Let Medicare Negotiate I keep my Medicare policy, plus my supplementary insurance policy, because I know that if I get cancer or another major disease, Medicare will not call me in the middle of the treatment to tell me my benefits have expired. HMOs are for-profit businesses whose main concern is profit, which means spending as little money as possible for clients. ...more

March 23, 2009

In December, J.D. Power and Associates praised WellCare Health Plans Inc. for "outstanding customer service experience" in handling customer calls about their Medicaid and Medicare benefits with WellCare. ...more

March 22, 2009

In December, J.D. Power and Associates praised WellCare Health Plans Inc. for "outstanding customer service experience" in handling customer calls about their Medicaid and Medicare benefits with WellCare. Two months later, federal regulators suspended Tampa-based WellCare from signing up new Medicare clients, citing "persistent" failures to handle customer appeals and "immediate need" calls, such as patients unable to get critical drugs entitled to them. ...more

March 20, 2009

Surely we care about the nearly 50 million Americans without health insurance because of circumstances beyond their control. What about the deterrent effect on potential entrepreneurs? Corporations want to get out of the business of providing health insurance for employees in order to be more competitive. Our costs are the highest in the world. ...more

March 17, 2009

In 2007, there were 79 million Americans who reported medical debt or problems paying medical bills. Of that number, 25 percent faced medical debt of $5,000 or more. ...more

March 14, 2009

Ask Americans about their biggest frustration with government over the decades and they'll most likely say it's the power of lobbyists and special interests to get favors over the needs of the people. Americans are absolutely right about that, and President Barack Obama is ready to rumble to change the way this operates. ...more

March 1, 2009

President Barack Obama challenged the nation's vested interests to a legislative duel Saturday, saying he will fight to change health care, energy and education in dramatic ways that will upset the status quo. ...more

February 28, 2009

President Barack Obama unveiled a $3.55 trillion spending plan Thursday that would boost taxes on the wealthy, curtail Medicare, lay the groundwork for universal health care and leave a string of deficits dwarfing any in the nation's history. ...more

February 27, 2009

WellCare's suspension of new enrollments does not affect current WellCare beneficiaries. ...more

February 21, 2009

Federal regulators on Thursday suspended WellCare Health Plans Inc. from signing up new customers for its Medicare-backed insurance and drug plans, and sternly scolded the company for faults. ...more

February 20, 2009