consumers health

Quick quiz: If you were a regulator interpreting the new requirement that health insurers use at least 80 or 85 percent of their premium dollars to pay medical bills or otherwise improve consumers' health, which of these expenses would you count toward the quota? 1.

Combating fraud and overbillin...

Today I contacted my health insurer to go over some policy changes they notified me by mail about for the upcoming year.

After they answered my policy questions, I took this opportunity to ask them my standard question, “as a member of your health plan, how do I find out what my specific out-of-pocket costs are– before visiting a provider?”

Here is what I learned.

This type of information is called a FORMAL PRICING REQUEST and consumers (health plan members) must obtain specific information from the provider and follow the outlined procedures below.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is alerting consumers nationwide not to purchase or consume more than 25 different products marketed for weight loss because they contain undeclared, active pharmaceutical ingredients that may put consumers’ health at risk.