What? Me, Worry?
Sometimes we get emails and communications from our members that project a ton of uncertainty and fear. Like this one:
Author: Michael Bertaut Healthcare Economist Michael Bertaut (BURR-toe) is a Certified Health Consultant and Professional of the Academy of Healthcare Management. He has more than 30 years of analytical experience in the healthcare, telecom and retail industry sectors. On the ground in D.C. when the healthcare reform law (PPACA) was written, Michael has taken part in more than 1,100 public discussions on healthcare costs and the impact of reform since 2009. Mike is a fellow of the Academy of Applied Politics at Louisiana State University, and author of this Hermes Award winning healthcare blog. Michael earned his MBA and BA from Louisiana State University and just celebrated his 35th year as a cancer survivor.
Michael is recognized as a national commentator on healthcare reform, quoted in the Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, and state and local publications. He is a regular guest on the Talk Louisiana radio show.
What is Health Insurance, Exactly?
Every so often, I go on WRKF’s Talk Louisiana with Jim Engster and talk about what’s happening in health insurance, healthcare reform and other topics on. I was on the air just this week when I got this question:
Looking Forward with Data: Can Blue Cross Predict the Future?
Brilliant! Occasionally, I get to work with someone whose grasp of technology and the real possibilities of data and modeling just blow me away.
The Cost of Louisiana’s Diabetes Problem
When I was a little boy growing up in the 1960s, there was an elderly widow who lived next door to us whom all the kids loved. Miss Elaine had been married to an Army staff sergeant who traveled the world with her in tow. She was a tough cookie! She taught all of us kids to play poker and pinochle (her favorite) and was constantly giving us advice in her raspy, smoky voice (about two packs a day by my recollection).
What Can I Do For You?
Early in 2009, my boss directed me to become an expert on the ongoing negotiations in Washington, D.C. that eventually became the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), signed into law on March 23, 2010.
So, What’s a Short-Term Limited Duration (STLD) Health Insurance Policy?
Fourteen years ago, I was working for a collapsing telecom company that had just shut down the division I worked for and laid off about 70 of us. Three months later, I began my career here at Blue Cross, and as a cancer survivor, you might imagine I was VERY interested in getting health insurance coverage.