Latest news with #healthinsurance
Zawya
4 hours ago
- Health
- Zawya
Saudi: Health council fines 110 employers for insurance violations
RIYADH — The Council of Health Insurance (CHI) has imposed penalties totaling SR2.5 million on 110 employers for violating provisions of the Cooperative Health Insurance Law, it announced on Thursday. The CHI stated that the violations were related to employers' failure to provide mandatory health insurance coverage to their employees and eligible family members, despite receiving prior warnings urging them to rectify their status. Under Article 14 of the Cooperative Health Insurance Law, any employer who fails to subscribe or pay insurance premiums for employees and their dependents is required to pay the outstanding premiums along with a fine not exceeding the annual subscription value per individual. Additionally, violators may face temporary or permanent bans on hiring foreign workers. These measures, the council said, are part of efforts to strengthen its regulatory role and ensure mandatory health insurance compliance, aimed at safeguarding the rights of beneficiaries and enhancing fairness and transparency in the system. CHI spokesperson Iman Al-Turaiki stressed the council's ongoing commitment to building a regulatory environment that promotes compliance and protects the rights of insured individuals and their families. She affirmed that the council continues to monitor violations and take firm action against non-compliant establishments. She also urged all employers to take immediate steps to align with the law and ensure a safe and healthy work environment by securing the required insurance coverage. © Copyright 2022 The Saudi Gazette. All Rights Reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
UnitedHealth appoints Wayne DeVeydt as CFO in another management shake-up
(Reuters) -UnitedHealth said on Thursday it will replace its finance chief John Rex with an external hire, Wayne DeVeydt, adding to the management changes at the health insurer that has been struggling to control its medical costs. Rex, who has been handling the role since 2016, will continue as a strategic advisor to the CEO, with the changes effective September 2. DeVeydt was most recently managing director and operating partner at Bain Capital, and was also the finance chief of UnitedHealth's rival Elevance , then called Anthem, between 2007 and 2016. The largest U.S. health insurer had seen an abrupt departure of Andrew Witty as CEO in May, with Stephen Hemsley replacing him following struggles with elevated medical costs that were also seen in the rest of the industry. Hemsley is under pressure to regain investor trust as the company faces financial struggles and reputational damage that surfaced after the then-CEO of its health insurance unit was gunned down on a New York City street in December. Sign in to access your portfolio
Daily Mail
14 hours ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
I rushed to the hospital after a bat flew into my mouth... I was charged $21K for life-saving care
Erica Kahn thought she would spend an evening of her vacation photographing the night sky. She never expected to be attacked by a bat. Kahn, who was visiting the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area in Arizona last year, saw bats flying while she was taking photos but thought nothing of it. That was, until one of them flew down to her eyeline between her camera and her face. As she opened her mouth to scream, the bat flew into it. Her father, a doctor, insisted she get vaccinated for rabies, which can spread through an animal's saliva and is fatal almost 100 percent of the time unless treated before symptoms appear. But she didn't have health insurance. A generally healthy person, Kahn believed that after losing her job last summer, she could avoid paying hundreds to stay on her former employer's insurance plan before finding another job and getting insurance through work again. But knowing she now needed to get treatment as soon as possible, Kahn, 33, found a private health insurance policy outside of the Affordable Care Act marketplace, believing that she would be covered for the five shots she would need to get over the next two weeks. But last fall, she began receiving medical bills that said she owed $21,000. Believing she'd be covered as long as she got insurance before going to the hospital, Kahn said she purchased a policy online the day after the bat encounter, according to the Washington Post. She said she called the insurer beforehand and was told that care related to an accident or a 'life-threatening' emergency would be included. So Kahn, a Massachusetts resident, went to a hospital in Arizona for the requisite immunoglobulin shot needed to build antibodies against the virus. Over the following two weeks, she got the remaining four rabies shots at clinics in Arizona and Massachusetts, as well as at a hospital in Colorado. The rabies virus is transmitted to humans through the saliva of infected animals, including bats, raccoons, skunks, foxes, and coyotes. Rabies is almost always fatal once symptoms appear, which include confusion, agitation, hallucinations, or difficulty swallowing. But the regimen of vaccinations has lowered yearly cases in the US to fewer than 10 and deaths to an average of 2.5 annually. What Kahn didn't know, though, was that most insurance plans have a 30-day waiting period until coverage takes effect, meaning even though she had bought a policy, her benefits would not have kicked in to cover expenses for almost a month. According to her explanation-of-benefits statements, reviewed by Kaiser Health News, Kahn was billed a total of $20,749 for treatment at the four facilities. The bulk of the charges from her health scare last fall came from the first hospital she visited, Flagstaff Medical Center, which billed $17,079, including $15,242 for the rabies vaccine and immunoglobulin. 'The required waiting period for this service has not been met,' said an explanation-of-benefits letter she received in December. None of the treatments were covered by the insurance plan she had purchased for a monthly cost of $311 from a Florida company called Innovative Partners LP. 'I thought it must have been a mistake,' Kahn said. 'I guess I was naïve.' Insurance plans often include a 30-day waiting period, or a similar delay, before coverage begins because companies want to avoid people signing up only after they have had a health issue or diagnosis, using the plan just for immediate, expensive treatment, only to cancel the plan afterward. It also gives insurance companies time to process people's applications, verify their information, and set them up in the companies' systems. Kahn said she called the company to ask how to appeal the charges and was told a doctor would need to submit paperwork on her behalf. She told the Post that she wrote a letter that was signed by a physician at Flagstaff Medical Center. She submitted it in March, but was unable to get in touch with doctors at the other facilities involved in her care. Adding to the confusion, Kahn said she was given conflicting instructions on where to send the appeal. A representative later told her the company had no record of receiving any such documents. As of early July, benefits statements shown to KHN say that Innovative Partners LP still had not paid the claims Kahn said she's now back to work and has new health insurance through her job, but she's still on the hook for most of the bills stemming from her ordeal in Arizona. She said she paid a Flagstaff Medical Center bill after negotiating it down from $706 to $420, and she's currently on a $10-a-month payment plan to pay down the $530 she owes for one of the rabies shots she received at another facility. Kahn will continue appealing the denials of payment for the rest of the bills, which come to about $19,000. In a statement on behalf of Flagstaff Medical Center, where Kahn racked up the most significant bill, Lauren Silverstein, a spokesperson for Northern Arizona Healthcare, said Flagstaff Medical Center works to keep costs down. 'We have less ability to control the prices of critical supplies that we use to treat patients, including pharmaceuticals, biologics, diagnostics and medical devices made by other companies,' Silverstein told the Post. The policy Kahn bought was a fixed indemnity plan, according to Sabrina Corlette, co-director of the Center on Health Insurance Reforms at Georgetown University, which pays enrollees a set dollar amount for specific medical services regardless of the actual cost. These types of plans have existed for decades and are not held to the same standards as ACA-compliant coverage. Even if she had purchased a more comprehensive plan, it would not have covered the costs anyway, Corlette said. In hindsight, Kahn said she knows she should have stayed on her former employer's insurance plan through COBRA, which gives newly jobless people 60 days to sign up. That would have cost her roughly $650 monthly. Despite her ordeal, she has not been put off from nature. Kahn said: 'I know what bats taste like now. It's an earthy, sweet kind of flavor.
Forbes
15 hours ago
- Health
- Forbes
Don't Sever Your Medicare Coverage With A Severance Package
It seems a month doesn't go by without hearing from someone who made a Medicare enrollment mistake. In the past, I have addressed the big problems that COBRA continuous coverage can create for those who work past age 65. Now, it's time to deal with a COBRA cousin that is just as dangerous – a severance package. A severance package is a bundle of benefits offered to employees who lose their jobs, due to termination, lay off or buy out. It often includes financial compensation, and continuation of some benefits, such as health insurance, for a certain period of time. The big question for those who accept this package: Must I enroll in Medicare? The answer is fairly straight forward but often difficult to understand or implement. The first opportunity to enroll in Medicare for most people is at age 65, during the Initial Enrollment Period. However, those who are still working and have an employer group health plan can delay enrollment if they qualify for a Part B Special Enrollment Period (SEP). This is an eight-month window for enrolling without penalty or delay. This SEP has two important criteria that create confusion when a severance package appears. 1. The group health plan is based on the current employment of the individual or spouse. The italicized words are the ones that tend to create confusion. Current employment means working as an employee, not just working and collecting a paycheck. I spoke to a 69-year-old man whose status was changing. He was going to continue doing the same work and have the same health coverage but, next month, he would become an independent contractor. HR and insurance representatives said it was legal for him to have the coverage. And because he would still be working, he believed he does not need Medicare now. The legality of the coverage is not the issue; it is his employment status. An independent contractor is considered self-employed; he does not have an employer. So, the health plan is not based on his current employment (it is just a benefit) and he needs to enroll in Medicare now. 2. The eight-month window begins with the first day of the month after the last day of employment or coverage, whichever comes first. A recent client had a buyout of his company shares in November 2024. His severance package included 12 months of insurance and a paycheck every two weeks – same deal he had as a shareholder of the company. His financial advisor recommended he start checking out coverage for December 2025. He didn't feel any urgency but his advisor said the process takes some time. He made an appointment for July 25. He now realizes how lucky he was. His employment ended November 30 and his Part B SEP began the next day. His Part B enrollment deadline was July 31. He had only six days to submit his application. If he had waited until his coverage ended in November, he would have missed his window and could not enroll until the General Enrollment Period in January. He would have had at least a two-month gap in coverage. One Tip to Avoid Trouble Want to prevent problems when continuing with a severance package after age 65? Sign up for Part B so it takes effect as soon as the employment ends – no matter how long you continue to work or when the severance package benefits end.
Yahoo
18 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
India's PB Fintech posts rise in quarterly profit on health insurance boom
(Reuters) -India's PB Fintech reported a 40% rise in first-quarter profit on Thursday, as more consumers turned to digital platforms for insurance products. Analysts said PB Fintech benefited from increasing demand in India's largely untapped insurance market. Through its Policybazaar platform that helps users select insurance coverage and Paisabazaar, which matches borrowers with lenders, the company is cashing in on India's digital finance boom. The company posted a consolidated net profit of 845.9 million rupees ($9.7 million) for the three months ended June 30, up from 601.8 million rupees a year earlier. PB Fintech's revenue from operations rose 33% to 13.48 billion rupees in the quarter, led by a 40% jump in insurance broking, its largest segment. The company's insurance premium grew 36%, led by a 65% rise in new health insurance policies. ($1 = 87.5130 Indian rupees)
