Friday, October 22, 2010

What health insurance plans cover toenail fungus medication and nail removal surgery?

Hi,

I suffer from toenail fungus, and I've tried ALL home remedies available without success. I'm also about to buy health insurance. I thought I would take this opportunity to finally visit the doctor and get rid of this problem. My questions are:

1. Which health insurance plans offer the best coverage to treat toenail fungus?
2. Do they cover the medication and the surgery required in some cases to remove the toenail?

Thank you for all your help!
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most insurance will cover the costs you mention if the doctor thinks it is medically necessary.
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Can I reimburse myself health insurance costs from my company?

We used to have individual health insurance, and I would pay for it out of my own company (an S Corp). When we got insurance through my husband's employer, I stopped reimbursing myself.
He is paid for by the company, and then it costs extra to add myself and our child.

I was just going to deduct health insurance premiums on our Sch A, but we don't have enough other medical expenses to meet the limit.

Is it ligit to go ahead and reimburse myself the amount that it cost for the health insurance? Then it would be a business expense. Thanks.
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No.
The insurance through your husband's employer does not meet the test of having been established through the S-corp.
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How does health insurance work in the US?

I am a non-US citizen and need this information to do a case.

Specifically:
1) Is health insurance compulsory for everyone?
2) What happens if someone cannot afford it?
3) In the event that a medical procedure needs to be done, does health insurance cover all the bills? Does the patient need to pay anything extra?
4) Does the patient have any say over what kind of procedure he can take? Say if 2 treatments are available for his condition, can the patient choose the more expensive treatment? And if so, is it covered by the insurance?

Thanks for reading this. Your help in answering any part of the questions would be greatly appreciated!

Additional Details
Thanks to those who have responded so far.

I would like to further ask:

Does a health insurance contract state that it will only cover the "normal" rates for a procedure? For eg. if there are 2 possible treatments for a disease, 1 of which is more expensive but more effective than the other, will the patient only be covered by the LESS expensive one?

Or is it a case in which the patient can opt for the more expensive one and "top-up" the difference?

This is a crucial question to my understanding the case. Thanks!
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You've asked a very broad question. There is no simple answer.

In truth, health insurance works a little differently in each state.

To answer your specific questions:
1) No, health insurance is not compulsory for everyone. If you're lucky, you are able to join a group policy at work. (If you're really lucky, it's a good policy and the employer pays at least half of it.) Some states have recently made it compulsory, but that's such a recent change that there's no clear cut answer yet for how that's going to work.

2) What happens if someone can't afford it is... they don't get it, usually. Except if your income puts you below the "poverty level", in which case you qualify for Medicaid. (In some states there are programs that typically provide assistance with insuring children, though they are few and far between for covering adults.)

3) Health insurance rarely covers all the bills when you have a procedure done. Most plans cover 50-80% after you meet your deductible. The deductible amounts vary widely (but the trend is that the deductibles are getting higher and higher to keep the premiums down.) If you're really, REALLY lucky, you don't have a deductible (which is only an option on group plans), and you may only have to pay 10% of covered charges. (These plans are few and far between. As in, you might have them if you're in Congress.)

4) Yes, the patient has some say over procedures. However, if the patient opts for an "experimental" procedure, or one that isn't deemed "medically necessary", then health insurance may refuse to cover any charges at all.

In the end, as with most things, the middle class takes the brunt of these costs. This has become such a problem that more than 50% of all bankruptcies are as a result of medical bills (and of those, more than 75% had health insurance.)

** Edited to add:
It's not ALL about the money when a procedure is involved. If it is, the state keeps track of complaints filed on behalf of consumers with "managed care" (ie. any type of network arrangement including Preferred Provider Organizations, Health Maintenance Organizations, and Point of Service organizations -- also known as PPO, HMO, and POS) and may very well revoke a company's charter to do business in the state should the company be turning down too many legitimate claims.

However, insurance companies are sticklers for following the "standard" for medical care. This is what makes it difficult to answer your question. Because they should not deny anything that's considered standard for care in the given circumstances (should not and will not being two completely different things, of course.) And there may be several options that would be considered "standard." If the patient wants treatment that isn't yet considered "standard", they would balk. Period.

Source(s):
http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/con…

And this just in (an article about Massachusetts, one of the few states that is mandating health insurance for residents):
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070304/ap_o…
 

Health insurance company is asking my health records before making a decision. Is it good to give consent?

Has anybody heard about world health insurance company? its asking for my doctor records. I am concerned that they will end up on MIB or other insurance companies. Also, isnt it weird asking for records for a health insurance? I thought they only do that for life and disability insurances.
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Ask them what they will do with the information completely, record the conversation, and if you feel like they sold it, bring your tape to court. (If they lied to u).

Anyway in the netherlands we are all insured, I think you will be all insured aswell, and wont be declined in 4 years.

You wait 4 years or just give it to them.
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What affordable health insurance would you recommend for my uninsured 20 year old daughter?

She works full time but her employer charges an outrageous amount of money for health insurance. I know there are many many young people who don't have health insurance, mostly because of the cost of high insurance premiums. But my daughter really needs it cause she has some health issues that will stay with her for a lifetime.
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YOu are not the only one who met this problem,I have met this type of problem before.I have good experience here    www.HealthInsuranceIdeas.info    to solve my similiar problem.
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How would health insurance businesses be able to stay viable if the Senate bill is passed?

As I understand it, the bill forces all Americans to have health insurance. However, I think that the fine for having no health insurance is around $750. But after the year 2014, health insurance companies will not be able to turn customers away for preexisting conditions. Why wouldnt someone pay the fine or buy low end coverage until they got ill and supplement the coverage or buy an extensive plan?
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i htought the main reason of living in a society was to help each other out, am i wrong?
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What reputable health insurance companies are out there?

My mom doesn't have health insurance and my job doesn't give insurance to family members.

I would like to pay monthly to a health insurance company so my mom could get health check up when she needs it.

Do you know any health insurance companies that can accept low monthly payments since I don't get paid that much?
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Well, if she's 40 and perfectly healthy, it's going to cost her about $500 a month to have a low/no deductible plan that covers checkups.

You BUY it on a month to month basis. If you want low monthly payments, you have to cut the coverage - like take a $10,000 deductible. Or higher. That would cut payments down to maybe $200 a month or less.

The older she is, the less healthy she is, the more it costs.

Your best bet, is to find a local, independent agent, who can help you balance cost with coverage.
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Health Insurance?

I'm doing an assignment on health insurance and I wanted to know why is it a good thing to get health insurance?
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The purpose of any type of insurance is to protect against catastrophic loss. Using health insurance as an example, most everyday medical expenses are not very expensive (a physical exam averages $150.00+/-), but if you are admitted to the hospital for an emergency your medical bills would be in the tens of thousands of dollars at a minimum. If you do not have insurance you "self-insure" againts that potential catastrophic loss. Without insurance, the average person would face financial ruin if faced with a major loss.
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Health insurance?

I need it. going to pay out-of-pocket. 40 year old non smoking female, healthy. Any tips? Anything I should know? I've never shopped for health insurance, have no idea what I'm doing.
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If you are self employeed you should take a serious look into Health Savings Accounts, for several reasons, starting with there is a huge savings on your monthly premiums regardless if you are insuring yourself or you and your family. Things that are considered by the insruance companies are the area you live in, the type of work you do and any pre-existing conditions you might have. If you are in the state of California, and you have employees, you need a minimum of two employees and/or 75% of the payroll to participate in the plan (regardless of HSA or regular insurance) to get a guaranteed issuance of the insurance.

If you are not self employeed but do have a job, again the HSA is great way to go, because you can make pretax contirbutions to the plan, take it with you where ever you go, and keep the insurance with you when you retire... which as common sense tells us, you are going to need healthcare much more in your retirement years (ie when you are older) then you will now. Also any qualified medical expenses can be paid tax free from the account, and once you hit your deductable out your account, anything above that is paid for by the backing insurance company.

One note about the non bias oppinon of "brokers," they get paid on a commission as well by the companies they represent, and some companies pay more than others. Just because you are working with an "independant" does not mean you are getting the best price, or service. You want to work with someone who knows the products that they work with inside and out, or have access to the people who do so that all your questions can be answered to your satisfaction. Some times a huge selection does not mean a huge savings in time and money.
Source(s):
Insuarce/Financial advisor 2+yrs
Financial industry 7+yrs
BA Economics
www.alaldrete.com
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Health insurance?

My company allow me to buy my parent's health insurance with me. can i include that amount into my itemize deduction? even though my dad file his own tax return; my dad is not a dependent on my tax return;
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1) Most employer provided health insurance is deducted "pre-tax" so there is no deduction on the tax return.

2) Your parents must be your dependents (or would have been your dependents except for the gross income test) for you to take a deduction anyway. So, unless you are supporting them: No.
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