Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue (R) has signed into law a pair of measures intended to make High Deductible Health Plans (HDHPs) paired with Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) more affordable and available in the state’s health insurance market.
Critics have called the new laws “little more than a hefty tax break for insurers,” according to the Associated [...]
New Georgia state laws aimed at reducing the number of uninsured by providing incentives for them to buy lower-premium health care policies are not likely to work, according to a report issued this month by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, the Florida Times-Union reports.
In an effort to reduce premium prices, the new Georgia [...]
In an article in today’s Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Andy Miller reported that Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Georgia (“Blue Cross”), Georgia’s largest health insurance provider, sent an estimated 202,000 “Explanation of Benefit” (“EOB”) and other letters to the wrong addresses last week, exposing patient names, social security numbers, medical conditions, treatment information, and other health [...]
GeorgiaCares State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) received a supplemental grant of more than $379,800 from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that must be used between June 1, 2008 and March 31, 2009. SHIP is a grantee program of CMS that is available to every state. GeorgiaCares is a program of the [...]
Georgia’s landmark consumer-directed health care reform law has come under fire in a study conducted by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), a liberal activist group that claims the reform will help only Georgians who already have health insurance coverage.
Experts disagree, saying the Georgia law, signed by Gov. Sonny Perdue (R) on May [...]
The Georgia Department of Community Health board on Thursday approved a plan to charge commercial HMOs the same fee as managed care companies that operate the state’s Medicaid program in an effort to make up for a 5% reduction in program funding, the Savannah Morning News reports. The fees are used to draw down federal [...]
The Department of Human Resources Division of Aging Services (DAS) GeorgiaCares program is informing Medicare beneficiaries of the new guidelines imposed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The new rules are designed to protect Medicare beneficiaries from being pressured to change their health care coverage plans by insurance companies and agents marketing [...]
The Georgia Department of Community Health plans to expand a quality assessment fee to about a dozen additional HMOs in the state to help fund the state’s Medicaid and PeachCare programs, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. PeachCare is the state’s version of SCHIP. The state in 2005 began charging the fees to three national insurance companies [...]
The GeorgiaCares State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) is helping Medicare recipients make informed decisions about which prescription drug and Advantage plan options are best for them.
Medicare Part D Open Enrollment begins November 15, which means recipients h ave until December 31, 2008, to make their choices. With so many options available, choosing the right [...]
October through May is flu season and the Georgia Department of Human Resources, Division of Aging Services (DAS) Georgia Cares program is reminding Medicare beneficiaries to talk to their healthcare providers about getting vaccinated to prevent getting the flu and the pneumococcal disease, which is the cause of the most common form of pneumonia. The [...]