Connecticut Cracks Down on Illegal Health Insurance Plans

The state of Connecticut cracked down on a number of unlicensed health insurance plans and agents this month. The Insurance Department issued warnings to consumers to check the licensing of any firm before doing business. The targeted illegal heath plans were primarily offered to small businesses through their professional industry associations. The health plans claimed that since they were not fully insured and operated in multiple states Connecticuts strict insurance regulations did not apply to them. CT Insurance Department disagreed and closed the plans. A list of the approximately 40 closed plans is posted on the Departments Web site. Since the affected health plans are offered in multiple states, consumers in other states may soon be dealing with similar actions.

But the news is not all black and white. This crackdown closes the door to some of the few remaining affordable health insurance plans for many Connecticut small businesses. Connecticuts past legislative blunders in regulating health insurance are now costing its residents in sharply higher health insurance premiums. The illegal low-priced health plans are actually quite legal and well accepted in other states. The affected consumers are more likely to be irked by the Big Brother attitude of their government than by the fact that their health plan did not meet all applicable state laws. Most will be unable to find replacement health coverage in the same price range.

Tony Novak, MBA, MT, Online Adviser at MedSave.com suggests that consumers keep in mind the simple principal If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. There are no bargains or great deals in health insurance. If one health insurance plan costs less than another, that is only because it provides less coverage. Make sure that you know specifically what coverage you are giving up before enrolling in a low cost health insurance plan. As long as a plan is fully insured and the agent is also licensed and insured, then it is OK to save money by choosing a plan that eliminates coverage that you do not need. For example, if you dont need maternity coverage or pre-existing condition coverage, then it is safe to buy a plan that costs only half as much as a health plan that does include this coverage.

Novak emphasizes that these buying guidelines apply to residents of all states, not just Connecticut. Unfortunately, too many small businesses buy the lowest cost health plan they can find without really understanding the reason for the cost difference or the risks they may be taking with the lower cost plan.

MedSave.com also adds that the Connecticut crackdown did not affect any of its health plans. All MedSave.com health plans are fully insured and licensed in the state where they are offered.

But the news is not all black and white. This crackdown closes the door to some of the few remaining affordable health insurance plans for many Connecticut small businesses. Connecticuts past legislative blunders in regulating health insurance are now costing its residents in sharply higher health insurance premiums. The illegal low-priced health plans are actually quite legal and well accepted in other states. The affected consumers are more likely to be irked by the Big Brother attitude of their government than by the fact that their health plan did not meet all applicable state laws. Most will be unable to find replacement health coverage in the same price range.

Tony Novak, MBA, MT, Online Adviser at MedSave.com suggests that consumers keep in mind the simple principal If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. There are no bargains or great deals in health insurance. If one health insurance plan costs less than another, that is only because it provides less coverage. Make sure that you know specifically what coverage you are giving up before enrolling in a low cost health insurance plan. As long as a plan is fully insured and the agent is also licensed and insured, then it is OK to save money by choosing a plan that eliminates coverage that you do not need. For example, if you dont need maternity coverage or pre-existing condition coverage, then it is safe to buy a plan that costs only half as much as a health plan that does include this coverage.

Novak emphasizes that these buying guidelines apply to residents of all states, not just Connecticut. Unfortunately, too many small businesses buy the lowest cost health plan they can find without really understanding the reason for the cost difference or the risks they may be taking with the lower cost plan.

MedSave.com also adds that the Connecticut crackdown did not affect any of its health plans. All MedSave.com health plans are fully insured and licensed in the state where they are offered.

Tax and Benefits Adviser
Freedom Benefits Association

HIPAA and the Internet: Requirements for Intranet Collaboration Software

Sharing private health information over the internet can be a risky business. Unfortunately, as people become accustomed to doing most if not all of their personal business online, the demand for accessing this information online will grow to the point that health care providers will have no choice but to either provide access to this private health information or lose their customers.

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was enacted to assure the confidentiality of patient information. This requires that health care providers employ stringent measures to assure that information shared on the internet is protected from unauthorized access.

The HIPAA Act requires health-providing entities to:

 

 

 

• Assign responsibility for security to a person or organization.

   

   

• Assess security risks and determine the major threats to the security and privacy of protected health information.

   

   

• Establish a program to address physical security, personnel security, technical security controls, and security incident response and disaster recovery.

   

   

• Certify the effectiveness of security controls.

   

   

• Develop policies, procedures and guidelines for use of personal computing devices (workstations, laptops, hand-held devices), and for ensuring mechanisms are in place that allow, restrict and terminate access (access control lists, user accounts, etc.) appropriate to an individual's status, change of status or termination.

   

   

• Implement access controls that may include encryption, context-based access, role-based access, or user-based access; audit control mechanisms, data authentication, and entity authentication

 

This law has serious implications for organizations that allow unauthorized access resulting in a breach in confidentiality.

Security is the key

Since the HIPAA law provides for both civil and criminal penalties for violations, data and access security is of the utmost importance. To assure HIPAA compliance, online document management must include a number of security features:

 

 

 

• Secure web server – a server running secure socket layers is the minimum needed.

   

   

• Encrypted database – all data must be encrypted. Software is available that will encrypted all data sent between two computer over the internet.

   

   

• Secure access control -- in addition to a traditional user id and password, it may be a good idea to use a strong password or smart card as additional security.

   

   

• Session timeout – this assures that confidential data is not left on an unattended screen.

   

   

• Server monitoring – the secure web server needs to be strictly monitored to detect break-in attempts.

   

   

• Regular security audits – regular audits are required to make sure all security precautions are working properly.

   

   

• Personnel – system maintenance should be in the hands of qualified personnel familiar with HIPPA requiremen

  Rick Mosenkis is the President and CEO of Trichys, the creators of WorkZone hosted intranet and extranet software, including a higher-security version for HIPAA compliance. With customers around the world, among large and small companies, Trichys develops easy-to-use web-based software that allows non-technical business professionals to leverage the power of the Internet without IT support.