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Do You Need A Less Expensive Group Health Insurance, Level Funded or Self Funded Plan?Are You Satisfied that Your Health Insurance Agent Is Working Hard Enough and Knows Enough to Keep Up with Health Care Reform in Washington State?If Not Then Contact NASRO & Discover New Affordable Washington State Options - 800-216-2505
NASRO of Washington State is a Co-op with 19 years of service to the community and a solution to achieving affordable health care. We are a cost effective third party administrator in Washington State of affordable group health insurance, dental, vision, life and disability plans. We service both individuals, retirees and employer groups of all sizes. Big changes in health insurance are coming, that we have been fighting for going on 17 years. We expect to be part of that change going forward with new plans that will be implemented starting three years after the federal legislation is passed. If you or your organization need a more affordable health insurance plan we suggest you not delay acting through NASRO. It will be three years before new plans will be available and when the new plans arrive NASRO will continue to offer our services to supplement those offered through the government. NASRO is also a non-profit co-operative, founded by health care consultant and activist Robert Gaw, that is your advocate and a humanitarian organization for the common good. NASRO is also a trusted independent organization that provides accurate information on the strengths and weaknesses of the health insurance carriers and their plans. NASRO is a seventeen year old provider of affordable health insurance, with lower premiums for Washington state residents. We are an organization that supports Washington State and Oregon citizen efforts to make affordable health care available to all state residents and to move to providing universal health coverage, with a public option this year. Washington State Individual Health Insurance Washington State Health Insurance for Non Profits, Businesses and Public Sector Groups of All Sizes Washington State Affordable Reinsurance and Provider Networks for Businesses, Public Sector Groups, School Districts and Trusts
Veteran Health Care Consultant & Consumer Advocate, Robert Gaw, NASRO President & Founder, is Keeping the Pressure on for Affordable Washington Health Insurance with Support for Universal Coverage NASRO is able to assist any state resident with their Washington State health insurance problems in part because we are a non profit, but also because we work with Washington State health insurance staff that is very dedicated and experienced. Our local health insurance and health care professionals are not just working for a living, but our also offering their leadership and have the skill sets to really assist any state resident or employer group with direct straight answers to questions about benefits choices, cost and which health plan provider network is best for you or your employees. There are no complicated telephone matrixes, waits or impersonal service from out of state telemarketing centers when you call NASRO . Every person and every company is important and our answers to your questions are accurate and consistent. The people who answer our phones know the most about the plans, the regulations and the enrollment process of anyone associated with our organization. That is just the opposite from for profit companies where individuals and small group service are staffed with entry level personnel. Please consider the large number of plan choices from all of Washington's and Oregon's health insurance carriers that NASRO has available. RegenceGroup Health Cooperative HMO & POSLifeWiseKaiser Permanente of the NorthwestPremera Blue CrossAssurisPacifiCare/United HealthCareCIGNAHealth NetAetnaThe Impact of Health Insurance Reform Every day that goes by that Washington State health insurance is allowed to continue individual medical underwriting and deny people affordable Washington health insurance coverage is a major waste of resources. It ruins more families and makes Washington weaker in the global marketplace, as this practice contributes to the annual rise in health insurance prices. Hopefully government regulation will soon do away with this practice. Now that health insurance reform has passed their will be many opportunities to simply call us up regardless of your pre existing conditions and explore your health insurance options as we have always done with private sector administration of health insurance. That still leaves employer groups with the major problem of controlling costs and preventing the health insurance & health care companies from shifting costs from individuals to employer groups. From our 28 years in the industry we know that the health insurance carrier profits are squeezed in one sector, they move like the air in a balloon over to another area. NASRO can stop this practice from happening. For more information please call 800-216-2505 or e-mail NASRO and request a proposal. Case StudiesA self employed business owner and spouse from Seattle in their 40's with two children, all in good health, with no chronic medical conditions has just received a major rate increase from their insurance company. NASRO is able to take the time to review the situation and make recommendations on some of the newest plans available from well respected Washington State carriers that can lower the monthly premium increase. NASRO is fighting for health care reform that will outlaw the practice of individual medical underwriting as part of a new federal law. Although we have said this before over the past decades, we now believe this type of basic reform will become law very soon. A small non-profit in Spokane is seeing its budget cut due to the ongoing recession and is receiving continued rate increases from its health insurance carrier. We know the private health insurance industry unfairly rates up small employer groups compared to larger employer groups. NASRO offers a total review of the benefit options that provide access to outpatient care, prescription drug coverage and inpatient care with some cost sharing. Capabilities
Types of Coverage
Affordable Washington State and Oregon Health Insurance PlansIndividuals, Self Employed Persons, and Small Business, Cooperatives and Non-Profits from 1 to 500 EmployeesPlease call NASRO for Washington State and Oregon Health Insurance Options at 800-216-2505 to discuss the rates, benefits and providers of the NASRO endorsed Washington health insurance plans underwritten by leading Washington health insurance carriers that we have available to our members.
CarriersLifewise
Regence Blue Shield
About Regence Blue ShieldRegence now has coverage available for people and businesses in Clark County Premera Blue Cross Group Health Cooperative
New plans for individuals and families, freelancers, sole proprietors and the self employed Group Health Health Savings Account Plan CIGNA KPS Kaiser Permanente of the Northwest Kaiser has good coverage options available for people and businesses in Clark County Asuris Northwest Health
PacifiCare Additional NASRO Services Coming SoonDental PlansLife Insurance and Long Term DisabilityMet Life Insurance CompanyUNUMWest Coast LifeNASRO ServiceWhat people are saying about NASRO!I have nothing but praise for the good folks at NASRO ( National Association of Socially Responsible Organizations ). If you have ever dealt with insurance providers, you know that the usual goal of the person who answers the phone is to say " no " and hang up as quickly as possible. My experience with NASRO could not have been more different. They actually did the math on whether it would be better for me to stick with COBRA for 18 months before switching to the NASRO plan. The one time I actually had a problem with coverage for a medical condition, they not only straightened it out, but also remembered to ask me if I was feeling better after the procedure. Deborah Elizabeth Finn P.S. Full disclosure. NASRO does not compensate me in any way for praising it immoderately. I am just a fan. NASRO's Members Include
Read the Site in Spanish or ChineseFor new Americans whose first language is Spanish or Chinese, the site is also available in those languages by clicking the link at the top left hand conner of the page. NASRO warmly welcomes the participation of everyone. .
NASRO Group Health Co-operative Is Working For Washington State Health Care ConsumersFederal Health Care Reform Update
Washington Medical Quality Assurance Commission Information on physician profiles for consumers NASRO Northwest Office Seattle, Washington 800-216-2505 NASRO California Office 101 California Street, Suite 2450 San Francisco, CA 94111 415-732-9440 Fax - 800-562-8588
NASRO Massachusetts Office Two Canal Park, Fifth Floor Cambridge, Massachusetts 02141 617-308-1525 Fax - 978-261-5408 NASRO Washington DC Office 3204 18th Street, N.W. Washington D.C. 20010 800-638-8113 NASRO New York Office 41 East 11th Street 11th Floor New York, New York 10003 917-474-1218
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Don't Delay Emergency Care When Asthma Flare-Ups StrikeStudy found waiting led to worse outcomes, including hospitalization
MONDAY, May 16 (HealthDay News) -- Asthma patients who delay seeking emergency medical care when the condition flares can suffer worse outcomes, including hospitalization. That's the finding of a study that included 296 asthma patients in two New York City emergency departments. They were asked about the duration of their asthma symptoms and their attempts at self-management before they decided to go to the emergency department. Two-thirds of the patients waited five days or less before they sought medical treatment and one-third waited longer than five days. Patients who waited longer were more likely to be sicker when they arrived at the emergency department, more likely to arrive by ambulance, and more likely to be admitted to the hospital. The study also found that patients who waited longer and those who sought treatment earlier were about equally likely to have health insurance (80 percent), to consult a physician before coming to the emergency department (23 percent and 18 percent, respectively), and to have used drugs called beta-agonists (albuterol, for example), which are typically prescribed to treat asthma flare-ups. The study is slated to be presented Monday at the American Thoracic Society (ATS) international conference in Denver. "An important aspect of managing asthma is for patients to realize when they can handle exacerbations with help from their regular doctors, and when they need the more intense treatment the emergency room provides," study author Dr. Carol Mancuso, an associate professor of medicine at the Hospital for Special Surgery, Weill Cornell Medical College, in New York City, said in an ATS news release. "It is preferable to get help early from regular doctors and avoid the emergency room. However, when intense treatment is necessary, then the sooner the patients present to the emergency room the better, because then they are not as sick and are less likely to be hospitalized," she added
Health & Human Services Department Issues Guidelines on New Business Health Insurance Tax CreditHow To Save Money This Year!States Indicate Interest in Administering High-Risk Pools
By the end of Friday, officials from 28 states and the District of Columbia had informed HHS that they will administer their own high-risk pools to comply with a provision in the new health reform law, instead of allowing the federal government to implement the program for them, Politico reports. Meanwhile, 15 states indicated that they will transfer the responsibility of administering the pools to the federal government (Haberkorn, Politico, 5/3). Under the program outlined in the new health reform law, states are permitted to create their own pools or expand existing ones, or they could allow the federal government to implement such a pool for them. The law allocates $5 billion for the program (California Healthline, 4/27). U.S. residents will be eligible for coverage under the pools if they have a pre-existing condition and have been without health insurance for at least six months (Levey, Los Angeles Times, 5/1). Many of the states that opted out of the program already have pools that only need to be expanded or modified to meet the new federal requirements, Politico reports. According to Politico, most of the states that decided to use their own high-risk pools have Democratic governors, while most of the states that are defaulting to the federal government's programs have Republican governors (Politico, 5/3). Among the states that have opted to operate their own high-risk pools are:
States that have chosen to let HHS run their programs include:
On Friday, HHS announced the allocation of the $5 billion for the pools, according to The Hill. California will get the largest share of $761 million, while three states -- North Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming -- each will receive $8 million. States Concerned With Potential Costs The high-risk pools are scheduled to begin operating on July 1 and expire in 2014, when the overhaul requires private insurers to accept all applicants regardless of pre-existing conditions (Pecquet, The Hill, 5/1). Although the deadline for states to declare their positions to HHS was Friday, several states still have not responded. However, HHS spokesperson Jenny Backus said the agency is happy with the response. Backus added, "Whether states create these pools or the federal government creates them for states, the pools will be paid for by 100% federal dollars" (Politico, 5/3). Concerns over the program's cost and fears that states would be responsible for some portions of it until 2014 played a key role in several states' decisions to reject the government plan, the Los Angeles Times reports. Last month, officials from Georgia and Nebraska wrote to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius expressing their concerns (Los Angeles Times, 5/1). According to The Hill, CMS Chief Actuary Rick Foster noted in an analysis of the new reform law released last month that "by 2011 and 2012 the initial $5 billion in federal funding for this program would be exhausted, resulting in substantial premium increases to sustain the program; we anticipate that such increases would limit further participation" (The Hill, 5/1). FCC: Health Data Exchanges To Need More Broadband Support
At the Health Information and Management Systems Society annual conference on Tuesday, the Federal Communications Commission announced multiple recommendations involving new funding and regulations for broadband Internet connections that support health IT exchange, Government Health IT reports. The recommendations stem from an FCC survey that found the U.S. lacks sufficient broadband connections to meet criteria for "meaningful use" of electronic health records that will determine whether health care providers are eligible for incentive payments under the 2009 federal economic stimulus package. The survey found that as many as 3,600 small practices do not have even basic broadband services, while thousands of other locations face price disparities of as much as $45,000 each year for the same services available in better connected areas. Recommendations To address such access problems, FCC proposes:
FCC wants to link funding as closely as possible to meaningful use to ensure that the money goes to locations following the guidance of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT. The recommendations are part of FCC's upcoming National Broadband Plan that it is expected to deliver to Congress by March 17 (Robinson, Government Health IT, 3/2).
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