Posted by admin | Posted in Health | Posted on 11-09-2010
If you don’t know a deductible from a co-pay, or an HMO from HBO – you are not alone. But if you are among the growing number of Americans who are now using this marvelous tool known as the Internet to shop on their own for affordable medical coverage, these are terms you’ll need to get comfortable with, or it can cost you.
Lesson one – The Higher the Deductible The Lower the Premium
The deductible is the amount that you have to pay out of pocket for covered medical expenses before the health insurance benefit kicks in. Deductible amounts are usually based on a calendar year. The surest and easiest path towards a lower cost heath insurance premium is still to select a plan with the highest deductible. Once you do that it is also a good idea to open up a specific account such as a Medical Savings Account to pay for medical expenses until the deductible is reached.
Lesson Two – The Co-Payment
The Co-Payment or “co-pay” is a specific dollar amount paid by the policy holder at the time of service of each healthcare visit. It is a fixed amount and does not build to a maximum amount like a deductible. Co-pays are another aspect of lowering health insurance costs that are in your control. You may be able to lower your premium rates by requesting higher co-pay amounts. If you are generally healthy and do not make many trips to the doctor electing a higher co-pay is a great way to ensure more affordable health insurance payments.
Lesson Three – What Else you can do
While many of the costs that are involved in creating a health insurance premium are fixed and non-negotiable there are other areas that we have seen like choosing a higher deductible or co-pay amount that can help reduce your health insurance rates. There are other things in your control as well.
• Generic Drugs – if you do not have prescription drug coverage, always ask if there is a generic available for a given prescription medication. Several large pharmaceutical retailers such as Target and Wal-Mart have programs where many of the most popular generic drugs can be purchased for as little as $ 4.00.
• Lifestyle Changes and Wellness Programs – another way to reduce your health insurance costs is to get in better shape. Quitting smoking and losing weight, after choosing the highest deductible and co-pay amounts, is probably the surest way to reduce a heath insurance bill. Many HMO’s since it is in their best interest to have you remain healthy, will offer wellness programs, and preventive medicine screenings. Take advantage of these. Believe it or not some employer sponsored health insurance plans will even pay for all or part of a gym membership. It’s all part of the concept of paying a little now to keep you healthy, rather than paying more later on.
• Shop Around – get multiple quotes from multiple sources. Today it is very easy to get a free quote online
Watch the video related to insurance health
www.pbs.org Meet Wendell Potter. Bill Moyers interviews former health insurance industry executive Wendell Potter, who left the field after almost 20 years to become a health reform advocate. Check out Potters personal story here and tune in to Bill Moyers Journal, Friday, July 10, 2009 at 9PM on PBS (check local listings www.pbs.org ) for his experiences inside the health insurance industry, their work fighting a public option, and the insurance companies close ties to Washington. The entire interview will be available after broadcast at www.pbs.org/moyers www.pbs.org
Actually, the only time the copays are so low for health insurance is when you're dealing with those high-dollar plans provided by a lot of employers. (At least those are the types of plans that were provided be employers in the past; that's changing significantly because of the cost involved.) Trust me, these are FAR from the "norm."
As for dental insurance, the fact is that there are nearly as many organized networks for dental providers as there are for medical providers (where belonging to as many networks as possible is the best way to ensure you keep new clients coming in to your practice.) Dental insurance, by comparison to what you pay for medical coverage (particularly of the variety you mention) is also CHEAP. And I don't know very many people who would pay triple the price for dental insurance so they could get the $10 copay. In the end, it's really that simple.
It's okay to shred them if you are not claiming any medical on your income tax records. If you do, then keep them along with your receipts of what you wrote off on medical with that years income tax for 7 years.~~
As a soldier, I find it pretty amazing that Republicans are making such a fuss over being forced to purchase health insurance because it “infringes their freedom.” Why weren’t any of you raising a fuss when Bush announced that he was going to infringe on soldiers’ contracts by implementing his “stop loss” policy so he could wage his pointless war in Iraq? Why do you complain about costs associated with Obama’s plan but spending trillions in Iraq was acceptable? hypocrites
Obamacare will not help. There are 47 other nations where they live longer than we do.
To Be honest,It will take a little time to find the answer for the question of yours.have a look at the resource here http://www.HealthInsuranceIdeas.info/free-online-health-insurance.htm for your reference .
@bardic68
you guys gotta stop reading soooo late in the message, i had to read my own message to see what i said. i’m not gonna say anything on the topic. stay current!
We have an infant mortality rate of about 630 babies per 100,000 per year. Evidently the Republicans want to kill 27,000 babies each year. They claim to be pro-life but they don’t care about the increasing number of newborns who die each year.
You've asked a very broad question. There is no simple answer.
In truth, health insurance works a little differently in each state.
To answer your specific questions:
1) No, health insurance is not compulsory for everyone. If you're lucky, you are able to join a group policy at work. (If you're really lucky, it's a good policy and the employer pays at least half of it.) Some states have recently made it compulsory, but that's such a recent change that there's no clear cut answer yet for how that's going to work.
2) What happens if someone can't afford it is… they don't get it, usually. Except if your income puts you below the "poverty level", in which case you qualify for Medicaid. (In some states there are programs that typically provide assistance with insuring children, though they are few and far between for covering adults.)
3) Health insurance rarely covers all the bills when you have a procedure done. Most plans cover 50-80% after you meet your deductible. The deductible amounts vary widely (but the trend is that the deductibles are getting higher and higher to keep the premiums down.) If you're really, REALLY lucky, you don't have a deductible (which is only an option on group plans), and you may only have to pay 10% of covered charges. (These plans are few and far between. As in, you might have them if you're in Congress.)
4) Yes, the patient has some say over procedures. However, if the patient opts for an "experimental" procedure, or one that isn't deemed "medically necessary", then health insurance may refuse to cover any charges at all.
In the end, as with most things, the middle class takes the brunt of these costs. This has become such a problem that more than 50% of all bankruptcies are as a result of medical bills (and of those, more than 75% had health insurance.)
** Edited to add:
It's not ALL about the money when a procedure is involved. If it is, the state keeps track of complaints filed on behalf of consumers with "managed care" (ie. any type of network arrangement including Preferred Provider Organizations, Health Maintenance Organizations, and Point of Service organizations — also known as PPO, HMO, and POS) and may very well revoke a company's charter to do business in the state should the company be turning down too many legitimate claims.
However, insurance companies are sticklers for following the "standard" for medical care. This is what makes it difficult to answer your question. Because they should not deny anything that's considered standard for care in the given circumstances (should not and will not being two completely different things, of course.) And there may be several options that would be considered "standard." If the patient wants treatment that isn't yet considered "standard", they would balk. Period.
Sorry to burst your bubble, but "health" insurance is not included!
Some credit cards have "life" insurance included when you buy an airline ticket – but it varies widely by credit card company, and usually starts at the gold or platinum card levels. I strongly suggest that you check with your credit card customer service department. Generally that number can be found on the back of your card.
I hope this information is helpful.
These Thiefs, will all go down the drain soon thanks to Obama, I wish all those cigna executives will die slow & painfully hahahahaha
Well, if she's 40 and perfectly healthy, it's going to cost her about $500 a month to have a low/no deductible plan that covers checkups.
You BUY it on a month to month basis. If you want low monthly payments, you have to cut the coverage – like take a $10,000 deductible. Or higher. That would cut payments down to maybe $200 a month or less.
The older she is, the less healthy she is, the more it costs.
Your best bet, is to find a local, independent agent, who can help you balance cost with coverage.
SHAME SHAME SHAME THIS IS HAPPENING IN AMERICA the #1 country in the world??? My tuchas(tush)
The Republicans want to kill 45,000 people a year. They not only want to kill your Grandma, but your mother and sister and brother too…..or anyone else who the Big Insurance Death Panels decide to knock off when they get sick.
Not at all. Both were great teachers. Not everyone is a Christian or a Buddhist, yet still respect the teachings of others.
Hi Gumbo..
I may can help. There exists plans for any citizen at 1970 rates in all 50 states that include pre-existing conditions and hospital advocacy all for as low as $29.95 monthly without restrictions or deductibles. All ages included.
I've owned mine since 2003 and will never part with it. I am a cancer survivor and have more benefits then I could ever use.
i htought the main reason of living in a society was to help each other out, am i wrong?
They don't believe private insurance is the answer to all ills. Simply put, they are not currently experiencing any medical problems that their private insurer has denied coverage for, so they don't fully understand that millions of people WITH insurance go bankrupt in this nation every year. Ultimately, though, the real issue is, they don't care. That's your problem, your illness, and they don't have to deal with it. Until it is their problem and their illness, and their family on the line, they will continue not to care.
Just OPT OUT of anything
oblummacare..
Its poison..
Nobody wants it…