“Providing health care to more than ten million children through the Children’s Health Insurance Program will serve as a down payment on my commitment to ensure that every American has access to quality, affordable health care,” said President Barack Obama. He also stated that “As the worsening economy causes families to lose their jobs and health insurance, it is vital that we redouble our efforts to ensure that every child in America has access to affordable health care. That is why I am pleased that the Senate has joined the House in passing bipartisan legislation to provide health insurance to children whose families have been hurt most by this downturn.”

The Senate passing of legislation that will provide government-sponsored health care to approximately 4 million uninsured children is the start of Obama’s health care overhaul. The bill was approved yesterday 66 to 32 and will insure children in families that earn too much to qualify for Medicaid but not enough to afford private health insurance, increasing the amount of children who will be covered from 7 million to 4 million. The joint state-federal program will cost an additional $32.8 billion on top of the $25 billion over the next 4 ½ years. The expansion would be paid for by raising the cigarette tax from 39 cents a pack to $1.

“Low-income, uninsured kids all across America have been waiting for Congress to fulfill the promise of the Children’s Health Insurance Program for them,” said Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus. The House passed a nearly identical bill a few weeks ago with a vote of 289 to 139.

Similar legislation had been vetoed twice by former President George W. Bush. On the other hand, President Obama is eager to sign the legislation to begin the coverage that will hopefully lead to coverage for all Americans.

Along with the plans to build up clean-energy industries and boost security at U.S. ports, President Barack Obama is also promoting a plan to expand health insurance coverage in his stimulus package. His stimulus package is a part of the broader effort to pull the economy out of the recession it has been in the past year.

The report released on Saturday outlined the priorities for the two-year stimulus package which included health insurance coverage to the 8.5 million people who lost their jobs this past year. The $825 billion package of spending and tax cuts is a two-year plan that house Democrats have already begun working on.

Senate Version of Stimulus Package

The senate version of the stimulus package includes $149 billion in funds for health care. The package includes a provision that would extend Medicaid to families who have become ineligible because their incomes have increased at a cost of $1.3 billion over the next 10 years. The package also includes federal subsidies for 65% of the health insurance premiums under COBRA for 9months.

Another inclusion in the package is approximately $23 billion for health care information technology, whereas the House version is about $3 billion less at $20 billion.

House Version of Stimulus Package

The house version would allow states to expand their Medicaid programs to low-income, recently unemployed workers at a cost of approximately $9 billion through 2010. The house version of the package includes federal subsidies for 65% of the health insurance premiums under COBRA for one year. The house would also include in their version of the package, a provision that would allow recently unemployed workers ages 55 and older or those with at least 10 years of tenure at their jobs to continue to receive COBRA. They will receive COBRA until they find a job or reach 65 and are eligible for Medicare. The senate version does not include this provision.

“If we do not act boldly and swiftly, a bad situation could become dramatically worse,” Obama said on Saturday.

2009, a new President, and new health care buzz words are upon us. As one of the Principals of HealthPlanOne, Inc. (HPOne), we find ourselves in a perfect place to help so many people, and businesses nationally that have been subject to the wrong side of the bargaining table with insurance carriers.

Do you know how much your broker is earning in commissions on your benefits package? Is it worth the amount of work they do for you? Do they lower their fees/commissions when the amount of work they do diminishes, or do they continue to earn more and more as your premiums creep up?

These are all questions we have asked, and the answers have been disappointing lots of the time. Many brokers promise IT solutions, HR portals, and other services that you “pay for” and either never use, or they are never implemented. Does your broker then reduce fees? Probably not.

If you have not visited Health Plan One, you must. Whether searching for solutions to the part time staff you have, or to reduce dependent coverage, you owe it to yourself to check with us. All of the normal “blocking and tackling” of a benefits broker is the simple stuff, and we do that as well as anyone in the business. HPOne will do more work for you, for less commissions and will always keep its fees in line with your expectations. This is something ALL brokers neglect to bring to the table.

Please let me know if we can help in any way. As one of the fastest growing web brokers in the United States, and funded by 2 of the most well known venture capitalists in the world, we are here to help, when promises do not come true. We also have several former CEO’s on our board of directors that assist us when we must apply necessary leverage in the insurance marketplace.

Get what you pay for, choose HPOne.

-Chris Efthymiou

Small Group Business

“On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord,” Barack Obama said today after taking the oath of office as the nation’s 44^th president.

Over 2 million people came to DC to see the swearing in of this country’s first African American president. It is a day that will go down in history. His speech captured many peoples’ hearts and helped us to believe that change for our country is coming. He acknowledged all of the real challenges we face today including the state of our economy that calls for action to create new jobs, and to lay a new foundation for growth.  He then goes on to speak about the restoration of science that needs to take place as well as raising health care’s quality and lower its cost.

Health care is a huge priority for Obama and his cabinet. He has a three part plan for reforming our nation’s health care system.

The first part is to give all Americans access to affordable health coverage. This new health plan would be a public health insurance plan similar to that of federal employees. Regardless of any citizen’s health status, it would be available to everyone at an affordable premium.  In addition to a public health plan, there would be a service (National Health Insurance Exchange) that would help Americans find private health insurance plans. Also, there would be an individual mandate for children.

The second part to Obama’s health care system is the implementation of reforms to help lower health costs and improve health care quality. Obama wants to provide federal funding assistance to business with high-risk employees. He also believes that health care spending can be reduced by improving health care quality in cases such as preventing medical errors, implementing disease management programs, reforming medical malpractice, and promoting health information technology.

The third part is to promote health and wellness. Obama supports increasing federal spending for efforts to address childhood obesity, education for healthcare professionals, and individual and community incentives to help Americans make healthful choices.

With a new president sworn into office today, we should expect a positive change for our country.

Yesterday, the House passed a bill to expand the children’s health insurance program. The State Children’s Health Insurance Program (or SCHIP) is a federal program that gives funds to the states to provide health insurance to families with children. The program was designed for low income families that do not qualify for Medicaid. The House vote was 289 to 139.

Similar legislation has been vetoed before by the Bush Administration but the bill that was passed yesterday would extend to cover more than 4 million uninsured children.  The bill includes an additional $33 billion to be spent to insure children over the next 4 ½ years.

President-elect Barack Obama stated after the legislation was passed:

In this moment of crisis, ensuring that every child in America has access to affordable health care is not just good economic policy, but a moral obligation we hold as parents and citizens. That is why I’m so pleased that Democrats and Republicans in the House of Representatives came together to provide health insurance to over ten million children whose families have been hurt most by this downturn. This coverage is critical, it is fully paid for, and I hope that the Senate acts with the same sense of urgency so that it can be one of the first measures I sign into law when I am President.

The bill would be financed by an increase in tobacco taxes, including a 61-cent increase in the tax on cigarettes, to $1 pack.

Democrats believe that the current economic state of the country calls for the expansion of children’s health insurance. Many people have lost their jobs this year, and the number of unemployed has increased by 50% since last year. When people lose their jobs, they lose their health insurance which therefore means their children don’t have health insurance.

“At a time of rising unemployment, this legislation is more important than ever,” said Representative Mike McMahon, a Democrat from New York.

“Reform is urgently needed,” Kennedy said, “and Tom Daschle is just the person for the job.”

With the inauguration of president-elect Barack Obama nearing, many are concerned about his new health care policy. Tom Daschle, Secretary of Health and Human Services, backs Obama’s call for a new public health insurance plan to compete with private insurers such as Blue Cross Blue Shield, Aetna, and WellPoint.

Tom Daschle was welcomed with open arms at his confirmation hearing on Thursday. Both parties expressed much admiration to Daschle and are willing to do whatever it takes with him to help our country out of the health care rut it is in.

So what does he want to do when he gets into office? He wants wider insurance coverage, higher quality care, lower costs, more preventive care, more money for community health centers, greater use of information technology, an emphasis on keeping people well, a stronger Food and Drug Administration, and speedier approval of low-cost generic drugs according to the confirmation meeting yesterday.

Other issues he would like to address while in office are reducing the influence of politics at federal science agencies. He would also like to increase Medicare payments to family doctors and other primary care physicians and place more emphasis on the prevention of disease, rather than the treatment of it.

The United States have more of a chance of insuring everyone since Democrats have total control of the government. Because of the recession, the number of uninsured has grown which means that the total cost of insuring everyone will grow as well. Tom Daschle has been a huge part of the U.S. government for over 30 years. He knows what needs to be done and now as Secretary of Health and Human services, it is more likely to get done.

Oxford New Jersey HMO members now have access to all the health benefits of the UnitedHealthcare Choice Plus Network. These members will enjoy the same in-network benefits that they receive in the tri-state area which is great news for college students and travelers. Members who have employees outside the tri-state area will still need to purchase an Oxford USA plan for those employees.

Oxford USA is available to New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, and Lehigh Valley employers through the United Choice Plus Network. All of the Oxford USA health plans are of high quality, flexible, and streamlined. The Choice Plus plans provide one of the largest directly contracted physician and hospital networks in the United States. No referrals are necessary to see a specialist with an Oxford USA plan.

Oxford USA plans include service associates that stand ready to assist members by providing timely and accurate information and services. Their health promotion includes Healthy Mind Health Body magazine, Healthy Mother, Health Baby program, and access to their Self-Help Library, in order to help members be healthy and stay healthy.  Healthy Bonus^SM recognizes the beneficial impact of health and fitness therefore members are offered discounts on gym and exercise facility memberships.

For in-area members, access to over 70,000 physicians and 200 hospitals make it easy to find health care when needed. Out of area employees have access to the United Choice Plus Network which includes over 400,000 providers and 4,000 hospitals.

UnitedHealthcare Choice Plus plans give employees the opportunity to access non-network physicians. Benefits of the plan include access to a network of physicians, hospitals, and specialists without designating a primary physician or obtaining a referral. Emergencies are covered anywhere in the world. Prenatal care, routine checkups, immunizations, and vision and hearing screenings are all covered as well.

All New Jersey Oxford HMO members will have in-network access to the national UnitedHealthcare Choice Plus network and health benefits, effective January 1, 2009.