No dental insurance? Here are 3 options
No dental insurance? Here are 3 options

Can’t get dental insurance coverage through your employer? If not, you may be tempted to skip dental cleanings and other treatments. But good basic care lowers your risk of suffering a major, expensive problem in the future. There are three ways to approach dental care…
Ignore Ads When Buying Insurance
Ignore Ads When Buying Insurance

“I would encourage people to completely ignore the marketing materials you receive from the insurers. The information is geared to persuade people to buy the product. It doesn’t explain the benefits clearly,” says former industry insider Wendell Potter in a recent New York Times interview. Potter’s advice…
A Health Insurance Insider Offers Words of Advice
A Health Insurance Insider Offers Words of Advice

WENDELL POTTER is a 20-year health insurance veteran who served in top public relations jobs at such firms as Cigna and Humana. Now a senior analyst at the Center for Public Integrity, Mr. Potter has written “Deadly Spin,” a tell-all about practices of the health…
Officials, Advocates Tout Open-Enrollment Period for Children’s Coverage
Officials, Advocates Tout Open-Enrollment Period for Children’s Coverage
Here’s to a Healthier New Year
Here’s to a Healthier New Year

As pieces of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act go into effect, UP will continue to explain new options and rules. In our June 2010 Tip of the Month we touched on the new protection that went into effect for parents who want to put their children…
ConsumerWatch: Despite Health Reform, Young Adults Not Always Covered
ConsumerWatch: Despite Health Reform, Young Adults Not Always Covered

When Health Care Reform passed last year, millions of parents with uninsured dependents were relieved. But not all dependents will have coverage right away. When Evan Spinrod’s daughter turned 19, she was kicked off her family’s Kaiser’s health plan. Spinrod said that’s when he decided…
Questions and Answers on Enrollment of Children Under 19 Under the New Policy that Prohibits Pre-Existing Condition Exclusions
Questions and Answers on Enrollment of Children Under 19 Under the New Policy that Prohibits Pre-Existing Condition Exclusions
Recent graduates: You can go home again … (at least for health insurance!)
Recent graduates: You can go home again … (at least for health insurance!)

Whether your graduating baby bird is returning to the nest or taking flight, you want them to have health insurance. Most students lose their coverage when they turn 19 or graduate high school or college. The good news: Obama’s healthcare reforms extend coverage to all…
Anthem Blue Cross insureds in California just got a temporary reprieve from a BIG rate increase of up to 39%, but premiums across the country continue to climb.
Anthem Blue Cross insureds in California just got a temporary reprieve from a BIG rate increase of up to 39%, but premiums across the country continue to climb.

What can you do when your health premium jumps? Ask if your insurer offers any discounts for health club or fitness class enrollment. Find out if a “Consumer Driven Health Plan” such as a Flexible Spending Account (FSA), Health Savings (HSA) or Health Reimbursement account…
Consumer Advocates Share Insurance Claim Tips
Consumer Advocates Share Insurance Claim Tips

Insurance companies are in the business of making money. So consumers need to know these tips to avoid getting the runaround. Charles Thomas still isn’t sure which was worse: The fire that broke out on the deck of his San Francisco home two years ago…
What Not To Say To Your Insurer
What Not To Say To Your Insurer

The next time you’re talking with your insurer about filing a claim, you may want to watch what you say. According to the latest tip of the month from United Policyholders, a nonprofit group focused on educating consumers about insurance, certain words set off alarm…
Among Some, High Marks for Health Care Overhaul’s Beginnings
Among Some, High Marks for Health Care Overhaul’s Beginnings

WASHINGTON — President Obama gets high marks, even from some Republicans, for the way he has begun carrying out the new health care law in the 100 days since it was signed. And a new poll suggests a small increase in favorable views of the…
Supreme Court Weighs Insurer’s Conflict of Interest in Claim Denial
Supreme Court Weighs Insurer’s Conflict of Interest in Claim Denial

The Supreme Court struggled last week with how much weight to give an insurance company’s potential conflict of interest when it denies an employee’s health or disability benefits claim. The lawyer representing the Ohio woman who sued MetLife Inc. over a disability claim argued that…
Gender can cost you in individual health insurance
Gender can cost you in individual health insurance

When it comes to health insurance, Valencia resident Tova Hack’s first problem is that she works part time and thus needs an individual policy for medical coverage because her employer doesn’t offer one. Her second problem is that she’s a woman. Hack, 22, a grad…
Young Adults May Have To Wait For Health Coverage
Young Adults May Have To Wait For Health Coverage

Young adults are one of the largest groups that lack health care coverage in the United States. With the new health care reform bill going into effect in a few months, dependents under the age of 26 will be able to be added onto their…
Expert Advice On Talking To Insurance Companies
Expert Advice On Talking To Insurance Companies

Dealing with an insurance company is never on anyone’s list of favorite things to do, but you’ll be more successful if you know how to make your case when filing a claim. That includes what not to say to your insurance company. Charles Thomas still…
Tips To Get Your Insurance Claim Approved
Tips To Get Your Insurance Claim Approved

San Francisco, California – Insurance companies are in the business of making money. So consumers need to know these tips to avoid getting the runaround. Charles Thomas still isn’t sure which was worse: The fire that broke out on the deck of his San Francisco…
National Health Insurer Report Card
National Health Insurer Report Card

The AMA publishes an annual report card of the claims revenue cycle activities of the major commercial health insurers and Medicare. The National Health Insurer Report Card (NHIRC) provides metrics on the timeliness, transparency and accuracy of claims processing of these payers in an effort…