Health Insurance Daily Blog

Study after study has supported and verified the claims that marijuana is an effective medicine for certain diseases and a very effective, non addiction causing pain reliever for those who suffer from chronic pain. Unfortunately, there is still a lot of resistance against making medical marijuana legal.

It’s a good thing that the Medical Use of Cannabis Act that is being proposed by Democrat Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles is giving support to this by giving people who need access to marijuana for medicinal purposes protection from prosecution and arrest, which is a far cry from what is happening right now, which is that medicinal marijuana users are only given a defense once they’re already in trial.

Catastrophic plans provide additional benefits for catastrophic illnesses that are usually not covered by regular health insurance. Such plan has a very high deductible, reaching $10,000 and up, and the patient pays for the first $15,000 of the bill. The rest of the amount will then be covered by the plan. The amount may be large at first, but considering the cost of procedures and treatment for disastrous illness that may reach hundreds of dollars, the deductible and initial payment will be worth it.

By Aileen Banting

For the major point that not having a health insurance will only give you about half of the medical care that health insured people gets simply prove it. Health insurance coverage facilitates people get appropriate medical care and develops their lives and health. Sure just about anyone and everyone has access to an emergency room, but health insured people have more defensive and screening services and on a less timely process. Shortfalls are recognized for various kinds of illness or condition, including screening for cervical and breast cancer. This is also applicable for testing for high blood pressure or cholesterol. Cancers are to be expected to be identified at a later phase of illness, when cure or healing is less triumphant. Uninsured women who are pregnant utilize smaller quantity of prenatal services. Uninsured children and adults are less prone to regular source of care, visit medical professionals, or to obtain recommended treatment. Shortfalls are predominantly distinguished for chronic conditions. An example would be an uninsured adult with heart conditions is less probable to stay on drug therapy for high blood pressure.

By Aileen Banting

Health insurance coverage are usually provided for athletes by the employer of the athlete’s parent or guardian, or the athlete him or herself. Insurance coverage is basically wide-ranging. An example of an insurance coverage would be the individual health insurance plans. This coverage is set and acquired by the athlete. It is very imperative for an athlete to find and select or choose a complete health insurance plan. Some organizations require health insurance coverage that should include hospitalization, professional and extensive benefits to meet athletic requirements, etc. Some organizations do not recognize accident insurance plans or catastrophic health insurance plans that has nominal benefits.

Who says only humans are entitled to health insurance?

Pet insurance is available for pet owners in countries such as the US, UK and Australia. Pets are considered family members, and investing in their health is important, not only in terms of saving money in the animals’ health care, but in protecting the family members from getting sick due to a pet’s untreated condition.

The amount of premiums vary depending on the pet’s age, overall health condition and breed. Some breeds are covered for accident insurance only such as Chinese Shar-pei and Shar-pei cross-breeds. Premiums may be paid monthly or annually. Most insurers require the pets to have updated immunization for it to continue coverage.

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By Aileen Banting

Most schools have or require each of their students to have an insurance plan. These insurance plans grants some benefits for sudden medical expenses in case of injury or sickness. In some schools, residence life students, international students and athlete students are obliged to hold a wide-ranging insurance policy. Available insurance for all registered students have a certain time period for an annual cost, depending on the insurance company. Courses that require physical activities as well as medical courses are usually top on eon the list to have insurance plans. For some international students, their insurance most likely provides insurance good for on and off the campus.

Insurance companies have identified fraudulent practices and united themselves to develop systems that will detect suspicious billing patterns. The National Health Care Anti-Fraud Association was formed for this purpose. A public advocacy and educational organization – Coalition Against Insurance Fraud - was formed in 1993 to increase public awareness and track these deceptive companies.

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 gave the U.S. Inspector General the jurisdiction overall insurance plans. It organized Operation Restor Trust which targeted fraud, waste and abuse in Medicare and Medicard, particularly fraudulent activities in home health agencies, nursing homes and durable medical equipment suppliers.

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The Coalition Against Insurance Fraud provides these warning to help you avoid signing up with illegal, fake insurance companies:

- very cheap premium for a wide variety of benefits
- accepts people with medical conditions that are usually rejected by other plans
- has few or no underwriting guidelines
- insurance agent approaches individuals directly, and not through an employer
- insurance company is not licensed in your state and assures you that it is exempted from securing a license
- the insurance representative uses the term “benefit” rather than “insurance”
- insurance rep does not provide clear, straight forward answers to your questions
- you’ve never heard of the insurance company

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Other fraudulent procedures include:

- charging for services that were not performed
- unbundling of claims: where a series of procedures that may be covered by a single fee is charged separately for higher fees
- double billing: where a service is charged twice
- upcoding: where a more complex procedure is declared and billed for a simple procedure actually done
- miscoding: where a wrong code is used for a procedure
- kickbacks: where payment is received for making a referral, usually the payment for such referral is sourced from an overcharged procedure, and is “kept hidden” by declaring these as mere rental payments.

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By Aileen Banting

Having a medical insurance while traveling comes handy in case of medical emergencies. Several insurance companies, depending on your country, supplies exceptional medical and evacuation protection while traveling or living outside of your home country. Some plans even have “hazardous sports”, “incidental return home” riders and “terrorisms coverage”. Most would not comprise habitual doctor’s visits, only emergencies are covered. Meanwhile, some plans offer no deductible applied on their plans. For other plans, they have a provision that each trip cannot exceed thirty days. So never forget having an insurance plan set up before you travel, you never know when or where your health is at risk.