The Cobra Nightmare

         A lot of people have been calling me recently who own small businesses and have the
constant worry about administering COBRA benefits to employees who have recently left their
company. This is a real problem, especially for these folks who own small businesses, who
generally do not have a Human Resources Department or a Human Resources Director. This
leaves most small business owners faced with the “COBRA Nightmare.” A nightmare which has
gotten worse because of the recently passed economic stimulus bill which requires small
business owners to pay for healthcare for up to nine months. What most people are not aware of
is that there are options for small business owners to ensure they are accurately administering
COBRA benefits to their employees.
         There’s a company out there that I’ve worked with for a while now, called COBRA
Guard who has a wonderful program. They are dedicated solely to administering COBRA
benefits, and believe it or not it’s very inexpensive! You can find out more on their website:
cobraguard.net
         I don’t think people realize the importance of administering COBRA the right way: the
IRS estimates that 90% of the businesses out there are NOT in compliance with COBRA
regulations. What that means for the average small business owner is that the IRS can fine you
up to $100/day for violations that most people are not even aware they are guilty of making.
         Furthermore, if the IRS conducts an audit and discovers non-compliance, even if it is
unintentional, you can be fined up to half a million dollars. Because, as the employer, the burden
is on you to process employees medical claims etc., if you neglect to adhere to the proper
protocol, you set yourself up for a real mess. You know the IRS, once they get in the door, they
find a reason to justify there existence and sometimes that reason can have a very hefty price tag.

Battle Of The Swine Flu: The U.S. vs. Mexico

         When I spoke with 710 KCMO Morning Show host Chris Stegal recently, he wanted to
discuss a hot topic: the swine flu. Like most people, Chris was wondering what the differences
are between how the flu has impacted Mexico and its impact here in America. I explained that
there is a very good reason why the swine flu has not been considered deadly in the United
States but certainly is in Mexico. What accounts for this difference? Well, I think the difference
is fairly obvious: we’ve got a very sophisticated and advanced medical system in this country,
run by the private industry.
         In a recent comment made by Kathleen Sebelius, the current Secretary of Health and
Human Services on “Meet the Press,” which I found to be very interesting as she, along with
President Obama, lauded the Bush administration - if you can imagine that - for putting together
the huge amount vaccines that are available here in the US today; vaccines that we are currently
shipping to Mexico and other countries. There is a direct correlation between the difference in
the impact of the swine flu on America and Mexico. It has a direct correlation to the radical
differences in our healthcare systems.
         It is a known fact that every health insurance plan in the US covers vaccinations for
children up to 72 months of age. In fact, some policies, such as Aetna, go all the way up to 18
years! This is normal practice here in America, this is NOT normal practice in Mexico nor is it
in many other countries around the globe. The issue here is that while both Kathleen Sebelius
and President Obama praise the US healthcare system for keeping the cases of Swine Flu to a
minimum in this country, it is that very thing that they want to change and take over. Here’s a
good way to think about it: if the Post Office administered immunizations, where do you think
this country would be right now?

Affordable Health Insurance Is Out There!

        I spoke with 710 KCMO Morning Show host Chris Stegal recently about how I was able
to help his Mother and Father find affordable health insurance. Chris’ Mother is a retired school
teacher who was paying astronomical prices for her healthcare. Both Chris’ Mom and Dad asked
for my help and we were able to put them on a Blue Cross Blue Shield HSA plan that was
$1,000 -$1,300 less than their previous plan!
        What people need to understand, and what my show and business are dedicated to
showing the consumer, is that there are a lot of alternatives out there. For example, I met with a
lady in Wichita recently who was on a state pool policy. We moved her off of the Kansas Health
Insurance Authority policy, which she thought she could never leave, and put her on an Aetna
Advantage policy and saved her $400 a month just by getting her off of the Kansas policy!
        We also had a two person group, that we put on an Aford-a-Blue plan and saved them
another $400 - $500 per month! The message is: there are options out there! Just like with
Chris’ parents, you have to look around. I tell this to my listeners and clients all the time: don’t
give up and throw in the towel and say , “I can’t afford decent group or individual health
insurance,” there are affordable options out there for you RIGHT NOW!

Hypocrisy is Liberals’ Tribute to Conservatism

Claire McCaskill is up in arms about $4 billion in “overbilling” by Medicare AdvantaPart D Prscription  Drug Plans, and is calling for investigations into the insurance companies which manage the  Plans.  

Are insurance companies overbilling? Yes, but why is this happening?  McCaskill doesn’t look behind the curtain at Medicare which is the root of the problem .

Here’s the issue:  Medicare is so far behind in its reconciliation process that insurance companies are currently billing Medicare based on what they think their costs will be at the end of the year.  Nothing new here.  These companies’ billings were not reconciled with Medicare until 2009 for 2006 billing. Whose fault is that?

McCaskill simply wants to use the out-of-sync billing and payment (all of which is Medicare’s fault) as an opportunity to make private carriers look bad.  Don’t be fooled by this deplorable act of deceit!

Oddly enough, McCaskill has not acknowledged the real crisis in Medicare money management – and this is where the hypocrisy sticks out like a sore thumb!

While McCaskill is yelling about $4 billon which will be recouped on the books by Medicare, she says nothing about the $32.7 billion Medicare has lost through fraud and waste  in 2007.  Not a word does she say about the $10 billion in fraud so far accounted for in 2008.  And of course they aren’t finished counting yet for 2008.  That’s a total of $42.7 billion in fraud and waste on the part of Medicare and not a word from Claire McCaskill…

When Medicare went before the house and senate budget committees this last year to ask for $576 million to implement new technologies to track and correct fraud and waste, they were denied by both committees so they could instead fund lap band surgeries and gastric bypass surgery.

Senator Mcaskill  let’s cut out the real fat at Medicare before we start throwing rocks at private health insurance companies!