Americans Without Health Insurance Have New, Affordable Options

March 11th, 2010 0

More and more Americans are going without health insurance because they can’t afford it. But there is a solution. New health insurance portfolios are available that are specially designed to help meet the national need for affordable coverage for individuals and employees of small businesses.

This is good news for many Americans who often cannot afford to purchase health insurance for themselves or whose employers do not offer insurance. This includes individuals who are self-employed; those who are employed by a small business or who run a small business; and individuals in other circumstances that require them to buy their own health insurance.

“More than 45 million Americans fall into one of these categories. Many of these people are uninsured or are struggling to afford the traditional plans that insurance companies typically offer,” says Melissa Crawford, senior vice president, Physicians Mutual.

The company bundles together existing and new products to provide an Integrated Health Portfolio (IHP) with a variety of choices and price points.

The IHP offers a choice of benefits, including coverage for:

• Doctor’s office visits

• Preventive care

• Hospital stays

• Surgeries

• Catastrophic major medical

• Outpatient treatment.

“This portfolio of products is designed for middle-income Americans for whom the only choice has been major medical plans with high deductibles-5,000, for example. That’s too much for them to absorb out of pocket,” Crawford says. “They’re looking for a plan that pays a portion of everyday health care costs such as doctor’s visits, childhood immunizations, and screenings like mammograms and prostate cancer tests. They also need prescription drug and vision discounts.

“We have options with no deductible to meet, so policyowners receive benefits the first time they have a covered medical expense,” Crawford says. “There are also no lifetime maximums on this type of policy.”

Crawford points out that individuals and small-business owners usually do not have benefits managers who can talk them through their insurance options. The health portfolio offers a needs assessment to help customers determine which insurance products are right for them.

Physicians Mutual Insurance Company and Physicians Life Insurance Company, a member of the Physicians Mutual family, provide a full portfolio of health and life insurance products, as well as financial products. Both companies consistently receive high grades from independent insurance analysts.

Alternatives To High Priced Health Insurance

March 4th, 2010 0

Most Americans are struggling to afford health insurance. In just the past few years, the cost of buying health insurance for your family has skyrocketed. I was talking with an insurance agent recently, who told me it’s not unusual at all for his clients to be paying 1,000 to 1,400 per month for their family to be covered.

I don’t know many people who can easily afford those kinds of monthly insurance payments. Most who are paying them are making major sacrifices in other areas. The vast majority of Americans put health coverage very high on their list of priorities, so the other things that get left behind might surprise you. No question, the quality of life is far lower for many people now that they pay so much to be insured.

Meanwhile, many employers are cutting back their employees’ insurance coverage. Professions that once paid all their employees’ health insurance premiums — like teachers and firefighters — are finding the employee footing the bill for larger and larger portions of their insurance.

How are people coping? Many Americans simply don’t have health insurance anymore. That’s a big problem not only for families, who often put off going to the doctor, but also for society in general. People who hesitate buying medicine or seeing a doctor often end up very sick in hospital emergency rooms.

Others are simply reducing the amount of health insurance they have. They pay a larger portion of their doctor visits and prescription medicine costs. If you are a young adult, it may not make a lot of sense to pay huge insurance premiums to be covered for major illnesses that you are very unlikely to experience.

There are a growing number of health insurance plans that let you pick and choose the areas of coverage you want to pay for. While this practice was prohibited in many states, more and more places are seeing the wisdom and necessity of this approach.

Even more pressing than the cost of health insurance is the cost of buying prescription medicines. Many people simply can’t afford the spiraling cost of the medicines they need. Others might insist, willingly lowering their standard of living just to afford overpriced medicine. The solution to this problem increasingly has nothing to do with insurance. Organizations use their large pool of members to negotiate big discounts on prescription drugs at thousands of chain and independent pharmacies nationwide. Typically you can save up to 60% off generic drugs and up to 15% off name-brand drugs.

This is a big advantage for the elderly, families, businesses, organizations, and anyone who wants to lower their cost of medicine. Additionally, some programs also cover medicine for your pets. If you often care for an ill animal, this can save you a lot of money over time.

Unlike insurance, discount drug programs are often very low cost or free. Pharmacies participate in the discount programs to encourage you to buy from them. It’s a win-win for both you and the medical industry.

Affordable Individual Health Insurance – How To Control Your Own

February 25th, 2010 0

Affordable Individual Health Insurance – How To Control Your Own Insurance Costs

The need for affordable individual health insurance is becoming more prevalent because of the rising numbers of self-employed. Entrepreneurs are changing the landscape. Home-based businesses are growing at a phenomenal pace. The enormous growth of small business has generated a greater demand for individual health insurance. This is a first time experience for many of these new start-ups. Group health insurance is provided by the employer. The employee that is enrolled in the company group health insurance plan rarely examines the coverage or the cost. This changes dramatically when they are forced into purchasing their own individual plan.

COBRA (the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985) guarantees a continuance of coverage when you leave your employer. This coverage is made available for 18 months after you leave. You have a 60-day window after termination of employment to shop for your own individual health plan. This window of time is critical to the insurance shopping process. If you have any thought of leaving your employer then it is imperative that you investigate the availability of individual health insurance.

Individual health insurance is medically underwritten. That means that the insurance company will gather all applicable medical information on you and or your family to determine if they can offer you an individual plan. Pre-existing conditions are often eliminated and in some instances coverage can be denied.

Things to consider:

1.Health Do not presume that you or any of your family is Insurable. There may be certain pre-existing conditions that are covered by some companies and excluded by others.

2.Self-Insuring The higher deductible that you elect will decrease your premium dramatically. This is called self-insuring. Some companies have deductibles that go as high as thousands.

3.Insurance Company There are many reliable insurance companies in the health insurance industry use their quotes to compare coverage.

We have done the research so you don’t have to. Please see our recommended source for insurance quotes online.

Affordable Health Insurance An Absolute Bargain

February 18th, 2010 0

In todays world where nothing seems to be certain anything can happen in a blink of an eye, we must make sure from our point of view that we take the necessary steps towards achieving some amount of sanity in life. That sanity can come if you go for health insurance. With health insurance the person becomes satisfied and a satisfied person can achieve more than a discontented one. It is important that whatever valuable a person has should be insured but health being one such thing which needs insurance more than most as once good health is lost would be difficult to recover.

There are many different ways by which you can go in for health insurance so that it does not affect your pocket that much. The various policies available to you are:

Fee for service insurance in this type of health insurance it pays the each portion of medical you get such as doctors visit or anything else and you pay the remaining costs. Premiums are a little higher but manageable.

Managed care plans is the other option available to the users for health insurance in this the insurance company has contacts with doctors and hospitals to provide you with services. You pay the monthly premiums and a small amount of co pay to the service providers usually ranging in between 10 15 this is a cheaper form of health insurance hence very affordable

COBRA is an acronym for consolidated omnibus reconciliation act of 1985. With this you can get health insurance. This is under the federal government so approachable to everyone.

The types of policies in these include

Guaranteed renewable
Non cancelable

These three ways provide you with the option of going in for health insurance. Also you can choose between an individual policy and a family policy for your health insurance plan.

An independent broker can help you a great deal in understanding the health insurance policy that you would need to take depending on your credit and your needs. Apart from that he can give answers to all the queries which would further enhance your understanding of health insurance. There are a plenty of options available to you to choose from in case of health insurances.

It is difficult for people with pre existing conditions which include pre agreement diseases to get insurance cover. However they can go in for coverages like:

Open enrollment
Health insurance provability and accountability act (HIPAA)
State requirements
High risk pools
Temporary coverage

This can serve the purpose of people with pre existing conditions.

Most of the things in life can be recovered but health is one thing that is difficult to recover without proper care. That proper care can be received with health insurance. After all it is your own health and concerns not only you but all the people around you.

Affordable Texas Health Insurance – Get Insurance Cheap In The

February 11th, 2010 0

Affordable Texas Health Insurance – Get Insurance Cheap In The Lone Star State

Change is never easy, and amendments to Texas Law have seen the Health Insurance market explode with a multitude of health plan options. While more competition is always a good thing, it can sometimes be very confusing to consumers who want to get the best deal, but are confused by the sudden array of choice.

There is also the added confusion that not all health plans have to contain all benefits, meaning you’ve suddenly got a whole lot of policies that may or may not contain the things you need. Insurance carriers still do have full health insurance plans, but the advantage of this new flexibility is that consumers can choose which benefits they would like to pay for. This means insurance that is tailored to your needs that won’t break the bank with costs for things you don’t want or need.

You now have the choice between State Mandated Plans and Consumer Choice Plans. Consumer Choice plans will still include things that the State has determined must be included, such as Alzheimer’s and Pregnancy Complications.

The health coverage tax credit program is also available to help certain individuals pay for insurance, this can make health insurance much more affordable if you’re eligible. If you’re on a pension you’re likely to qualify, as well as if you are a displaced worker.

There is also the choice between Fee-for-service plans, and Managed Care plans. Managed care plans may be cheaper as may be required to go to the health care professionals that the insurance company dictates, where as Fee-for-service plans allow you to go anywhere you want.

Another excellent way to save money on your insurance is to see if you can get it as part of a group. Perhaps your employer offers insurance, or your union. Other associations that offer the chance to get in on a group plan are churches and professional associations.

Be smart, look around, and explore your options. That’s the best way to save on health insurance and get a good deal.

Affordable Individual Health Insurance

February 4th, 2010 0

There are many options for an individual to obtain affordable health insurance coverage. Keep in mind that there are savings in numbers; the more people in a plan, the better the savings for each member.

In some states, like Florida you may purchase group policies for a group of one. Some states allow a two-person policy to qualify for a group rate. If you are a sole proprietor and your spouse helps you with things like bookkeeping, filing or mailings, you may be able to claim them as an employee and get the group rate.

Another option for the self-employed is the National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE). NASE offers self employed individuals the choice to deduct 100% of their medical premiums and 100% of their non insured medical expense from state, federal and self employment taxes through a program called 105 HFR.

If youre not in a business, dont despair. You may be able to enjoy the lower premiums associated with group plans by joining an organization such as trade or alumni associations.. For instance, as a writer, I might elect to join a group association targeted to help writers secure discounted health insurance. Groups such as ASJA American Society of Journalists and Authors.

Fitness instructors might elect to participate in the health insurance program offered through IDEA, an organization of health and fitness professionals. Pregnant women may join the American Pregnancy Association which offers both government funded programs and discount health programs such as MaternityCard AmeriPlan.

Because association health plans are not subject to the various state regulations that group health plans are subject to, they are able to offer cheaper insurance coverage. Keep in mind, however, that an association health plan is different from a group health plan in that the association does not have to offer the same premium for each member.