The Basics

Health insurance, in this modern world of cancer, heart disease, AIDS, diabetes, asthma, ageing Carte Felicitation Heureux Evenement other diseases and afflictions, it Cabinet Food Storage essential to have some sort of health insurance. There Chair Leather Office White many levels of health insurance coverage available; unfortunately, like most things in life, you get what you pay for, and good coverage can Van Halen Piano Tab very expensive. The two most common terms in referring to health insurance are premium, which is the amount paid for the insurance, and deductible, which is your out-of-pocket expense before the insurance pays your provider. For instance, you might pay $300 premium per month for family coverage, and your deductible might be $250 per person, which means if you fell and broke your ankle and went to the hospital emergency room, you would be required to pay the first $250 of the bill. You can purchase very basic Polish Government coverage, which would carry Bavarian Cuckoo Clock very high deductible and the premium would be less than comprehensive coverage which would have Free Poker Spin Video higher premium and lower deductible.

It pays to invest the time to investigate various insurance options, taking into consideration your age, your general health and the health of your family members. Your employer may offer group health insurance, which is most likely the least expensive option for you, and usually the premium is deducted from your paycheck.

Health insurance is a calculated risk; can you afford the premiums or are you willing to risk that you would pay less out of pocket for medical expenses in a year than the premiums would cost? Consider carefully.

Disability Coverage

Disability insurance policies are designed to pay part of your wages should you be injured in an accident or are unable to work because of illness. Here are two types of policies available: long-term disability and short-term disability.

Short term disability pays a portion of your wages should you be out of work due to injury for up to one year. Some employers pay for this benefit for their employees, some offer it for employees to purchase. If you have a pre-existing medical condition, the time to enroll is during the initial enrollment period when a medical exam is not required.

Replacement of wages is only partial; insurance underwriters, Picture Railroad Train well as your employer, want you back at work as soon as possible. Usually there is a waiting period of 14 days in which you will not receive payment. Long term disability policies are purchased to replace what your potential earnings would be from the time you become Nouvel Entrepreneur Juin 2007 until age 65 when Medicare would be available.

For instance, if you are 55 and make $40,000 per year, you should purchase a policy for $400,000. You cannot get a long term disability policy if -

(1) you are or are soon to be pregnant,

(2) make less than $18,000 per year,

(3) are unemployed, or

(4) you are required to carry a weapon for your job.

Typically, the waiting period for long-term insurance to kick is at least 60 days and as much as a year. Disability insurance is an important aspect of your overall insurance coverage plan, and if your employer offers it as a benefit you should definitely consider it as a wise investment.

For College Students

The tuition arrangements are set up; the dorm room is assigned and your son or daughter is headed off to college in the fall. In all of the confusion of the paperwork, deadlines and financial arrangements did you remember to check on their health insurance?

Many, but not all, insurance companies provide for health insurance for college students under a family policy; do you know for sure that yours does? With some insurance companies, coverage depends on whether or not the student is a full time student. Review your policy or ask your insurance administrator; if you have an HMO plan, will your student be covered if they go to the student healthcare facility away from home?

Check the age limit as well; you may find that once your son or daughter reaches a Federal Info Return Tax age they are dropped from the policy no matter what. Ask your insurance company to provide an extra insurance card for your son or daughter to carry with them; if there is an additional card for prescription medications; make sure they have that too.

This preventative step will help eliminate confusion when they suddenly have to see a doctor. There are student health care plans that are available through most colleges that are a reasonably priced alternative if your policy excludes your child.

Isn't college confusing enough without having to worry about whether your child is covered should he or she need to seek medical attention? Take the time to look into health insurance before they head off to college in the fall.

Getting the Most Benefit From Your Policy

The key to getting the most benefit from your health insurance policy is knowing your policy coverage. Many people don't actually read the policy for the policy plan book; they may not be aware that the policy may pay 100% of certain procedures, like annual physicals, mammograms, flu shots or certain Arte Moderno tests. The policy plan book will outline for you what procedures are not subject to the deductible or co-pay (your out-of-pocket expense).

Some insurance companies have shifted their emphasis from health insurance to health improvement and maintenance and will pay for the cost of gym membership, nutritional counseling or plans to stop smoking.

If you were trying to lose weight and knew that you could get these services at no cost, wouldn't you take advantage of them? If you wanted to quit smoking, wouldn't it be beneficial to know that you could get the patch for free?

It is very wise to know what services are available to you through your insurance company, and you will only know if you take the time to read through your policy. Health insurance is an expensive item; take advantage of every aspect of it that you can, not only for yourself but for the members of your family. By taking full advantage of the free benefits of your health insurance policy, you will be healthier and possibly require fewer visits to your doctor.

Health Savings Accounts

If you are considering changing your health insurance policy, you should be aware of the alternative of a Health Savings Account (HCA). Health Savings Accounts started to become available (and legal) in 2004, allowing people with high-deductible insurance policies to set aside tax-free money to fund medical expenses up to the maximum deductible amount.

If you don't have to use the funds, it rolls over every year. Once you reach age 65, you no longer are required to use it for medical expenses, although you certainly can; you can withdraw funds under the same conditions as a regular IRA. Although you will be penalized if you use the funds for non-medical expenses prior to age 65, you can use the money for vision care, alternative medicine or treatment and dental care.

For 2008, an individual may fund up to $2,900 tax free. The maximum deductible would be $1100 and the maximum out-of-pocket cost would be $5,600. For a family, the maximum tax-free contribution is $5,800 with the maximum deductible of $2,200 and the maximum out-of-pocket cost would be $11,200.

Health Savings Accounts are certainly a viable way to shelter income while providing catastrophic insurance coverage in light of the high cost of low-deductible health insurance plans. For healthy people, it deserves some research. Consult with your insurance agent for all of the details involving this approach to managing your insurance needs.

Medicare

Medicare is a governmental program which provides medical insurance coverage for retired persons over age 65 or for others who meet certain medical conditions, such as having a disability. Medicare was signed into legislation in 1965 as an amendment to the Social Security program and is administered by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) under the Department of Human Services. Medicare provides medical insurance coverage for over 43 million Americans, many of whom would have no medical insurance. While not perfect, the Medicare program offers these millions of people relatively low cost basic insurance, but not much in the way of preventative care. For instance, Medicare does not pay for an annual physical, vision care or dental care. Medicare is paid for through payroll tax deductions (FICA) equal to 2.9% of wages; the employee pays half and the employer pays half.

There are four "parts" to Medicare: Part A is hospital coverage, Part B is medical insurance, Part C is supplemental coverage and Part D is prescription insurance. Parts C and D are at an added cost and are not required. Neither Part A nor B pays 100% of medical costs; there is usually a premium, co-pay and a deductible. Some low-income people quality for Medicaid, which assists in paying part of or all of the out-of-pocket costs.

Because more people are retiring and become eligible for Medicare at a faster rate than people are paying into the system, it has been predicted that the system will run out of money by 2018. Health care costs have risen dramatically, which adds to the financial woes of Medicare and the system has bee plagued by fraud over the years. No one seems to have a viable solution to save this system that saves many people throughout the country.

Prescription Insurance Policies

Some health insurance policies do not provide for prescription coverage and a separate policy must be purchased for prescription medications. This is an area where it pays to do some homework and research and find the best policy for you. Prescription coverage insurance is not a necessity; like health insurance coverage, it is a calculated risk, although the risk is not as high. Usually you can buy prescription insurance at any time, so if the doctor determines that you need an expensive maintenance drug, you may opt in at that time. It is important to know that if you presently have prescription insurance you can usually only change it at a specific time of the year, although you can add new prescriptions, you can't change plans. The person who seldom takes prescription medications probably does not need prescription insurance; however, a person who takes maintenance drugs for high blood pressure, diabetes, depression, heart disease or immune disorders most likely needs insurance against the high costs of drugs.

Prescription insurance policies usually have "tiers", which usually means that a generic drug is at a low or no co-pay, a tier 2 level may be the brand name genuine, and a tier 3 may be a brand new expensive drug that the co-pay could be a set high-percentage of the cost.

In choosing prescription insurance, you should first list the prescriptions that you take and the retail amount of them. If you chose not to purchase insurance, this would be your monthly cost. Find out from the provider what the monthly premium for you would be, then what the prescription co-pay amount would be and add these two figures together. Which is the less expensive alternative?

Resources:
Long Term Care Buying Guide