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.

The great thing about being self-employed is you are your own employer. But that means you will shoulder healthcare insurance 100%. If you need to cut down on costs, you can consider the following:

Buy a short-term healthcare plan. This costs less than a comprehensive plan, but is also limited to accidents, illnesses and injuries.

Buy a group plan with other members of professional associations that you are a part of. A group or corporate plan is cheaper than an individual policy, and has more coverage than a short-term plan.

A self-employed individualÂ’s health plan is tax deductible. Use it as a deduction on your savings.

(Image source: www.freddiemac.com)

Open a health savings account and save for future emergencies.

If you are planning to move to another place and migrate, or transfer to a new job, and getting a long-term health insurance seems impractical, you may consider getting a short term health insurance. You can be covered as soon as the next day, and your policy may be for thirty days, a few months or a year. It is a good alternative while you are still considering other insurance options.

Short term health insurance is also an alternative to the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (COBRA), wherein employees with a group policy are offered an opportunity to be covered temporarily by their employers in case of job lay-offs, termination of employee’s service or other changes in the company. Short term health insurance is said to cost lower than COBRA.

Pre-existing conditions and medical check-ups, however, are not covered.

For more information, visit Short Term Health Insurance.com and compare offers from different providers

Also visit: www.zisinsurance.com

(image from www.zisinsurance.com)

Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) and Preferred Provider Organizations (PPOs) are types of managed health care. In choosing the best provider for you, consider the pros and cons of each.

HMOs are healthcare providers that have contractual arrangements with insurance companies, and offer services at a fixed price. Under an HMO plan, you are required to choose from among the HMO-accredited doctors and hospitals to take advantage of the health insurance, otherwise, your expenses will not be covered. There are also limitations as to which medical condition is covered. You also need to consult with a primary care physician before you go to an accredited specialist.

PPOs also contract with insurance companies, but are less restrictive in terms of which doctor or hospital you choose. They also have a list of accredited doctors and hospitals, but they partially cover expenses incurred with non-affiliates. There is also a wider coverage on illnesses especially chronic conditions, which are not normally covered by HMOs. There are PPOs that cover a portion of the medicine expenses. PPOs generally have higher premiums than HMOs.

You have these options depending on your needs and financial capability. To know more about your options, visit:
Insurelane.com
Insurance.com
HealthInsurance.com

(Image source: www.cpbhealth.com)

The contract between an individual and health insurance company is called a health insurance policy. This contract is renewed annually or monthly, and the details of health care costs and coverage are provided in the policy or Evidence of Coverage booklet. There are several forms of payment for health insurance:

A policy holder may pay a premium, or an amount that needs to be paid each month or annually that purchases the health coverage.

Others prefer to pay a deductible, wherein an individual pays up to a certain amount per year before the health plan starts to pay its share.

Exclusions are indicated in the policy, where uncovered treatments and services will be paid in full by the individual.

Coverage limits are also indicated, where there is a maximum dollar amount for a certain service, such as hospitalization (room payment). If the maximum amount is exceeded, the excess will be paid out-of-pocket by the individual.

Out-of-pocket maximums, on the other hand, is similar to coverage limits, where an individual has a maximum amount of out-of-pocket payment obligation, and the health plan will pay for the amount in excess of the limit. This form of payment is limited to specific services.

Be sure to discuss your options with your health insurance provider, to make sure you choose a payment plan that fits your needs and budget.

(image source: www.freefoto.com)

Legislators are pushing for more coverage for the average American in the US allowing them better access to proper health care. There used to be a wide gap between those who were not qualified to obtain private care but were in fact overqualified to receive state sponsored health care leaving millions without any form of health care coverage. new bills have expanded the reach of public health care narrowing the gap even in today’s economic slowdown which has a great impact on the quality of life for many Americans.
In some states, almost quarter of a million residents were unable to access proper care falling between the specified gap for private and public health care. In order to reform the long debilitated health care system, legislators have revised again and again laws narrowing the gap for all to gain some form of health care. Hopefully, the global economic slowdown would ease off allowing states to further expand the coverage of the health care system even eliminating it totally, if the economy recovers fast and strong that is.

With all the candidate’s debates about their proposals for the health insurance industry, it’s the average American who will have the most to benefit (or lose) depending on which plan will be put into motion. Let’s examine the two differing plans in Mary Carmichael’s article in NEWSWEEK, in her discussion with Katherine Swartz, a professor of health policy and economics at Harvard.

McCain’s plan: to take away the tax break workers get on health insurance at their jobs, and give people who buy their own insurance $2,500 ($5,000 for families) in tax credits.
Their prediction: Low-income people would have a hard time getting affordable insurance on their own. In the long run, employers would probably stop offering health insurance, and more people would end up uninsured than there are now.

Obama’s plan: An insurance exchange that looks like the Health Connector used in Massachussets. Every plan would have a minimum set of benefits, and you would get a subsidy if your income is below the threshold.
Their prediction: The total cost will be more than the estimate. His requiring insurers to cover pre-existing conditions would probably raise premiums. Although children and more people would be covered than there is now, some adults will continue to be uninsured.

by : Cielo P.

When the term health insurance is mentioned, we refer to the plans that usually cover hospital cost, doctor fee and sometimes surgery cost. Besides from the just the term, there are variety of insurance policy that covers the fees and specific needs of a person, example of this is dental coverage or long-term care. Payment of the insurance or better knows as premiums also vary from the policy chosen. This premiums are monthly or quarterly payments done which is not counted as deductibles. If one is employed Health Insurance are available or given by the company. But the coverage of this vary from the chosen plan by the company, sometimes not all are covered. SO it sometimes better to have a personal policy beside from the company.

(image source : tomkatsisinsurance.com)

by : Cielo P.

For healthy people and someone who have never experience being sick, purchasing a health insurance seems to be the least that they will do. They feel that there is no need for such. But consider this, only one accident or serious illness can wipe away your hard-earned money and rob your family an enjoyable future. Having a health insurance is a good back up plan in case you experience such. We never can predict how much increase in medical cost there will be in the coming years to come, purchasing a health insurance is a very wise decision to make. It may not be a necessity today but it will protect you from high medical care costs in the future. Now, who says healthy people don’t need health insurance.

(image source : missouri-health-insurance-quotes.com

In other countries, pregnancy-related healthcare are not covered by health insurance policies. Pre-natal and post-natal check ups are covered, but procedures and laboratory tests are not. US citizens are very fortunate to have the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, approved in 1978 as an amendment to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Pregnant employees will have the same benefits as any other employee that has medical conditions. Health insurance provided by employers should cover pregnancy related expenses. This benefit is not limited to married employees. However, abortion procedures are not covered, except when the mother’s life is in danger.

(source)