health insurance

Are There Alternatives To Traditional Health Insurance?

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Alternatives to Health Insurance

November is health care selection month…

Are There Alternatives To Traditional Health Insurance?

November 16, 2020 — With November the time many Americans are asked to choose their health insurance coverage, the cost, expense, and value are on people’s minds. Are There Alternatives To Traditional Health Insurance? Healthcare is expensive. The healthcare and medical insurance industries are massive with billions of dollars of income. They are able to buy advertising and lobbyists to gain every advantage that money can buy. As Americans try to find ways to pay for it, do any really have any chance of meaningful change for an industry that all but regulates itself? Or should we just resign ourselves to healthcare and insurance companies doing and charging what they want with little if any restriction on them?

Alternatives To Big Insurance

According to Dr. Steven Goldstein, founder of the Houston Healthcare Initiative, there are ways to be insured and save money. As he told his podcast audience, the best alternative to insurance at this time is the healthcare cooperative. The Houston Healthcare Initiative podcast can be heard on SoundCloud, Google Play, Libsyn Feed, Stitcher, iHeartRadio, Spotify, and the Houston Healthcare Initiative web site. When combined with a health savings account and a high deductible, sharing of healthcare costs will go down.

Take Care of Yourself

Of course, the best way to lower costs is to lead a healthy lifestyle. Exercise, diet, limited alcohol consumption, adequate sleep and not smoking are the best ways anyone can be healthier. But for those who refuse these, there should be consequences. “There needs to be consequences for individuals that do not take care of themselves,” Dr. Goldstein told his audience.   “For those that do nothing, laws need to be changed so that care would only be provided at charity hospitals. I know this is a radical change of thinking, but I believe it would go a long way to improving public health. Subsidizing unhealthy behavior only leads to more unhealthy behavior.”

About the Houston Healthcare Initiative Podcast

The Houston Healthcare Initiative podcast with Dr. Steven Goldstein is an information vehicle for people who want to know all medical options for themselves and are interested in reforming the healthcare industry. To learn more about the Houston Healthcare Initiative please visit www.houstonhealthcareinitiative.org.

Compare Democratic and Republican Healthcare Plans and What the Public Can Do About Them

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Compare Healthcare By Party

Compare Democratic and Republican Healthcare Plans and What the Public Can Do About Them. The healthcare and medical insurance industries are massive with billions of dollars of income. They are able to buy advertising and lobbyists to gain every advantage that money can buy. To listen to the podcast, click below. 

Do we really have any chance of meaningful change for an industry that all but regulates itself? Or should we just resign ourselves to healthcare and insurance companies doing and charging what they want with little if any restriction on them? On this podcast, with what is a more optimistic point of view is respected Houston based neurologist and founder of the Houston Healthcare Initiative, Dr. Steven Goldstein.

Healthcare reform according to the Democrats is some form of single payer system. According to the Republicans it means more price transparency and more competition between insurance companies. The Democratic reforms will indeed lower healthcare costs by fiat and not cause any appreciable decline of public health. However it also will not improve public health. It will however make individual patients unhappy because of rationing of care. The Republican reforms will have little effect on lowering costs but will avoid the rationing of care. It also will not improve public health. No matter which reforms are adopted patients will be unhappy with the results. Also no legislation will be passed without the blessing of the insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies and hospitals.

What Can The Public Do?

Individuals and companies need to walk away from the insurance system. If enough companies  and individuals leave, the current system will collapse. The best alternative to insurance at this time is the healthcare cooperative. When combined with a health savings account and a high deductible sharing of healthcare costs we can begin to see a gradual reduction in cost. Of course, the best way to lower costs is to lead a healthy lifestyle. This will indeed improve public health. For the medicare age groups, the managed medicare plans lower costs by partial rationing of care combined with encouraging a healthy lifestyle. I do not have the statistics as to whether or not managed medicare plans improve public health.

What About Obamacare?

Didn’t the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obama Care, make more choices for insurance available and penalize people who did not purchase health insurance?Yes, but look what happened to health insurance premiums. They kept rising even faster than before. The subsidies, while allowing more people to be covered by insurance, were a boon to the insurance companies allowing for the increase of premiums and increasing the number of policies sold. This is why the insurance companies and hospitals were in favor of the bill in the first place. We can see the result- higher premiums. Things are worse than they were before. The overall insurance system is flawed in fundamental ways. We are spending time and money to make a bad system work better and that is probably what will happen in the near term.

There needs to be consequences for individuals that do not take care of themselves.             They can subsidize the government insurance by paying the government a higher premium; pay for care themselves or do nothing. For those that do nothing, laws need to be changed so that care would only be provided at charity hospitals. I know this is a radical change of thinking but i believe it would go a long way to improving public health. Subsidizing unhealthy behavior only leads to more unhealthy behavior.

November Is Health Coverage Selection Month; Which One Is Best?

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Time To Choose Health Insurance

How can anyone know what the best choice is? November Is Health Coverage Selection Month; Which health insurance option is best?

Is it possible to get good health insurance coverage in 2021 and save money on treatments, prescription drugs and the policy too? The answer according to Dr. Steven Goldstein, founder of the Houston Healthcare Initiative and respected neurologist, is yes. On his regular podcast Dr. Goldstein, describes how this could work. The Houston Healthcare Initiative podcast is heard on SoundCloud, Libsyn, iHeart Radio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Pod Cast Addict, Back Tracks and the Houston Healthcare Initiative web site.

But, which health insurance option is best? The calendar, the traditional postal mail and email flooding into our respective boxes tells us all that it is time to make selections for health insurance coverage for 2021. What is different this year? and of course, Which health insurance option is best? One major change is that there are fewer choices for health insurance coverage in major population centers. Fewer choices for insurance coverage will mean that insurance companies will have even more influence on what is covered and how much they will pay on patient claims. Fewer choices mean less competition and less competition means the marketplace will have limited influence. For those who want alternatives to traditional health insurance, are there any and what are they? Find out by listening to the podcast here.

Best Selling Author Gerald Posner Discusses ‘Pharma: Greed Lies and Poisoning of America’

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Gerald Posner on the podcast this week.
Gerald Posner latest work is “Pharma: Greed, Lies, and the Poisoning of America.” This book describes something we here are all very interest in which is the history of the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry.

In a special edition of the Houston Healthcare Initiative podcast best-selling author and investigative journalist Gerald Posner discusses the sordid history of the drug business from his most recent work, ‘Pharma: Greed Lies and the Poisoning of America.’ It reads like a ‘true crime’ novel, though everything in the volume is true. ‘Pharma: Greed Lies and the Poisoning of America’ is available at Amazon, just click here: ‘Pharma: Greed Lies and the Poisoning of America.’

The Houston Healthcare Initiative podcast can be heard on SoundCloud, iTunes, iHeartRadio, LibSyn, Spotify, and the Houston Healthcare Initiative web site. In the book and podcast Posner tells a compelling story that links the history of the pharmaceutical industry from the mid-19th century to the twenty first. It is not a flattering narrative. Many of the practices that were incorporated into marketing and selling heroin and cocaine in the early 20th century were and are still used today. And like they did before, the same companies are deliberately downplaying of the risk of modern-day medicines like opioids that have led to addiction and death for so many Americans.

Interests Intersect

Mr. Posner’s work and the interests of the Houston Healthcare Initiative coincide in several important ways. “The reform of the entire healthcare industry including the pharmaceutical business is our mission,” said Dr. Steven Goldstein who founded the Houston Healthcare Initiative. “We were very flattered he took time to talk with us and the audience about this important topic and we hope that everyone who reads his new book is inspired to act.”

Profits, Then Everything Else

Marketing, sales, advertising and abuse of patent law are all used against the American public to boost sales and stock prices of drug companies. This is part of the historic heritage that links the business’ past to today. “Only by knowing its history,” Mr. Posner writes, “is it possible to fully appreciate how the battle between noble ambitions and greed is a permanent conflict.” Mr. Posner tells many stories about the people behind the industry and the some of the ethically questionable things they did and still do.

Meet the Sacklers

The mindset of these and other actors id’ed in the book can be better understood with one of many informative stories Mr. Posner relates. According to Mr. Posner, eight people in a single family ‘made the choices that caused much of the opioid epidemic.’ The family in question is the Sacklers, notably Arthur, who “had some clever ideas of how to disguise product promotions as ‘news’ covered in consumer press.” According to media experts, the ad made to look like news or ‘advertorial’ is a really low rung on either the paid ad or public relations ladder.

Nazis? Really?

Mr. Posner detailed this during his interview on the podcast. “In 1947, defense attorneys for Nazi doctors charged with war crimes for human experimentation at concentration camps cited the malaria experiments in a failed effort for an acquittal. He went on, “when Nazi doctors are citing clinical trials from your industry as grounds for an acquittal in their own legal trials, you have erred.”

To learn more about Gerald Posner visit his web site at https://www.posner.com/.

About Houston Healthcare Initiative And Dr. Steven Goldstein

Dr. Steven Goldstein is a Houston based neurologist. He founded the Houston Healthcare Initiative and is an advocate for common sense solutions to the healthcare crisis that confronts the citizens and residents of the United States of America.

 

 

 

Why Are Prescription Drugs Cheaper in Canada?

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buy canadian drugs

Why Are Prescription Drugs Cheaper in Canada?

Even those with private, employer funded health insurance gasp at the price of some prescription medications. Learning that the same medicine is available north of the border at a substantially reduced price often produces other emotional reactions from surprise to anger. There are plenty of reasons those drugs are priced differently.

drug prices in Canada are lower because the Canadian government regulates the price.
Why Are Prescription Drugs Cheaper in Canada? Prices in Canada are lower because the Canadian government regulates the price.

Listeners to the Houston Healthcare Initiative podcast will learn why as respected neurologist Dr. Steven Goldstein explains how the combination of foreign government requirements and U.S. government non-regulation combined to give the American public sticker shock at the drug store.

The Houston Healthcare Initiative podcast can be heard on SoundCloud, iHeartRadio, iTunes, Stitcher, and the website at www.houstonhealthcareinitiative.org.

Canadian Government Declares Prices

In short, drug prices in Canada are lower because the Canadian government regulates the price. In Canada, a review board decides on pricing and what they believe are reasonable or excessive prices. If they decide a drug is priced too high, they will not allow it on the drug formulary. This board, the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board, is described in Canada as a quasi-judicial agency.

Before a prescription drug can be sold in Canada it is scientifically reviewed to make certain that it can do what it is supposed to do. A committee of experts known as the Human Drug Advisory Panel will make recommendations about other valid drugs on which to make comparison, in addition to recommendations for the categorization of new drugs. The level of therapeutic improvement of an existing patented drug is used to determine a ceiling price, known as the Maximum Average Potential Price, at its introduction.

U.S. Prices Set by Industry

The U.S. government is prohibited by law from negotiating prices for Medicare and other government programs. “Obviously, the drug company needs to recoup the cost of research, manufacture, advertising and the cost of getting the drug approved by the FDA,” Dr. Goldstein told his listeners. “The people in this country essentially pay for all of this work as countries like Canada do not allow their citizens to share the cost.” New drugs are issued a patent giving the drug company a monopoly on sale of the drug for 20 years. The drug company is free to set whatever price it likes for prescription drugs. Prices are then negotiated between insurance companies and the manufacturers.

Needed Drug Price Reforms

The U.S. and Canadian systems each present two very different models for drug pricing, neither of which is reasonable. The Canadian system does not allow enough incentive for new drugs to be created. The American system results in unaffordable prices. “There are several needed reforms,” Dr. Goldstein said. “We are not able to flip a switch and adopt the prices charged in Canada, though that would be nice.”

The reforms Dr. Goldstein recommends are:

  • Reform drug patent law. The patent system for drugs needs to be reformed so that drug development costs can be recouped along with a profit. Once this occurs, the patent should expire.
  • Streamline approval. The FDA needs reform so that drug authorizations are more efficient. Possibly, an international FDA funded by a consortium of countries could approve drugs.
  • Eliminate monetary incentives for writing prescriptions.
  • Drug discounts to insurance companies and Medicare should be illegal.
  • Enforce the laws already passed. Antitrust laws for price collusion need to be enforced.

“If these reforms were enacted, prices for drugs would be determined more by supply and demand,” Dr. Goldstein said. “This would ensure an adequate supply at the lowest price. For high priced drugs of marginal benefit, demand would be low and would tend to cause the price to drop. For new orphan drugs, the government could provide subsidies.”

About Houston Healthcare Initiative

Houston Healthcare Initiative (HHI) was founded by Dr. Steven Goldstein. Like many Americans, Dr. Goldstein is concerned about the state of the U.S healthcare system as well as the sorry state of the public’s health. The Houston Healthcare Initiative web site is an aggregator of news, healthcare pricing information, and resources for those who want to help drive reform for the healthcare industry. HHI’s emphasis for reform is on free market innovation and personal responsibility.

 

Why Canadian Drug Prices Are Lower Than US Drug Prices

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US & Canadian Drug Prices

What are the reasons prices for prescribed medicine here are far higher than they are in Canada? Is there a good reason or any reason? Add to this the recent federal government action to bring U.S. drug prices close to or on par with their costs in Canada. To make sense of this, please listen to the Houston Healthcare Initiative podcast. Listen here to find out Why Canadian Drug Prices Are Lower Than US Drug Prices.

Listen for more here at https://soundcloud.com/you/tracks.

 

Court Rules Against the Hospital Industry Mandates Price Disclosure

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Court Rules Against the Hospital Industry Mandates Price Disclosure. Hospital prices that were historically rigged by the medical business along with the insurance industry, and kept secret from the public, will see the light of day January 1, 2021. This because on June 23, 2020 a federal judge in Washington D.C. dismissed a suit brought by the American Hospital Association (AHA) that challenged the Department of Health and Human Services rule mandating hospitals to disclose their privately negotiated prices with health insurance companies.  This ruling, and what it means for doctors, patients and the industry, is the subject of the latest edition of the Houston Healthcare Initiative podcast. The Houston Healthcare Initiative podcast can be heard on SoundCloud, iTunes, iHeart, Spotify and on the Houston Healthcare Initiative website.

Court Ruling Allows Transparency

Hospital Price Transparency
Court Rules Against the Hospital Industry & Mandates Price Disclosure.

The court ruled that an executive order from the Trump administration requiring hospitals to disclose pricing was legal. A federal judge upheld a policy that requires hospitals and health insurers to publish their negotiated prices for health services, numbers that are typically kept secret. The policy is part of a major push by the Trump administration to improve transparency in health care. Insurers and health providers usually negotiate deals behind closed doors, and patients rarely know the cost of services until after the fact.

Healthcare Industry Public Relations Offensive

The meaning of the ruling and what will happen are different. As Dr. Goldstein told his audience, “there will be an appeal accompanied by a full court public relations press by the hospital industry to derail this effort.” Dr. Goldstein went on to say, “if the battle can be dragged out until after the presidential election, hospitals and insurance companies can hope a new administration will rescind the executive order.”

Four organizations are now urging the Department of Health and Human Services to delay implementation of the price transparency rule until after the appeals court makes a decision in the case. The American Hospital Association, the Federation of American Hospitals, the Association of American Medical Colleges and the Children’s Hospital Association made their request in a letter to HHS Secretary Alex Azar on June 29, five days after these associations and others filed an appeal against the ruling which would implement a rule on price transparency on January first. The groups said the rule would ‘pose a burden to hospitals and health systems responding to the COVID-19 public health emergency.’ Thirty-four hospital groups have already urged HHS to delay the start of the price disclosure.

In an article published in “Becker Hospital Review” AHA General Counsel Melinda Hatton said, “the proposal does nothing to help patients understand their out-of-pocket costs.” She added, “it also imposes significant burdens on hospitals at a time when resources are stretched thin and need to be devoted to patient care. Hospitals and health systems have consistently supported efforts to provide patients with information about the costs of their medical care. This is not the right way to achieve this important goal.”

About The Houston Healthcare Initiative

Dr. Steven Goldstein is a Houston based neurologist. He founded the Houston Healthcare Initiative and is an advocate for common sense solutions to the healthcare crisis that confronts the citizens and residents of the United States of America. Court Rules Against the Hospital Industry Mandates Price Disclosure.

What The Court Ruled About Hospital Price Transparency

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This week on the Houston Healthcare Initiative podcast, Dr. Steven Goldstein takes a deeper dive into a court decision where hospitals must reveal private negotiated rates with insurers starting this coming January 1, 2021. Plus, he will provide more insight into how hospitals decide what and how much to charge us, and man is that a story. It’s all more than a little complex. The podcast is available on all the popular podcast networks including SoundCloud, iHeart, and Spotify among others.

How Are Prices Now Assessed

Hospital prices are not based on the free market. Instead, prices are agreed on via secret agreements between hospitals and insurance companies. The truth is that pricing for medical services as paid by insurance companies are artificially set and not competitive at all. Prices are agreed to in advance by the hospital and the insurance company, not disclosed to the public. “We are led to believe that our insurance providers negotiate on behalf of their policyholders,” Dr. Goldstein told his audience. This is not the case. The court has ruled that this will no longer be permitted, that hospitals will have to reveal these negotiated rates and thus hospitals must reveal private negotiated rates .

Hospitals must reveal private negotiated rates to the public.
Hospitals must reveal private negotiated rates to the public.The court ruling that upheld a Trump Administration policy that forces hospitals to reveal their prices.

Why Hospitals Object

One reason many hospitals do not list their actual prices is that, according to them, some cases are more complicated than others. “An appendectomy may go smoothly or may be complicated by other factors such as adhesions from a previous surgery that caused scarring,” Dr. Goldstein said. “This may require additional operating room time resulting in a higher cost.  Thus hospitals claim they can only give estimates.”

Alternatively, this could be handled in one of two ways. 1). Publish the price for each procedure at what the hospital perceives as the average price. Then find ways to cut costs so that average cost is lowered resulting in increased profit for the hospital.  2). Alternatively, publish a price for operating room time by the hour that would include all the ancillary charges + publish the range of operating room times for each procedure.

How Prices Are Set Now

With the use of computer technology, hospitals are able to establish a charge for each product or service, no matter how small. “Every aspirin, every blood test, every x-ray, every bandage, every suture has a charge; Dr. Goldstein said. “Some of these charges beg credulity e.g. the $20 aspirin. All these charges are added up to give the total hospital charge. Of course, this doesn’t include multiple physician charges that are separate.” This all resulted in the Trump administration’s order that hospitals must reveal private negotiated rates to the public.

But the final charge is the “sticker price”. The insurance companies never pay this price. They have a secret, negotiated price based on the Medicare price for those services.

For Those Who Lost Their Employer Funded Health Insurance; Resources Are Available

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Provided at no charge by the Houston Healthcare Initiative.  

For Those Who Lost Their Employer Funded Health Insurance Resources Are Available

Because of the Coronavirus/Covid-19 pandemic, 25–43 million people could lose their jobs and their health insurance. People who had a serious illness before the outbreak and job loss could be dealt a literally fatal blow. Others who had symptoms and even serious accidents while unemployed and without insurance could suffer more than they would have if their insurance were in place. But there are resources available as described this week on the Houston Healthcare Initiative podcast. To learn more, go to www.houstonhealthcareinitiative.org. To hear about this on Dr. Goldstein’s podcast, please visit: Job Losses Equal Employer Funded Health Insurance Loss.

  • Testing for the Coronavirus/Covid-19 illness: testing for the Coronavirus/Covid-19 virus is free. But if the test is positive and you have the virus, the treatment for it can get expensive. Fortunately, most people recover at home. However, an estimated 15% of infected people may end up hospitalized, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. Recent data suggests that patients who go to intensive care stay there for an average of 20 days. The Castlight Covid-19 test site finder will provide information on Coronavirus testing near you: https://my.castlighthealth.com/corona-virus-testing-sites/.
  • The Health Insurance Exchange: Open enrollment typically runs from November to January, depending on the state in which you live. But people are allowed a change in coverage when experiencing a life altering event. One such event is the loss of a job and employer sponsored health insurance. You can shop for health plans through your state’s insurance marketplace. But don’t wait around, there are 30 to 60 days to sign up after a qualifying life event before the end of that special enrollment period. Go to this link and find out if you qualify for coverage: https://www.healthcare.gov.
  • Medicaid: Medicaid provides health coverage for some low-income people, families and children, pregnant women, the elderly, and people with disabilities in all fifty states.  In some states the program covers all low-income adults below a certain income level. But do not assume that you do or do not qualify. There are online resources available from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services along with state references to guide you. Visit the official U.S. government Medicaid site to see of you are eligible: https://www.medicaid.gov.
  • CHIP: CHIP stands for Children’s Health Insurance Program. If your children need health coverage, they may be eligible for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). CHIP provides low-cost health coverage to children in families that earn too much money to qualify for Medicaid. In some states, CHIP covers pregnant women. Each state offers CHIP coverage and works closely with its state Medicaid program. Get all the details, go to: https://www.healthcare.gov/medicaid-chip/childrens-health-insurance-program/.
  • Faith Based Cooperatives: Faith-based plans are designed to provide essential coverage for the good health and physical well-being of their members. In return they expect members to live faith-based lives in adherence to the principles behind such plans. As such, faith-based plans will not cover hospital costs that stem from activities they deem immoral or unessential. Faith based plans most often share expenses among members. Each member pays a monthly premium. When one of the members becomes ill or needs treatment for an injury, his or her contributions cover the expenses, in conjunction with the collective input of fellow members. As such, the premiums are lower in comparison to those of traditional health care. These operate with exemptions to the mandates of the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obama Care. There are several options. Here are a few:Medi-Share, Liberty HealthShare, Samaritan Ministries,  OneShare, Christian Healthcare Ministries.

This is not an exhaustive list for those who lost their employer funded health insurance but is some go the most popular ones that are available.

About Houston Healthcare Initiative And Dr. Steven Goldstein

Dr. Steven Goldstein is a Houston based neurologist. He founded the Houston Healthcare Initiative and is an advocate for common sense solutions to the healthcare crisis that confronts the citizens and residents of the United States of America.

Job Losses Equal Employer Funded Health Insurance Loss

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Closed for Coronavirus

Here Are Some Resources

Even with fewer jobs lost in May than anticipated Americans now experience an unemployment rate of 13.3% or 21 million people out of work due to the coronavirus/covid-19 pandemic. On top of lost income, loss of employer provided health insurance makes the cost even higher for those who through no fault of their own find themselves in a very challenging situation. On his podcast this week, Dr. Steven Goldstein describes how job losses equal employer funded health insurance loss and some available and often free resources for those who need health insurance. To listen to the podcast go to: Soundcloud, iHeart, Spotify, or iTunes. Or click here to listen:

 

Double Loss; Job and Health Insurance

Most Americans rely on their employers to provide health insurance for them and their families and when those jobs disappear so does the coverage. “It is extremely important that people get some type of coverage when they have lost their health insurance,” Dr. Goldstein told his listeners. “The available things to look into are COBRA, spouse insurance, faith-based cooperatives, enrollment on the insurance exchange (Obama Care), Medicaid and CHIP.”

COBRA Coverage

COBRA allows employees (and their families) who would otherwise lose their group health coverage due to certain life events to continue their same group health coverage. The former employee generally pays the full monthly rate and not the discounted one for their health insurance. Under COBRA, group health plans must also provide covered employees and their families with certain notices explaining their COBRA rights. The revised model notices provide additional information to address COBRA’s interaction with Medicare. The model notices explain that there may be advantages to enrolling in Medicare before, or instead of, electing COBRA.

State Insurance Exchange

While typically only available during certain months of the year, the state insurance exchange can open for those who experience a ‘life changing’ event. One such event is the loss of a job and employer sponsored health insurance. “You can shop for health plans through your state’s insurance marketplace,” Dr. Goldstein said. “But don’t wait around, there are 30 to 60 days to sign up after a qualifying life event before the end of that special enrollment period.”

Spouse Insurance

In households where a spouse’ employer offers health insurance; those benefits may be available. “It is easy enough to find out if a spouse’s job offers health insurance and sign on for that,” Dr. Goldstein said.

Faith Based Health Cooperatives

Faith based plans most often share expenses among members. Each member pays a monthly premium. When one of the members becomes ill or needs treatment for an injury, his or her contributions cover the expenses, in conjunction with the collective input of fellow members. “As such, the premiums are lower in comparison to those of traditional health care,” Dr. Goldstein said. “These operate with exemptions to the mandates of the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obama Care.”

Medicare

Eligibility for Medicare is based on income and the size of family. Medicaid provides health coverage for some low-income people, families and children, pregnant women, the elderly, and people with disabilities in all fifty states.  In some states the program covers all low-income adults below a certain income level. “But do not assume that you do or do not qualify,” said Dr. Goldstein. “There are online resources available from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services along with state references to help guide you.”

CHIP

CHIP stands for ‘Children’s Health Insurance Program.’ CHIP offers low-cost health coverage for children from birth through age 18. CHIP is designed for families who earn too much money to qualify for Medicaid but cannot afford to buy private health coverage. This coverage comes through the Medicaid program, which is why they are frequently seen together.

Income Qualification for Medicare

A family of four with an income of $25,750.00 at the poverty level and eligible for Medicaid or CHIP coverage. For an individual the amount was $12,490.00. The amount goes up by $4,420.00 for each additional family member. “The guidelines change every year,” Goldstein said.

The Good News

There are plenty of alternatives available to individuals and families that can be used short or for the longer term that are not all based on a job with insurance. People under age 26, may even be able to join their parents’ employer-based plan. “There are places to go and affordable resources available,” Dr. Goldstein concluded. “Any type of healthcare insurance or coverage will help protect your finances later.”

About Houston Healthcare Initiative And Dr. Steven Goldstein

Dr. Steven Goldstein is a Houston based neurologist. He founded the Houston Healthcare Initiative and is an advocate for common sense solutions to the healthcare crisis that confronts the citizens and residents of the United States of America.