All articles by Michael Ertel

  1. Consumer Directed Health Plans by Michael Ertel

    Most of you have heard about "consumer directed health plans". The Bush administration has been a strong supporter of this concept as a way to get a handle on soaring healthcare costs. The recent inaugeration of Mr. Bush signals that consumer directed health plans will increasingly make up a larger percentage of group medical plans over the next several years. In the past, consumer directed plan designs have taken on many forms: Medical Savings Accounts (MSAs), Flexible

  2. High Deductible Health Insurance Plans For Individuals and Families by Michael Ertel

    Do you pay more attention to your car than your body? You change your oil every 3000 to 4000 miles. You have your tires rotated every other oil change. Your air filter and brake pads are changed at the appropriate intervals.

  3. Why Does Health Insurance Cost So Much? by Michael Ertel

    Why does health insurance cost so much? Year after year, many of the articles that appear in print detail the specific factors driving the cost of healthcare.

  4. Health Care and Health Insurance Costs Can Be Controlled Through Lifestyle Choices by Michael Ertel

    As you probably know all to well, the cost of healthcare and health insurance premiums continue to increase at levels substantially above the general inflation rate. The reasons given for these extraordinary cost increases are numerous and include: technological advancements in the medical field, increased demand for medical services and prescription drugs, the aging of the population, cost shifting caused by the uninsured and governmental reimbursement rates, state and federal mandates, and costs associated with medical related lawsuits.

  5. How To Best Handle Health Insurance Plan Changes by Michael Ertel

    Many economists have suggested and recent economic data indicates that the economy is steadily moving in the right direction. A combination of several factors has no doubt had a negative impact on the economy over the last several years.

  6. Beat Your Competition By Controlling The Cost Of Your Health Insurance by Michael Ertel

    As many of us expect, the New Year will bring both tremendous challenges and opportunities for all of us both personally and professionally. Employers continue to face the major challenge of controlling the cost of their health insurance and other employee benefit programs. Organizations that can best get a handle on the cost of their employee benefit programs have an excellent opportunity to gain an advantage over their competition.