamacare story that’s emerging (actually more like shipwrecking than emerging, but that’s just semantics). Check out this article from CBS going over a law that’s set to be in effect come 2018. Evidently companies providing insurance benefits to employees might face what’s termed the “Cadillac tax” if they offer TOO MANY BENEFITS to their employees. Wait what? So CBS says, “The ‘Cadillac tax’ is one of the tools in the Affordable Care Act designed to bring down costs — by encouraging people to cut down on unnecessary health care expenses.”

First off, that’s silly. That means you’re going to tax companies and dissuade them from offering benefits.

Second, this is coming from an administration that’s FORCING people to buy better insurance plans, with more benefits. And sometimes these better plans are forcing single men to pay for MATERNITY LEAVE, when they can never have a child.

READ THE COMPLETE CBS ARTICLE HERE

Posted by: AtlasMD

November 11, 2013

Wall Street Journal Shares Pros and Cons of Concierge Medicine

Jen Wieczner of the Wall Street Journal stitched together a piece about the benefits and the doubts of concierge medicine. It did successfully clarify the outdated definition of concierge medicine, the personal medicine for jet setters. She also properly incorporated the term “direct primary care” as affordable, non-insurance based care, explaining that on one hand there still are “lavish, celebrity-type treatment” centers, but also a newly emerging option like our Atlas MD-model. She writes that “pared-down clinics charge roughly $50 to $100 a month for basic primary-care medicine, more accessible doctors, and yes, money savings for those looking to reduce their health spending.”

Not bad. That sounds like what we’re up to here at Atlas MD.

She also included this relevant stat. According to Concierge Medicine Today, “Of the estimated 5,500 concierge practices nationwide, about two-thirds charge less than $135 a month on average, up from 49% three years ago.” It’s believed our lower cost practices are driving growth in concierge medicine. Offices are being added at a rate of about 25% a year, says the American Academy of Private Physicians.

Also not bad. This is becoming the free market reaction we were hoping for.

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Posted by: AtlasMD

November 8, 2013

There’s More Than One Way To Cut The Red Tape

Have you heard of Palmetto Proactive Healthcare?

They are an urgent care-type of cash-only practice. They charge cash for individual services but also offer an inclusive package for $60/month.

They’ve taken the red tape cutting to a new level. They’re offering a “Pay Penalty Promotion” for the next 30 people who sign up for a membership. What that means is that they will pay the $95 tax penalty assigned to people who ignore the ACA mandate.

Not bad, Palmetto. Not bad.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THEIR PROMOTION HERE

Posted by: AtlasMD

November 8, 2013

Insurers Are Hiding ACA Benefits From Customers, Like You Do…

We found an article coming at the Obamacare fiasco from the opposite direction. If you have a minute, it’s worth a read. However, we’d like to add a caveat to the piece.

First off, the story they highlighted is a bummer—Donna receiving a letter canceling her current insurance plan and offering a new plan in its place; Donna winding up with a premium that was over $1,000 per month higher than what was offered through the health exchange; Donna being mislead by her insurance company…

However, we’re still of the opinion that both sides of the media are spinning Obamacare and COMPLETELY missing the point. The point should be healthcare–which is totally separate from insurance. Somehow we forget that every time we get sucked into the Obamacare wormhole. So take this as our George Karlin or Bill Hicks moment. Sure, it’s nice to know that big government has taken a moral issue against shoddy insurance policies. But it’s worrisome to see the free market manipulated. Kind of reminds us of Ben Franklin’s saying: “Those who would trade liberty for security, deserve neither.” We’d rephrase it something like this: “Those who’d trade the free market for security, deserve neither.”

Surely, we’re idealistic. But our fight is a fight for price transparency. The demand for transparency is the only way that people like Donna don’t get fed misinformation. It’s misinformation that’s putting money in people’s pockets, when they’ve done nothing to improve a person’s health.

READ THE COMPLETE ARTICLE HERE