They have announced that starting next year they will no longer cover family members. We have insurance through blue cross blue shield. Would it be possible to switch to individual coverage? My husband has several health problems and I would want to try to avoid the "pre existing condition" wait period. What are our options? Thanks for your help!
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Well, if your husband has an employer that offers a group plan, you can switch over to their policy during open enrollment. You're probably not going to have a pre-existing conditon issue if you buy a private policy. That's because either they'll flat out refuse to cover him, or they won't cover the pre-existing conditions, PERIOD. That wait time, is only for a GROUP policy through an employer. You need to get some quotes. I think when you see what the individual policies will cost, you'll find out that it's going to be less expensive, to pay for him, AND GET COVERAGE, through your employer's plan.
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Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Uninsured people, will you buy health insurance or pay the fine in 2014?
I am assuming this issue is very important to you and you have researched the bill.
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None of the above. I'll let my current insurance lapse and let them try to seize me and my property. If they think they can intimidate us like the thugs they are, let them prove it.
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None of the above. I'll let my current insurance lapse and let them try to seize me and my property. If they think they can intimidate us like the thugs they are, let them prove it.
Source
For health insurance & health care experts: How did the health insurance mess in the U.S. start,where,and why?
Once again,this seems to be a big topic with the presidential candidates,but,it's also an old issue. When,where,how,and why did it get to be so out of hand?
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Health insurance has been around for a long time. Used to be, people paid their own doctor bills and got health insurance only to cover catastrophic events (skiing accidents, cancer, the stuff that generated lots of big medical bills). They paid for it themselves. After WWII, employers looked for ways to get the best employees, and since health insurance was cheap back then (!), decided to offer it as a benefit. To entice and keep good employees, they bought insurance that covered more health care costs, including the routine ones. Now that people didn't have to pay for their own medical costs any more, doctors and hospitals felt free to charge more. After all, insurance was paying, right? Meanwhile, medical science and technology have progressed. We have much more sophisticated tools for diagnosing disease and treating it - but they cost a lot to research, develop, manufacture, etc. People want the best they can get, so now insurance is paying thousands for a knee MRI instead of $100 for a knee x-ray. So they need more money, and premiums go up. Also meanwhile, people are suing frequently for medical malpractice, and they get huge awards. This means the doctors and hospitals must insure themselves in case they're sued, and the costs are $100,000 - $200,000/year for every doctor. To cover that, they up their fees, and insurance must pay more, and the cost ultimately is passed on to us. In response to this, doctors and hospitals are legally required to bend over backward to ensure that nothing goes wrong. This means lots of disposable equipment, from face masks and gloves to paper liners for the examining table, to being unable to reuse an opened bag of something. Also, they will request every conceivable test to make sure they don't miss a diagnosis (to avoid being sued). This drives costs way up. The attempts to control costs have both helped and added to the problem. Managed care (getting surgery, diagnostic tests, procedures, expensive drugs and visits to specialists pre-approved) was intended to limit unnecessary care, but often it prevents patients from getting care they need. Negotiating payment rates for a preferred provider plan means people using the plan have lower medical bills - but those costs are just shifted to people outside the plan, especially to those without any insurance. Here's more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_insu…
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Health insurance has been around for a long time. Used to be, people paid their own doctor bills and got health insurance only to cover catastrophic events (skiing accidents, cancer, the stuff that generated lots of big medical bills). They paid for it themselves. After WWII, employers looked for ways to get the best employees, and since health insurance was cheap back then (!), decided to offer it as a benefit. To entice and keep good employees, they bought insurance that covered more health care costs, including the routine ones. Now that people didn't have to pay for their own medical costs any more, doctors and hospitals felt free to charge more. After all, insurance was paying, right? Meanwhile, medical science and technology have progressed. We have much more sophisticated tools for diagnosing disease and treating it - but they cost a lot to research, develop, manufacture, etc. People want the best they can get, so now insurance is paying thousands for a knee MRI instead of $100 for a knee x-ray. So they need more money, and premiums go up. Also meanwhile, people are suing frequently for medical malpractice, and they get huge awards. This means the doctors and hospitals must insure themselves in case they're sued, and the costs are $100,000 - $200,000/year for every doctor. To cover that, they up their fees, and insurance must pay more, and the cost ultimately is passed on to us. In response to this, doctors and hospitals are legally required to bend over backward to ensure that nothing goes wrong. This means lots of disposable equipment, from face masks and gloves to paper liners for the examining table, to being unable to reuse an opened bag of something. Also, they will request every conceivable test to make sure they don't miss a diagnosis (to avoid being sued). This drives costs way up. The attempts to control costs have both helped and added to the problem. Managed care (getting surgery, diagnostic tests, procedures, expensive drugs and visits to specialists pre-approved) was intended to limit unnecessary care, but often it prevents patients from getting care they need. Negotiating payment rates for a preferred provider plan means people using the plan have lower medical bills - but those costs are just shifted to people outside the plan, especially to those without any insurance. Here's more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_insu…
Source
Please help me understanding my health insurance policy?
I have 500 deductible and my office visits to the non-specialists is 20 copay and deductible waived.. what does this mean... I have asked a question similar to this one.
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Co-pays are co-pays - they are never subject to your deductible/co-insurance nor do they go toward your maximum out of pocket. Traditionally - co-pays are your cost of that particular covered benefit. The insurance picks up the difference between your co-pay and the contracted rate, between the carrier and the provider. Co-pays are normally used for standard and specialist office visits. You enter into your deductible when ever you are utilizing services that are not covered under a co-payment - Labs, X-ray, in office procedures and hospitalizations etc. Also, keep in mind with most PPO plans, after you have satisfied your deductible you enter into co-insurance - typically 80/20 - meaning the insurance pays 80% of the bills and you pay 20% of the bills until you hit your maximum out of pocket - see your policy for these limits. You will also notice that you may have co-pays for Rx Drugs - this works the same way - the insurance picks up the difference between your co-pay and the contracted rate of the Rx Drug. Hope this helps!
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Co-pays are co-pays - they are never subject to your deductible/co-insurance nor do they go toward your maximum out of pocket. Traditionally - co-pays are your cost of that particular covered benefit. The insurance picks up the difference between your co-pay and the contracted rate, between the carrier and the provider. Co-pays are normally used for standard and specialist office visits. You enter into your deductible when ever you are utilizing services that are not covered under a co-payment - Labs, X-ray, in office procedures and hospitalizations etc. Also, keep in mind with most PPO plans, after you have satisfied your deductible you enter into co-insurance - typically 80/20 - meaning the insurance pays 80% of the bills and you pay 20% of the bills until you hit your maximum out of pocket - see your policy for these limits. You will also notice that you may have co-pays for Rx Drugs - this works the same way - the insurance picks up the difference between your co-pay and the contracted rate of the Rx Drug. Hope this helps!
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Who offers the best pet health insurance for older dogs?
Is there a waiting period for the plan to be effective? any other additional info will be helpful.
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There are many great pet insurance plans out there. You should think about how comprehensive you want your plan because some include routine care and dental. Of course, that makes the premiums more expensive and I personally would recommend against it because you don't really get your money's worth. A good company to look into is Trupanion. I have it for my dog, who is a younger dog, but I really like them. I chose them because they don't have annual limits which means you can't max out for one year. Also, you can enroll up to age 14 which is one of the highest (there are many companies that cap out at age 10 or less). Waiting period: typically most companies do have a waiting period, usually one for accidents and one for illnesses. They are a few days up to a few weeks, and this is to keep people from signing up just to make claims and it makes it fair to those who have already enrolled. Check around at some reviews and get free quotes from the companies. Here's a great site to get a quote and look at quotes from other companies side-by-side: http://www.trupanionpetinsurance.com/why…
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There are many great pet insurance plans out there. You should think about how comprehensive you want your plan because some include routine care and dental. Of course, that makes the premiums more expensive and I personally would recommend against it because you don't really get your money's worth. A good company to look into is Trupanion. I have it for my dog, who is a younger dog, but I really like them. I chose them because they don't have annual limits which means you can't max out for one year. Also, you can enroll up to age 14 which is one of the highest (there are many companies that cap out at age 10 or less). Waiting period: typically most companies do have a waiting period, usually one for accidents and one for illnesses. They are a few days up to a few weeks, and this is to keep people from signing up just to make claims and it makes it fair to those who have already enrolled. Check around at some reviews and get free quotes from the companies. Here's a great site to get a quote and look at quotes from other companies side-by-side: http://www.trupanionpetinsurance.com/why…
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Pregnant and currently dont have health insurance ?
So we had insurance, was seeing my doc.My husband got out of the navy and the next day no more insurance. He just started his new job and will get insurance in 3 months is it healthy for me not to see a doc till then?
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How far along are you? If you are healthy and are not at risk, doctors often do not see you for the first time until around 10 weeks in the pregnancy. So if you are really early, it might be ok. If you are in the second or third trimester, I would look at other insurance options and see the doctor. Discuss this with your doctor - they may have options for you. Was he not offered any sort of COBRA plan that he could pay out-of-pocket for until he had coverage at the new employer? Another factor to consider is what is 90 days? At my employer it is 90 days after the first of the month so if today was my first day of work it would be 90 days from January 1 not from today. Best wishes!
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How far along are you? If you are healthy and are not at risk, doctors often do not see you for the first time until around 10 weeks in the pregnancy. So if you are really early, it might be ok. If you are in the second or third trimester, I would look at other insurance options and see the doctor. Discuss this with your doctor - they may have options for you. Was he not offered any sort of COBRA plan that he could pay out-of-pocket for until he had coverage at the new employer? Another factor to consider is what is 90 days? At my employer it is 90 days after the first of the month so if today was my first day of work it would be 90 days from January 1 not from today. Best wishes!
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Im 170 pounds if I lose 30 to 40 pounds will my health insurance premium be lowered? I pay $500 a month now?
I have blue cross blue shield and when I turn 25 it will go up to $700 or $800 dollars.
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You can easily check your minimal health care rates in internet, for example here - healthplans.my-age.net
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You can easily check your minimal health care rates in internet, for example here - healthplans.my-age.net
Source
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