Health Country » Health Insurance

Health Care Economics

admin — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 23:56:04 +0000

If nothing else, the political process in this country is exciting when it gets heated up. I haven’t seen such commotion since I don’t know when. Congressmen and senators are having town hall meetings across country attempting to sell a healthcare bill that isn’t quite fully written, several versions of which are in excess of 1000 pages and written in a legalese that would make any laymen’s head spin. It is enough to make anybody anxious about the future of our health care system.

President Obama tells us that if we don’t do something now, the current system will implode. Politicians are calling citizens who disagree with them “Nazis,” and the democrats say that all those people that show up at the demonstrations and town hall meetings have been put up to it by the Republican Party. The press and the comedians are as divided as the parties as is hyperbole that comes with any emotionally charged discussion.

So with that said, I would like to take a more simplistic and logical view of the health care issue in the context of our current economic situation. Our current situation appears to be this:

1. 85% of the people have health insurance and are satisfied with the policy they have;

2. The country is currently 7 trillion dollars in debt, (approximately $23,000 of debt for every man, women and child in the county), and that debt is projected to go to 9 trillion dollars over the next ten years.

3. The latest count of illegal aliens currently in the United States is approximately 12 million. When these people visit our hospitals and clinics more often than not they cannot afford to pay the bill.

4. Hospitals by law cannot refuse treatment because of inability to pay. A double edged sword in that, we are showing our generosity to those less fortunate, but the hospitals pass their costs for this unreimbursed mandated care on to the patients who can pay, again raising medical costs and insurance rates. This law turns out to be a mandated subsidy for the poor paid for by the responsible paying patrons of the hospitals.

5. This country is lawsuit crazy. Medical malpractices suits, both frivolous and justified, contribute once again to increasing medical costs and medical insurance costs not only because of the cost of the suits and the large and often time excessive awards, but also through the extreme defensive medical practices that doctors and hospitals employ in order to avoid law suits and avoid loosing law suits.

6. Projections are that both Medicare and Social Security will be paying out more money than they take in a few years. (This item alone should give one pause when considering the resolution of the problem through government programs).

7. The unemployment rate in the country is currently 9.6%.

When considering the above items, why would anyone want a government run health care system? It would be just more bureaucratic waste and inefficiency. The healthcare bills currently in Congress are a smoke screen for the government’s failure to control our boarders, provide meaningful tort reform, control wasteful spending and represent its citizens honestly. As it looks now, if anything passes. it will more than likely deal a catastrophic blow to the economy when implemented.

I believe we need to focus on the cause of the problem, not on the symptoms.

Let’s fix the tort system.
Let’s enforce the borders and remove all illegal aliens from the country.
Let’s cut corporate taxes so that corporations find it profitable to have there companies in the United States.
Let’s implement health saving accounts for standard medical care and have insurance for the big ticket items.
Let’s take insurance away from employers and put it in the hands of consumers.
Let’s put America back to work so that more people can have health insurance.

If we do these things, I believe, medical services and medical insurance costs will come down, that in turn will help the economy to recover, and that will get more people covered.

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International Health Insurance Plans

admin — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 23:55:28 +0000

International health insurance plans have gained popularity over the years as more and more people who love to travel find the need for a medical coverage while they are in a foreign land. International health insurance provides broad coverage in the event of illness or injury.

So many health-related mishaps can happen while you are traveling in a foreign country, and since you are not a native of the place, you might not be eligible for government-sponsored health care. That is why if you travel overseas most of the time (either for business or for pleasure or maybe both), it is important that you have an international health insurance plan.

Basically, international health insurance offers two plans: the travel medical insurance and the expatriate medical insurance. Although these both provide coverage in the event of sickness or accident, the coverage vary on their length of the stay in the foreign country.

The travel medical insurance is the more popular type of international health insurance. This is a better option for those travelers who are making one tour or cruise and only stays in a foreign land for a shorter duration like seven days to twelve months. This usually consists of $1 million coverage for ordinary and emergency healthcare, home country coverage and trip interruption.

On the other hand, if you are an American who wishes to live in another country for an extended time, the expatriate medical insurance is the plan for you. It is essential to make sure that you and your family are covered in your new country. The advantage of this over the travel medical insurance is that this can be renewable annually and has a bigger coverage of up to $5 million.

Getting an international health insurance plan is indeed a wise move, whether you are traveling just for few days or for a longer duration. But see to it that what you choose is exactly the plan that will best work for your travel insurance needs.

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International Travelers’ Health Plans

admin — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 23:55:00 +0000

Chances of having health-related concerns may increase if you are traveling in foreign countries. You may not qualify for any of the local government-sponsored health care programs considering that you are not a native of the country you are visiting. If you travel internationally, therefore, it is very important to have an international health insurance plan.

International health insurance plans basically offer two kinds of plans: travel medical insurance and expatriate medical insurance. Both cover the expenses of certain sickness or accidents. However, each varies with regards to the length of the stay in the foreign country.

The more popular of the two plans would be travel medical insurance. It is often considered as a better option for travelers who are staying in a foreign country for a shorter span of time – usually covering only one tour or cruise and durations of about seven days to twelve months. Usually, $1 million of coverage is given consisting of ordinary and emergency health care as well as country coverage and trip interruption.

However, an expatriate medical plan would be more suitable if you are an American who is thinking of moving to another country for an extended amount of time. Of course, it is important to ensure that you and your family are covered in your new country. One of the best things about an expatriate medical plan is that it can be renewable every year and provides a larger coverage – up to $5 million.

It is definitely a wise move to get an international health insurance plan. This goes for all travelers; whether you are traveling for a limited span of time or for a much longer duration. However, see to it that you gather enough information and tips so you can choose the most fitting plan that will be best for all your insurance needs and expectations.

Health is wealth, so we all say. Therefore, all of us should watch our health a little more closely. A health insurance plan is one of our best tools of protection. We should have one ready anytime, anywhere. This includes when we are going abroad. Remember that accidents and any other mishaps do not choose the exact date, time nor place where they would occur.

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Health Care Insurance Quotes – Some Suggestions

admin — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 13:49:05 +0000

What should you be aware of before acquiring Health Insurance?

First of all, decide which type of policy you want to get. Whenever you request a Health Care insurance quote, keep in mind that there are different kinds of policies. There are some where you can choose what clinic and what doctor you can visit from a list. Some policies even allow you to visit a doctor in a different country and you would be reimbursed a percentage of the expenses. The are policies which show a combination of this advantages, in the Combined Policies you would be able to either choose a doctor from the list, or receive a percentage of reimbursement when traveling outside the country. Some policies limit you to a single medical specialty.

Health Care insurance quote should also include information about the level of communication between medical institution and the insurance company. Frequently, insurance companies do not have a close relation with the clinics. You would be more satisfied with an insurance company that understands about health care. A Health Care insurance quote should show the experience of the company in the industry, how many doctors you can choose from, what kind of assistance they provide when outside the country, and if they can customize products for you.

The Health Care Insurance Quote should also have useful tips to improve your lifestyle. Find out whether the company provides information over the internet on how to prevent common diseases or on how to improve your health. Visit their websites and see if you can find tips, or if you can easily contact medical staff over the internet or phone. Some companies give you discounts on gyms and low prices in spas, etc.

Health Care insurance quote should cover topics about the profile of the medical team when it comes to experience and quality of the service they provide. It would add value to the medical team if it is part of renowned medical groups of the town. Your perfect doctor will be someone that not only has the experience and education to take care of you, but also who can give you recommendations on how to quit your bad habits, who is attentive, patient, gives clear explanations, and shows respect for you.

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International Health Insurance – How To Select A Plan That Is Right For Me? Part I

admin — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 04:34:09 +0000

In order to answer this question, you need to first ask yourself the following questions:

1. Am I traveling or relocating?
2. Where will I be traveling to?
3. What are the medical cares that I may need while overseas?
4. How much am I prepared to fork out for these medical expenses?
5. Are there better alternatives to manage the risks?

Let’s examine each of the above questions separately.

1. Am I traveling or relocating?

If you are traveling to a foreign country for vacation or business, then what you need is an International Travel Medical Insurance. On the other hand, if you are relocating to a foreign country, then what you need is an International Health Insurance or sometime known as Expatriate Health Insurance or Global Health Insurance.

International Travel Medical Insurance typically comes in two (2) different plans; one that covers single trip and the other is an annual plan that covers multiple trips.

Single trip International Travel Medical Insurance plan may be obtained for an insurance period of 5 days to 12 months and some plans will allow renewal of up to 36 months.

Annual plan is ideal for corporate executives and business owners who require International Travel Medical Insurance coverage for numerous trips during the year and making sure that their coverage is always in place for those last minute international trips. In terms of premium, there will be some cost savings for purchasing an annual plan over multiple single trip plans purchased separately.

If you are relocating to a foreign country, then it is advisable that you obtain an International Health Insurance which offers comprehensive coverage for hospital inpatient as well as clinical outpatient care. International Health Insurance may also offer other benefits such as maternity care, wellness benefits, mental health benefits, physical therapy, organ transplant, and pre-existing conditions.

In short, International Travel Medical Insurance is designed to protect unforeseen medical needs that arise while a person is traveling outside his/her home country whilst International Health Insurance covers medical care that can be either emergency or routine in nature.

2. Where will I be traveling to?

Due to the high medical costs in the North America, typical International Health Insurance will have 2 separate plans; one covers USA & Canada and the other excludes. Obviously, plans that cover USA & Canada cost more than those that don’t.

3. What are the medical cares that I may need while overseas?

This question is even more relevant if you have a pre-existing condition. Simply put it, pre-existing conditions are medical conditions that have manifested before you purchase the insurance policy. Be sure to check whether or not your International Travel Medical Insurance policy or International Health Insurance policy covers pre-existing conditions.

Even without any pre-existing condition, there are other health risks associated with overseas traveling and living. Such health risks may be linked to lack of basic hygiene or sanitary standards to a more serve outbreak of pandemic such as avian flu.

Beside illnesses, there are risks of accident that could happen in a foreign country or in a remote location that may require you to be medically evacuated. Such emergency medical evacuation can cost as high as US $100,000.

More importantly, when you are in a foreign country and run into a medical situation you want to be able to know where you can obtain quality health care. Hence, it is utmost important when selecting an International Travel Medical Insurance or International Health Insurance plan, to choose a plan that offers 24/7/365 (24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year) customer assistance that speaks your language. The Plan should also provide worldwide toll-free or call-collect number allowing you to get customer assistance from anywhere in the world, around the clock.

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Nurse Shortages Continue to Plague the Health Care Industry

admin — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 13:28:48 +0000

Nurses are in more demand than ever. That’s good news as far as nurses and those still in the nursing programs are concerned. But not so for the hospitals and health care facilities scrambling to hire new qualified nurses of all specialties.

The weak links in the “nursing supply chain” start from a lack of enough nursing programs in colleges and extend all the way up to the high cost of living in some metropolitan areas.

Sometimes the legislators get the blame for not earmarking enough money to support the existing nursing programs and start new ones. And in some other instances, the realities of the job market divert nurses to far away places for better pay and more promising career challenges.

The nurse shortage is acute in Central Texas where an additional 5,000 nurses are needed by 2010, which is only three years away at the time of this writing.

The same is true of California. According to a 2006 study conducted by the California Hospitals Association, there are 622 nurses for every 100,000 Californians, in contrast to the average of 787 nurses per 100,000 Americans. California is ranked 49th out of 50 states by CHA in availability of nurses.

But parts of California fare even worse. In North County, for example, there are only 356 nurses per 100,000 residents.

The situation looks similar in parts of Canada. In a recent news story, the O’Leary Hospital in Prince Edwards Island was reported to “go from 16 beds down to five” for the rest of this summer “unless more nurses can be found.”

Paradoxically enough, sometimes improvements in the overall health care system can actually reduce the demand for nurses. The overall picture is a complex one.

Lorie Shoemaker, chief nursing officer at Palomar Pomerado Health, for example, is quoted for pointing out to a less demand for nurses with the “national shift from traditional health insurance policies to managed care plans focused on keeping people well.” When people feel better and get sick less often, hospitals close and nurses move out to places where they are needed more.

By: U. Akinci

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Lower Your Premiums With Florida Health Savings Account Plans (HSA)

admin — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 05:18:47 +0000

I would like to talk to you today about Florida Health Savings Account plans (Florida HSA). This is a type of health insurance plan that offers very low cost premiums with a somewhat higher deductible.

Many of you have discovered how great these plans can be and have already taken advantage of them. The rest of you still have a frame of mind that prevents you from buying these cost-saving Florida health insurance plans. You still think that you will be able to buy a plan with low co-pays, covers everything and has a $100 deductible. Then again, many of you still hold on to the hope that Santa Claus is a real person.

Let’s say you are sitting in your living room and a baseball flies through the window. It breaks a pane of glass. You call to have it repaired and the charges total $100. Your homeowner’s policy has a $5,000 deductible so you pay out of pocket.

Chances are you do not spend the next day shouting about your rotten homeowner’s policy that would not reimburse you the $100. Chances are that you do not shout at your home owner’s insurance agent about “What the hell do I pay premiums for?”

Why? It is because you bought the policy to help pay for the things that can happen to a home that cost a lot of money. Situations like a fire or a hurricane. You are smart enough to know that if they paid for the broken window, your homeowner’s plan would be even more outrageously expensive than it already is. You can pay for the window and your children will still eat tomorrow.

The purpose of insurance, any type of insurance, is to provide financial help for those situations that would be a hardship if we had to pay out of own pockets. The degree to which you want to be protected, in other words the amount of compensation you receive and the deductible (the amount you have to pay before the insurance company does), will determine how much you pay for insurance. It is as simple as that.

Those of you looking for a Florida health insurance plan with $10 co-pays, $100 deductibles, vision, dental and a limo to pick you up and take you to the doctor are living in a dream world. Health insurance premiums in Florida, in case you did not notice, are going up each year 8% to 20% depending on the carrier and plan.

Now, let’s talk about an intelligent solution. The rest of this discussion will assume a working knowledge of 4th grade arithmetic. You do NOT have to smarter than a 5th grader to understand all of this.

All of our HSA plans are PPO’s. In other words, if you go to a network provider (physician, lab, testing facility, etc.) you are entitled to the discounted PPO rate for services. You will pay the reduced rate the insurance company pays. A physician visit may be reduced from $100 down to $60 under these circumstances.

You pay a premium each month for the health insurance plan, just like any other Florida health insurance. However, this plan has a somewhat higher deductible and a lower monthly premium. If you meet the deductible, the insurance company pays the rest of your expenses. It is still multi-million dollar major medical coverage.

What about doctor’s visits and prescriptions? You pay them. But here is the catch. Uncle Sam allows you to set up a special savings account. This is an interest bearing account, the money is yours, and it does not disappear at the end of the year.

For every dollar you put into the savings account, you can take a dollar off of your gross income at tax time. Your “Uncle” is helping you to pay for your health insurance. You are paying medical expenses with pre-tax money.

Here is an example. A couple (Male 40 and Female 35) living in Pinellas County would pay $130 a month for a $6000 deductible HSA plan. A plan with a similar out of pocket expense and some doctor co-pays would be $270 a month.

For the privilege of paying a doctor visit for $35 instead of $60, it will cost them more than $1600 a year. From my stand point, that is insane. If something terrible happened to you, the coverage is the same. Actually, you would pay a little less in out-of-pocket expenses with the HSA plan.

If this couple were in a 25% tax bracket and put the $1600 into their Health Savings Account, they would save $400 a year in taxes and get interest on the money as well. If you factor that in, they are paying less than $100 a month for multi-million dollar PPO Florida health insurance. Not bad.

I am not going to go through a complete explanation as to how the HSA plans work. It is discussed on our website flquote.com. Plus, I would be glad to email you a complete brochure.

You need to approach health insurance (or any type of insurance) with a business mindset. The question you need to ask yourself or your agent is “What do I get for the extra dollar of premium?” In our aforementioned example, what did they get for the extra $1,600 a year? Not much really.

Believe it or not, the insurance carriers want you to buy the cheaper high deductible plans. They structure their prices to make it much more attractive. It is good for you and it is even better for them. Plus, the rate increases tend to be much lower.

Florida HSA plans are almost always the best choice for health insurance. How much are you paying for your low deductible health insurance plan? You think you are going to the doctor for $20. But, if you pay an extra $1,000 a year for the plan and go to the doctor 4 times in a year, the visit is costing you $220. Not such a bargain after all.

Has the light gone on yet? Are you starting to understand that the insurance company is trying to rip you off? Call us at 800-2727-0512 and we will walk you through a quote that will compare your plan to a Florida HSA plan.

By: Martin Unger

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Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance in California

admin — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 06:35:01 +0000

Insurance is the present day need of the modern society. Employer-sponsored health insurance is one amongst the insurance schemes in which the employees’ are benefited. It ensures that the employee’s health is protected and the employee avails a sustainable growth. A common reason why the scheme is being offered is on a general concern of the employees’ and their families’ health and welfare, employee productivity, retention and recruitment. On an average, the average cost of insurance that an employee avails is three thousand dollars a year.

Any small business, defined as 2 to 50 employees, must be offered the similar health insurance for small businesses that is offered to all other small businesses. It is impossible to deny coverage to any concern which pays their premium, doing business for at least two months, offering the coverage to all its employees including the part-time workers. It is also the responsibility of the insurance company to inform the minimal number of employees allowed for a plan, so that they have the right to withdraw the amount. The insurance maybe cancelled if the minimal number of employees did not participate.

Any employee avails insurance based on his average age and location. The employer sponsored plans were forced to increase their premiums to keep up with these increasing costs, and there was only so much of it that could be passed on to the employee. The benefit the health insurance expected is closely related with the status of the employee. The unions in companies mandated that health insurance should be provided, while there was no demand from non union companies. This lead to a bad speculation about those companies among the employees. So, employers were forced to offer this as they had to struggle for the best employees. Plans have also been proposed by politicians that would make employers mandatory to offer insurance plans for their employees or to contribute to national plan on a whole that would be modeled after Medicare without any age limitations.

A recent survey found that nearly half of the small business employers in California don’t provide health insurance for their employees. Adding to this, according to a study released by the University of California-Los Angeles, Center for Health Policy Research, there is a decline in the employer-sponsored health insurance coverage scheme from 56.4% in 2001 to 54.3% in 2005,Los Angeles Times dated 11/07/07.The report also stated that 80% of the uninsured employees either work for employers who did not offer them the health insurance scheme, or were not entitled to receive the health benefits. Even more drastic was 20% did not even enroll them in the available insurance plans.

The study also further reported the increase in the premium family coverage by 66% through employer-sponsored plans from 2001 to 2005.Although there was a significant amount of residents availing the benefit of employer-based coverage proportion of Californians who have not insured declined from 21.9% in 2001 to 20% in 2005. The study features the decline to enrollment increases in medicals, the state’s Medicaid program; Healthy-Families; and county-based insurance programs. According to Times, about one in three California children are insured through such programs. The report also stated that 63% of uninsured Californians were U.S. citizens, 15% non citizens having green cards and 22%of the states’ uninsured residents were undocumented immigrants.

Also on the same day the Center on Policy Initiatives released a report stating that about 8.7 million of California’s 17.3 million adult workers do not have employer-based health insurance and 2.9 million do not have any insurance. According to the study, people with high wages were more likely to have the health coverage than the employees with low wages. As a major requirement, Health insurance for employees makes financial sense, as well as motivates employees, keeps them happy and reduces absenteeism.

Employer-sponsored health insurance is in crisis, only informed people shall be benefiting themselves and bring benefit to the country. It is high time all these setbacks are dealt with the perfect plan and strategy.

By: Sam Rosy

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How About Applying Capitalism to Health Care?

admin — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 13:32:37 +0000

Maybe our health care system would benefit from a little old-fashioned capitalism. Here are some ideas:

- Keep the federal government out of it. Let free enterprise take care of this.

- Don’t dictate that all employers must provide health insurance. This will only drive costs up on everything. Let free enterprise take care of this too.

- Make the patient pay for a certain portion of all of the expensive tests and surgical procedures that doctors perform, many of which are unnecessary. Maybe we could also put a cap on the (currently outrageous) costs for certain tests, such as MRIs and CT scans.

- Don’t dictate identical coverage for everyone. Remember that being able to afford certain things has always been a problem for most people. If a person cannot afford medical treatment or health insurance, then he can often go to a free (county, etc.) hospitals (at least) minimal care, where poor people can be treated, even though they may have to stand in line.

- Pay doctors (and especially surgeons) less. Recruit medical students who are more concerned with the health of patients than with money. Let’s see if we can get some younger doctors who are willing to squeak by on only a few hundred thousand dollars per year.

At the core of the health care problem are its outrageous costs. Health care reform doesn’t need to force small business owners to provide health insurance. This would only drive up costs on everything. Neither does reform need to dictate identical coverage for everyone, or restrict certain care for the elderly. Health care reform simply needs to address the ever-increasing costs of health care, with less influence from the government and insurance companies, and more empowerment to the patient.

By: Owen Weber

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The Reason’s Why You Need Health Insurance

admin — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 08:26:22 +0000

One of the biggest debates in America usually begins and ends with health insurance. The health care industry in this country is one that is becoming expensive for the common man. With health care costs rising with the advent of new life saving technology and medicine, it is becoming more and more expensive to receive health care if you become sick. This article will focus on the different reasons why it is important to have health insurance and the benefits and disadvantages that is associated with this type of insurance.

As mentioned above health care is extremely expensive and you never know when you may become sick. If you do become sick, hospital fees can reach levels, where you may become bankrupt. The beauty of health insurance is the fact that for a small monthly fee (premium) you can have coverage in the event you become sick and need to seek medical treatment. This makes health insurance very beneficial as it can protect your family against financial hardships that may result from health care expenses

If you have health insurance your are somewhat protected financially against sickness. Let’s say you do not have health insurance and you become sick and have to pay a tremendous hospital bill. After spending all that money, you might get sick again and this time wont have the money to cover the cost of the treatment. In a scenario like this you might be sued or a lien placed on your property in an attempt to recover the costs of the medical bills.

Another benefit of having health insurance is the fact that your are more likely to go and visit a health facility to get preventative care or treat your ailment. Some people who do not have health insurance wait until the problem reaches a level when they are very sick or when their condition becomes too expensive to be treated. Even in an event like this, there is still the option of going to the county hospital, which is extremely bad. The conditions are overcrowded and you might take a long time before you are seen or treated.

By: James Daltons

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