Monday, May 16, 2011

why do companies pay benefits, health insurance, and retirement benefits instead of paying a higher wage?

Wouldnt it make more sense if the company let the employees decide how they should allocate their earnings between health insurance and retirement and so forth?
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Higher wages is about attracting employees, while benefits packages are about retaining employees. It is much more efficient to keep an employee around after they have been trained. Most retirement plans, stock option packages, insurance benefits, etc. are designed to pay higher rewards to those with greater tenure so the longer you are around, the more expensive it becomes to leave.
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How much does health insurance cost you per year?

If you buy your own, that is. And is it good?
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If you ask me personally I would say that I am getting a pretty fantastic deal. I pay 6$ a month for me and I am pregnant. I guess that would mean I am below the average but I suggest you look around if you are trying to get cheap insurance, there are great deals out there nowadays
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Why do most health insurance plans only offer coverage to full time college students?

Is there some kind of omen that makes you 1000000x times more prone to accidents and illnesses if you take 11 hours instead of 12?
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healthquotes.awardspace.info - here is my health insurance plan. As I remember they can provide such a service.
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How many people have actually died due to not having health insurance?

Does anyone have a statistic? I believe that I need clarification as to how many people have died due to not being insured. Thanks!
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That would be impossible to tell. I am sure that if some one died who did not have health Insurance they just did not seek help. Free care is there for the taking. Just walk into any hospital with an emergency, they have to take care of you, it is the law. so I say if anyone died it was their own fault.
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Can my Health Insurance Provider through my employer drop my coverage if I am out of work for surgery?

I was just told today that if I am out of work for more than 30 days for the removal of a brain tumor that my company's insurance provider will drop my coverage. This does not sound right to me as I have paid for this so called insurance for the 2 years I have been employed and I am only going to be out of work because I was recently diagnosed with this tumor.
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If you live in the US. I would contact L&I. We have protection as an employee! We have rights. It's called FMLA! Family Medical Leave Act! Based on the rules you have 12 weeks (not getting paid) to take for your health care. And upon return to your job they are liable to give you your job back or one that is equivalent to the one you had before your leave! You can also check on line through Google.com! Just put in FMLA in the search bar!
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How does a small business start offering employee benefits like health insurance and 401K?

My wife and I have a small business in the Chicagoland area and are expanding. We've been doing everything on our own but now we need to hire one full time employee to start off with. How do we offer benefits? How do we go about the task? What is the best company to go to? Thanks!
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you get a really good guy with some really good products they put a plan together for our company and gave us options to choose from, sat down with our employees to go over benefit plans and 401k's and iras.. drop me an email and I'll get you his email, I'm at home and it's on my office computer. I would send them to anyone.. it never hurts to look, and a look is free.
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How exactly does someone die from lack of health insurance?

I keep seeing this quote. I could see dying from lack of oxygen. Or food. Lack of food would kill you eventually. Or lack of a seat belt. Please explain.
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They are denied access to health care to prevent emergencies. Unless they want to go bankrupt that is. Why does no other developed nation have the US model of healthcare? Because in the US model, insurance companies use death panels to deny care to those they are meant to cover. And then they raise costs [1]. Not only does the USA spend more on healthcare than any other nation [2], it finds itself bottom of the table when it comes to preventable deaths due to treatable conditions when it comes to developed nations [3]. The sad thing is that rather than focus on these things, the right spreads lies and half truths about the reforms and how healthcare works abroad [4]. Even sadder is the fact that the reforms are so simple [5]. But, if you think that my points are wrong, e-mail me with proof.
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Would it be better for our government to give everyone health insurance or?

Produce more health care resources by increasing funding for medical schools and work to "flood the market" in health care services thus making it more affordable for everyone?
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If you want health care so bad, why don't you pay for it instead of knocking on my door and making me pay for you? If health care is truly a priority to you, maybe you could sacrifice your cell phone, cable TV, internet connection or whatever luxury item you happen to use. IT'S NOT THE GOVERNMENT'S RESPONSIBILITY TO PAY FOR YOUR HEALTH CARE!!!!!!!!!
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I read about this ASPCA Health insurance for dogs and cats $6.99/m for cats, 8.99/m per dogs is it worth it?

I have a chihuahua and it protects in case of an accident, illness, routine preventative care, like dental cleanings and vaccinations and most plans cover spaying and neutering. Although I don't take my chihuhua to the vet often should I get this insurance? what do you think?
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i wish i would have had pet insurance, i just paid 2,500.00 dollars for my dog to have surgery and be in the hospital for the weekend and he still passed away...before we even brought him home....but i would read the fine print because that sounds very cheap compared to the ones i checked into...if it is legit, then i suggest yes!
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Can a company that has agreed to accept your out of network health insurance bill you for the difference?

I went to a physician that worked in surgery with my husband. He agreed to accept me as a patient and take what my insurance paid as payment. It was out of network and he knew that. I am now being harassed by a collection agency for a bill I should have never received.
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Well, did they say they'd accept the RATE that the insurance paid? Because most likely, if it was out of network, you had a deductible or coinsurance percentage that you had to pay. For instance, he charged $5000, the insurance rate was $3000, and your deductible and coinsurnace added up to $1000 of that, leaving the insurance paying $2000. They may have agreed to accept that rate, which means they would've written off that $2000 difference between what they normally ask for and what the insurance said would be allowed (usually called Usual and Customary rate, or Usual and Reasonable rate), but they'd still expect you to pay what the insurance says you're responsible for (the $1000). Or if you had more than a $3000 deductible, the insurance would say they allow the $3000 and are applying it all to your deductible, and they are paying nothing....so again, the doctor would've agreed to only bill you for what the insurance says, and they'd write off the $2000 difference. If you didn't have responsibility according to your insurance company, then definitely take this up with the drs office like the other answers suggest.
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Why do Libs keep saying that being forced to have health insurance is no different than being forced to have?

car insurance? One does not have to own a car there are other ways of getting around. The law only requires you to have liability insurance to cover other cars not your own. Being required to pay a private company money just for being alive is a lot different and unconstitutional.
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So, you want YOUR insurance rates to go up when someone down the street gets sick and cannot pay for all their treatment because they didn't get insurance? That's very nice of you.
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How much should I expect to pay for health insurance?

I found a plan that is about $110 per month that includes a discount dental and vision plan. The deductible is on the high end at $7,000 but I'm a 24 year old, healthy college student so the lower premium is more important than the deductible. It also includes $10 generic prescriptions and 25% payment on brand name prescriptions. Is $110 a good rate for this kind of plan?
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Yep, that's a pretty good rate. YOu might be able to ditch the dental and vision to cut it down further, but a LOW deductible plan should run you around $250 a month. A local agent might be able to meet the price, with a slightly lower deductible (like maybe $5K), but what you have there isn't bad.
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How can they fine people for not having health insurance?

How do they know who the people are? And whether they have it? How can they enforce it?
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They are putting the IRS in charge of that which means you will have to provide info on your tax return. They will check and bill you a "tax" for not complying with their new law.
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What is the best pet health insurance?

I have a 5 year old Shih Tzu who had a problem with her eye. At first the Vet said it could be from diabetes, glaucoma, cancer, etc... He mentioned specialist and test which he said is very costly. He ran test and it was an minor infection which cleared up. But if it were something worse, I'd wish I had insurance. I have seen many online and a couple at the Vet. Can anyone recommend one and why? Thanks!!!
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We love our Pets Best policy, and I'll tell you why. :) Affordable premiums with the most money reimbursed at the end of the day! When I was researching, I found that similar coverage cost me more with the other companies, but that if I went with a lower premium, some companies were pretty stingy in their reimbursements (i.e. I'd only get 40-50% of the bill back). (My monthly bill is in the $35 range for the best coverage.) We lost a dog to cancer when he was seven, and I'm grateful that now I can just tell the vet to do whatever it takes and only have to pay for the 20% plus my deductible (which is $75). Other companies will *tell* you that they pay 90%, but then they have a limit on basically every procedure so that they never really actually *pay* 90%. Check them out when you're looking and type the word "review" into a search with the company's name. You'll be surprised at what you find. Also, all companies have limits as to how much they will pay, and I found that Pets Best had the highest limits of all the companies I checked. Good luck!
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The health care bill says employers will be required by law to provide health insurance to its workers. How?

many jobs will be lost in the US due to this law? What right does the government have to tell an employer he has to spend THAT much money?
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What should the US taxpayer pay for companies to have higher profits by not providing benefits?
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How much freedom do Americans have if they are forced to by health insurance?

it seems land of the free and home of the brave is turning into land of the fear and home of entitlements...
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This idea that America has ever been free is a joke. But hey, if it makes people feel better if they believe it, then so be it. Oh, and I am all for health care reform. I would love to see a single payer system in the US. Harvard just released data that says over 45 thousand Americans die each yr due to lack of health care. I guess that number doesn't bother you, unless you are one of those 45 thousand...right? Donna
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Should employers be able to make overweight workers pay more for their health insurance?

...because it is costing more to insure them. Do you also support/not support charging more for smokers? Are there any other groups who should be paying more?
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At a previous job of mine, I had a pretty good health plan. The employer was putting in well over $10,000 a year. I haven't even been to a doctor for so much as a routine checkup in well over 4 years. I opted into the health insurance because my share of it was pretty cheap, and I figured I might need it if I broke a leg snowboarding or something like that. I never got anything out of that $10,000 a year my employer put into my healthcare - and they could have just cut me a discount, and paid me the extra cash as a bonus of something - but it wouldn't have been legal for them to do this. It seems like I was kind of getting the short end of the stick, having my employer spend $10,000 a year on a healthcare plan that I never even used. Meanwhile, my coworkers who ate junk food all the time were in effect getting paid $20,000 a year more than I was because they were getting their money's worth out of the health care plan, and then some. I'm not sure exactly what my current employer is spending on my healthcare but I don't imagine its much cheaper. I believe there ought to be some sort of rebate system or other incentive for people who eat a healthy diet and choose not to bring sickness and disease upon themselves with unintelligent nutritional choices.
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where can i find cheap health insurance so i can get a therapist for anxiety?

how long does it take for benefits to kick in so i can start receiving therapy?
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Different companies have different benefits for mental health. Contact a local independent insurance agent from the phone book or look online, who lives in your area, knows who operates there and can recommend a policy.
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Liberals: Why was the "Doc Fix" for Medicare taken out of the health insurance reform bill?

Obama claims they are taking 500 Billion out of Medicare to pay for Obama care so why didn't he include the $208 Billion they are going to have to put back into Medicare for the Doc Fix? Isn't this just a shell game so he could say that it lowers the deficit? If the Doc Fix was included in health insurance reform like it originally was there would be a $59 billion dollar deficit instead of any surplus.
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This is among the biggest frauds in the history of the United States. Even the Washington Post agreed in an editorial this fall. Any company CEO doing something like this would be buried under the jail.
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What would be approximate monthly health insurance premium?

for a healthy couple in mid forties with self employment status in Houston and 3 kids (ages 1, 5,10) I have tried some links on internet. They ask for basic information and a phone number for their agent to call. I wonder if there is any link that provides quotes via email.
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If I had to pull a number out of the air, I'd say $1200 a month. But that's a WAG (wild *** guess). That's why they need an agent to call you, there are too many other variables.
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Is it illegal to fire an employee in order to deny them health insurance?

Specifically, in the states Iowa and Minnesota.
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Part of the answer depends on whether the employee has a contract. If no contract, then an employee can generally be fired without any cause
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Does Australia's national health insurance cover plastic surgery for facial scars resulting from an accident?

Facial scars incurred during a bicycle accident? (Or any type of accident, for that matter.)
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Medicare doesn't cover surgery for solely cosmetic reasons so you would need to have a referral from a psychiatrist or other medical practitioner to the effect that it was required for some other reason. That wouldn't be hard to do for scars resulting from an accident.
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What does it mean when a company will contribute 50% of single health insurance coverage?

What sort of co-pay does that amount to? Does this suck?
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It usually means they will pay 1/2 the premium for you as a single person. You would have to pick up the other half as well as the premium of additional family members. Usually you would pay this out of payroll deductions. Co-pays and the like are based on the terms of the health plan for which the premiums are being discussed.
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What would have to happen for a great health insurance policy in USA to cost like $80 a month for an adult?

no matter what age and only $30 per child? By great coverage I mean like a plan that covers 85% of anything medical that the insured needs up until they spend a max of $1,000 annually at which time it becomes 100%. Such coverage would be an improvement for the great majority of americans. So how can we accomplish something that gives that great coverage and is as cheap in terms of premiums paid by enrollees?
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What would it take to have the cost that low? The care equivalent to what it was like in the middle ages. Or you have to pay 3 times the amount you pay now in taxes if you want the same quality of care you get now.. Insurance cost so much mostly because the cost of the actual care is very expensive. Get the cost of the care down, the cost of the insurance would follow.
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