Your Guide to Open Enrollment 2022

• Disability Insurance Can Provide COVID Coverage

• Before You Sign Up for Health Insurance at Work, Read This

• Penalty for the Unvaccinated?

• 3 Ways Early Retirees Can Minimize Their Health Insurance Costs

• 5 Telehealth Stocks for Long-Term Financial Fitness

• Medicare Now Covers Telehealth, Thanks to This Pandemic

• Is a Medicare Advantage Plan Right for You?

• Contributing to Your HSA Today Could Lower Your Tax Bill

• Exercise Saves Seniors Money on Health Care

Read more at Kiplinger - 7 min. read

Kids 5 And Up Could Be Vaccinated By Halloween—Here’s What Parents Need To Know

 For parents anxiously awaiting the opportunity to vaccinate their young children for Covid-19, the news that Pfizer was submitting their trial data to the FDA with the hopes of gaining approval for the 5-11 age group by Halloween has been exciting.

Read more at Forbes - 6 min. read

Pfizer is testing a pill to ward off COVID-19

 Pfizer said Monday that it is now testing a pill that could help people ward off COVID-19 if a close contact, such as family member, gets the virus. 

The drugmaker said it is looking at the efficacy of the pill as used in combination with a low dose of the HIV drug ritonavir in people who are at least 18 years old and live in the same household with someone who has COVID-19.

Read more at CBS NEWS - 2 min read

This Lab Charges $380 for a Covid Test. Is That What Congress Had in Mind?

At the drugstore, a rapid Covid test usually costs less than $20.

Across the country, over a dozen testing sites owned by the start-up company GS Labs regularly bill $380.

There’s a reason they can. When Congress tried to ensure that Americans wouldn’t have to pay for coronavirus testing, it required insurers to pay certain laboratories whatever “cash price” they listed online for the tests, with no limit on what that might be ...

Read more at New York Times - 10 min. read

What a Relief! Congress Acts Against Surprise Medical Bills

 

If you have ever been caught off-guard by a large medical bill, a long-running practice known as balance billing might be the reason. A balance bill — which is the difference between an out-of-network provider’s normal charges for a service and a lower rate reimbursed by insurance — can amount to thousands of dollars.

Many consumers are already aware that it usually costs less to seek care from in-network health providers, but that’s not always possible in an emergency. Complicating matters, some hospitals and urgent-care facilities rely on physicians, ambulances, and laboratories that are not in the same network. In fact, a recent survey found that 18% of emergency room visits resulted in at least one surprise bill.1

Their Baby Died in the Hospital. Then Came the $257,000 Bill.

 New York Times via yahoo!news

Alexandra initially thrived in the neonatal intensive care unit at Mount Sinai West.  Lane, 35, recalls the nurses describing her daughter as a "rock star" because she grew so quickly.  But her condition rapidly worsened after an infection, and Alexandra died early on the morning of Jan. 15 at 25 days old.

Read more - 8 min. read

More companies consider health insurance upcharges for unvaccinated

 via The Denver Channel

Some companies have offered cash to workers who get the vaccine, but as the cost of treating COVID-19 cases skyrocket, businesses are hiking insurance premiums, a penalty for employees who choose to remain unvaccinated.

Read more - 5 min. read

Medicare and Obamacare Open Enrollment Periods 2022

• Medicare open enrollment period starts on October 15, 2021, and continues through December 7, 2021.
• Biden's HHS extends Obamacare open enrollment period from November 1, 2021, to January 15, 2022, for states that use the HealthCare.gov website.  Enrollment previously ended on December 15.
• States that use their own marketplaces and enrollment platforms can establish different end dates for the annual enrollment period, as long as they conclude on or after December, 15, 2021.

Still Some Confusion on COVID-19 Booster Rollout

 via CNN Health

Local health departments planning for potential Covid-19 booster rollout, but there is still `some confusion' ...

Unvaccinated U.S. Covid Patients Cost $5.7 Billion To Treat In Last 3 Months, Study Finds

 ~ via Forbes

Preventable costs associated with treating unvaccinated American Covid=19 patients amounted to at least $3.7 billion in August and $5.7 billion since June ...