as you’ve seen, i’ve started experimenting with monetizing this blog. (it’s all fellow vancouverite john chow’s fault). part of this experimentation is with “review me” paid reviews. so let me disclose up front that i’m getting paid a whopping $10 to write this (it’s my first review; it might take me a month or 40 to get up to john chow’s $500 per post!). that’s two lattes at starbucks, or, if you live in africa, a mosquito net or two, which can save your life.
talking about which – this review is about eHealthHelp.com and affordable health insurance. this is how they introduce themselves:
eHealthHelp was created to assist you in understanding how your health care plan works. we are committed to helping you get the most effective and efficient use of your health care coverage. we have worked for over 25 years with insurance, managed care, and provider organizations in addition to working with consumers of health care services.
EHH does not recommend any one particular healthcare provider, broker, or supplier. the purpose of this site is to provide the consumer with basic knowledge and some useful organizational aids.
EHH answers questions such as
* who regulates health care plans in california?
* i’m a member of a managed care plan and my doctor said i need a referral. it’s been two or three weeks and “nobody has approved it” yet? what do i do??
* what does it mean if my health plan has been accredited by NCQA? why is accreditation or certification important?
* i have heard many of the following terms and wonder what they mean: clinical criteria, practice guidelines, treatment protocols, clinical practice guidelines, and utilization management (um) review criteria?
* what are member rights and responsibilities?
* what do i do in an emergency?
* how do i know if it is an emergency that will be covered by my health care coverage?
* as a self employed small business owner, how can i get healthcare coverage?
generally, this seems like an interesting site; if i were living in the US (i’m in canada), i’d probably want to know about these things and would appreciate all the other information they provide (e.g. they have a list of articles, quite a few of them about obama vs. mccain regarding health insurance). however, i wonder, who’s behind this site? i couldn’t find anything about that. so maybe they could improve their “about” page. whose interests are being served? the three insurance companies on their landing page? it would also be nice if there was a search function on the site.
and of course, as a mental health professional, i’d like to know how helpful this site can be for people with mental health issues, particularly for people with mood disorders such as depression or bipolar disorder, people with eating disorders such as anorexia, and people with chronic pain. i sent an email to the address in the “contact me” area but unfortunately it came back as undeliverable.
(image by lanuiop)