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HSA Limits for 2010 Announced |
The IRS has released the 2010 cost-of-living adjustments for has contribution limits and for HDHP deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums. The IRS issued the new limits earlier this year in an attempt to help those people working with HSAs and HDHPs plan both benefits design and employee communications for the coming year.
You can view a summary of 2010 has limitations and other information here.
To review the 2009 figures, you can go here.
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Anthem Looking At Medical Tourism?
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 Medical tourism is the term given to the growing practice of crossing international borders to obtain health care in an effort to save money. While it is a relatively new concept for Americans (to go abroad for care), it has been more popular in other countries because of;
- The high cost of health care and long wait times for certain procedures in one's 'home' country
- Access to better technology and higher standards of care in the destination country.
Sounds like stories of socialized care in countries like Canada (see below) - but I digress
Recently, Wellpoint (we know them better as Anthem) began a pilot program with one of its larger employer groups to study the effectiveness of medical tourism.
Read the complete story here.
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- Over one-quarter of adults with health insurance would consider traveling abroad to treat a major medical problem; 44 percent of those without insurance would consider it.
- Assuming equal quality and cheaper cost, 40 percent of adults would travel outside the United States to treat a medical problem; 29 percent would consider it regardless of assumptions.
- Over half of adults without health insurance would travel abroad for treatment assuming equal quality care and cheaper costs; 44 percent of uninsured adults would consider it regardless of assumptions.
Source: Gallup |
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If You Can't Get The Medical Care You Need When You Need It...
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In the US, 93% of those diagnosed with diabetes receive treatment within six months; in Canada only 43% do, and in the UK only 15% do!
For those seniors needing a hip replacement and getting one within six months, 15% get it done in the UK; 43% get it done in Canada ... and in the US 90% do!
Read more here.
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An Open Letter To President Obama
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As the debate over health care heats up in the next months, we are going to focus more on some of the things we read and hear about this issue. Everything you hear me say or write comes from those much smarter than me. They will come from a varied background of experience and perspective.
The first in this series is an open letter to President Obama. It was written in February by George Dawson, president and CEO of Centra, a not-for-profit healthcare system in Lynchburg, VA.
Some of his points:
- The healthcare reimbursement system in this country is broken. It shifts massive costs from public programs like Medicare and Medicaid to the private sector. This cost shifting is a hidden tax on all who purchase private healthcare insurance.
- ...the system rewards volume rather than efficiency, quality, and improving the health of populations served.
- Implementing electronic medical records offers great promise - but it is not a magic bullet.
- As you talk about what's wrong in healthcare, it would be good to recognize hardworking healthcare employees... because they are what's right with the system and they deserve recognition for the work they do.
I urge you to read the full letter.
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Lighter Side - Showing Off The Geek In Me
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 Ever wondered what jello looked like in slow motion as it bounced? Well thanks to technology, we can view things on video that are captured in movement at a speed of 2,500 frames per second (fps)! I remember as a kid being amazed that movie film was recorded at 24 fps. The really old movies were filmed at 18 fps (that is why they sometimes look faster than normal - the 18 fps film was being shown on 24 fps projectors).
Look at some of the other videos in the list to the right of the page. The guy blowing fire is pretty cool - in a geeky sort of way.
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