Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan has recently agreed to a reduction in its rate hike request for people who buy their own health insurance.  Starting April 1, insurance rates for people who purchase their own health insurance will rise to 9.3% from 7% depending on the type of policy they have.

As a part of the new agreement, rates will increase to 9.3% for 114,000 consumers who pay for their own insurance.  This 9.3% increase will result in an average increase of $30.29 for these consumers.  While this may seem like a lot money, it is substantially less than the 21.3% increase that the insurance company was seeking.

For the 58,000 subscribers who buy group conversion policies, which is insurance offered to someone who used to have insurance from their previous employer, will see their rates increase to 7%.  This increase will result in a monthly increase of $28.61.

The other type of insurance that will be affected by these rate increases are the 25,000 consumers who buy age-related, high-deductible plans.  The monthly increase for these types of insurance policies will range from 7% to 9.3%, and will be dependent on the renewal date.  These rate increases where fairly close to what the insurance company was seeking which was 7.8% to 10.9%.

Even though it seems like the insurance company Blue Cross Blue Shield is raising insurance rates substantially for its subscribers, the fact that these rates were not increased as much as the insurance company wanted will result in large savings for people in Michigan who buy their own health insurance.  In fact, Attorney General Bill Schuette predicts the agreed rate increase will result in $60 million in savings for health insurance subscribers in the state of Michigan.

In preparation of the mandate that states need to run intertwined health insurance portals, Microsoft has recently released a platform known as Health Insurance Exchange.  Much like a health information exchange, where health care providers are able to exchange electronic medical records, a health insurance exchange serves as an online marketplace for consumers to find the best health insurance plans to meet their needs.

The main health insurance exchange powered by Microsoft is expected to house several different types of exchanges, giving consumers ultimate control when it comes to finding the best health care insurance plans.  Also, the exchange will have applications for enrollment, eligibility, business intelligence, and coordination.

This health insurance exchange will help states focus on different aspects of providing health care to its citizens.  The Microsoft program will free up time and money for states to focus on providing the best possible consumer support, so that people will be assured of finding the best health care plans.  The software will also allow consumers to apply for certain medical plans that they are eligible for based on their medical history.

As a major part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the Microsoft Health Insurance Exchange program will help streamline a lot of the health insurance industry for both consumers and insurance companies.  With analytic tools built in to the software, this program will allow states to integrate health insurance delivery, quickly determine eligibility, manage enrollment, and offer increased privacy.

A new law passed in the state of Georgia will allow Georgia insurers to offer stripped-down health insurance policies to consumers who do receive coverage from their employer.  Supporters of this new law say that it will help many consumers in the individual health insurance market, namely the self-employed, by allowing for greater competition between insurance companies and lower prices.  Opponents of the new law are fearful that the new law will lead consumers to making choices that provide inadequate insurance for themselves and their families.

More than 350,000 self employed Georgians along with 1.9 million uninsured residents will be affected by this new law.  A study on consumers who purchased their health insurance plans through the online broker eHealthinsurance shows that Georgians that bought their own health care plan for their family paid $392 per month and $163 for an individual plan, both of which are close to the national average.  However, when compared to the consumers in the state of Alabama, which has fewer health insurance mandates, the average family plan costs $291 per month and an individual plan costs only $126.  Being able to purchase health insurance policies from insurance companies in Alabama would save Georgia residents a lot of money, which is why it appears this new law will be so beneficial.

Georgia is just the second state in the country to pass such a law, Wyoming was first.  Wyoming is still implementing the law in its state, and needs to iron out some potential kinks before offering its citizens the chance to purchase insurance from other states.  Many other states around the country will undoubtedly be watching Wyoming to see how successful this type of health insurance practice can be and if they would be willing to extend this service to their citizens.

It appears that the state of Kansas is getting ready to join other states and enact a health care “freedom” law that is designed to block a mandate that was included in last year’s federal health care law that would require most Americans to buy health insurance.  The “health care freedom” law was on Governor Sam Brownback’s desk for his signature, which is expected to come by Friday.  State legislators bundled the measure with other proposed changes in regulations for health care providers and ended up approving the package in the waning hours of their annual session.

The main component of the “freedom” measure says that Kansas residents have the right to refuse to buy health insurance and can pay for medical expenses directly.  Also, the measure states that residents cannot be fined or forced to pay other penalties for failing to buy health insurance as dictated by the federal law that is set to go into effect in 2014.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, measured to block the federal health insurance mandate have already been passed in more than twelve states, showing just how unpopular the federal mandate requiring citizens purchase health insurance is with citizens around the country.  However, if the higher courts ultimately uphold the federal health care mandate, all of the states that have passed their own mandate saying their citizens do not need to purchase health insurance will not have the authority to supersede the federal mandate, and citizens will be forced to purchase their own health insurance or face the penalties associated with not doing so.

Currently, the federal law is being looked at by an appeals court in Florida and is ultimately expected to be passed along to the Supreme Court for a final ruling.

Researching a healthcare plan is no one’s idea of fun, but it is something that needs to be done in order to protect you from financial issues down the road.  If you do not take the time to consider your health insurance plan before agreeing to one, you may find out later that you made a large mistake that could have easily been avoided.  In order to help prevent you from making this mistake, here are some tips to keep in mind when considering a new health insurance plan.

Make sure your doctor is in the network:

If you already have a doctor that you have been seeing for several years, you will more than likely want to continue seeing this same doctor.  In order to avoid paying large medical bills for seeing a doctor outside of your insurance plan’s network, find out what network your doctor is in and select one of their plans.  This will save you a considerable amount of money in the long run.

Consider how often you go to the doctor when deciding on a premium:

While it may be tempting to have the lowest copay possible, you will have to pay for this privilege in the form of higher premiums.  If you are someone who only goes to the doctor a few times a year, it might not be worth it to pay the higher monthly premiums in order to receive a low copay.  Compare several different plans to see how much you would really save if you had a really low copay.

Check to see if your drugs are covered by the insurance plan:

If you are already on a certain medication and looking to change health insurance providers, you will want to make sure that your medication is covered by the new insurance company before making the switch.  Each insurance provider will have different preferred drugs that they will cover, so ensuring that your medication is on the new provider’s list will save you from having to pay higher amounts for your medication.

California Health Insurance company, Aetna, recently agreed to lower their proposed insurance rate hikes to 12.2%, which is down from their original plan of 17.9%.  Aetna becomes the third California health insurance company to reduce their insurance rate hikes after postponing their increases for sixty days at the request of the California state insurance commissioner.  Roughly 65,000 Californians will be affected by this latest insurance rate increase, but the rate reduction will help save these consumers $6.7 million in premiums.

Aetna said that approximately 31,000 policy holders will see their rates adjusted by the end of September.  The rest of the insurance consumers will see their rates increase in the following months.  Aetna joins Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of California to become the third major insurance company to lower their planned insurance rate hikes.  Anthem Blue Cross lowered its July 1^st insurance increases for 600,000 consumers due in large part of the pressure put on them by state insurance commissioner Dave Jones and his office.  Jones also effectively lobbied for Blue Shield California to lower its proposed insurance rate hike for May 1^st.

This recent announcement by Aetna to lower their proposed insurance rate hikes is a good sign for consumers that the state’s insurance commissioner is looking out for their financial well being, but Aetna warned that further insurance rate hike limitations could hamper its ability to do business in the state of California.  Unfortunately, the rising costs of healthcare need to be addressed somewhere, and that usually comes at the expense of the consumer.

Paying for own health insurance can be a stressful endeavor, especially as insurance companies continue to raise their premiums.  However, enrolling in a high deductible health plan and using a health savings account could be a good way to help you save money on your health insurance bills.  A health savings account is a fairly new health insurance option, which is why so many people do not know about them.  Created by the Medicare, Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003, health savings accounts offer both individuals and employers an opportunity to fund tax-deductible health savings accounts and use that money in the event medical attention is needed.  Health savings accounts do not need to be used up each year, which allows them to grow over time and saves you money in the long run since they are tax deductible.

When considering switching to a high deductible health savings account for your health insurance, you will want to compare several different health insurance plans.  This will allow you to ensure that you are in fact saving money by making the switch.  Also, taking a look at the amount of medical bills you incur over the course of a year will help you decide which plan is right for you.  If you do not make many trips to the doctor in a typical year, a health savings account might be ideal for you as you can dip into the account to pay your medical bills the few times you do have to go to the doctor each year.  If you have a lot of medical bills, a more comprehensive health insurance plan might be right for you, so it is important to figure out how much money you will need your insurance plan to cover each year rather than just looking at how much money you will pay for your health insurance each month.

The Maine Senate recently passed LD 1333, which is a controversial health insurance reform plan that is aimed at bringing down insurance premium costs for consumers across the state.  Republican policy makers believe that the new bill will bring Maine’s insurance rates closer to the national average, while Democratic leaders believe the bill will lead to older Mainers and those living in rural areas paying higher premiums for their health insurance.

One way that the Republicans feel that the new bill will lower health insurance premiums for all consumers is through the reduction of insurance rates for younger consumers.  By allowing younger consumers to purchase affordable health insurance, this new bill will lead to a pool of healthier consumers, which will reduce rates for everyone across the board.

Other provisions included in this new health insurance bill are the fact that consumers with pre-existing medical conditions could not be rejected under the new play, beginning in 2014 Mainers could purchase policies in other states, and businesses with fewer than fifty employees would be able to come together to create a larger insurance pool in order to obtain better rates.

While it appears this new bill would be beneficial to most Mainers, there are still some Democrats that oppose the passage of this bill.  Some Democrats feel that this bill will pit urban areas with larger populations and younger consumers against the rural areas where older Mainers live, forcing the rural residents to pay higher insurance premiums.  Democrats would like to see some of the potential kinks ironed out before the bill is signed into law by the Governor.

Anthem Blue Cross has a lot of consumers wondering and confused about a recent rate hike proposal.  Thanks to California’s two-headed health insurance bureaucracy, some consumers will be seeing higher than expected insurance rate increases later this year.  All of Anthem’s health insurance policies are handled by one of two groups.  One of the groups is state Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones and the other is an agency under Governor Jerry Brown known as the Department of Managed Health Care.  Depending on which group manages your health insurance plan will determine the insurance rate hike you can expect this coming year.

Roughly 600,000 accounts are handled by state Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones.  These accounts will see smaller than expected rate increases on July 1, 2011.  Anthem Blue Cross agreed to lower the rate increase associated with these accounts to 9.1%, from 16.4% due to pressures from Jones and consumers.  Anthem also agreed to postpone increases to deductibles and co-pays for medical care until January.

While these 600,000 consumers received good news, approximately 150,000 other consumers will face higher rate increases.  The accounts managed by the Department of Managed Health Care will see rate increases on average of 16% come May 1, 2011.  Also, theses insurance holders can expect larger deductibles and co-pays at that time as well.  Originally, the managed healthcare department found that Anthem’s rate increases were not “unreasonable or unjustified,” which is why the department allowed the increases to go along as planned.  However, since the consumers under Jones’ authority are going to see lowered rate increases, the Department of Managed Health Care is now asking Anthem to justify the rate increase and report back by April 25^th, giving new hope to consumers that their rates will be reduced as well.

Cigna, an insurance company that deals with insurance plans for people living in foreign countries, has recently announced plans to offer new international health plans.  Individuals who are looking for quality medical healthcare around the world can now turn to Cigna Global Health Options for their health insurance needs.

These new plans will cover hospitalization, surgery, emergency care, cancer treatment, and maternity, giving people living in different parts of the world access to full, comprehensive health care options.  The plans also offer a chance for consumers to customize them by adding options such as international medical insurance, international health and well-being, international vision and dental, and international emergency evacuation.

Cigna saw this new strategy to offer the same access to quality health care to individuals that they currently provide to organizations as an excellent way to grow their business.  Already as a leader in the global market, Cigna was looking for new ways to expand their offerings and grow its brand.  The individual international health care plans provided by Cigna Global Health Options will do just this.  The ability to change and configure certain international plans will also be a real benefit to consumers who are seeking this kind of coverage.  Individuals will not have to pay for certain types of insurance that they are very unlikely to use through this option.