The resources of our health care system are limited in many ways. This isn’t a great surprise, given how many people use it, sometimes on a daily basis. The costs are still escalating and it isn’t going to slow down unless there are some top-down solutions.
ERs in most major cities are packed with people who should be dealing with a General Practitioner, not emergency room doctors. The people using ERs are typically those without health insurance. Find a way to provide health insurance coverage for them, and other segments of society who are uninsured and you just may have a solution to rising costs, and overcrowded waiting rooms at hospitals, etc. It will be interesting to see what health reform will do for crowded hospital waiting rooms.
The more we abuse the health care system, the more it suffers with physician burn-out, ever-increasing numbers of incidents of medical malpractice, and out-of-control costs. It’s time we took responsibility for our own health care.
Although many Americans are aware that the cost of health care in the nation is quite high, they don’t have a really good sense of what the definition of quite high happens to be. “High” to some people is paying $200 for see a doctor. Little do they know that if they show up at a hospital needing emergency care for something serious, like a broken arm, that high could mean up to $25,000.
If you have health insurance, the cost would not be that high, and you would stand a fair chance of paying of the rest of the bill in due time. If you don’t have health insurance, you have very few options other than borrow, and most banks will not loan money to pay medical bills, or get funds from family or friends, but who else has $25,000 just hanging around in the bank?
Think about what would happen if you were suddenly handed a bill for medical care and you did not have insurance. It’s a pretty grim picture. It might be time to rethink not having health insurance, even if you have to scrimp to pay the premiums.
A health insurance policy is a health insurance policy – period. Right? They’re all the same and it does not matter where you get one. Yes and no. It actually does matter where you buy your health insurance: locally or globally. The difference being that local health insurance would be within the nation/state and globally would be the kind of insurance you need if you travel.
There are, though, some differences in policies from state to state. The backbone of the same policies remain the same, with stated differences. You need to pay attention to what is in your policy and where you buy it before assuming you are covered for everything you want.
Many people don’t understand that if they buy an insurance policy from a nationwide insurer, one of the mega-giants that can afford to sell less expensive polices because of the number they sell, that company has no idea what the local conditions are in your area. If you live in rural New Mexico and the insurer is in Montana, you might as well be on a different planet if you have to file a claim. Try to stay local. The agents can fill you in with all the details that you need to know.
There are a many heated discussions across the nation about health reform in 2014. What will happen? How will people get what they want? What if they do not want health insurance? What if they do not pay for it? How will the government enforce the fine for those who do not have health insurance? How will they pay the fine if they can’t pay for lower-priced health insurance?
There is no doubt about it — health reform is a contentious subject. What people don’t seem to realize is that no matter how you feel about it now, or in the future, you still do need health insurance. It’s simple. To protect your health, on a continuous basis, you need health insurance. If you end up needing medical care and have no insurance, there is a good chance you will end up bankrupt trying to pay the doctor’s bill.
It’s a vicious circle for many Americans, but one they must try and tackle, for their health.
Depending on your situation, you may need a unique kind of health insurance.
Let’s say your life is in transition. Maybe you have started a new job, are moving, or are getting married, or are going away to school. You may not be sure about your future plans at any given moment, but still know that you need health insurance. What can you do to make sure you have a policy during this transitional period?
You may want to consider short-term health insurance. It is a perfect choice for people who aren’t certain what they need down the road, or when that will be. Short-term health insurance is a temporary solution, and may be just the right thing for you right now.
As the name implies, short-term health insurance is taken out for a short period of time, which allows you to quickly drop it, when you need to do so. In most cases, short-term health coverage only applies to major health issues, ones that radically alter your life in a catastrophic manner.
Who might be interested in short-term, catastrophic health insurance? Often this kind of insurance is appealing to part-time and temporary workers — those who are transitioning from one job to another, or for recent college graduates in the process of applying for a job. These policies are typically sold to those under the age of 65.
With a short-term policy, you usually have the ability to pick any specialist or doctor you want to see. It also covers surgery, diagnostic tests, after-care visits, drugs, and hospital and emergency services. Be aware of the limitations, which may include limited coverage for mental health care, no coverage for Pap tests, preventative care or shots, and it does not cover any pre-existing conditions — hence the low premiums.
These policies are appealing to a large number of people, thanks to how easy they can be to get, how fast they are processed, and their low cost and high-coverage limits. Many people also like the short application they need to use to get this type of a policy. Just be sure you are completely aware of what this kind of coverage entails, because the last thing you need is to buy a policy that does not meet your needs.
While it may be tempting to take action on the first reasonably-priced health insurance quote you get, do not buy a policy based on price alone.
You know you shop around for home insurance or car insurance. You do that because you know that if you shop around, you can often get a better deal. The same thing may be said about health insurance quotes. Shop around. You will find a good deal.
There is a trick to health insurance shopping, though, and that trick is to not buy the very first policy that is a good price. This is because most people do not take the time to actually read the policy or even understand what is in it. That can later turn out to be a bad decision when they go to use their inexpensive health insurance policy, only to find out it does not cover them for what they assumed it did.
Sometimes those cheap policies do suit your needs. But you need to know that the policy is the right one, before you spend money on something that may not serve your needs in the future. Why not take the time to research what is out there and get to know, in general, what would work for you? You would do that if you wanted to insure your car. Your body is your vehicle, so why not make sure you get a policy that takes care of it when it needs maintenance or a serious overhaul?
Just as it takes you time to compare car or house insurance quotes, it will take time to compare health insurance quotes. This is a good thing, because in the process, you come to understand that what is in the four corners of a health insurance policy is very important to you. You need to rely on that to protect your health. So take the time to compare quotes to make sure you get a policy that does help you later.
Got questions? Don’t we all when it comes to health insurance? Pick up the phone. Call an agent. Ask about everything you need to know and then ask more questions. It’s your health and if you want it insured in a way that makes sense, you have to have enough information to make an informed decision.
Your health insurance can be far less expensive if you are in good shape.
Perhaps you smoke, or drink, or do recreational drugs. Maybe you do not exercise enough, or you don’t eat right as often as you should. Those lifestyle choices can cost you.
If you do not already have health insurance and then decide that you want or need it, you may find that you have a harder time obtaining it if you are not in good shape. You might smoke and then decide to have health insurance, but discover that your premiums as a smoker are quite high. The premiums are high because when you smoke, you put your health at risk. Since insurance companies are in business to make money and take reasonable risks insuring people, if you smoke, or are quite obese, you may not be considered to be a reasonable insurable risk. That means you will pay more for insurance. Those who do not smoke or who are not significantly overweight do not shell out the same kind of money on premiums.
Many insurance companies charge premiums according to the health of every applicant. Age, gender and occupation are also factored into the cost, as are pre-existing and current health issues. Figuring out a person’s premium is done according to the Health Status Rating (HSR) system, which charges higher premiums for those with a history of medical conditions or those who have current health issues.
The HSR outlines certain conditions that may increase the chances that new applicants would need health care. For those who show a rating that indicates they may need health care, the premiums are higher. Right now, insurance companies have the option to decline coverage or offer the applicant a policy based on their health. Declining to insure someone may not be an option in 2014.
Many things may change next year, and in order to keep up with those changes, insurance policies may also evolve. Based on the changes to come, companies may start screening the wellness and health of their employees in order to take control the costs of health insurance they are offering to workers.
Staying in shape may mean substantial savings on health insurance premiums. Perhaps revamping your lifestyle is something to seriously consider.
Learn more at https://www.benepath.com
There are several answers to this question and you won’t like any of them. Two of them, however, are things you definitely need to know. There are some hospitals that refuse to treat people without health insurance. While they don’t SAY this to you, you may find yourself shuffled around and then taken somewhere else that takes people without insurance. Will the quality of care be good? It may be. It may not be. You basically have no control over what happens, because you have no health insurance.
Some hospitals that go ahead and treat someone without health insurance will send a bill later. It’s that bill that spells the end of the end financially for the family that receives it. It an individual was in the hospital for a broken bone, they may find a bill in the mail for up to $20,000, and that would be a clean break without any complications and no surgery required. If you need more than that, your bill goes up. Can you afford that? If the answer is a loud “NO,” get health insurance coverage, even if it means not going to the movies a few times a month, or you have to cut back on smoking. Find the money to protect your life. It’s a worthwhile investment.
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