Health Insurance

EpitaphRecords asked:

The Higher “On Fire” In Stores Now

TIMMY

eHow asked:

Choosing a health insurance plan requires considering whether a PPO, HMO or high-deductible health savings account will best suit the needs of a family or individual. Pick a health insurance plan with tips from an insurance agent in this free video on insurance information.

MARGARITO

statefarm asked:

In the State Farm http://www.statefarm.com commercial titled “Young Driver”, we illustrate that, as our children begin driving, we often think of them as too young to undertake such a large responsibility. State Farm’s Steer Clear® Program can help you prepare your child for this awesome responsibility by teaching safer driving habits - which will give you piece of mind - while you get a lower rate. The spot was created to raise awareness of State Farm’s Steer Clear Program, and to offer …

GARTH

Michael0771 asked:

Thai Insurance commercial.. So sad…

SAM

NancyPelosi asked:

The House is considering the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009, HR 2, legislation to expand the State Childrens Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) to cover 11 million children. The program currently provides health insurance for more than 7 million children, but this legislation will protect coverage for those children and expand it to include an additional 4 million children who would otherwise be uninsured.

BRENT

RoadabodeProductions asked:

Ever wonder what young full-time RVers do about health insurance and health care? Find out one young full-timer’s perspective here.

BRET

Barclay Win asked:


When comparing health insurance quotes, make sure you are comparing similar plans. Health insurance comes in two basic forms – indemnity plans and managed care plans. Both indemnity and managed care health insurance are further broken down into several different types of health insurance so it is important to take the time and compare health insurance plans to determine what best fits your health care needs.

Indemnity Health Insurance

Indemnity health plans put you in charge of choosing your doctors, hospitals and other health care providers. You pay a set monthly premium and your health insurance pays your medical care, often after you pay a deductible and possibly a percentage of the bill.

A common employer-sponsored form of health insurance is a cafeteria or flexible spending plan. This type of health insurance allows employees to create a benefit package taken from a number of options. You need to contact the employee benefit department at your company for more information on the exact mix of choices available to you.

If you are looking for lower cost health insurance, a “basic and essential” plan may be the best option. Do keep in mind this type of health insurance is limited in what services may be covered so it is important to carefully read the policy so you understand what treatments the plan does cover. Another type of health insurance known as catastrophic health insurance or high-deductible health plans do just what it sounds like they would. The deductible is high, but this type of health insurance protects you against catastrophic illness with a very high total cost.

Health savings accounts are fairly new and an alternative to traditional health insurance. This plan involves putting money into a tax-free savings account to cover your medical expenses.

Managed Care Health Insurance

The two most common types of managed care health insurance are health maintenance organizations (HMOs) and preferred provider organizations (PPOs). HMOs give you access to a group of participating doctors, hospitals and health care providers. HMOs come with fewer out-of-pocket expenses, but visits to the doctor, prescriptions and other services usually come with a co-pay or fee.

PPOs are fee-for-service health insurance and medical services are paid by the insurer on a negotiated and discounted fee schedule. PPOs allow participants to choose medical providers outside the plan’s network, although this can result in higher out-of-pocket costs.

One other type of health insurance is point-of-service (POS) plans. This type of health insurance is similar to indemnity plans, and your primary care physician can refer you outside of the plan without any extra costs to the insured. If you refer yourself outside a POS plan you will be charged a co-pay.



RANDY

Tro23y asked:

Probably too good to be true but worth getting excited about anyway. to search for other employers that cover trans stuff go here and tell it to search for trans inclusive insurance http://www.hrc.org/issues/workplace/search.asp?form=private_detailed_search.aspx

NEIL

Ed Harris asked:


Barack Obama’s ambitious health care plan is fairly simple and straightforward. His plan seeks to dramatically and swiftly increase the number of people that have health insurance. He insists that this plan will save the typical American family approximately $2500 in annual costs. Since the average Ohio health insurance premium is less than most other states, savings to Ohio residents may average less than $2500.

The Obama plan is designed to give the federal government more control over health care decisions and dollars, a major difference from the current decentralized system of employer-based insurance and state-based insurance regulation. Here in Ohio, health insurers have been effectively held in check by the Ohio Department of Insurance. This, however, is not the case in many other states.

The Obama Plan

Many parts of the Obama plan resemble initiatives from the Clinton health plan of 1994 and the Kerry Health plan of 2004.

Essentially, Obama’s health care plan is divided into three sections:

1. Modernizing the US health care system to lower costs and improve quality

2. Promoting prevention and strengthening public health

3. Quality, portable and affordable health coverage for every person

The “Savings”

The $2500 in savings will come from health care reform, using some of the following initiatives:

*Making health insurance universal, which may reduce spending on uncompensated care.

*Improving management and prevention of chronic conditions.

*Increasing insurance industry competition and reducing underwriting costs and profits.

*Providing reinsurance for catastrophic coverage, which will reduce insurance premiums.

Shifting Cost Burden

While all of these ideas are feasible, the underlying theme seems to be simply shifting some of the cost burden from the private sector to the government. And of course, much more control of our health dollars and decisions would come from Washington D.C and not Anthem or UnitedHealthCare.

The Obama plan will actually compete directly with Ohio private health insurance companies in a “National Health Insurance Exchange.” The federal government (not health insurance carriers) would determine the quality of health benefits that Americans would receive. And these new rules would apply to both the new national health plan and all participating private health plans.

Preventative Coverage Would Be Emphasized

Obama’s health care plan will encourage “healthy lifestyles” with specific emphasis on wellness. Employer wellness programs will be increased, and cafeterias and vending machines in the workplace may see healthier food.

School-based health screening programs may increase along with increased support for physical education.

For Ohio individuals and families, the Obama plan would require preventative services on many federally-supported health programs such as Medicare, Medicaid and SCHIP. One benefit may be possible discounts to on health insurance premiums for enrollment in wellness and prevention programs.

Currently, some Ohio individual health insurance policies offer a similar discount, such as Anthem’s Lumenos Health Incentive Account (HIA).

Ohio Group Health Insurance

Employer-based health insurance would radically change under the Obama plan. Here in Ohio, both small and large employers are able to choose among many different health plans for their employees. The Obama plan would force employers to offer a specific level of health benefits to their employees or pay a tax to finance a national health program. Currently, the amount of provided health benefits and the size of the tax have not been specifically discussed.

Perhaps the best and most economical health insurance plan for Ohio residents would be a concept already in place…HSAs (Health Savings Accounts). Thus, instead of imposing a top-down change on the health care system, it would seem to be prudent to transfer direct control of health care dollars to individuals and families. This would allow Americans to choose their own health plans and benefits, while making health insurance companies compete directly for consumer’s dollars by providing a real value to patients.

All of this could be accomplished by specific tax and regulatory changes designed to utilize the power of free-market competition. Health care spending could be reduced, preventative treatment could be emphasized and portability could be promoted. Reforming the tax treatment of health insurance and aiding employers that help their employees buy health insurance would help quite a bit.

For now, Ohio health insurance rates are remarkably low compared to many other states. There are many reputable health insurance companies that offer a wide array of policies, including Health Savings Accounts. That shouldn’t change much for the next two years. In 2011, things might change…hopefully, for the better.

For additional information on Ohio health insurance plans, or an instant Ohio health insurance quote, please visit http://www.ohioquotes.com



MARTY

Abhishek Agarwal asked:


As most developed countries continue to move from a manufacturing-based economy to a service economy, and employee working patterns continue to evolve, health insurance coverage has become less stable. The service sector offers less access to health insurance than its manufacturing counterparts. Further, an increasing reliance on part-time and contract workers who are not eligible for coverage means fewer workers have access to employer-sponsored health insurance.

With health insurance premiums on the rise, many small employers cannot afford to offer health benefits to their employees. Companies that do offer health insurance, often require employees to contribute a larger share toward their coverage. As a result, an increasing number of people have opted not to take advantage of job-based health insurance because they cannot afford it.

How does being uninsured harm individuals and families?

*Lack of health insurance coverage compromises the health of the uninsured because they receive less preventive care, are diagnosed at more advanced disease stages, and once diagnosed, tend to receive less therapeutic care and have higher mortality rates than insured individuals.

*Regardless of age, race, ethnicity, income or health status, uninsured children were much less likely to have received a well-child checkup within the past year. Research shows that almost 50 percent of children without health insurance coverage did not receive a checkup in 2003, almost twice the rate (26 percent) for children with health insurance coverage.

*People without health insurance coverage end paying “up front” — before services will be rendered. When they are unable to pay the full medical bill in cash at the time of service, they can be turned away except in life-threatening circumstances.

*About 20 percent of the uninsured (vs. 3 percent of those with coverage) say their usual source of care is the emergency room.

*Studies estimate that the number of excess deaths among uninsured adults aged 25-64 is in the range of 18,000 a year. This mortality figure is more than the number of deaths from diabetes (17,500) within the same age group (10).

*According to one another study, over a third of people without health insurance coverage have problems paying medical bills. The unpaid bills were substantial enough that many had been turned over to collection agencies - and nearly a quarter of the uninsured adults said they had changed their way of life significantly to pay medical bills.

What additional costs are created by people without health insurance coverage?

*Its estimated that America spends nearly $120 billion per year to provide uninsured residents with health services, often for preventable diseases or diseases that physicians could treat more efficiently with earlier diagnosis.

*Hospitals provide about $35 billion worth of uncompensated care a year.

*Another $38 billion is paid by private and public payers for health services for the uninsured and $26 billion is paid out-of-pocket by those who lack health insurance coverage.

*People without health insurance coverage are 30 to 50 percent more likely to be hospitalized for an avoidable condition, with the average cost of an avoidable hospital stayed estimated to be about $3,300.

*The increasing reliance of the uninsured on the emergency department has serious economic implications, since the cost of treating patients is higher in the emergency department than in other outpatient clinics and medical practices.

Getting Everyone Health Insurance Coverage Will Save A lot of Money.

The impacts of living without health insurance coverage are severe. Many uninsured individuals postpone needed medical care which results in increased mortality and billions of dollars lost in productivity and increased expenses to the health care system.

There also exists a significant sense of vulnerability to the potential loss of health insurance which is shared by tens of millions of other people who have managed to retain health insurance coverage.

Every person should have health insurance coverage, participation should be mandatory, and everyone should have basic benefits because like we have seen above it’s benefits are awesome.



CALEB