Robert Wagner Insurance January 2023 Newsletter |
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Open Enrollment Continues |
It is not too late to apply for or change your health plan for 2023. New applications or plan changes made on or before January 31st will be effective on February 1st. Premium tax credits may be available for a family of four with an annual income up to $111,000 or for individuals with annual income between $20,385 and $54,360 through Covered California. Additionally, there are many plans available directly from the carriers that are not available through Covered California.
The application process is simple and coverage during open enrollment is guaranteed with no preexisting condition limitations. Looking for a quote for you or your family? |
| Why do you have a sore throat when you wake up in the morning? |
It’s tripledemic season, with rising cases of COVID, flu, and RSV, so waking up with a sore throat can be alarming. Do you have one of these potentially serious viruses? Strep throat? Just a cold?
“When you first wake up with a sore throat, it’s difficult to know if you have a bacterial infection or virus without being tested for them directly,” says Dr. Barbara B. Bawer, a family medicine physician at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. It’s also possible that something such as allergies, acid reflux, or the lack of humidity in your bedroom is to blame.
To help sort it out, ask yourself the following questions. - Does it go away after I shower or drink a warm beverage?
- Do I have any other symptoms?
- Should I stay home or not?
<Read more> |
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Are Expensive Treatments Better? |
Why Misconceptions About Healthcare Are Costing Us |
Have you ever assumed that a more expensive healthcare option must be better?
Surprisingly, the answer may depend on whether you have health insurance. |
A recent Harvard Business School study found that people with high levels of insurance coverage tend to believe that more expensive healthcare options are more effective - whether or not data suggest this is true. |
But even more surprisingly: people who are underinsured or uninsured are likely to assume the exact opposite. They tend to believe that lower-priced healthcare options are more efficient, mainstream, or proven, or that the differences in outcomes between high and low-priced options aren’t significant. Again, people seem to do this automatically, whether or not data suggest this is true. <Read more >
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Paxlovid Has Been Free So Far |
Later This Year, Sticker Shock Awaits. |
Nearly 6 million Americans have taken Paxlovid for free, courtesy of the federal government. The Pfizer pill has helped prevent many people infected with covid-19 from being hospitalized or dying, and it may even reduce the risk of developing long covid. But the government plans to stop footing the bill within months, and millions of people who are at the highest risk of severe illness and are least able to afford the drug — the uninsured and seniors — may have to pay the full price.
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The U.S. government has so far purchased 20 million courses of Paxlovid, priced at about $530 each, a discount for buying in bulk that Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla called “really very attractive” to the federal government in a July earnings call. The drug will cost far more on the private market, although in a statement to KHN, Pfizer declined to share the planned price. The government will also stop paying for the company’s covid vaccine next year — those shots will quadruple in price, from the discount rate the government pays of $30 to about $120. <Read More>
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Caller ID, texts, or documents sent by email may look official, but they are not. Fraudsters are calling to verify information about the 2023 cost-of-living adjustment for people who get benefits. Remember, this adjustment is automatic, and a beneficiary does not need to verify anything. Social Security won’t ask you to provide information or money to get your benefit increase. Know that how we do business with you doesn’t change because it’s the holidays. We may email or text you about programs and services, but we will never ask for personal information via email or text.
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| Survey Finds - Medical Bills Are Confusing |
December 19, 2022 - Almost 40 percent of Americans are confused by their medical bills, with many feeling uncertain about what they are being billed for or if they will be able to pay, according to a survey
conducted by YouGov on behalf of healthcare operations company AKASA. The survey reflects responses from 2,026 adults 18 years and older, gathered between March 9 and March 14, 2022.
The survey also asked respondents to rank their frustrations surrounding the financial experience after receiving healthcare services. The top concern was understanding what they were being billed for, with 29 percent of individuals citing this frustration. Twenty-seven percent of respondents said they were most concerned about their ability to pay the bill.
<Read More> |
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