Forest Hill set to offer free prescription discount cards.

As the forces on Capitol Hill continue to hash out details regarding a national plan of attack for rising health care expenses, local governments are looking to find ways of their own to help their residents cope with the current healthcare and economic crisis.  CBS 11 reported today that Forest Hill will begin offering free prescription drug discount cards.  …

Tags: Capitol Hill Health care National League of Cities Prescription drug United States

… Social Security recipients will remain frozen at 2009 levels. However, premiums for the Medicare prescription drug program, known as Part D, will increase.”

The article gives us all another example of how sometimes the system designed to care for seniors actually does the opposite. Many seniors are already living on the edge. Today, more seniors than ever are still paying on a mortgage and some are even facing foreclosure. The average monthly payout for Social Security is only $1094, …

… healthcare and economic crisis. CBS 11 reported today that Forest Hill will begin offering free prescription drug discount cards. Forest Hill City Manager, David Miller, explained the need for the program, “Whether or not an individual had prescription coverage, this program can make it easier for our residents to afford the drugs they need to deal with short-term illness.” The program cards will be administered through CVS Caremark and can be used at CVS stores even outside of the …

… may face mounting medical debt as monthly premiums rise on popular Medicare Advantage plans with drug benefits. Senior citizens enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans with drug benefits will see an increase of 14.2 percent for their monthly premiums this year as opposed to the 5.2 percent increase they experienced from 2008 to 2009.

The health insurance industry blames the increases on cuts in government payments to insurers that offer Medicare Advantage plans.

Medicare pays a fixed …

… approach can become more proactive in the form of maximizing flexible spending accounts, generic prescription plans, and good budgeting.

Not surprisingly, the main message is that costs are rising, so be prepared to pay more for medical care.  Even with the best planning, however, medical bills tend to blind side people.  Flexible spending accounts can be quickly absorbed by one medium, not necessarily major, illness or injury.  More plans are raising the co-pays for non-generic …

… **banks

**insurers

**phone companies

**survey calls

**certain health care messages such as prescription notifications

If you receive prohibited “robocalls” after September 1, 2009, contact the Federal Trade Commission at www.FTC.gov or by calling 1-877-FTC-HELP.

Source: Dallas Morning News

… not afford food and another 48 percent said that they could no longer afford to pay for their prescription medication due to their pending foreclosure.

The article said:

“The foreclosure crisis is also a health crisis. We need to do more to ensure that if people lose their homes, they don’t also lose their health,” the study’s lead author, Dr. Craig E. Pollack, who conducted the research while at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, said in a news release.” …

… medical costs annually, to cover everything from doctor’s office co-payments to surgeries and prescription medications. About 25% of that — around $74 billion — is already being charged to regular standard credit cards, according to Kalorama. McKinsey Consulting expects that $150 billion worth of health care expenses will go on credit cards by 2015. Meanwhile, more than 79 million Americans are already struggling to pay off their medical expenses, according to the non-profit …

… said:

“I never expected this,” said McGregor, who is 49 and divorced. “It wasn’t drug-related or because of alcohol or domestic violence. Mine was just pure and simple mismanagement and not being prepared. I’ve always worked. I thought I had a pretty good job.”

Being prepared is absolutely essential to keep yourself afloat financially.  Life is full of surprises, job losses, foreclosures, sudden illness etc.  To prevent these inevitable emergencies from sinking you …

… faced a serious illness.

Does your health insurance policy omit care for important items such as prescription drugs or outpatient chemotherapy? If so, this is another pitfall in your health insurance that could cause you to rack up tens of thousands of dollars in medical debt.

Does your health insurance policy fail to place a maximum on out-of-pocket expenses? Many barebones health insurance policies have no limit on how much you’re required to pay out of your pocket a year, which can …