Health tips and advice

With various consumer awareness programs being conducted by the insurance companies, media reports and general consumer’s interest in benefits of quality insurance, it is not hard to find extensive coverage: it does exist! This is partly due to the emergence of so many new insurance companies entering the market today all of which are offering a wide range of policies across various budgets to meet the needs for extensive health insurance coverage of different market segments.

Of course, with the current state of the global economy, many people are finding it hard to imagine how they will pay up the monthly health insurance premiums, especially those who had opted for an expensive policy and thus, thinking it would be better to get rid of the plan – just to cut back on the monthly budget.

However, experts advise against this thinking: insurance, say professionals, is a necessity, not a luxury and with rising medical costs associated with specialists, there is a greater need to choose policies wisely so you can avail extensive coverage, which does exist.

One way to ensure extensive coverage does exist and that you can locate the right provider according to your individual or family’s insurance needs is to go online and visit all the top coverage providers.

Then get competitive quotes from your preferred providers and compare features of each plan that fits your budget before short-listing the ones offering you the best combination of extensive coverage with low premiums so you can negotiate further for any discounts that can be applicable in your case (e.g. joint policies or group employee policies taken together etc.).

If you have already consulted with your health care adviser regarding the extent of coverage you need from your plan based on your health risks as judged by the doctor, you will be in a better position to discuss various aspects of the policy with the insurance company and get the kind of coverage you actually need.

If you are smart enough to do your homework regarding the different service providers in your state and can narrow down the list of preferred companies offering extensive coverage to 4 or 5 providers, you stand a good chance of saving several hundred dollars per month should you be able to negotiate for lower premiums under sections that make you eligible for discounts.

However, you need to be aware of these ways to save on insurance without compromising on the extensive coverage you need, since this is a necessary aspect of modern living as costs of quality medical care are rising having good coverage makes all the difference in ensuring you get the best medical treatment – so look for the right combination of insurance policy – extensive coverage, affordable premiums. So, do your research on the reputed companies existing today – and you are sure to find the right provider for your personal needs.

By: John Fagan Jr.

If you’re wondering how to apply for health insurance, be aware that application is the second step of the process — after you’ve researched different policies and compared prices and benefits. Whether you apply online or off will depend on your comfort level with the computer, and also whether you’re applying via a group plan.

Before you sit down to fill out an application, you should gather information you will likely need when filling out an application. The names and addresses of doctors for yourself and your family members, the dates of the most recent visits, and information about your most recent insurance policy,

Through Your Employer

If you’re enrolling in a health insurance plan through your employer, you probably won’t need a medical examination, but you may have to wait for the company’s next enrollment period before you can apply. However, if you’re a new hire, you likely can apply immediately. The application process for enrolling in a group plan is quite simple, because most plans will enroll everybody, regardless of pre-existing conditions and current state of health.

Just fill out an enrollment form, which includes personal information like: name, address, social security number, designation of the primary insured and all dependents (including the names, ages, dates of birth and social security numbers for all dependents), employment information including date of hire, and the type of health insurance coverage you select. You’ll probably have to provide information about your prior health insurance coverage, including the insurance company name and policy number.

The completed application goes back to the benefits coordinator, who will process your form, and you’re finished.

On Your Own

If you’re not applying for group coverage, the steps are similar, except you’ll be handling all the paper work yourself. Some insurance companies will send an insurance agent to discuss the application process with you. In these cases, the agent will often work with you to gather the necessary documentation, coordinate an in-home medical examination, and collect your pre-payment check.

The whole process is so simple that some people decide to apply for health insurance online. To do so, just visit the health insurance company’s web site where you’ll find an online application form. You’ll have to provide the same type of personal and employment information as above, and you’ll just enter it onto an online application form. When you’re finished, click the submit button and the system takes over.

Applying for health insurance online really is painless, reliable and fast. However, if you are not comfortable providing that amount of personal information over the internet, it’s probably a good idea to apply for health insurance offline.

Either way, don’t wait until you need it. Because then it might be too late.

By: Ron King

There is no excuse or logic why so many people in the United States remain uninsured or have no accessibility to medical care. In a country so rich, with almost unlimited resources as the United States, I fail to understand any excuses that try and explain it. Politicians on both sides of the aisle have failed to find any reasonable solution to the biggest failure of the American Government (both under democrats and republicans) and to the American way of life.

The only two choices that have been presented to date are: government control of the medical care system (socialized medicine, as in Canada) which needs a lot of thought and consideration, or a private-sector Medical Care system whose accountability remains more involved with its investors. What we have now is a split between private sector control (accessible for those who can afford it) and a public medical care system for others who can’t (Medicaid). We also have non-profit medical providers which are supported partially by the government and private donations.

Although everyone agrees that change is needed, there are many differing views on which of these two choices would solve it. What we really need are enlightened economists/philosophers with vision to come along and propose more creative options, new ways of looking at this problem and perhaps rethink the whole medical structure in this country. The following are some of the current issues which have resulted from a mostly republican philosophy, expressed by the current republican administration.

The pharmaceutical companies control the price of drugs which they claim are high because they need the money to continue researching new drugs for treatment. Yet here in the United States, they spend billions of dollars to advertise new prescription drugs on television, radio and magazines, to manipulate the population to put pressure on their doctors to prescribe brand name medications even though generic drugs are perfectly good to treat most conditions. They claim that this advertising serves to “educate” the public. This money would better be served by putting it into research. These companies also pay undisclosed fees to Physicians for lectures and other services to encourage them to prescribe brand name drugs. They retain strong lobbies in Washington, influencing politicians of both parties to support their positions.

Part of the problem is that the pharmaceutical companies are businesses. Their accountability is to their stockholders not the American people. They are in business to make as much profit as they can. Their accountability always remains with their private investors. This is part of the complex problem of solving the Health Care Crisis in this country.

The cost of using HMO’s (also private corporations) have sharply risen for those who have them. When I started paying for an individual policy three years ago, it was approximately $320 a month, and is now just over $700 a month for standard individual coverage. Most HMO’s won’t touch you if you have any pre-existing conditions. That is standard policy with all HMO’s.

Children, the future of the American society, go uninsured throughout the country. People are forced to crowd the emergency rooms because they don’t have the money or the coverage to go to doctors, while the Medicaid system is forced to absorb all these costs at taxpayers’ expense.

The Republican Administration enacts laws to prevent people from getting medications from cheaper sources like Canada which they claim is for the benefit of the American population. They reason that Canadian drugs have not been proven to be safe for US consumption. The President and his administration, acting as the grand protector of the United States, will do everything to keep the American population safe, so the propaganda goes.

Anyone who has visited Canada, seen their medical system and the quality of their pharmacies, know that all that is a bunch of governmental fabrications aimed at propping up the American pharmaceutical companies to keep them in control of the costs. Everything that the Republican administration (and controlled congress) has done to date has been more for the benefit of the drug companies than for the American population.

The FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION has become more of a political arm for the Republican administration, by creating the illusion they exist to protect the American population. This is also true of the Environmental Protection Agency.

The politicians go on and on. The republicans would put a band-aide approach on the medical care system and prop up the HMO’s and American pharmaceutical companies while continuing to require Americans to pay exorbitant fees for everything medical.

The democrats, newly elected to control both senate and House, are still so lukewarm and disorganized about medical care reform that they provide no concrete leadership to rely on to negotiate a reasonable re-haul of the medical care system.

What we need to do is what Peter Finch did in the film NETWORK, where he told people to go to their window, open it up and yell as loud as they could: “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore.” We need to tell, not only the politicians, but the universities, the problem-solvers, creative thinkers and economists that they need to step forward and propose new ideas, any idea. It’s from these kinds of thinkers, with focused and dedicated politicians, that the answer must come.

It is very frustrating that solutions to this problem remain bi-polar. No new creative ideas. I believe the United States can do better. The answer won’t come from politicians alone. They will have to come from all of us.

By: Doc Jon Percepto