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Historic moment!

House passed the health care reform bill. Big relief for American people, especially for people with preconditions!

President Obama's new health reform proposal

Read what President's health insurance reform would mean for you and your family

Beginning January 1, 2010, changes in the law makes more people on Medicare to qualify for Extra Help with their Medicare prescription drug plan costs

Life insurance policy does no longer count as a resource; and the help received regularly from someone else to pay household expenses does no longer count as income. Income limits are $16,245 a year for singles and $21,855 for married couples living together. Assets such as stocks, bonds and bank accounts must be limited to $12,510 for singles and $25,010 for married couples. The value of homes and automobiles are excluded.

Historical moment: The House passes the Affordable Health Care for America Act [H.R. 3962]

It will end increases in premiums or denials of care based on pre-existing conditions, race, or gender, and strictly limit age rating; guarantee that every child in America will have health care coverage that includes dental, hearing and vision benefits.

The House Health Care Bill

A summary of the House Health Care Bill.

No premium increase for Medicare recipients

The House passed the bill to eliminate all premium increases for Medicare Part B patients. The bill now goes to the Senate. Medicare Part B provides coverage for doctor's visits. The bill would not affect scheduled increases in premiums for the Medicare prescription drug program, known as Part D. Average monthly premiums for the drug program will increase slightly, from $28 this year to $30 in 2010.

New rules: "No lifetime or annual limits on health insurance benefits"

As part of the Healthcare Reform, the Senate Finance Committee proposed that health insurers could not include lifetime limits on coverage or annual limits on any benefits.

President Obama announces that several industry groups, including insurers, hospitals and drug industry, signed a commitment for reducing the health care cost.

Although it is not clear yet, how this will be accomplished, it is a step forward towards the promised hope that the average family of four could be saving $2,500 in health care costs annually.

Insurance industry promises not to charge women higher premiums.

Women who are covered by individiual health insurance plans pay higher premiums than men. On May 5 2009, the insurance industry told Congress that they would stop this practice.

Hope for lower insurance premiums for people with preexisting conditions

In a letter to the senators, the health insurance industry offered to stop its practice of charging higher premiums to people with preexisting conditions. America's Health Insurance Plans and the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association say they are willing to phase out the practice of varying premiums based on health status in the individual market if all Americans are required to get coverage.

How will stimulus bill impact your healthcare expenses?

If you are eligible for COBRA health insurance continuation, 65 percent of your COBRA premiums might be subsidized for up nine months. Who is eligible? 1- Employees laid off between September 1, 2008 and December 31, 2009. 2- Employees who were laid off since September 2008, and who had initially declined COBRA will have 60 days to elect it. Who is not eligible? Employees whose income in the year they would receive it exceeds $125,000 for individuals and $250,000 for families.

President Obama signed the bill to expand the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) and to reauthorize it through 2013.

The bill expands SCHIP eligibility, enabling states to enroll an additional 4 million children, gurantees coverage for dental and mental health care, permits states to provide Medicaid and SCHIP coverage to legal immigrants, and also allows states to cover pregnant women.

The promise of affordable and quality healthcare for every American is now at the White House website.

President Obama and Vice President Biden promise that under the plan, if you like your current health insurance, nothing changes, except your costs will go down by as much as $2,500 per year. If you don.t have health insurance, you will have a choice of new, affordable health insurance options.

UnitedHealth and Oxford Insurance are accused for underreimbursing people.

One of the nation's largest health insurers has agreed to pay $50 million in a settlement announced today after being accused of overcharging millions of Americans for health care.

California forbids hospitals and physicians to bill patients for the balance of emergency care not covered by insurers

When patients use emergency care doctors and hospitals that are not in their insurer's network, these hospitals and physicians are not allowed to bill them for more than what their health plan determines is a reasonable and customary dollar amount. Effective on October 15, 2008, this ban will save consumers money and time and frustration spent in disputing these charges.

Bailout Includes Better Mental Health Insurance

More than one-third of Americans will soon receive better insurance coverage for mental health treatments, required by a new law, included in the economic bailout bill signed on October 3, 2008.

Facing Veto, Democrats Drop Plan for Vote on Child Bill

It might be better for Congress to vote on the SCHIP legislation next year rather than this year. Democrats say they have shifted course, after concluding that President Bush would not sign their legislation and that they could not override his likely veto. Why would you pass a bill now when, in six months, you could get a better bill covering more uninsured children.

United States Presidential Elections 2008 and Healthcare: Barack Obama

United States Presidential Elections 2008 and Healthcare: John McCain

Presidential Election 2008 and Healthcare

Learn more about the solutions for healthcare issues being offered by the candidates for the US Presidency.

Cross-border healthcare in European Union

European Union citizens will be able to shop for medical care around the 27-nation bloc without prior authorization from their insurer, under the new proposal.

New York Times: S.E.C. Backs Health Care Balloting

The Securities and Exchange Commission, shifting its position, has told companies they must allow shareholders to vote on a proposal for universal health insurance coverage.

Wall Street Journal: Wal-Mart Widens Drug Discounts

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is expanding its cut-rate prescription-drug program and will sell 90-day supplies of more than 300 generic drugs for only $10.

New York Times: Medicare Plans Affected by Rising Drug Costs

Employers and patients in corporate health plans are not the only ones affected by the soaring prices of specialty drugs. Enrollees in Medicare drug plans are also feeling the pressure.

New York Times: President is Rebuffed on Program for Children

The Bush administration violated federal law last year when it restricted states. ability to provide health insurance to children of middle-income families, and its new policy is therefore unenforceable, lawyers from the Government Accountability Office said Friday.

New York State Child Health Plus

New York Governor Eliot Spitzer's Executive Budget expands the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). The budget provides funding to expand the State's version of SCHIP, Child Health Plus, by increasing income eligibility levels from 250 percent to 400 percent of the Federal Poverty Level, making New York's program one of the most comprehensive in the nation. Governor Spitzer made this announcement during his State of the State address and full details of the plan will be outlined in Governor Spitzer's Executive Budget Presentation on Tuesday, January 22, 2008.

Wall Street Journal: Insurers Stop Paying for Care Linked to Errors

As insurers roll out the policy across the country, they say they are structuring their contracts with hospitals so that the hospitals also won't be able to charge patients for care made necessary by medical errors. Given the high rate of medical billing errors, however, consumer advocates advise patients to examine their bills carefully, especially if they are aware of errors or problems that occurred during their stay. People with health insurance should check their bills against the explanation of benefits they receive from the health plan, or press their insurers to make sure they haven't been overcharged.

Wall Street Journal: Major insurance companies claim that they'll pay for second-opinion breast-cancer tests

Breast-cancer patients may be getting the wrong treatment because of errors in two laboratory tests widely used to determine which drugs are prescribed. Several major private insurers, including UnitedHealth, Aetna Inc. and WellPoint Inc., say they will generally pay for second-opinion breast-cancer tests. However, few doctors order them.

Bankrate.com: The Basics: 8 most common hospital billing errors

Make no mistake about it: Making sure that all the charges on your hospital bill are justified and reasonable is a formidable undertaking. But it can be easier if you know what to look for.

New York Times: Expecting Presidential Veto, Senate Passes Child Health Insurance

New York Times: House Sustains President's Veto on Child Health

Seattle Times: Families held hostage by health-care costs

Los Angeles Times: Child health: to compromise or stand firm

CNN Money: Health care: Fighting denied claims

If your health insurer refuses to reimburse you for a claim, you're not alone. Denial of health care claims happens all the time. But we'll tell you how you can fight back against your insurer to get the coverage you deserve.

CNN Money: Correcting medical billing snafus

Should you notice something amiss in an invoice, she says, don't pay it. Instead, initiate a dispute by phoning the billing office, making sure to write down the time, date, name of person you speak with. Follow up with a letter, sent via certified mail, to the highest person in the department. (Once they have a written complaint, most providers halt the collections process until the case is closed.)

NPR: Americans Paying for Medical Billing Errors

The high cost of health care in America may be even higher than you think. Day to Day personal finance contributor Michelle Singletary speaks with Alex Chadwick about medical billing errors, and what consumers can do to make sure that they're not paying for those mistakes.

CNN Money: Fight back: Malpractice in the billing department

Between errors and bill padding, fighting a hospital overcharge or denied medical claim can take some smart strategies.

Washington Post: Killer Billing Errors: Duplicate Charges. Faulty Totals. Your Hospitals Mistakes Can Ruin You

Just about everyone agrees that the medical billing process makes little sense from a consumer's perspective. Prices vary wildly on procedures as routine as a root canal, even within the same community. One surgical procedure will generate a bill from the hospital, another bill from the surgeon, and more from the radiologist, the anesthesiologist and maybe a pathologist. Then there are those pesky pricing codes, attached to everything from a latex glove to a cotton swab. One slip of a keystroke by a billing clerk can dramatically alter the tally.