Category: Cost of Healthcare

The changes we’ve all faced in the past few weeks have been really stressful. It’s important to me that we keep you all on top of what we are doing at Blue Cross to make sure the healthcare system, now so vital to our continued good health outcomes here in Louisiana, is strong and has the resources it needs.

Even before COVID-19, Blue Cross was paying for around $300 million a month in healthcare services for our members here in Louisiana. And with the current emergency around COVID-19, we could do even more. Here’s a few things that we have implemented to make it easier to protect your health. Read more

In this episode of the Straight Talk podcast (23:32), Mike sits down to answer some questions from readers.

Mike takes on your tough questions, including how the Health Insurance Tax is affecting your premiums (hint: they are taking a hit, but there are other factors that can cause your rates to go up. Mike spells them out).
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Let me ask you a hypothetical question. Would you rather:

1. Pay a $500 bill that you were totally expecting, or
2. Pay a $300 bill that was a total surprise?

As the person who keeps track of bills and payments due for my family, I say there is NOTHING worse than a bill you weren’t expecting. No matter how much I owe, if I know about it up front, I can plan, estimate, maneuver, borrow or do whatever I have to do to pay that bill on time.

If I get ambushed, though… Grrrrr!!!! Don’t like it. Much more stressful. Read more

Legislation, both state and federal, has a unique way of imposing rather artificial life transitions on us. When I turned 15 years old in the mid-70s, I was immediately eligible (after taking a VERY simple test and paying $5) to drive a car, alone, anywhere I wanted to go. No auto insurance was required, by the way. At my 18^th birthday, I was legally able to join the military, vote, and buy and drink alcohol. I was dubbed by society at that point a fully featured “adult.” In the 70s.

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I watched the Affordable Care Act completely change the way health insurance is paid for and delivered over the past decade. Today, I think it’s prudent to apply some of what I’ve learned on those front lines to the current healthcare debate: Medicare for All.

As you might expect, there are many risks and many unknowns in this proposed massive undertaking that would re-route 20% of our country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Here are the top 10 things I believe will have to be carefully thought out before such a program has a chance of success. Read more

According to a new Kaiser Family Foundation poll, which asks Americans about healthcare topics each month, support for Medicare-for-all, which we’ve called “single–payer healthcare” in these pages, has narrowed in recent months. In a poll conducted Oct. 3 – 8, 2019, 51% of those polled said they favor a national health plan and 47% opposed. That’s a 5% drop since the beginning of the year.

It seems Americans are starting to think similarly to me – single-payer healthcare will narrow our choices when it comes to healthcare. Read more