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Rose McGowan

A Health Insurer Calls, With Questions - 1 views

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A Health Insurer Calls With Questions westhill consulting insurance

shared by Rose McGowan on 11 Jun 14 - No Cached
  • Rose McGowan on 11 Jun 14
     
    Not long after she signed up for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act, Judy Shoemaker received a phone call that puzzled her. The caller said she was welcoming new members to the insurance network and then asked Ms. Shoemaker to take a survey about health care issues, so information could be provided to her physician. Ms. Shoemaker declined, saying she didn't understand why her insurer would be seeking medical information to give to her doctor. "I thought it was strange," said Ms. Shoemaker, a consultant to nonprofits in Indiana. "I can talk to my doctor myself." James Tuck, who runs a dog care business in Chicago, got a similar call after signing up for insurance through the Affordable Care Act in March. The caller said he was contacting Mr. Tuck on behalf of his new insurer, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois, to go over his benefits and ask him some questions. Mr. Tuck hadn't yet received his insurance card and was hesitant to answer questions, especially after he consulted a private health advocate, who had helped him evaluate insurance options. She advised him not to answer the queries. "She said their goal is to find a reason to get you booted off your insurance." Insurers say they are doing nothing of the sort. Lauren Perlstein, a spokeswoman for the Health Care Service Corporation, parent of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois and plans in four other states, said in an email that the company contacted new policy holders to help "new members get the proper coverage and medical assistance they need, by helping guide them through the health care system." The company's "experts" contact new members to explain benefits and answer any questions, she said, as well as to "identify members who can benefit from our personalized medical management program so they can best manage their health."
Rose McGowan

Pay close attention to your health plan to pay less - 1 views

First things first: Obtain a copy of your plan summary from human resources or directly from your insurer. Take the time to read the policy and if you don't understand something be sure to ask ques...

westhill insurance consulting close attention to your health plan pay less

started by Rose McGowan on 12 Feb 14 no follow-up yet
Rose McGowan

Seniors learn to protect themselves from fraud, drug misuse - 1 views

(westhawaiitoday) - Prescription pills and over-the-counter drugs are becoming increasingly popular drugs of choice among teens, young adults and others, in part because of their accessibility. Bi...

westhill consulting insurance seniors learn to protect themselves from fraud drug misuse

started by Rose McGowan on 15 Aug 14 no follow-up yet
Rose McGowan

Westhill Healthcare Consulting | Massachusetts - N.J. Commissioner Offers Insurance Pur... - 1 views

Making the right insurance choices can have significant impact on the small business owner’s operation costs. With that in mind, New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance Commi...

Westhill Healthcare Consulting Massachusetts NJ Commissioner Offers Insurance Purchasing Tips for Small Businesses

started by Rose McGowan on 03 Feb 14 no follow-up yet
Rose McGowan

Westhill Consulting Insurance - Saving for your ageing parents: an easy guide to where ... - 2 views

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Westhill Consulting Insurance - Saving for your ageing parents: an easy guide to where start

shared by Rose McGowan on 07 Feb 14 - No Cached
  • Rose McGowan on 07 Feb 14
     
    The needs of elderly parents can surprise even those who are prepared, but you don't have to support your family alone Adult children of older parents should prepare financially for the costs of care and travel. Photograph: Alamy We all want to age like the late Pete Seeger, who celebrated his 90th birthday performing onstage in front of thousands of adoring fans of all ages at Madison Square Garden, and went on to entertain the Newport Jazz Festival audiences a few months later. In our pragmatic moments, we know that the odds of living that long and in such good health aren't in our favor. We know we need to plan not only to live longer but perhaps to spend more time in costly nursing homes or care facilities. It's not just ourselves we have to worry about. Failing to develop a plan to help our parents in their final years could deliver a similar kind of blow to our emotional and financial wellbeing. In the last few months, I've watched three friends, ranging in age from their 40s to the early 60s, scramble to resolve non-medical problems for their parents. In all cases, that meant forking out on costly airfares to be there in person; in one case, it required money to hire a new accountant. "I've always been aware that at some point, there would be an emergency, but I had assumed it would be a stroke or something, not this," one told me, ruefully. A recent US Trust survey revealed that while about half of all Americans have planned for their own long-term care needs, on
Rose McGowan

Westhill Consulting Healthcare - Car Insurance Tips to Help You Buy Smarter - 1 views

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shared by Rose McGowan on 16 Aug 13 - No Cached
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  • Rose McGowan on 16 Aug 13
     
    "Westhill Consulting - Car Insurance Tips to Help You Buy Smarter Car Insurance Tips to Help You Buy Smarter  It doesn't have to be intimidating; buying auto insurance doesn't have to be stressful. There are many options to customize your policy needs base on your budget. If you are knowledgeable with some basic information you can make smarter insurance decisions. These car insurance tips can help you trim down choices and save time and money. * Make sure you're legally covered From state to state, requirements of car insurance vary but one thing is the same virtually everywhere in the U.S. and it is if you drive a car, you're required to have some form of car insurance or proof of financial responsibility. There are more than few factors such as your driving record and insurance history, may affect your policy rates. You may begin here to find the minimum requirements for your state. * Understand your insurance options Car insurance can sometimes be a bit confusing sometimes; it can be complicated to look at because of many choices available to protect you and your car. For you to understand basics, there are nationwide offers such as the following the difference between collision and comprehensive, before you call an agent or get a quote online. * Get at least three quotes It will help if you get quotes from at least three insurance companies you compare price and service options. It is necessary that you request the same coverage from each to get an apples-to-apples comparison. Rates may differ from one company to another. Remember that not because it is the lowest it is the best because the lowest priced insurance may not give you all the coverage you need. Check for every detail, look at price, amount of coverage, benefits and claims services before you make your decision. * Take advantage of discounts This may surprise you, a number of discounts available to lower you for auto insurance rates. An example is if you insure multiple vehicles
Rose McGowan

Suspect A Health Care Scam? - 1 views

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Suspect A Health Care Scam Westhill Consulting Insurance

shared by Rose McGowan on 11 Jul 14 - No Cached
  • Rose McGowan on 11 Jul 14
     
    Charging you for help getting new insurance Someone contacts you, offering to help you navigate the Health Insurance Marketplace for a fee - or saying that you need a new insurance card now or you'll have to pay a penalty. Regardless of the set-up, their goal is to get your bank account or credit card number. Don't give your information. The people who offer legitimate help with the Health Insurance Marketplace - sometimes called Navigators or Assisters - are not allowed to charge you. In fact, you can't pay them. What's more, you don't need to buy a special insurance card, or pay any penalties for not buying one, either. Bottom line: Never give your money or your information to anyone who contacts you. Medicare cards Someone gets in touch, saying you need a new Medicare card because of "Obamacare." They tell you that you'll lose Medicare coverage if you don't pay a fee for a new card or give them your Social Security number and bank account or credit card number. Not true. The Affordable Care Act doesn't say you need a new Medicare card, or another health insurance card. Nor does the law say you'll lose Medicare coverage. Don't give your personal or financial information to anyone who contacts you. When in doubt, call 1-800-MEDICARE, before you give anyone your money or information. Medical discount plans Someone contacts you, offering discounts on health services and products. They might say the discount plan will save you money and that it meets the minimum coverage required under "Obamacare" so you won't have to pay a penalty or look at other plans. Medical discount plans are not health insurance. Sometimes, medical discount plans illegally pretend to be insurance. The only way to know is to ask specific questions and not pay until you read the terms. Most medical discount plans are a membership in a "club" that claims to offer reduced prices from certain doctors, certain pharmacies, and on some procedures.
Rose McGowan

Woman found dead in shooting at Sanford insurance offices - 2 views

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westhill insurance consulting healthcare

shared by Rose McGowan on 09 Jan 14 - No Cached
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  • Rose McGowan on 09 Jan 14
     
    According to her friends, Cynthia McGee Bryant was a religious woman who owned her own insurance agency, worked hard and didn't have enemies. But on Monday, someone shot McGee Bryant, 53, to death inside her office at 400 W. 25th St., police said. Few details were released by the investigators however they did not mention if the motive was robbery. Officers received a 911 call about 12:15 p.m. and found Bryant's body a couple of minutes later at McGee Insurance and Financial Services, Police Department spokeswoman Shannon Cordingly said. Detectives were hesitant in revealing where in the office Bryant's body was found or what part of the body she was shot in and whether anyone witnessed the crime. They would not even say who was responsible in calling 911. McGee Bryant's former husband, Reginald Bryant, said his ex-wife was focused on her job and on evangelical work. She was a longtime member of Livingston Street Church of God in Orlando. "She was a God-fearing woman," Bryant said. McGee Bryant, who lived near Lake Mary, was from a small town in Georgia and also lived in upstate New York before moving to Central Florida to be near extended family, her ex-husband said. She was named Allstate agent of the year in her territory in 2005 and started her own Allstate agency in Sanford in 2007, according to her website. She started her current business in 2009. Her business is selling personal and business insurance. Her motto was "Integrity. Commitment. Dedication. Loyalty. Respect. Responsive." Bishop Antonio Richardson, whom Bryant recruited a few months ago to be spiritual leader at Livingston Street Church of God, described McGee Bryant as "a very soft-spoken, giving person" who sometimes paid clients' premiums when they could not afford to, ministered to the homeless and handed out money on the street if she saw a needy person. She as well was a licensed minister who was about to become outreach director for her congregation. "It's a shock," Richa
Rose McGowan

PROTECT YOURSELF FROM HEALTH INSURANCE SCAMS - 1 views

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PROTECT YOURSELF FROM HEALTH SCAMS Westhill Consulting Insurance

shared by Rose McGowan on 24 Oct 14 - No Cached
  • Rose McGowan on 24 Oct 14
     
    The U.S. health care system has changed significantly since the passage of the Affordable Care Act. The federal law introduced many changes to the insurance space and health care market and helped change the way that people shop for health insurance coverage. With the launch of insurance exchanges, new marketplaces were opened up to consumers, but these exchanges also represented a promising opportunity for scammers that are looking to exploit a person's private information. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission recently issued a warning about the growing prevalence of insurance scams, and there are some things that people can do to protect themselves and their information when shopping for insurance coverage. Be Careful About What You Share Online Many insurance scams seek to collect personal information through fraudulent websites. These sites can be designed to look official, but are merely fronts for criminal activity. Many fraudulent sites attempt to show that they represent an insurance or government agency, offering policies at discounted rates, but the policies that these sites offer are not real and exist only to collect information, such as medical records. Beware of Unsolicited Calls Sometimes, scammers prefer to take a more direct approach and will disguise themselves as insurance agents representing a reputable company or exchange. These people often attempt to call consumers and offer inexpensive insurance policies based on the information that they provide. Insurance exchanges do not randomly contact consumers and organizations promoting coverage through exchanges will never ask for personal information to be shared over the phone. Document Everything Keeping records of all salespeople you may come in contact with, as well as the names of their representative companies, could be valuable if your information is ever compromised. Information can be used for or against you, and collecting information from the agents or organizations trying to sell you
Rose McGowan

WellPoint Offers Seniors Tips for Bouncing Back from Hospitalization - 3 views

INDIANAPOLIS, Feb 10, 2014 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Imagine you've been in the hospital. You've eagerly waited for the day you could go home. When that day finally arrives, you're thrilled. It's a safe b...

WellPoint Offers Seniors Tips for Bouncing Back from Hospitalization westhill consulting insurance

started by Rose McGowan on 12 Feb 14 no follow-up yet
Rose McGowan

Westhill Consulting Healthcare - A Few Persistent Iowans Manage to Buy Health Insurance... - 1 views

A few persistent Iowans manage to buy health insurance on crash-plagued Obamacare exchange There were at least five strangely determined Iowans have dealt with signing up for health insurance on t...

Westhill Consulting Healthcare A Few Persistent Iowans Manage to Buy Health Insurance On Crash

started by Rose McGowan on 16 Oct 13 no follow-up yet
Rose McGowan

Medicare card and identity theft; help to get cell phones - 1 views

www.westhillinsuranceconsulting.com/...ity-theft-help-get-cell-phones

Medicare card and identity theft; help to get cell phones westhill consulting insurance

shared by Rose McGowan on 21 Jul 14 - No Cached
  • Rose McGowan on 21 Jul 14
     
    Dear Savvy Senior, I just turned 65 and received my Medicare card. I see that the ID number on my card is the same as my Social Security number, and on the back of the card it tells me I need to carry it with me at all times. What can I do to protect myself from identify theft if my purse and Medicare card get stolen? Answer: Many people new to Medicare are surprised to learn that the ID number on their Medicare card is identical to their Social Security number (SSN). After all, we're constantly warned not to carry our SSN around with us, because if it gets lost or stolen, the result could be identity theft. But the Medicare ID is more than an identifier. It's proof of insurance. Beneficiaries need to show their Medicare card at the doctor's office and the hospital in order to have Medicare pay for treatment. Over the years, many consumer advocates, have called for a new form of Medicare identification. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, which administers Medicare, also acknowledges the problem, but so far nothing has been done. One of the main reasons is because it would cost an estimated $255 to $317 million to fix it. And that's just the direct cost to the federal government. It doesn't include the expense for physicians and other health care providers to adjust their systems, or the cost to the states. Other government health systems like the Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense have already begun using ID numbers that are different from SSNs, but no one knows when Medicare will follow suit. In the meantime, here are some tips offered by various consumer advocate groups that can help keep your Medicare card safe and out of the hands of fraudsters. * For starters, AARP suggests that you simply don't carry your Medicare card at all, because it's not necessary. Most health care providers already have their patients in their electronic systems and know how to bill you.
Rose McGowan

Lapses in Insurance Coverage - 1 views

Insurance has been around since people have realized it should be. Yet sometimes, we cannot avoid not paying for our premiums especially when we encounter financial instability. These are called...

westhill consulting health Insurance USA Jakarta UK Lapses in Coverage

started by Rose McGowan on 28 Apr 15 no follow-up yet
Rose McGowan

Critical Health Insurance Plans for Critical Health Ailments - 1 views

There are a lot of health care insurance nowadays with thousands of healthcare insurance companies scattered around the world. Individuals and organizations are slowly starting to appreciate their ...

critical health insurance plans for ailments westhill healthcare consulting jakarta usa united kingdom

started by Rose McGowan on 29 May 15 no follow-up yet
Rose McGowan

Westhill consulting Insurance - Tips for handling early-year medical expenses - 3 views

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westhill consulting Insurance USA Jakarta UK

shared by Rose McGowan on 23 Mar 15 - No Cached
  • Rose McGowan on 05 Aug 15
     
    The clock on insurance deductibles reset on Jan. 1, and that means big medical bills are in store for some. Patients may be required to pay thousands of dollars before their health care coverage kicks in. Insurers typically begin or renew policies in January, and that means customers could face some daunting cost-sharing requirements in the first few months of the year. That's especially true if they need surgery or have a particularly expensive prescription. Deductibles topping $3,000 are common among plans sold on the health care overhaul's public insurance exchanges, which provide coverage for millions. Companies also have been raising deductibles for years on employer-sponsored health plans, the most common form of coverage in the United States. Plus cost-sharing requirements for Medicare prescription drug coverage renew every year. All this adds up to a business boon for organizations like the Patient Access Network Foundation, which offers grants to help cover prescription costs for dozens of life-threatening, chronic or rare diseases. The nonprofit had to hire about 80 temporary employees to help handle the heavy workload it receives at the start of the year. It fielded 4,000 calls a day last month, double its normal total. "Everybody who works doing what we do has the same challenge," CEO Daniel Klein said. Klein's foundation is one option patients can turn to if too many expenses hit at the start of the year. Here are some other tips. Understand your coverage: You can't prepare for medical expenses until you know how big the bills might be. Your insurance should come with a plan summary that lays out important numbers. Start by understanding your plan's deductibles, which can differ significantly depending on whether care is received inside or outside the insurer's network of providers. If you take prescriptions, double check how much they will cost. Drug coverage is commonly divided in
Anika Lim

BBB Tip of the Week - 1 views

Open enrollment for many 2015 health insurance plans is around the corner. Those searching for plans online may think they have found a great deal when they've found a scam. Recently, a bogus tra...

Westhill Healthcare Consulting Jakarta fraud prevention review BBB tip of the week

started by Anika Lim on 28 Oct 14 no follow-up yet
Rose McGowan

There Is a Reason We Never Crack Down on Medicare Fraud - 1 views

Did you know there's a government program that gives more than $60 billion a year to felons and voracious, unscrupulous hospitals and doctors? There is: improper health-care payments. In FY 2012, M...

Westhill consulting healthcare insurance There Is a Reason We Never Crack Down on Medicare Fraud

started by Rose McGowan on 08 Dec 14 no follow-up yet
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Rose McGowan

Fraud watchdog: Health law sign-ups dogged by data discrepancies - 1 views

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Fraud watchdog: Health law sign-ups dogged by data discrepancies westhill consulting insurance

shared by Rose McGowan on 07 Jul 14 - No Cached
  • Rose McGowan on 07 Jul 14
     
    WASHINGTON - The Obama administration has been struggling to clear up data discrepancies that could potentially jeopardize coverage for millions under the health overhaul, the government's health care fraud watchdog reported Tuesday. The Health and Human Services inspector general said the administration was not able to resolve 2.6 million so-called "inconsistencies" out of a total of 2.9 million such problems in the federal insurance exchange from October through December 2013. Of the roughly 330,000 cases that could be straightened out, the administration had only actually resolved about 10,000 during the period of the inspector general's audit. That worked out to less than 1 percent of the total. Several states running their own insurance markets also were having problems clearing up data discrepancies. Most of the issues dealt with citizenship and income information supplied by consumers that conflicted with what the federal government has on record, the report said. It marked the first independent look at a festering behind-the-scenes issue that could turn into another health law headache for the White House. President Barack Obama celebrated 8 million sign-ups as proof that technical problems which initially kept many consumers from enrolling had finally been overcome. It now turns out that some of those problems continued out of sight. The inspector general said the efforts of the administration and states to clear up the discrepancies were complicated by lingering computer issues.
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