Bob's Special Webcam Tip & Seniors Lose Healthcare Coverage

Me and the guys have a tip for you. If your computer uses a webcam, make sure you have a copy of the webcam software and drivers. Webcams can be a pain to set back up if you have to re-install your Windows. My friend Jim sent me an email about seniors losing healthcare coverage because of Obama policies. And I quote:

“Thought you should know, the promises of Barack Obama and his HHS Secretary Kathleen Sibelius were hollow. Not only have costs and co-pays and deductions skyrocketed, many seniors have lost their plans completely. They are now scrambling to find alternative plans. Many of the Advantage Plans that have survived, have dropped the prescription plans and the remaining portions are no longer attractive or affordable. Many seniors are unaware of the many changes their existing plans are making, therefore they will be caught without coverage, or see extensive changes after January 1st. Hope and Change, well, many see the change and afterwards have to have a lot of hope that they can cope. Hope and Change Obama Style.

Remember those Andy Griffith Medicare ads suggesting that retirees wouldnt lose their benefits? The Boston Globe is reporting that Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, the second-largest health insurer in Massachusetts, has decided to entirely drop out of the market-oriented Medicare Advantage Program (h/t Drudge):Harvard Pilgrim Health Care has notified customers that it will drop its Medicare Advantage health insurance program at the end of the year, forcing 22,000 senior citizens in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine to seek alternative supplemental coverage.” Thanks for the happy news, Jim.

The decision by Wellesley-based Harvard Pilgrim, the states second-largest health insurer, was prompted by a freeze in federal reimbursements and a new requirement that insurers offering the kind of product sold by Harvard Pilgrim a Medicare Advantage private fee for service plan form a contracted network of doctors who agree to participate for a negotiated amount of money. Under current rules, patients can seek care from any doctor.

We became concerned by the long-term viability of Medicare Advantage programs in general, said Lynn Bowman, vice president of customer service at Harvard Pilgrims office in Quincy. We know that cuts in Medicare are being used to fund national health care reform. And we also had concerns about our ability to build a network of health care providers that would meet the needs of our seniors.

Readers will recall that the largest source of funding for Obamacare was eliminating $548 billion of funding for privately managed Medicare Advantage plans. Harvard Pilgrim will route its Medicare Advantage customers back into traditional, government-run Medicare, and seek to offer them Medigap plans, supplements to traditional Medicare that lack prescription drug coverage:

Harvard Pilgrim in a second mailing this week will urge customers to switch to a new Medicare Supplement plan it will begin offering in October. Unlike Medicare Advantage, which is overseen by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the new Harvard Pilgrim plan will be overseen by the Massachusetts Division of Insurance.

It will be slightly more expensive than the Medicare Advantage plans, but competitive with supplemental insurance plans offered by rivals such as Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, the states largest health insurer, Bowman said.

She said the Medicare Supplement plan will feature some benefits not covered by the current plan, such as fitness reimbursements, but wont pay for prescription drugs, which are covered by some versions of the current plan. Instead, seniors can buy separate supplemental drug coverage through a partnership with Coventry Health Care, in Bethesda, Md.

Bob’s Special Webcam Tip & Seniors Lose Healthcare Coverage

by Ken

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