Jonathan Greer – Rockridge Health Benefits

How the Tax Bill Affects Your Healthcare

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is a Presidential signature away from becoming law. What’s in it that impacts your healthcare? Here is a rundown…

Does My Doctor Take My Insurance?

It should be easy to figure out whether your doctor takes your insurance. But as everyone knows, it rarely is. Your doctor is either in-network (meaning they take your insurance based on in-network pricing), or they don’t (meaning they will charge you full price, which counts against your out-of-network deductible, which you are unlikely to […]

Several Good Analyses of the Failure of Republican Reform Efforts

Here are several links to good stories about the failure of the Republicans to pass healthcare reform: My write-up on LinkedIn: The ACA Will Not Fail On Its Own. It Will Take Active Efforts by the Administration and Congress. Kaiser Health News: GOP Failure To Replace The Health Law Was Years In The Making WashPost: ‘It’s […]

Insurance Companies Come Out Strongly Against Loosening ACA Minimum Essential Benefits Requirements

The insurance industry was largely against the ACA’s requirement that all non-grandfathered individual and small-group health insurance policies provide minimum essential benefits such as maternity coverage, mental health and substance abuse disorders, emergency care and preventative services. They were opposed because these requirements reduced the number and types of policies that could be sold and […]

Obamacare Exchanges Are Strengthening, Not in a “Death Spiral”

This is reality – the individual health insurance markets are generally in good shape, though in smaller states and counties, there is a serious problem of choice. Some markets are no longer served, and others have only one option. This is not good, but it could be solved in Washington was working on it, and […]

Reactions to the Senate’s Trumpcare Bill: Jonathan Greer Quoted as Industry Expert

The Senate revealed its draconian version of Congress’ effort to weaken the Affordable Care Act yesterday. In his role as Media Chair and Spokesperson for the Golden Gate Association of Health Underwriters, Jonathan Greer was quoted in the San Jose Mercury News and its affiliated newspapers around the Bay Area. Here are his quotes: Jonathan Greer, […]

Jonathan Greer Wins GGAHU’s “Out of the Box” Award for 2017

Jonathan Greer serves on the board of the Golden Gate Association of Health Underwriters GGAHU), the Bay Area’s health insurance broker trade association. Last week, his fellow board members honored him with the 2016-17 “Out of the Box” award for bringing new energy and a fresh perspective to the association’s important work representing employers, employees, consumers and our health […]

Saving Lots of Money With an HSA-Wrap Benefit Plan

An excellent way for employers to save on health benefits is to essentially “self-fund” the deductible and out-of-pocket costs for employees while providing a high-deductible plan that acts like pure insurance for very expensive health care. We call this an HRA-Wrap, and I’d love to explain it to you in more detail because it can […]

Teaching Hospitals Are Expensive Places to Get Healthcare Services

From the New York Times: Perhaps not evident to many patients, there are two kinds of hospitals — teaching and nonteaching — and a raging debate about which is better. Teaching hospitals, affiliated with medical schools, are the training grounds for the next generation of physicians. They cost more. The debate is over whether their […]

Anthem to leave Ohio’s Obamacare insurance market in 2018

From Reuters: Anthem Inc, which has urged Republican lawmakers to commit to paying government subsidies for the Obamacare individual health insurance system, on Tuesday announced it would exit most of the Ohio market next year. The high-profile health insurer, which sells Blue Cross Blue Shield plans in 14 states including New York and California, for […]

Over-Use of Specialists Is One Of The Biggest Drivers Of High Healthcare Costs

From the NY Times: The Affordable Care Act was misnamed; it should have been called the Access to Unaffordable Care Act. In 2015 health care spending reached $3.2 trillion — $10,000 for every man, woman and child in America. While our health care system is the most expensive in the world by far, on many […]

Senate Republicans Pulling Away From ACA Repeal Legislation

From Politico: Senate Republicans remain publicly pessimistic about their prospects of repealing and replacing Obamacare this year with several raising concerns this week about the party’s central campaign promise even as one of their leaders vowed to pass such a bill this summer. Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) made the most direct prediction on Thursday, telling […]

Senate Republicans mull tax on employer-based health insurance

Senate Republicans set on reworking the Affordable Care Act are considering taxing employer-sponsored health insurance plans, a move that would meet stiff resistance from companies and potentially raise taxes on millions of people who get coverage on the job. Under longstanding tax law, compensation in the form of health insurance isn’t treated as income for […]

California’s New Single-Payer Proposal Embraces Some Costly Old Ways

From the respected Kaiser Health Foundation: Three of the dirtiest words in health care are “fee for service.” For years, U.S. officials have sought to move Medicare away from paying doctors and hospitals for each task they perform, a costly approach that rewards the quantity of care over quality. State Medicaid programs and private insurers […]

The Ugly Truth About Canadian Health Care

Perspective from a Canadian healthcare expert: “Overflowing emergency rooms and yearlong waits for treatment.” https://www.city-journal.org/html/ugly-truth-about-canadian-health-care-13032.html