Affordable Health-Health insurance is probably top of mind if you’ve recently experienced a change in job status, navigated a major life event like marriage or the birth of a child, or aged out of your ability to use your family’s coverage. But how well do you understand health insurance and how it works?
Here’s everything you need to know about health plans and how to go about finding the best and most affordable health insurance plan for you.
Affordable Health Insurance
Having a healthy lifestyle does not guarantee that an individual would not get sick because no matter how good a person takes care of himself, unforeseen things can still happen. The healthiest person you know might wake up one day and find out that he has cancer. People are getting sick everyday, yet affordable health insurance is not available to all.
All individuals need affordable health insurance to protect from not only financial disaster but to also give peace of mind. The sad reality is that most people have habits that are detrimental to their health such as choosing unhealthy foods, cigarette smoking, lack of exercise and alcohol and drug abuse.
The salaries of people do not usually increase as quickly as health care costs do. The steep price of the advanced and highly technical medical diagnostic and treatment procedures ordered by physicians make people think twice about going to the hospital. They usually wait until the last minute to do so – by this time, the disease has progressed. This is the reason why affordable health insurance is desired and needed by everyone.
Affordable health insurance is a way of safeguarding oneself in case of illnesses or injuries. It assures us that should anything happen, affordable health insurance is there.
There are a lot of health insurance packages out there offered by various companies but one should choose the most suitable, most affordable health insurance coverage because not all packages offer the same. Some affordable health insurance coverage programs offer premiums that are lower than the others. One should choose the affordable health insurance program that would fit his situation and weed out those affordable health insurance coverage that offers packages that he does not really need.
In choosing affordable health insurance program, one should also take into consideration the time length required to pay the plan. There are some affordable health insurance programs that are applicable only for a fixed period, say 30 years. Other affordable health insurance programs extend until the death of the insured. Additional payments should also be considered in choosing for affordable health care programs.
Managed care plans are affordable health insurance are pre-arranged and work with hospitals. Some prefer this affordable health insurance. This type of coverage saves time and effort because they have doctors and hospitals affiliated with them. However, some prefer other affordable health plans that are flexible enough to allow them to seek treatment from their own doctors and choose the hospitals they like.
Be careful in choosing among the different affordable health insurance programs. Choosing the wrong one will waste money and time. Study all your different options when in the process of choosing affordable health insurance. You will most likely find the one that works the best for you!
California Affordable Health Insurance
California health insurance is an insurance program which offers the people of California to pay the medical costs of the insured should he become sick of illnesses or get involved in accidents that are covered by the insured’s plan. The insured would pay the California health care companies premium in their preferred mode of payment.
Looking back, the concept of health insurance – not just California health insurance – started during the late 1600s when Hugh Chamberlen proposed this health insurance system. In the late 19th century, this was then called disability insurance because it included only the cost of injuries that had potential to make the person disabled and nothing else. Until the start of the 21st century, the California health insurance system covered only the insurance from disabilities. The other health care costs were paid for by the insured. However, during the middle to the late 20th century, health insurance like the 21st century California health insurance system evolved into the recent health insurance plan which is fortunately more comprehensive and covers for preventive care such as consultations and regular check-ups as well as preventive diagnostic procedures such as mammogram for long-term diseases such as cancer which would save the California health insurance company a lot of money if diagnosed in their early stages.
California health insurance policies are beneficial to people because of the high percentage of morbidity in the population, which may be attributed to the bad health practices of the potential applicants to California health insurance programs. Obesity, alcohol drinking, cigarette smoking, and sedentary lifestyle should be blamed for the high percentage of the population that gets afflicted by these diseases. The California health insurance policies nowadays are more comprehensive and cover the cost of preventive, therapeutic, and emergency health care procedures. Some even extend its coverage to therapeutic medications and out-patient follow ups.
California health insurance companies entice their clients by frequently mentioning the term “adverse selection” which is a description of the probability of an applicant seeking California health insurance to acquire illness later in life. Of course, there are diseases that you cannot prevent no matter how good you take care of yourself and the California health insurance companies are well aware of that. California health insurance companies also assess the applicants, ask them detailed medical history as well as history of cigarette smoking and drug abuse, diseases and illnesses they have or may have acquired in the past. Those applicants for California health insurance policies with past history of long-term potential debilitating diseases that might cost a lot of money to the California health insurance companies are weeded out.
Because of modernization and advances in medicine and medical technology, the cost of health care has gone up. The California health insurance policies help the people of California by making expensive diagnostic and therapeutic procedures available, pay for emergency care, hospital stay, laboratories, medications, doctors’ fees and even out patient care in some plans.
Free Health Insurance Quote
In this day and age, it is wise to safeguard your future. You never know what will happen to you even in the next few minutes. You might bump into a car and be disabled. Or discover that the reason why you have been feeling extremely thirsty and you have been urinating quite frequently is because of diabetes. Or that the weight loss you noticed in the past months is actually symptom of the early stages of cancer. No one wants to get sick but it may happen. It is best that when a disease or illness does strike, you are prepared for it. Companies that offer free health insurance quotes are out there to find and will get you on the road to choosing a good health insurance.
Free health insurance quotes makes it easy to choose from plans and policies that will best suit your needs. Admit it, you may be earning money right now, money that is probably enough for your household needs plus a little extra but imagine if you get sick and suddenly you need to be confined in a hospital and the doctor orders numerous diagnostic tests and laboratory procedures that cost an arm and leg? Add to that the steep price of most prescription drugs. As you recover and go home but the expenses may not end there. You will probably be given expensive medications and you will be instructed to follow up on a regular basis and undergo examinations every now and then. How will you able to afford all these while maintaining the quality of life for your family? You really should start paying attention to all free health insurance quote right about now.
In browsing free health insurance quotes offered, it is important to know beforehand what you are looking for. You should consider when looking at a free health insurance quote what are you and your family needs. The length of time required to pay the plan is also an important consideration in free health insurance quote. Some health insurances offer several years of payment, some even extending until the day the insured dies.
Free health insurance quotes should also include the mode of payment offered by the company so you will know if you can pay the plan being offered. You should also find out if the free health insurance quote you are seriously considering would allow you to choose your own doctors and hospital or be restricted to only their network of health care professionals.
There are also free health insurance quotes that offer group health insurance. These are different from individual health insurance quotes in the sense that they offer insurance for the group rather than individual, so they are not customized and everyone enrolled in the group gets the same benefits. This type of free health insurance quote is normally less expensive and does not require extensive screening. Individual free health insurance quotes usually states that an applicant will undergo extensive medical screening. Should you pick this type of free health insurance quote, the company will want a detailed medical background check, focusing on the past diseases that you may or may not have.
Since the quotes are free of charge, relax, take your time and find the best health insurance for you!
Group Affordable Health Insurance
In order to have a secured life, it is important to make sure that one has affordable health insurance. Not everyone can afford to be hospitalized in this day and age, what with the high cost of medications and diagnostic tests. It is therefore a puzzle why despite this, most people continue their habits that they know would be detrimental to their health in the long run. These include consuming fatty, unhealthy food, which leads to obesity in some individuals, cigarette smoking, excessive drinking of alcohol, lack of exercise and using prohibited drugs.
Following a healthy lifestyle does not automatically assure one of a disease and illness free life. No matter how good a person takes care of himself, unforeseen things can still happen. The healthiest person you know might wake up the next day feeling dizzy and weak, and discover that he is a diabetic. People are getting sick everyday, yet salaries are not increasing. Not everyone can afford individual health insurance but fortunately, some companies and organizations offer group health insurance.
Group health insurance policy is a policy that covers the medical expenses of many people, instead of just a single person. With a group health care insurance policy, all eligible people are covered regardless of age or physical condition. Thess group health insurance policies are usually more successful. Group members are not as scrutinized like those with individual health insurance programs.
The advantages of group health insurance include cheaper costs because the company can afford to offer low rates because there are many people on the plan. Many private employers also offer group health insurance. There are no physical exams or history forms to fill out.
In group health insurance, the insured can readily get maternity coverage. It also makes sure that all employees of a business have health insurance plans. Even those who were weeded out in individual health insurance plans can apply for a group health insurance plan. These are usually the people who have pre-existing medical condition.
The disadvantage of group health insurance over individual health insurance program is that their health care policy is not customized and the insured gets the same policy his group gets. Unlike individual health insurance program, the insured does not have the freedom to include or exclude provisions in group health insurance. The choice is also limited because group health insurance plan is designed for the entire group and not for just one specific person. The insured in this group health insurance plan cannot choose the terms in the group health insurance policy. If one resigns and transfers to another employer, he also loses the group health insurance plan. Recently, there are some new group insurance plans that can be transferred to other employers but this is not the norm.
In contrast to group health insurance plan, individual health insurance programs give the individual a policy where most of his requirements and needs are fulfilled. These plans are customized and also more expensive than group health coverage. A group health insurance plan may give a much more generalized coverage to the insured but it is also much more affordable.
Anyone Wants Health Insurance?
Health insurance is important to every individual because one never knows when he will need it. Due to the advances in modern medicine, medical diagnostic and treatment procedures are now a lot more expensive than before. Not everyone can afford the full cost of medical treatment which could easily add up to thousands of dollars.
The tremendous increase of health insurance prices in recent years has been attributed to various health-related factors such as lack of regular exercise, unhealthy food choices, exodus of doctors away from poor areas and rural areas, alcohol consumption, cigarette smoking, the popularity of drug addiction, increased body fat leading to obesity and the sedentary life led by most individuals nowadays.
Health insurance coverage originated in 1694 by Hugh the Elder Chamberlen, who first thought of the concept of health insurance. In the late 19th century, health insurance was called disability insurance because health insurance was limited only to medical costs of such injuries that would potentially lead to disability.
Health insurance is a program in which the insurer pays the medical costs of the insured should the insured become afflicted with sickness due to diseases or accidents covered by the insured’s plan. There are private organizations and government agencies who offer health insurance.
Health insurance is classified into private or non-government coverage or government-sponsored. A private health insurance is purchased from a private health insurance company and it is further classified into employment-based health insurance, which if offered through one’s employment. “Direct-purchase” is plan where the individual purchases the health insurance himself from a private company.
Private health insurance is controversial because the insurance company needs to remain solvent while the insured should remain in good health.
When the health insurance includes plans funded by the government, it is called government health insurance and it may be on a federal, state, or local level. This health insurance includes medicare, medicaid, military health care plans, state plans, and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).
Medicare is a government health insurance which pays health care costs for those 65 years old and above. Medicaid is a government health insurance coverage which helps families with dependent children, those who are disabled, blind people and the others who have disabilities and need health insurance. These two health insurance coverage programs complicate the current United States health insurance crisis because they unintentionally determine the price of medical diagnostic and treatment procedures.
The State Children’s Health Insurance Program provide health insurance to children who are part of low-income parents not qualified for Medicaid while military health care is health insurance provided by civilians and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Health insurance provided by some states for low-income constituents who have no insurance is called state-specific plan.
Individuals who wish to buy health insurance should first fill out a comprehensive medical history form that includes the history of smoking, the person’s weight, the individual’s past diseases and hospitalizations. This is used because individuals with pre-existing medical conditions are not eligible to that health insurance. Discounts may be given to applicants who are proven to be healthy, and who have no vices like smoking and drinking alcohol regularly.
Traveling Alternative Roads: Other Options for Health Care
Health insurance can be expensive if you are not lucky enough to have it provided by your employer. Even shopping around for the best quotes may not be within your budget. Luckily there are alternatives to health insurance that you can take advantage of so that you and your family will be safe even if an emergency situation comes up. You can apply for the prescription discount card program, which is a low monthly cost and works at most of the of corporation drug stores that we all use. There are also programs that give you health care but are not considered “health insurance”.
The prescription discount card is great for anyone who has regular prescriptions that need to be filled over a long period of time. The cost of prescriptions without insurance is high and always rising. If you cannot afford health insurance, there is no way that buying these full priced prescriptions will come without difficulty. You can enroll in a discount card program on the Internet or you can call around to try and find one locally. The reported savings for each person is estimated to be at least 50%, and some programs will enroll you for under $5 a month.
Health care programs are another popular alternative to expensive health insurance. BeniCard, for example, is a highly acclaimed health care program, and for a small monthly fee, you can have your immediate family covered. You will not be turned down because there is no limit to who is eligible, even if you have a pre-existing condition. It is not health insurance, but you will be able to save money on doctor visits, vision and hearing care, dental services, and prescription drugs. This is just one of the programs that can help you if you cannot get health insurance due to expense or because you have been turned down due to an illness.
No one should go without health care of some sort. Prescriptions are extremely costly without insurance, and if you or someone in your family has an emergency health situation, you could be left with a large debt for years. Insurance companies are hesitant to accept anyone with a pre-existing illness because it will definitely cost them plenty of money. For anyone who has been turned down for health insurance or simply cannot afford to pay a deductible, health care programs and prescription discounts are a low-cost alternative that could save you money.
Value Your Health-Buy Insurance
Many feel that health insurance is a waste of money. These people are often quite healthy and have no need to see their physician beyond yearly check-ups. However, health insurance is extremely important because it not only offers you protection from harmful illnesses or diseases and creates a better quality of life, but it can protect you from financial devastation in the case of an emergency.
One of the most crucial reasons to have health insurance is to cover the costs of medical bills – emergency or non-emergency. Without health insurance, you may be tempted to not see a doctor about medical issues you have, or you may assume that they are not serious. Both of these options are harmful and unwise as medical issues will often progress and become worse over time.
Insurance is often about ensuring you are covered in an emergency situation. For instance, you carry automobile insurance so that if you ever get into an accident, you will not be responsible financially. Health insurance works in much the same way, but it is also used to cover basic medical expenses and sometimes even preventative care depending upon your insurance provider. This can increase or improve your quality of life by allowing you to be proactive in your health care instead of simply reacting to medical issues that may arise.
Furthermore, the costs of medical procedures and consultations have increased with time. Even a routine outpatient procedure, like the removal of gall bladder stones, can be a costly medical expense. Even a short visit to a specialist for diagnosis can be extremely expensive. Emergency medical issues or the development of possibly fatal or debilitating illnesses are one reason to have health insurance. The expenses to treat these medical issues can cost hundreds of thousands dollars and pull you into a financially disastrous situation. With late fees and minimum payments, you may never be able to pay off your medical bills, and hospitals and doctors will often send collection agencies after you. This is not only inconvenient, but can also can ruin your credit and make it impossible to rent an apartment or buy a car.
As you can see, health insurance is very important. It will not only improve your quality of life and ensure that you are in top-notch health, but it can save you money in the long-run. When you consider what in your life is most important, your health has to be on the top of the list. If you protect your possessions or your home with insurance because of their value, then you should insure your health as well. After all, isn’t your health valuable too?
Ways of Paying for Health Insurance
When it comes to health insurance, many people don’t exactly know everything that there is to know about the subject. That only stands to reason, it is not something that is easily understood because of its complexity. For instance, when you visit the doctor you may be asked to pay something that is called the “co-pay”, and other times you may not have to do anything at all depending on your plan. Let’s look at some of the ways that health insurance is paid for.
Often times, your employer will sponsor your insurance and you only have to pay what is known as a “co-pay” or co payment. The co-pay is a set amount that is determined by your insurance company when you receive covered services. This is a significantly smaller fee than you would be paying without the co-pay. Many companies offer this type of payment option because it is easier on the employee to pay this way.
You may consider opening what is known as a Healthcare Savings Account (HSA). This will assure that you always have a location in which to retrieve payments for various medical expenses. The HSA is a pre-tax savings account where a portion of your pre-tax income, determined by you, is deposited into an account automatically. Since this account comes from your paycheck pre-tax, that means it will lower your overall taxable income. This means you are saving money in terms of taxes and saving lots of money towards your overall health care costs.
For certain disabled individuals and those above the age of 65, Medicare is also another way to pay for health insurance. While they will not pay all of your healthcare expenses, they will pay for most of them. Medicare, however, doesn’t cover prescription drugs and nursing homes. It is important that you check the different types of restrictions that may apply. There are low-cost prescription discount cards that have been proven to save people who require costly medications on a regular basis over 50% of what they would have been paying without any health care.
Paying for health insurance doesn’t have to be complicated as long as you understand just what is going on in terms of where you stand with your plan. Discuss any questions you may have about the plan before committing to one. While one plan may be right for many people, it does not always mean that it will fit your specific needs.
What are HIPAA Laws?
Your visit to the doctor now contains a page where you sign that you acknowledge that the physician’s office has notified you about their compliance with HIPAA laws. More often than not, you probably read through quickly or barely skim the authorization form before signing it. However, HIPAA laws are important, and they are in place to protect you from identity theft, being denied care, and/or health insurance coverage.
HIPAA stands for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, enacted in 1996. HIPAA laws created a new national standard in protecting your health information. As you see different physicians or become admitted to different hospitals, your health information should follow you. HIPAA delineates the need to properly protect your health information as it flows through to these different channels. As more and more transactions are completed electronically these days, HIPAA laws focus on the protection of your health information specifically through these channels.
So what does HIPAA protect? For you, HIPAA protects personally identifiable health information, such as your Social Security number, birth date, address, etc., as well as current, past, or even future physical and/or mental conditions or treatment. Such information may not be disclosed except for specific uses. Information that HIPAA does not cover must specifically be personally non-identifiable. In protecting this sort of information, there is more protection against identity theft and more recourse if such a thing should happen.
HIPAA also protects how health insurance providers may use your health information. These entities may use your information without your authorization only if they are sending you information, using this information to provide the best treatment or health care, or collecting payment on medical expenses, among other things. If disclosure of your health information does not fall under these categories, you must authorize the transfer of information in writing. Furthermore, because the government understands that highly technical language can be a barrier in understanding your health information privacy rights, any authorization must be in plain language.
This may all seem like unnecessary paperwork, but beyond identity theft, HIPAA laws also help those looking for health insurance coverage. Title 1 of the HIPAA laws oversees the availability and range of health insurance plans for those without perfect health. It outlaws any health insurance plan from creating discriminatory rules to create premium rates or deny coverage. HIPAA laws are quite extensive, but this gives you a look at how your health information is being protected and used. Your department of health should be able to give you further information, or you can search the government’s Web site for the entire HIPAA law.
What You Don’t Know Can Kill You: Health Insurance Limitations
Health insurance often requires a mountain of paperwork that has a lot of fine print. Unfortunately, this means that few people read their plans thoroughly nor do they fully understand what their plan covers or does not cover. Here are some common limitations in health insurance coverage that you should know.
Some of the most shocking health insurance limitations are found in the the fine print holes in the insurance policy. For instance, many people have found that their health insurance did not cover a routine or necessary medical procedure because they did not receive an authorization code prior to the procedure or the hospital did not correctly fill out the paperwork. Your medical claim can be denied simply because the hospital used odd codes for your treatment. While any claims denied by the insurance company can be disputed, this process is not only tedious, but time-consuming and draining, especially for someone who is already ill. There is also little success in winning disputed claims, which makes this option rather limiting.
Another surprising health insurance limitation happens more often than people realize. Imagine this situation: you are diagnosed with a medical condition and need an operation. You research surgeons and hospitals within your plan. You understand your plan’s coverage of hospital care. You have your operation and then you find a massive medical bill in the mail. Apparently your health insurance did not cover the anesthesiologist or other specialists that may have consulted in your operation. Thus, you have to pay these specialists for their services, even though you were under the impression that your plan would cover these costs associated with the surgery. Such a bill can be in the thousands of dollars, and there is little you can do to dispute the charges. The only way to avoid these charges is to make sure that you ask before the operation who will be involved and ensure that they are covered in your health insurance plans.
Other limitations are put on a number of treatments. For instance, you may need physical therapy or visits to a psychiatrist. Many health insurance plans will put a limit on the number of covered visits for such medical treatment. Without realizing it, you may surpass the maximum visits allowed by your health insurance and end up racking up huge bills.
Many people think that buying health insurance will cover them medically, but this is only correct to a point. When securing insurance, you should read through your health insurance package carefully, and when you are about to undergo any expensive medical procedure, be sure to consult your health insurance plan first.