ComputerHunter.org |
|
|
|||
|
 |
Health Insurance 101 for Individuals and Families
The changing healthcare and health insurance landscape in the United States has resulted in more individuals and families purchasing health insurance coverage on their own. Rather than touch on the number of reasons why this is the case, I would like to provide individuals and families finding themselves in this position with ten basic ideas to assist them with getting the best health insurance policy for their specific situation. Below is a combination of ten questions and suggestions that will provide the tools necessary to get a medical insurance policy that will best work for you and your family. 1)What are your typical health and medical care expenses in a calendar year? Most people are surprised when they go through this exercise to learn that they would be financially better off in most years to purchase a high deductible health insurance plan and use the premium savings to directly offset heath care expenses throughout the year. 2)How long do you anticipate needing the health insurance coverage? For example, many companies sell temporary policies that can be put in force for 1-6 months and they are relatively inexpensive. If you are in between jobs or in a waiting period for employer coverage, this may be your best option. 3)What is your budget? If your budget is tight, having a $1000, $2500 or even $5000 deductible is better than having no coverage at all. The ability of doctors and hospitals to save and prolong life in the United States is in many cases extraordinary. However, their treatment is not free and going without health insurance coverage can in some cases result in you and/or your family losing an entire life's worth of savings and assets. 4)Be careful to choose a plan that covers the "big stuff". It is nice to have a policy that covers items such as: physician office visits, routine physicals, outpatient testing, and blood work. However, it is essential to have coverage for major services such as cancer treatment, transplants, critical illness, traumatic accidents, and infectious diseases. Find out the lifetime maximum amount as well as if the policy contains "internal" dollar limits. 5)Always carefully read and understand the pre-existing condition clause and policy exclusions so that you will not be surprised down the road if a claim is denied. This is important whether you are purchasing a standard medical, temporary, or student health insurance policy. 6)Does the insurance company you are considering have a substantial network of preferred doctors and hospitals in your area? In addition to family doctors, what type of access will you have to specialists and the best hospitals in the event you or a family member is diagnosed with an illness that requires specialized care? Also, what are your options for preferred health care providers when traveling? 7)If you need to go "out of network", will you still have coverage? Most insurance policies will have coverage in the event you need to go outside of their network for care. However, review how these out of network claims will be paid. Will there be an additional deductible? How are reimbursement levels determined for out of network claims? What is your maximum out of pocket for out of network claims? 8)Are you looking for an opportunity to reduce your taxable income? If so, make sure your plan qualifies as a high deductible health plan and look into all of the aspects of a Health Savings Account. In the right situation, HSAs can be an excellent way to pay for eligible health care expenses, reduce your taxable income and save for retirement. 9)What are the financial ratings of the insurance company you are considering? A.M. Best, Standard & Poor's, and Moody's are organizations that rate the financial stability of insurance companies. 10)What type of customer service will you get from your insurance agent? Do they specialize in health insurance? Do they have a staff that is willing and able to assist you in the event you have a claim, billing, or other customer service problem? If you do not have the time or patience to look into all of the items mentioned above, develop a relationship with an independent insurance agent that specializes in evaluating and servicing health insurance policies. A good independent insurance agent will be able to save you time, money, and be an excellent resource for evaluating all of the items mentioned above. Michael Ertel is the founder of http://www.MedicalInsuranceNow.com . This is a website that assists individuals and small business owners by providing side by side comparisons of health insurance alternatives. He can be reached at MErtel@medicalinsurancenow.com .
Google News - Top Stories
|
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
5 Strategies To Reduce Your Car Insurance Premiums Your latest car insurance bill has arrived and it is not a pretty site. In fact, it is downright ugly! What can you do? Must you remain hostage to the ever spiraling rate increases foisted upon you when your policy renews? In a word, no. Let's examine five strategies you can practice today to help reduce your car insurance premiums immediately. Everyone Wants The Cheapest Automobile Insurance Quote When you are looking for an automobile insurance quote, the first thing you usually do is pick up the phone and start calling the various insurance companies in your local area. Then you have to wait for them to call you back with a quote, which quite often is very similar to what you are already paying. The funny thing is that no one bothers about getting an automobile insurance quote until they receive the notification for their renewal and then they start scrambling to find ways to save money. Long Term Care Insurance How Much Should I Buy? Long-term care insurance policies have a variety of features and it pays to shop around. It is quite easy in the final years of your life to run up extremely large care bills which could threaten your life savings, home and your children's inheritance. Okay some people do not care about their offspring so much as is evident by looking at the bumper stickers of the deluxe Recreational Vehicle Motor Homes; "we are spending our children's inheritance!" How Do I Lower My Auto Insurance Rates? Since there are many factors that go into determining your auto insurance rates, there are many chances to lower your rates. If you change jobs and your drive to work changes or you stop working or you work from home, you should contact your insurance company. If you have a teen driver and they go to school over 100 miles away without a car then you should be able to get a discount. If you get married and are in your teens or twenties call your insurance company and see about combining your policies. Take defensive driving if your state allows it for a discount. See if increasing your comprehsive and collision deductibles will save you a lot of money. You need to compare what you're saving and how much more you will have to pay if you file a claim. For example, if you go from $500 to a $1000 deductible and it lowers your insurance $50 per 6 months then it saves you $100 a year. It will take you 5 years to break even from what you are saving compared to how much more you have to pay. Now, if it saves you $250 every six months then it would be more worth your while. See if combining your auto and home insurance polices will qualify for a multi policy discount with your current company. This could be a substantial discount. One of the biggest ways you could save $200-$500 or more a year is shopping around for insurance. The auto insurance industry is very competitive and this is great news for smart consumers like yourself. Shop for auto insurance quotes here and see how much you can save. Know Your Own Worth: A Practical Insight Into Covering Up Almost anything can be insured these days: breasts, legs, your goldfish, your mental health, physical health, your own life, your child's life. You can insure against the bad weather, good weather, political events?. Insurance for Car Wash Fundraisers Non-profit groups in this day and age need to watch out for lawsuits, as it is an unfortunate reality. Having a good event insurance policy can protect your non-profits funds from such a lawsuit in the event of a mishap or professional slip and fall con artist. Yes they are out there and they will target your group if they think that they can make some money in a lawsuit. It is sad state of affairs even thinking of this, but you need to protect yourself and your group. Consumer Driven Health Plans [ CDHP ] Do you know that skyrocketing health care costs have been draining the federal government and employer's exchequers over the last couple of years? The health care costs account for 15.5 percent of U.S GDP and is the most expensive benefit paid by employers, seriously affecting their competitiveness in the global market. Health care spending is projected to top $1.9 trillion in 2005, about twice the amount being spent on education. According to the Employment Policy Foundation, employers have spent $331 billion last year for health insurance, a 50 percent increase since 1998. All of these never-improving alarming statistics did result in designing the Consumer Driven Health Plan (CDHP), making the insured person an active member in controlling the costs, rather than being passive and relying on the managed benefit program. The idea was pioneered by Definity Health in Minnesota in the year 2000 and has seen a rapid adoption by the employers/employees over the years due to its inherent cure-for-all strategy. Discount Auto Insurance - Keep Your Hard-Earned Money Finding discount auto insurance is so easy when you do an online search. There are many insurance companies that do offer this option for many customers who want to search through several different companies to get the best possible quotes. With many of these sites, all you have to do is select the type of discount auto insurance you need, fill in a short form and receive quotes from as many as six different online insurance companies. Millions of Americans have No Life Insurance Only 61% of adult Americans have life insurance (down from 70% in 1984). Dont Just Accept Your Car Insurance Renewal Quote UK car insurance companies make substantial profits every year because a large number of existing customers just accept the renewal quote from their car insurance provider. Car and Home Insurance Northern Ireland Don't skimp on insurance. This probably doesn't sound like a way to save money. But keep in mind the purpose of insurance is to transfer to an insurance company the financial risk you can't afford to carry yourself. Without formal insurance, you are de facto self-insuring - meaning you'll pay out of your own pocket in the event of a financial disaster such as loss of a home or a serious illness. Health Insurance Plans - Benefits to Different Plans & Providers Health insurance plans vary in their coverage and prices. The more coverage offered, the higher the premiums. This doesn't mean that the lowest premium is the cheapest. If you have to pay many out-of-pocket medical expenses, you could be paying more than if you had gone with a higher premium plan. Different plans benefit different people. Health Insurance, What Does It Mean? Your health insurance policy is an agreement between you and your insurance company. The policy lists a package of medical benefits such as tests, drugs and treatment services. The insurance company agrees to cover the cost of certain benefits listed in your policy. These are called "covered services." Insure Your House When we talk about insurance the thing you have to remember is that always the price of your house must be higher then the value of the mortgage. This is not a hard thing to take care of if you like your house and care about the quality of your life. In case something goes wrong and a disaster struck you'll have to pay a lot of money for it and keep in mind your house is probably the best asset you own. Car Insurance Online ? Benefits of Applying for Auto Insurance Online Drivers are applying for auto insurance online not just for the convenience of comparing quotes, but also to find the best insurance rate. The benefits also include discovering new discounts and not being locked into a long term relationship with an insurance company. Online Insurance: The End of the High Street Broker? When I was a lad, some 25 years ago, the Insurance Company called to your door every month to collect your life insurance premium. My recollection is of a drab suited man having to run the gauntlet of neighbourhood dogs rather like the postman. Long Term Care and Long Term Care Insurance A person might need long term care (LTC) if he/she cannot perform activities of daily living such as eating, taking shower or getting dressed by him/herself anymore. Certain disease can also make long term care necessary. Do You Pay Too Much For Your Car Insurance? Do the premiums just seem to get higher and higher every year? How To Negotiate A Settlement With An Insurance Claims Adjuster You and I. M. Strong, the adjuster from Granite Mountain Insurance, are sitting at your kitchen table in an attempt to settle your motor vehicle accident claim. Car Insurance No Claims Bonus Explained No Claims Bonus is a term used to describe the number of years you have had Car Insurance without making a claim. Put simply, if you have had Car Insurance for 4 years and you have not made a claim in that time, then you have 4 years No Claims Bonus. No Claim Bonus is probably the single biggest factor affecting the cost of your Car Insurance premium. Every year that goes by without you making a claim is another year of No Claims Bonus.
|
|
|
|
|
