Texas State Health Insurance

Health Care Workers Concerned About Managed Care

MCALLEN - More than 400,000 people in south Texas will begin getting packets from the state concerning their insurance plans in December.

They'll be given a choice between private insurance companies.

CHANNEL 5 NEWS looked into the two companies people in the Valley will be dealing with

The state has fined insurance companies handling managed care more than $6,000,000 in the last four years.

A spokesperson for the Health and Human Services Commission says the fines usually involve late payments to health care providers.

The state has also fined companies for taking too long to respond to appeals when health care providers disagree with the amount of money and insurance company wants to pay them.

One of the companies bringing managed care to the Valley will be the Driscoll Health Plan.

The amount of their fines has dropped from more than $150,000 in fiscal year 2007 to about $16,000 in fiscal year 2010.

The company will deal mostly with children's health care in the Valley.

Pharmacists have filed a lawsuit in Austin to block the change to managed care saying it would lead to the closure of hundreds of pharmacies in small towns.

Texas State Health Care Concerns

More than 25% of Texas’ population has no health insurance , making in the lone state with a problem of that size.

According to CEO Tom Banning of the Texas Academy of Family Physicians, “We’ve got universal health care in Texas, [but] the way we’re financing it is beyond stupid. In terms of accessing basic primary and preventive care, I think we fall far short.”

What he means is that people with easier access to health care facilities, but no insurance can still get treatment at an emergency room. The Agency for Health Care Research and Quality found that unregulated health insurance premiums in Texas have skyrocketed more than 100% in the last decade.

Consequently, the cost of caring for people without coverage resulted in employers often charging employees significantly greater deductibles or dropping an insurance coverage option altogether.

During the last eight years, Governor Rick Perry, citing budget concerns saw hundreds of thousands of mainly working-class poor people lose coverage in government-approved insurance plans like the Children’s Health Insurance Program and Medicaid. Out of 6.5 million Texans who lack health insurance, more than half of them have full-time jobs.

By not making affordable health insurance for Texans a priority, the system could very well continue to struggle.  When people don’t feel well enough to go to their jobs it can be a detriment to several different people’s finances.

First Preferred is here for people like the 6.5 million Texans and others throughout the country who need health insurance for children , preexisting condition health insurance , coverage for diabetes , family health insurance and other forms of quality care. Contact us today to learn more about our insurance plans.

Texas

The state, its nature, development, and prospects

Texas

Texas

Natural Health, Natural Medicine, The Complete Guide to Wellness and Self-Care for Optimum Health