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Welcome to Health Insurance Tips
Hi, I'm Wendy Jackson, one of the hundreds of writers here at LifeTips.com. Enjoy these 213 Health Insurance Tips! If you’re a business, why not hire the expert writers at LifeTips? And if you’re a writer, apply for freelance writing gigs.
Small Business Resources
The United States Department of Labor Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) has an entire section on its Web site dedicated to health insurance benefits education for small business owners. The site includes information on compliance issues for small business employers, a F.A.Q., and tips on how to protect your employees when choosing a group health insurance plan. You can Contact your regional EBSA office through its toll-free number at 866-444-3272 or by visiting AskEBSA.dol.gov.
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Comparing Quotes
If you are in the market for health insurance, chances are you are a small business owner or an independent contractor. Whether you are deciding between group insurance benefits offered through a professional group or an individual insurance you would like to purchase directly from the insurer, there are two key factors that should guide your decision: total out-of-pocket costs vs. covered services.
Many people only focus on premiums, but premiums are only part of the story.
One plan may offer lower premiums but have an unrealistically high deductible. Another plan may have a higher premium but offer a more reasonable deductible and cover a broader array of services. It is suggested that you sit down carefully and work out the total costs for each health insurance plan you are considering, including the annual premium amount, the deductible amount, any co-pays, and out-of-pocket maximums.
With health care insurance, you generally get what you pay for. However, whatever plan you choose, make sure it covers the types of services you reasonably expect to need during the coverage period, and that the total out-of-pocket expenses which fit within your budget.
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Insurance Resources by State
Insurance laws vary from state to state. To find information on insurance regulations in your state, the first place to check is with your state's insurance commission. Just about all states have a Web site from which the state's insurance regulations are downloadable. If you have questions about what you are reading, you should also be able to find a contact telephone number on the Web site to call for help. Another helpful site you may wish to check into is HealthInsuranceInfo.net. The Web site is funded by grants from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, AARP, the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, and other reputable nonprofit groups. From the site you can download a copy of Georgetown University Health Policy Institute's Consumer Guide for Getting and Keeping Health Insurance. There are 51 versions, each tailored to each state plus the District of Columbia. The guides are summaries, so you may still need to contact your state insurance commission for some questions.
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Questions to Consider
Long-term care insurance policies are quite varied. Before you can make an intelligent decision about which plan to buy, you should gather some basic information. While some of your questions may be considered basic, ask the plan representative what type of care is covered. Getting long-term care insurance information is important.
Does the policy cover nursing home care and assisted living care?
Will the plan pay for home health care services provided by visiting nurses and therapists?
Are housecleaning and food preparation services provided by a maid or home health aide covered?
What will the daily benefit amount be?
Is there a waiting period before benefits kick in?
And what is the benefit period?
Once you have narrowed your choices down, have a detailed discussion, and get it in writing, regarding exclusions specific to the policy you are considering.
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Shopping for Short-Term Health Insurance
You can find information on short-term health insurance using all the same methods you would use to find standard health insurance:
You can check with your state's insurance commission to receive a list of approved insurance providers for your state.
You can also check with your existing insurance agent to see if he or she represents any companies that provide short-term insurance.
You can contact companies you know offer health insurance in your state directly.
Researching your insurance needs online at any one of a number of legitimate online insurance quote Web sites is also a good idea.
Use sites like Insurelane.com or Monsterquote.com, portals that will direct you to other companies that provide the specific type of insurance for which you are looking.
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Purchasing Student Health Insurance
Are you interested in receiving student health insurance for your child? There are generally two options available to you if you are looking to purchase health insurance for a college student. You can purchase an individual student health insurance policy through an independent insurance agent or directly from a company that offers such coverage. These types of policies are available as fee-for-service and managed care and many can be tailored to your needs in terms of deductible amounts. These plans usually provide the greatest flexibility in terms of when and where services can be rendered to the student. Another less expensive option is to purchase student health insurance through the school the student will be attending. Most colleges and universities offer students an opportunity to purchase student insurance through a school-sponsored plan. While these policies may be less expensive than purchasing an independent health insurance policy, the coverage terms also tends to be more fixed.
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Medicare Coverage
Some of the health care services not covered by Medicare include anything not considered medically reasonable and necessary, based on a subjective interpretation! Other items that are not covered by Medicare are:
As you can see, many of the services not covered by Medicare are the very types of services those individual's who qualify for Medicare are likely to need.
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Finding Low Cost Health Insurance
The statistics on health insurance affordability are grim: Since 2000, health insurance costs have spiked 59% while in that same period of time worker's pay has only increased 12%. With the cost of health insurance squeezing the family budget ever tighter, more and more families are dropping the coverage they have because they cannot afford it. Finding low cost health insurance is difficult these days.
Your best bet as far as insuring a family is to try to get employer-sponsored health insurance. Even though you will likely need to contribute to cover the cost of the premiums, employers are able to get far better rates for a group than you would be able to get buying an individual policy. A plus is that employers will pay part of the premium.
If your employer does not offer insurance, or if you are a freelance contract worker or small business owner, see about joining a professional organization or union. Many of them offer access to group health insurance for members. Finally, if you have to consider an individual (private) health insurance plan, a health maintenance organization (HMO) will be the least expensive followed by a preferred provider organization (PPO). While HMOs require cutting through a lot of red tape and will limit your medical care options in terms of where and when you can receive services, most offer fairly robust coverage to families.
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The Costs Of Short-Term Insurance
As with standard insurance, all short term health insurance plans vary from company to company. However, because most insurers protect themselves by limiting or excluding benefits for pre-existing conditions, preventative, and routine health care services, premiums can be much lower than those for standard health insurance. Where a standard health insurance plan's monthly premium for individual coverage may be in the $250 to $400 range depending on coverage and deductible levels, the monthly premium for most temporary health insurance policies is usually below $100. What you pay will depend in large part on the deductible level you choose when acquiring short-term health insurance plans. Just like with standard health insurance, the lower the deductible, the higher the premium and vice-versa.
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Insurance Terminology
You probably already know that you can research and buy health insurance online, but what you may not know is that there are resources to help you understand the complicated mind boggling health insurance industry terms. Finding health insurance resources to help you better understand the world of health insurance can be very beneficial. Many insurance product portals include excellent glossaries. One such resource is Healthinsurance.org, which claims to have been providing answers to health insurance-related questions since 1994. You can also find help deciphering health insurance terminology at the Federal Consumer Information Center's Web site.
