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TODAYS (10/4) PAPER HAS AN UPDATE...
KAISER IS NOT CANCELLING!!!
The governmental agency Center of Medicare and Medicaid letter was "very technical and user unfriendly"
There will be a change that "will reduce the two current plans, "Essential" and "Essential Plus", to one called "Senior Advantage Hawaii Island"
Seems the CMM letter was required to go out first...
There will be a premium change to $192 (an increase for "Essential" and decrease for "Essential Plus" coverage) ETA: with financial assistance programs for those in need
Informational meetings on these changes:
Hilo Hawaiian Hotel
9, noon. 3 & 5
Oct 17th
9, 11 & 2
Oct. 18
Royal Kona Resort
9, 3 & 5
Oct 19
9, noon & 2
Oct 21
Waimea Anna Ranch Heritage Center
10 & 1
Oct 20
The article in full:
http://hawaiitribune-herald.com/news/loc...erage-will
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Kaiser's PR guys can put all the lipstick on the pig they like, but the increase for those on the current lower cost program is more than TRIPLE with only marginal increases in benefits. (Yes, I know I'm shouting.) My neighbors and I spoke to Kaiser today and checked out the "financial assistance." It is very limited and doesn't kick in until financial assets are nearly exhausted. Of course, at the new rates, it won't be very long before quite a few people's assets are exhausted.
Edited to add note to Carey: They are indeed cancelling the existing lower cost plan. Customers have to re-apply for the new one. Kaiser reps are telling people that their options were to either drastically increase the cost or cut benefits. The article was truthful insofar as the Feds would not allow such drastic cuts. So rather do the honest thing and raise the cost outright, they are doing this convoluted cancel and re-enroll business. Also, Kaiser claims that people got a letter from the Feds. Everyone to whom I have spoken got a letter from Kaiser, on Kaiser letterhead, with a Kaiser return address, and full of Kaiser-specific information.
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The problem is that the state insurance commissioner is an appointed position not an elected position. I first became aware of this situation when I was a construction estimator on Kauai after Iniki. Not the best situation if you want the commissioner and the commission to be accountable to the people. For that to be fair he needs to be elected.
quote:
Originally posted by leilanidude
In most states, the state insurance commission is one of the few agencies that actually enforce those laws and regulations.
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if you want the commissioner and the commission to be accountable to the people. For that to be fair he needs to be elected.
Elected like the Mayor?
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"FREE Qigong sessions at Leilani Estates Community Center on Tuesdays and Fridays at 9am. We are very lucky to have Alice ."
You are indeed!!!! Please tell Alice Reni sends her aloha!
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quote:
Originally posted by kalakoa
if you want the commissioner and the commission to be accountable to the people. For that to be fair he needs to be elected.
Elected like the Mayor?
Not like the Mayor more like the Governor because the Insurance commissioner is a state officer. It is not as unusual as it may seem. 37 states have the Insurance commissioner appointed by the governor. In 11 states it is an elected office and the remaining 2 are appointed by some sort of commission. If the governor's campaign for election is partly financed by insurance companies and then the Insurance commissioner is appointed by the governor it can be like the fox guarding the chicken house.
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tinkertailor: if you sign in, you can delete your duplicate posts.
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Senator Josh Green emailed us today expressing his concern about the need for Medicare reform and saying it would be very helpful if we would write to the Insurance commissioner (Gordon Ito, Insurance Division P.O. Box 3614 Honolulu, Hawaii 96811) and contact his colleagues expressing the concerns about this issue as he presses them daily. We will be writing and encourage those of you affected by this Kaiser mess to do so also:
Commerce, Consumer Protection and Health Committee:
Senator Roz Baker (Chair)- senbaker@capitol.hawaii.gov
Senator Michelle Kidani (Vice-Chair)- senkidani@capitol.hawaii.gov
Senator Will Espero- senespero@capitol.hawaii.gov
Senator Les Ihara- senihara@capitol.hawaii.gov
Senator Clarence Nishihara- sennishihara@capitol.hawaii.gov
Senator Russell Ruderman- senruderman@capitol.hawaii.gov
Senator Sam Slom- senslom@capitol.hawaii.gov
Senate President- Sen. Ronald Kouchi- senkouchi@capitol.hawaii.gov
Majority Leader-Sen. J. Kalani Englist- senenglish@capitol.hawaii.gov
Majority Caucus Leader-Sen. Galuteria- sengaluteria@capitol.hawaii.gov
Majority Whip-Sen. Donovan Dela Cruz- sendelacruz@capitol.hawaii.gov
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What's bugging me most about this is that only Medicare and only on the outer islands is shooting up in price.
Medicare on Oahu is still $59, and I've seen no reports of regular plan prices exploding.
So it's costing more only for Medicare patients on the outer islands. The ones who use the exact same facilities as any other patients.
So maybe it's the airfare going up, because we have to be flown to Oahu because Kaiser doesn't offer much in the way of service here? You'd have to fly at least once a month to make up for the price difference. Some of us never fly to Oahu at all, that would mean that lots of people are flying multiple times a month.
Or perhaps it's to provide service so far from civilization. But non-medicare prices aren't going up.
The only way this makes sense is if you figure Kaiser wants to get rid of their medicare patients. But only on the outer islands.
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A lot of us agree with Lee M-S that Kaiser wants to get rid of its non-Oahu Medicare patients. (FWIW, they haven't offered Medicare Advantage programs on Kauai for years, if ever.) As far as transportation costs, it's not just the regular flights for services not offered here, but the extremely expensive medivac flights for critical patients that hit their bottom line hard. Even though they are a non-profit, I accept the fact that they still have a bottom line to watch.
I've done some research, and somewhat to my surprise, the cost for the "new" Medicare Advantage being offered by Kaiser is only slightly above the national average of similar plans. I've talked to several different people with Kaiser Medicare from different backgrounds about this, and the part that seems to be causing the most anger is the sudden and dramatic tripling of the cost for essentially what they had before in terms of usable benefits. And that's the part that makes me think they want to get rid of Medicare patients. The cost environment for Medicare patients has absolutely been rising, but it hasn't tripled in the last year. Any insurance company with competent accountants would have made incremental price increases and/or benefit changes in the face of such a cost environment. Kaiser did not.
I tend to be cynical when it comes to badly managed Hawaii civic institutions, and this insurance company has now joined that category.
