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Health insurance : Hot topics

In "Hot topics", Ian Youngman, Private Healthcare UK's health insurance writer, examines some of the key issues that affect health insurance coverage and premiums.

Fat lazy unfit smokers beware For the last few years, the government and some health insurers have tried to be nice. They have exhorted us all to stop smoking, eat less, and get exercise. The government has spent huge sums on promoting health awareness, but we are now the most obese country in Europe.
Why people will not buy long-term care insurance Every day there seems a new report, comment, figure or suggestion on how we as a country can pay for the long-term care of people when they get too frail to look after themselves.
Older and fitter people but not wiser insurers? Recent official figures from the government on life and health plus new research from reinsurance gurus Swiss Re agree that we as a nation are living longer than experts predicted a few years ago, and staying healthy longer.
Ten things medical insurers must do to take advantage of NHS reform Whatever happens on the reform of the NHS, demand for healthcare is always going to increase faster than the NHS can provide it, however much more efficient it gets.
Changing the relationship between consumers and insurance providers Many consumers and consumer groups accuse insurance companies of living in the past, with reluctance to embrace change. So it will surprise few people that the basis of much insurance law dates back to a 1906 act on marine insurance.
A seismic week for the insurance industry The Equality Act 2010 seeks to end age discrimination in services, and if a provider is unable to provide assistance to a person because of their age, it will be obliged to refer that person to a provider who can meet their needs or a dedicated signposting service.
Why employers are promoting health cash plans All of us are being urged to become more personally responsible for our community, our environment, our health and our finances. As the state cuts down on what it does, in some of those areas we have little choice.
Can insurers offer long-term care insurance? MetLife will halt sales of long-term care insurance, a type of coverage that has repeatedly caused problems for insurers and forced some to pay significantly more in claims than they expected.
Why do some insurers think they are above the law? Every time we get new proposals for legislation that improves equality on age and sex, you can guarantee that a trade body, insurer or insurance committee will whine and whinge that the law should not be applied to insurance.
Get paid for getting healthier - not as daft as it sounds? The majority of NICE's independent Citizens Council advisory group made up of members of the public believes that incentive systems could be an effective way of encouraging people to change their unhealthy lifestyles providing that certain conditions are met.
Will insurers and consumers benefit from major healthcare reforms? The coalition government's aim is to free up provision of healthcare, so that in most sectors of care, any willing provider can provide services, giving patients greater choice and ensuring effective competition stimulates innovation and improvements, and increases productivity within a social market.
The increased need to search for individual income protection insurance The new government has many ideas, but much of what they plan is based on a simple concept that too many people are passive. Over the last two decades, we have been bombarded with new laws, information, advice and much more, often from self-styled experts with no real experience of life. It is no use if you already know or suspect you will be losing your job, or if you run your own business. It...
Will new regulation work? Partly as a punishment for totally missing warnings on the banking collapse, as well as lesser failures to spot collapsing insurers and intermediaries, the government intends to transfer the regulatory functions of the Financial Services Authority (FSA) to the Bank of England and certain proposed new regulatory bodies.
Term Life or Whole Life Insurance? In the last few years, the real price of life insurance has fallen. This has also meant a bigger gap between the cost of term life and whole life.
Do we need health insurance shops? In the USA, Highmark recently announced that it will open four additional Highmark Direct retail health insurance stores in Pennsylvania, including three stores in the Pittsburgh area and one store in Harrisburg.

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