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

The headlines can be pretty stark, and scary:

82K Louisiana Medicaid Patients Could Be Booted from Program… (Associated Press, Oct. 11, 2019)
After thousands booted from Medicaid rolls… (The Advocate, June 13, 2019)
Another 11,500 people removed from Louisiana Medicaid rolls… (WAFB TV, July 1, 2019)

 What the heck is going on?

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Want in on an inside conversation between Healthcare Economist Mike Bertaut and one of his Straight Talk producers? They are interesting exchanges. In this one, which we recorded for you, we talk about the latest news with the ACA, even going back in time a bit.

We also talk about how the ruling could affect some really popular benefits of the ACA, Read more

“Cut the grass, son!” Yep, that’s my Dad, circa early 1970s, encouraging 11-year-old me to get off my butt and do some work, which frankly at that age I was keen to avoid. But he was home from working offshore and would be for at least a week, and it was July in Morgan City. You could almost watch the grass grow, so I wasn’t getting out of it. Read more

For the past few months, I’ve been telling my Straight Talk audience about the people at Blue Cross who are doing hard work to make big improvements to the health insurance landscape and health in Louisiana.

Today, I want to introduce you to the head honcho here at Blue Cross, Dr. I. Steven Udvarhelyi. He’s our President and CEO and he’s best known around here as Dr. Steve. Read more

You ever hear the expression “You just can’t make this stuff up?” It implies that reality is so bizarre, so unexpected, that it HAS to be unscripted and random.

If you’ve followed the fate of the Affordable Care Act through the courts over the past decade, you would become a believer of “you just can’t make this stuff up.” Read more