- This month's health insurance nightmare: You submit your health insurance payments through a third party administrator but the administrator does not remit payments to the carrier, therefore all coverages for all employees are canceled.The situation: The Alagassi Companies uses a broker for their insurance needs. The broker chooses where to submit the business — sometimes it is directly with the carrier, but many times there is a third party intermediary such as a wholesaler or a third party administrator. Here's how that works: There is no difference in cost for the company purchasing the insurance. A broker chooses either a wholesaler or a Third Party Administrator (TPA) based on additional services that can be received from that organization. A wholesaler typically does not remit payment to the insurance company as the insurance carrier bills the customer directly. The organization processes renewals, runs quotes and handles problems on behalf of the client. A TPA typically submit...
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This month's health insurance nightmare: Continuity of CoverageA new book by Stephanie Cohen and Scott GoldenWith Hope Katz GibbsComing: Fall 2010When you leave a position and lose or change coverage, it's essential that you have proof of your previous coverage. You will be covered under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) that was enacted by Congress in 1996, but you must have proof – a letter from your previous insurance agency and a copy of your insurance card. If you don't keep track of this important information, frustration and ...
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A new book by Stephanie Cohen, CEOGolden & Cohen, www.golden-cohen.comWelcome to the first entry of the book we’ll be publishing in 2010 entitled, "You gotta laugh: Life in the trenches of the health insurance business." The goal is to find a way to improve the U.S. healthcare system for everyone. We truly believe that by talking about this issue, and starting a conversation about what changes need to be made and how we can make them, we will be able to move mountains.What do you do when you have it in writing from your insurance ...
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THIS JUST IN: The Senate cleared a crucial procedural hurdle to bring its health-care bill to the brink of final passage by Christmas Eve.The partisan vote of 60 to 40 shut down a Republican filibuster of the $871 billion package and followed days of tough negotiations with Democratic holdouts. "Read more here": http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/20/AR2009122002872.html?hpid=topnews.*SCOTT GOLDEN SAYS:* The Senate bill will be approved by the end of week. That is not the most interesting event that will occur before we leave 2009, however.When the House and Senate attempt to create a bill that both will a...
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Dear Ms. Cohen:Thank you for getting in touch with me about health care reform. It's great to hear from you.Health care is one of the most important issues facing families and our economy. We need to pass comprehensive health reform that:• reduces costs for families, business and government•protects people's choice of doctors, hospitals and health plans • assures affordable, quality health care for all AmericansAs a member of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, I helped write the Affordable Health Choices Act, which was passed by our committee on July 15, 2009. This bil...
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Dear Senator Mikulski, As a health insurance broker who owns a firm employing 15 employees and insures more than 1500 groups in Maryland, the District of Columbia, and Virginia, it is very upsetting to me that the issues pertaining to te costs of care have not been properly addressed. Has anyone mentioned the costs of prescriptions and reform within the pharmaceutical companies? What about the issue of tort reform, or the fact that many of the uninsured are illegal immigrants who do not pay into the system? Until we look at the real cost of care, any reform that Congress initiates will do us no good. Arguably, the bills propos...
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A website that offers innovative solutions to todays problems, "OurBlook":http://www.ourblook.com, today posted an "interview with Scott Golden":http://www.ourblook.com/Heathcare/Scott-Golden-on-Healthcare-Reform.html, chief financial officer of Golden & Cohen, a health benefits consulting company in the Washington, D.C. area. Here's a sample: *Question:* President Obama has made it clear he isn’t working to set up a precursor to a single-payer health care system. Meanwhile, the insurance industry says that any version of a public plan will kill private industry. Is there any precedent for a public/private partnership i...
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By Stephanie Cohen, CEO, Golden & Cohen As a regular new addition to our Golden & Cohen blog, I'm planning to write about the situations, crises, and challenges that I experience regularly, which, quite honestly, leave me scratching my head. One that happened just last week falls under the heading, "So this is what they call good customer service?" A client's Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA) was up for renewal. (For those new to this health insurance product, and HRA is offered in conjunction with a high-deductible health plan, and can be funded by the em...
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In an article entitled, “Complexity, cost concern local insurers,” featured in this week’s Baltimore Business Journal, reporter Elizabeth Heubeck writes, “If Scott Golden were a gambling man, he wouldn’t bet on the U.S. government creating a federally-run universal health care system. “I think Obama is using that as a threat so that the insurance carriers will step up and put in their own price controls,” said Golden, co-founder of the Gaithersburg-based health benefits consulting firm Golden & Cohen. Given this scenario, Golden envisions insurance carriers saving money by “spending less, givi...
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From real estate to the job market, the current recession has impacted just about everyone and every segment of the economy,” writes reporter Ed Rabinowitz in a July 14 article published in Physician’s Money Digest. “However, according to an article in the New York Times, concierge medical practices, while certainly not recession proof, do not appear to have been impacted as severely as might have been expected. Consumers/patients are still forking over $1,500 per year and up for what is promised to be personalized care and around-the-clock access.”Rabinowitz writes: According to Scott Golden...
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Washington Business Journal, June 2009 — We are very excited to announce that this year, once again we have made the list of the Top 10 largest health insurance firms in the Washington Business Journal Book of Lists.“We are incredibly proud of our accomplishments, as we have built our business brick by brick,” says Stephanie Cohen, CEO of Golden & Cohen. “We want to thank all our loyal clients, many of whom have been with us since our inception. We will continue to work hard everyday to make sure each and every client is receiving world-class service and the best ...
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GAITHERSBURG MD, May 5, 2009 — Golden & Cohen, top-rated specialists on group and individual insurance benefits and retirement planning, launched a new website today to provide their current and potential clients with more detailed information on the best insurance options: www.golden-cohen.com.“The new website outlines all of the products we offer—from group and individual dental, disability, and life insurance, to group vision insurance and individual pension plans,” explains Stephanie Cohen, co-founder and the company’s chief operating officer. “Beyond that, we offer benefits management services such as benchmarkin...
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HEALTH NEWS DIGEST, April 2009 — “The economic downturn is taking its toll on employees in all industries — but health insurance companies will increasingly be a good place to look for work,” writes Scott Golden, chief financial officer of the Maryland-based health benefits brokerage firm Golden & Cohen, in this week’s issue of HealthNewsDigest.com.Golden says: The economic downturn is taking its toll on employees in all industries — but health insurance companies will increasingly be a good place to look for work.Although it’s unclear what direction the Obama administration will take in terms of providing more Am...
Read More...- AGENT’S SALES JOURNAL, April 2009 — “Stephanie Cohen has no problem networking — in fact, she’s a real pro,” writes reporter Lin Grensing-Pophal in an article in this month’s Agent Sales Journal. “As CEO of the health benefits firm Golden & Cohen, Cohen takes networking to an entirely new level. In October, she hosted the DC Health Summit, a meeting of 100 top health care insurance providers, doctors, hospitals, business owners, and politicians. Her goal: to establish a consortium of leaders that will begin a national dialogue about the connection between wellness programs and lower health care insurance rates.” Click here to read more.
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Read More... - AGENT’S SALES JOURNAL, January 2009 — A new White House administration always spells change of some sort — and nowhere will that change be felt more this time around than in the financial sector, explains reporter Laura Gater in the cover story of this month’s Sales Agent Journal. “Specifically, President-elect Barack Obama has made certain proposals to reform estate taxes, health insurance, and the Medicare and Medicaid systems, along with alluding to changes within the long term care industry. But how will you see your business change as a result over the next four years? Click here to read more.
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AGENTS SALES JOURNAL, December 2008 — In an article entitled,
Read More...- AGENTS SALES JOURNAL, December 2008 — In an article entitled, Understanding Medicare’s Annual Election Period, published in December 2008 by Agents Sales Journal, Stephanie Cohen — the CEO of the health benefits firm Golden & Cohen — writes: Medicare’s annual election period — the time between Nov. 15 and Dec. 31, when all Medicare Advantage health plans are open and accepting new members — is an important opportunity, especially for those who have recently lost their job or retired and need Medicare benefits. Click here to read the entire article.
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November 1, 2008 The much-anticipated DC Health Summit drew more than 100 business leaders interested in the future of health insurance reform to a packed the ballroom at the Mandarin Hotel to hear what health insurance company executives, physicians, hospital administrators, and politicians had to say about how workplace wellness programs can lower insurance rates. “This was a groundbreaking event,” moderator Andy Hines told the crowd. “For the first time, decision makers and players from every industry that impact the cost of health insurance gathered in one room. Fortunately, no chairs were thrown, and we had a very interest...
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October 29, 2008 — Melinda Beeuwkes Buntin Ph.D. was one of the key speakers today at the 2008 DC Health Summit, a meeting that is bringing together 100 of the top minds in the health care industry on Oct. 29 from 11 am to 1 pm at the Mandarin Hotel in Washington, DC. Dr. Buntin is a health economist and researcher who focuses on health insurance benefit design, health insurance markets, provider payment, and the care use and needs of the elderly. Her current projects include a study of the effects of consumer-directed health care on health care access, costs, and quality and a study of the effects of Medicare payment ch...
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October 10, 2008 —Futurist Andy Hines will be the moderator at this month's DC Health Summit, an annual conference that brings together 100 of the top minds in the health care industry. Hines will ask and field questions of an all-star health care panel including Kaiser Permanente's Director of Population Care Dr. Amy Compton-Phillips, Neurosurgeon Dr. James Melisi, the National Rehabilitation Hospital's VP Dr. Paul Rao, Maryland's former Insurance Commissioner Al Redmer, and UnitedHealthcare COO Kevin Ruth — and Virginia Senator George Barker, who prior to taking office last November worked for 30 years for the H...
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October 6, 2008 — Dr. Steven Aldana will be the keynote speaker at the first annual DC Health Summit, a meeting that is bringing together 100 of the top minds in the health care industry on Oct. 29 from 11 am to 1 pm at the Mandarin Hotel in Washington, DC. A former professor of lifestyle medicine in the College of Health and Human Performance at Brigham Young University, Aldana is a nationally recognized scientist and teacher on the topic of health promotion in the workplace. His keynote, “The Truth About Return on Investment and Worksite Health Promotion Programs,” will serve as an introduction to a broader discuss...
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September 4, 2008 — The health care benefits company Golden & Cohen is hosting the first annual DC Health Summit, a meeting of some of the top minds in the health care industry who will discuss and debate the future of health care in the United States. "Research by the U.S. Department of Commerce shows that in 2006, more than $2.1 trillion was spent on health care in the United States,” says Stephanie Cohen. "That represents 16% of the Gross Domestic Product. By 2017 the amount of money spent on health care is expected to increase to n...
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WASHINGTON BUSINESS JOURNAL, April 27 — Health insurance are brokers cut off from small business market, but they band together to fight insurers’ restrictions, lobby area governments, writes staff reporter Neil Adler in today’s Washington Business Journal.Stephanie Cohen, owner of Gaithersburg-based Golden & Cohen, says she was selected to sell Mamsi and UnitedHealthcare products to small employers because she’s known in the local industry and writes a lot of business.While Cohen is happy to be a select broker, she empathizes with those who were shut out and says consumers probab...
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