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The problems of uninsured are much broader than we think. More than one-sixth of a typical insured family pays directly or indirectly of its income for health care. This expensive care is far less effective than it should be. If they get to little preventive care, only 55 percent of proven effective therapies are administered when they get sick. Many major medical procedures are either inappropriate or low value. Reducing the number of the uninsured will medically be more effective and affordable. To address fully the problems of affordability and effectiveness is impossible. To eliminate these uncompensated cost shifts by insuring everyone would enable the health system to function better and reducing the fragmentation of financing and expanding risk pooling.
The upcoming US Presidential elections has led to a lot of promises and proposals by the two candidates. One of these is their plan to change the way Americans get health insurance. NEWSWEEK’s Mary Carmichael has written a comprehensive article, consulting with Katherine Swartz, a professor of health policy and economics at Harvard. In gist, here’s her take on the two different plans:
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.
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As health care advances and treatments elevate, health care costs
also increase. The intention of health insurance is to assist you pay for
care. It protects you and your family monetarily in the event of an
unpredicted serious illness or injury that could be very pricey. In
accumulation, you are more likely to get routine and precautionary care if
you have health insurance.
You need health insurance because you cannot envisage what your
medical bills will be. In some years, your costs may be short. In other
years, you may have very sky-scraping medical expenses. If you have health
insurance, you will have peace of mind in knowing that you are
protected from most of these expenses. You should not wait until you
or a family member becomes critically ill to try to purchase health
insurance.
We also know that there is a link involving having health insurance
and getting better health care. Research shows that people with
health insurance are more likely to have a customary doctor and to get
care when they need it.
With the idea of diversifying coming to the forefront, Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, an Indian pharma, is thinking of going into the pharmacy retail business and eventually into health services as well. The move to go into the health insurance market is not as original as it might seem since the Apollo Hospital Group of India has already started to tie up with DKV which is a European insurance provider in order to facilitate the inception of a health insurance provider company in the country. The diversification although costly may prove to be profitable for the company in the long run considering only three percent of the Indian population is insured and a pharmacy market worth $5 billion ready to be taken.
Health insurance in a general sense is a form of protection that covers your medical expenses. In a broader sense, it includes disability coverage, long-term nursing or needs for custodial care.
Insurance programs may be issued through government sponsor, employer purchased coverage or individual purchase. In every instance, groups or individuals covered pay premiums or taxes in order to protect the insured from paying unexpected health expenses. Government welfare programs may also pay for medical expenses instead of being shouldered by the beneficiaries.
Calculating the overall risk of healthcare expenses and developing a routine finance structure that ensures payment of benefits specified in the insurance agreement is how health insurance works. Administration is handled by a central organization that is either a government agency or a private entity.
Haven’t been insured in six months or more? You’re in luck if you live in Florida.
There’s a new law signed last Wednesday by Gov. Charlie Crist that lets insurance firms to offer a basic package for health plans without the usual required coverages. The good news? It might just cost Floridians $150 a month.
“It is not the Cadillac of health plans, but it offers something very, very important for the citizens of our state,” the governor said. Shrinking the number of people in Florida without health insurance, now about 3.8 million, has been one of Crist’s top priorities.
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Monitoring whether your Medicare coverage have any gaps will be beneficial to you when you grow old and retire from working. A lot of elderly Americans these days have a hard time with paying for medical expenses they assumed would already be covered.
In case, you do see gaps in the Medicare coverages (or you might be worried in the future you will), it is advisable that you purchase Medigap. It is designed to fill in the gaps in your Medicare coverages. These are usually sold through private insurance companies and are standardized and regulated by state and federal law.
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We mentioned last time about short-term health insurance, now we’re going to talk about the opposite, the long-term health insurance.
Long Term Care Insurance or LTCI will be useful when you’re in the twilight of your years and probably no more resource for money to pay for a normal health insurance policy. However, deciding when to buy an LTCI policy will depend on a lot of factors, as buying them while you’re young means less expensive premiums to pay but you may be paying it over a very long time. It’s suggested that one should buy this type of insurance at around the 50’s to 60’s age range.
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If you just lost your job, either by resigning or getting terminated (not terminated due to gross misconduct), then you may be eligible for the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985, otherwise known as COBRA.
For a name synonymous with snakes and poisons, it can help you weather out the storm while you look for a new way to cover health insurance for yourself and your loved ones. According to this act you have the right to continue your former employer’s group plan for individual or family health insurance for up to 18 months at your own expense.
If you’re currently employed, ask your HR personnel for more details.
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Why would you want to get a short-term health insurance?
You just graduated from college and is now looking for a job, in the meantime you’re no longer covered by your college and parent’s health insurance.
You just found a job, but the health insurance benefit kicks in after three months
If you fall somewhere within these types, then you might be interested in looking for a health insurance that will temporarily cover you and/or your family.
Most short-term health insurance has a coverage ranging from 180 days to 12 months tops. It’ll cover accidents or sudden illnesses. You’ll be in charge of picking your own doctor or clinic, and get in and out patient services as well.
The negative side of it all is that it won’t offer all permanent plan benefits. It won’t include pre-existing conditions, routine medical exams, preventive care, optical or dental care, or pregnancy and childbirth expenses.
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