WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of uninsured young adults, who already represent a major chunk of the American population without health coverage, rose again in 2006, according to a study released on Friday.

Based on census data, 13.7 million people aged 19 to 29 had no health insurance, either public or private, in 2006, up from 13.3 million in 2005, according to a report by the Commonwealth Fund, a private foundation that researches health policy.

Men and women in this age group accounted for 17 percent of the under-65 population, but made up almost 30 percent of the uninsured, according to the report. At age 65, people enter the federal Medicare insurance program.

"There has been a steady upward climb in the number of young adults without health insurance coverage," Sara Collins, an author of the report, said in a telephone interview.

Reducing the number of Americans who lack health insurance has emerged as an issue in this year's presidential campaign. The government estimates that 47 million people have no health coverage in a country of about 300 million.

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Learning about life, health, disability and long-term care insurance has always been a bit confusing. However, recently the nonprofit LIFE Foundation unveiled a significantly enhanced version of its award-winning website and moved it to a new Web address at www.lifehappens.org. The LIFE site has been completely redesigned and retooled to provide visitors with objective, easy-to-understand educational content on all the major types of life and health insurance. It features a wealth of multimedia content and interactive planning tools, including:

LIFE Happens En Espanol
Insurance Word Blog
Life Insurance Needs Calculator
Life Insurance Product Selector
Human Life Value Calculator
Disability Insurance Needs Calculator
Long-term Care Cost of Services
Healthcare Cost Estimator

Check it out. Also, be sure to visit AccuQuote for additional information as well.

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There was an article on TheStreet.com by Simone Baribeau which talks about health savings accounts

The article talks about how HSA's have been touted as a way to make health care more affordable, but they may provide more tax benefits to the wealthy than health benefits to the millions of uninsured looking for affordable medical coverage.

According to the article, a recent General Accountability Office report found that these types of medical savings accounts appeal disproportionately to people who have higher incomes and people who are healthier. In fact, the average adjusted gross income for HSA participants was $139,000 -- more than double that of nonparticipants. Over half of people eligible for HSAs don't participate in them, according to the report.

HSAs allow individuals with only qualified catastrophic coverage plans -- plans with high deductibles but relatively low monthly premiums -- to save up to $2,900, tax-free, every year to pay for medical expenses. Funds not used one year roll over into an individual's account the following year.

Proponents argued that HSAs would make health care more accessible by allowing individuals and employers to buy into plans with lower premiums and would discourage people from buying unnecessary medical services.

For healthy individuals who can afford to make large contributions, the benefits go beyond medical: After 65 participants can withdraw income -- penalty-free -- and use it on nonmedical expenses.

Money deposited into an HSA can be deposited pretax or claimed as an above the line deduction, earnings grow tax-free and no taxes are taken out when funds are used for qualified medical expenses. Though younger people who withdraw funds for nonmedical expenses are subject to taxes and a 10% withdrawal penalty, people over 65 can use the money for other expenses, and it's taxed only as income.

Essentially, for the healthy, (or for those who get into a more comprehensive insurance plan before they get sick) HSAs can function as something akin to an IRA.

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According to NBC30.com, a health insurance bill on the way to Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell would "prohibit insurance companies from raising rates on health care plans offered to state workers if the coverage is extended to municipalities, small businesses and nonprofit agencies."

Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said in a written opinion that this year's newly approved General Assembly legislation would not affect contracts that are pending with Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, United Healthcare and Health Net. New members would be covered by new contracts separate from the current state worker pool with current insurance contracts.

House Majority Leader Christopher Donovan is a proponent of the bill and hopes Governor Rell will sign it. Apparently, Donovan's mechanic asked him about the bill and upon hearing that its fate was unsure and awaiting the governor's decision, Donovan said: "And he said, look at that, nobody cares about the little guy. Nobody cares about him. I said, no, no, we did it. The Senate and House passed it. We did care. It's up to the governor to sign this bill and create this option."

We'll see what happens.

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Google recently unveiled Google Health, a long-anticipated health information service that combines the company's classic search services with a user's personal health records online. The password-protected service, which can be found at www.google.com/health/, stores a user's basic medical history and gathers relevant information connected to their health conditions.

How do you feel about this? Frankly, I'm a bit scared. It's hard enough the get stuff corrected in the MIB (Medical Information Bureau) if there is a mistake. How will this be used by insurance companies and underwriting groups when you apply for health, life or even disability?

Here's the full story by Reuters. Let me know your thoughts.

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Many people think they understand how health care expenses will impact them but often grossly underestimate their future health care costs. Many also believe they will be able to rely on coverage from Medicare and their employers during their golden years. However, this may not be the case, as the number of businesses offering retiree health benefits is steadily declining and the financial pressure on Medicare seems to be increasing.

Recent statistics show that almost half of American workers report total savings and investments (not including their primary residences or any defined benefit plans) of less than $25,000, even though it's estimated that retirees will need approximately $225,000 to pay for health care alone. Consumers need to learn to more accurately estimate their medical expenses in retirement and to understand how to pay for them to protect their assets.

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A census by America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) found that more than 6.1 million Americans are covered by Health Savings Account (HSA)-eligible insurance plans, a 35 percent increase since last year. HSAs were authorized starting in January 2004.

Key findings from the census include:

o There was an increase of approximately 1.6 million Americans enrolled in an HSA plan since January 2007. Previous censuses found that 4.5 million were enrolled in January 2007, 3.2 million were enrolled in January 2006, and 1.0 million were enrolled in March 2005.

o 30 percent of individuals covered by an HSA plan were in the small-group market, 45 percent of individuals covered by an HSA plan were in the large-group market, and the remaining 25 percent were in the individual market.

o HSA products accounted for 31 percent of new coverage issued in the small-group market. Individual market consumers selected HSA products for 27 percent of their new purchases of health insurance.

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Yesterday we began a discussion about the Californians who have had their insurance policies canceled over the last four years and the fact that many of them may be reinstated thanks to the efforts of Cindy Ehnes, the director of the Department of Managed Health Care.

The insurance industry has been trying to regain the faith of the public. Christopher Ohman is the president of the California Association of Health Plans. He said, "On their own, health plans have been implementing new policies to strengthen and make more transparent the process for rescinding policies." Apparently, the insurance companies are holding their own reviews of rescinded health insurance policies. They claim that rescission is rare and only implemented when there is fraud. They blame the complicated applications for tricking honest people into making false claims about their medical histories, and they have attempted to simplify and clarify the application process accordingly.

Though Ehnes said recently that she would order the immediate reinstatement of policies for 26 patients who were cancelled, the problem is that it's not as easy as just reopening the policies and reinstating them. In fact, according to the LA Times, "Ehnes had come under fire from lawmakers and consumer advocates in recent weeks over her attempts to negotiate resolutions with the five insurers and for failing to reinstate many patients."

Says Ehnes, "I try very hard to do things that ultimately hold up in a court of law, not just a court of public opinion. I don't move easily until I feel I have that defensible position. I feel I am in that position. We will vigorously defend any action that is taken, and feel like we will be sustained."

What do you think the legislature can do to protect consumers who purchase individual insurance plans to keep these mass policy cancellations from continuing?

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There were thousands of Californians who were canceled by their health insurers and it is these people who Governor Schwarzenegger has said may be eligible to not only get their coverage back but get the money back that they lost on medical bills while their coverage lapsed.

Rescission is the official term for what happened to these Californians and it refers to the act of an insurance company cancelling individual coverage after the patient has submitted medical bills for coverage.

Cindy Ehnes is the director of the Department of Managed Health Care. She wants to reopen policies that were closed by five major insurance companies in California in the last four years and submit them to an independent arbiter for consideration. Anyone wrongly canceled would be reinstated and any medical bills that were incurred in the interim will be reimbursed by the offending insurance company.

Says Ehnes, "Rescission is a harsh practice. It strips people of coverage and causes them to be uninsurable at the very time they need it most. For the first time, we are giving people a second chance to get that health coverage. We are putting our full regulatory and enforcement action to work on this. We are opening the door to health coverage for those thousands of Californians who have been impacted over the last four years."

It sounds good, but it doesn't do much for the fact that the public only loses more and more faith in the insurance industry as long as this practice remains. Tomorrow we'll continue discussion and look at both sides.

Have you ever had your policy rescinded?

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This ties in nicely with my recent post entitled, "Family Healthcare Contributions Edge Closer to Full Month's Salary". A study by United Benefits Advisors found that:

· Nearly 75 percent of employers have or want to have a wellness program with a health risk assessment

· Fewer than 25 percent want taxpayer-funded universal health care

· Nearly 60 percent have or desire to implement a chronic disease management program

· Employers with 200 or more employees were 54% more likely to describe themselves as "leading edge" or "fairly quick" to adopt wellness programs

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According to Aon Consulting, employers are shifting their focus to wellness programs to reduce healthcare costs and improve productivity.

A recent survey by Aon revealed that the median annual contribution for family healthcare coverage is $3,120. This is a 15 percent increase from 2007, and 22 percent increase from 2006. Meanwhile, organizations have experienced approximately 10 percent annual healthcare cost increases since 2006.

We have continued to see employers shift to cost control by focusing on improving the health and productivity of their employees. According to the survey, 64 percent of employers now have a benefits strategy that promotes the importance of health and productivity to their employees.

The most common way organizations today are promoting health and productivity is through wellness programs, which are primarily designed to prevent the development of chronic conditions (i.e., diabetes and heart disease).

As an employer, I struggle with how to best help my employees with the rising cost of healthcare. If your organization has a wellness program, I'd like to know how many people really take advantage of this sort of thing. And, if you're an employer, has this helped control your costs?

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According to an article in Kiplinger's Personal Finance, about one in five adults age 19 to 29 don't have health insurance. As the reporter, Erin Burt, says, "Sure, you're a young, strapping specimen of good health. But you're not invincible." Read this article to find out how you can find affordable health care coverage.

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According to two recent surveys of hospital executives and physicians, the historically rocky marriage between health plans and their network providers is crumbling.

The executives who responded to one of those surveys gave three of the nation's five largest health plans more negative scores than positive ones. The average unfavorable rating among plans was 41%.

When asked which health plan was most difficult to negotiate with, 64% of hospital executives cited United, while 2% pointed to Aetna, Inc. United also was ranked as the slowest to process and pay claims. Overall, Aetna fared the best, with only 37% of respondents citing an unfavorable opinion of the company.

If it gets worse, what do you think it's going to do to health care costs for consumers?

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Yesterday we started a discussion about the fact that almost two people per day lose their lives in Tennessee because they don't have the health coverage they need. An average of more than one person per day dies for the same reason in Arkansas, Mississippi. People tend to stay away from the doctor until it's too late because they don't have the money to foot the bill.

The question is, how do we fix this problem? Is it by making health insurance available across the board that we can lower these numbers as Dr. David Mirvis, a University of Tennessee Health Science Center professor of preventive medicine, seems to think? Or is it by spending money on educational campaigns that could prevent these health conditions in the first place a more plausible solution like Dr. Cyril Chang, the director of the University of Memphis' Methodist Le Bonheur Center for Healthcare Economics, suggests?

Another opinion is put forth by Dr. G. Scott Morris, the executive director of Church Health Center. He says, "The majority of Tennesseans would tell you the people who got kicked off TennCare were bums and derelicts. That's not my experience. We had a convenience-store clerk come in here. Her right leg had been amputated some time ago, but on the day she got dropped from TennCare, she fell and tore up the prosthetic leg and couldn't afford to replace it. But she had to work, so at the end of the day, it took her two hours to close her store, because she was hopping around on one leg mopping the floor."

Though preventative care and lifestyle changes could have a significant impact, Dr. Morris isn't optimistic that that will happen any time soon: "It has virtually zero chance of being implemented now. There's so much inertia in the system. What I think is that nothing will change until the Fortune 500 companies care enough to say something has to change. Unfortunately, the Fortune 500 companies are going the opposite direction."

So what is the solution? There are people who are waiting to learn their fate: namely the 23.2 percent, 22.1 percent and 18.3 percent of the working-age populations in Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee respectively.

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A recent study showed that those without insurance are dying in the United States. According to the research, an average of 13 adults in Tennessee die every week for lack of health insurance. In Arkansas, Mississippi, the rate of death for want of health insurance is about one person per day. Without the necessary coverage, people are putting off getting the help they need until it's too late.

Dr. David Mirvis is a University of Tennessee Health Science Center professor of preventive medicine. He says, "The problem with this study is that it had to be done. We've known this for years, that it costs lives, and the numbers have gone up, not down. There are lots of excuses, but people are dying."

Dr. Cyril Chang is the director of the University of Memphis' Methodist Le Bonheur Center for Healthcare Economics. He says that handing out health insurance, though an obvious solution, may not be the best one for the problem. He says, "In Tennessee, there are 3,103,000 adults between ages 25-64 and 18.3 percent (or 567,849) of these do not have insurance. The Family USA's report says that 660 of these adults died in 2006 because of lack of health insurance.

"If we insured all of these uninsured adults at the low estimate of $5,000 per adult, the total cost would be $2.84 billion per year. That's a whopping $4.3 million per life saved. We can surely save more lives tackling other causes of death -- like smoking, excessive drinking and living an unhealthy lifestyle."

On the other hand, Dr. Mirvis points out that those who do have insurance are actually paying about half the medical bills of those without it. If everyone had health insurance, the high rates would go down: "The other thing is, having health insurance not only saves lives, it improves quality of life, makes people more productive. He [Dr. Chang] underestimates severely the impact of not having insurance. It's kids who can't go to school because they're sick, so then they can't get jobs, because they're not educated. It's companies that move into Tennessee and can't find an educated workforce."

So what do you think?

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