Polypectomy

The Kaiser Family Foundation, working with the American Cancer Society and the National Colorectal Cancer Round Table, today released results of its investigation into the problem of patients being billed unexpectedly for costs of colonoscopies initiated at routine screening tests. Fight Colorectal Cancer was one of the organizations that contributed to the report.

One way the new federal Affordable Care Act (ACA) aims to reduce medical spending is to improve cost-effective screening that prevents or detects diseases before they become complicated and expensive to treat.

But consumer complaints reveal that, for screening colonoscopies in particular, consumers are getting unexpected bills when insurers decide their colonoscopies were no longer “screening” procedures. Instead of providing full coverage required by the ACA federal law with no cost-sharing, patients may be charged either copayments or deductibles. Read the rest of this entry »

Under the new health care law, millions of Americans will benefit from more accessible and affordable health care – but the key will be getting individuals actually enrolled.

Enroll America is a new nonpartisan, nonprofit organization whose mission is to ensure that all Americans are enrolled in and retain health coverage. It will work at the state and federal levels to push for streamlined enrollment procedures and will also raise awareness of enrollment options among the uninsured.

If you are uninsured, learn about your options at the Enroll America website.

The House is set to vote this afternoon on the Improving Access to Clinical Trials Act of 2010 (S. 1674) introduced by Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR).

The bill provides that the first $2,000 per year received by an individual for participation in a clinical trial shall not be counted as income for the purpose of calculating Social Security benefits.  This provision was included in the House-passed health care reform bill last November, but was not included in the final bill the President signed into law in March.

The Senate already passed this bill on August 5.  House passage later today will clear the bill for review and signature by the President.

Health reform is back in the news this week.  Why?  Today marks the six-month anniversary of the President signing this landmark legislation into law and several of the most-talked about and popular provisions of the law take effect today.

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By Jay Angoff, Director of the Office of Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight

Jay Angoff (image courtesy of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services)

If you or a loved one has lived with cancer – you probably know more about the American health insurance system than you ever wanted. While most Americans have health insurance, few really know much about how their insurance works until the worst possible moment, when they are sick and need potentially life-saving care.

During the health reform debate, President Obama talked about the devastation of watching his mother battle both ovarian cancer and her insurance company. Unfortunately, such stories are all too common.

Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, fewer cancer patients are going to have to fight that two-front war. And many of the new patient rights and protections that will help cancer patients are beginning to take effect NOW, starting September 23rd. Read the rest of this entry »