The Importance of Health Insurance Today

by Admin
The Importance of Health Insurance Today

Do you ever feel like you know just enough about Health Insurance to be dangerous? Let’s see if we can fill in some of the gaps with the latest info from Health Insurance experts.

Health insurance is something that most people don’t think about very often and yet it is something that when comes foremost to mind when a loved one is sick. Health Insurance coverage varies across the world, even across the different states in the United States of America.

Health insurance is a very specific type of insurance. With this type of insurance the insurer pays the medical costs of the insured if the insured becomes sick due to covered causes, or due to accidents. The insurer may be a private organization or a government agency. Health Insurance can protect a family from financial devastation in case of serious illness.

Today, according to statistics from the US Census Bureau, many Americans, approximately 85%, have some form of health insurance. Many people, about 60%, are insured through their place of employment or through health insurance acquired personally. For about a quarter of the population, federal or state government agencies provide the insurance. These agencies may include Medicare and Medicaid as well as various state funded health insurance plans.

I trust that what you’ve read so far has been informative. The following section should go a long way toward clearing up any uncertainty that may remain.

Today, health insurance costs are rising, which is a concern to many people. Because of ongoing advances in medical care and in technology, medical treatment is more expensive. These advances help people to live longer. Today there are more senior citizens than ever before – our population is aging. The elderly population is more frail and prone to illness thus requiring more medical care than a younger population that is healthier. This also causes an increase in the price of health insurance.

Health insurance costs are also rising due to personal health choices made by individuals. Poor eating habits, smoking, drug and alcohol abuse, a lack of exercise, obesity are some of these poor health choices. In addition, there are still rural areas where there is a lack of health professionals including doctors.

Today, health insurers offer discounts and incentives to people who love a healthy lifestyle. Often, a person will provide health information and a personal medical history when buying health insurance. This history may address questions such as smoking, weight, drug use, and disease history. The incentives offered by health insurance companies today may encourage individuals to quit smoking or make other positive changes in their lifestyle. Many times, heath insurers will not insure pre-existing medical conditions. The medical history provided will screen out such applicants.

Because of the concern over pre-existing medical conditions, there are now state and federal laws that help ensure that those individuals with pre-existing conditions can acquire or maintain health insurance, even if they need to change plans or providers. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is a federal law ensuring that all health insurance plans nationally have a common set of standards. In addition, states can also have laws regulating health plans including group health insurance and individual health insurance. This means that the laws regulating your health insurance protections may vary from state to state. Keep in mind, that even with these laws, access to health insurance may not be protected in all situations.

COBRA continuation coverage can help you if you leave of change your job. Under COBRA, you may be able to remain in your old group health plan for a certain length of time. This can assist you in those times when you are between jobs or waiting for a new health insurance plan to cover your pre-existing condition. Under COBRA, there are limits to what you will need to pay to continue your coverage.

When word gets around about your command of Health Insurance facts, others who need to know about Health Insurance will start to actively seek you out.

Watch the video related to health insurance

President Obama debunks the myths around health reform, and discusses the public option proposal in which many of them are rooted. But he focuses his address on the stark moral and historical turning point at which we find ourselves. August 22, 2009. (Public Domain)

Help answer the question about health insurance

If someone has two health insurance coverage, how does coordination of benefits work?
My friend was in an auto accident, and the health insurance from the auto insurer is her primary health insurance for the accident. She also has regular health insurance from another company. If the auto insurer pays 80% of her auto accident medical costs, and her secondary insurance normally pays 70% of her medical costs, then how would the secondary insurance treat a $1000 bill, for example? The auto insurer pays $800 of the $1000 bill (80%), but how much would the secondary health insurer pay?
SRC50
Auto insurance covers medical costs from an accident when auto insurance is selected as the primary health insurance for an accident. She therefore has two health insurance coverages in terms of her auto injuries only.

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18 comments

  1. rosana says:

    Check out this site to find the best health insurance just in one minute,

    http://best-free-health-insurance-quote-usa.blogspot.com/

    Here you can get free quotes from different health insurance companies in your area, its the best way to find an afforable health insurance with a reliable company.

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  2. engersf says:

    Who ever speak about socialism do not know what is talking about! Stop being so “monkey repeating media garbage” and read. It is enough to this system that is keeping our health system ranks as the number 38th in the world. We need to speak strong against this insurance company is ENOUGH! If any one want to have an educate discussion about the subject please read, take your own conclusion and speak…

  3. GABER222 says:

    Obama is FUGLY….

  4. chan_jay says:

    1) Most employer provided health insurance is deducted "pre-tax" so there is no deduction on the tax return.

    2) Your parents must be your dependents (or would have been your dependents except for the gross income test) for you to take a deduction anyway. So, unless you are supporting them: No.

  5. groundhog2008 says:

    You are a racist!! If Obama were white, you would love him for what he is doing! He is just helping the poor, and Blacks in this country! He is wanting to give back to Black folk what the whites have deprived us for years!!

  6. LOVER says:

    Well, if she's 40 and perfectly healthy, it's going to cost her about $500 a month to have a low/no deductible plan that covers checkups.

    You BUY it on a month to month basis. If you want low monthly payments, you have to cut the coverage – like take a $10,000 deductible. Or higher. That would cut payments down to maybe $200 a month or less.

    The older she is, the less healthy she is, the more it costs.

    Your best bet, is to find a local, independent agent, who can help you balance cost with coverage.

  7. mTanze says:

    Whether it’s a public option or a far more regulated old school insurance system, I think we’ll be ok. Point is SOMETHING needs to be done, otherwise we’re all in for a barbaric two-tier healthcare system where the only ones who will get treatment are those who can afford it. We need this fixed.

  8. haydee says:

    Health insurance can be very tricky. Since I live in Utah I'm not sure about Florida laws and regulations, so I suggest you contact a nearby insurance agent. Check out this site to find the best health insurance just in one minute,

    http://best-free-health-insurance-quote-usa.blogspot.com/

    Here you can get free quotes from different health insurance companies in your area, its the best way to find an afforable health insurance with a reliable company.

    Best Wishes,

  9. Emily K says:

    When you get health insurance, there is what is called a premium. This is the amount you pay on a scheduled basis. For instance, if you get insurance through your employer, you would pay your part of the premium each payday.

    If you pay your premiums on time, you get to keep your insurance. Now, when you use your insurance, there is what is called a deductible. This is an amount of money you must spend before the insurance starts paying anything. A typical deductible might be $250/year for the policy holder and $500/year for the family. So, if your dad had the policy and went to get a prescription, if it was his first prescription of the year and it cost $100, he would pay $100. Every time he used stuff under the plan, he would pay everything until he hit the $250 deductible, then the insurance would kick in. (the same goes for the family coverage, until the $500 was met by everybody in total – not separately – you would pay 100%).

    Now, once the deductible is met, the insurance starts picking up some of the costs…usually the costs are based on what doctor or provider you use. If you use someone who is called "in network" the insurance company pays more of the bill. They do this because they have negotiated lower costs with that provider. For example, let's say you need to have some tests done and your family has met all your deductibles. Let's also say the tests normally cost $200. If you go to an in network provider, the insurance would cover 80%. If you go out of network, the insurance might only cover 70%. Now the nice thing is, by going in network, you get the discounted price, let's say $160. So, if you go in network, you would pay $32 for the tests and the insurance would pay $128 (totaling $160). If you went out of network, you would pay the 30% of $200 or $60 and the insurance company would pay $140. So, by staying in-network, both you and your insurance company save money.

    Also, there is something called an out-of-pocket maximum. This just means that if someone in your family gets real sick or injured, the most you can pay for that year is the out-of-pocket max…say $5,000. Once you hit that, everything after that is covered 100% by your insurance and you don't pay anything.

    Last, there is a co-pay – what this means is that if you go to the doctor for a routine visit, it is usually covered without worrying about the deductible and you pay just the co-pay. usually this is $15 or $20 on say a $100 office visit and the insurance company pays the rest (based on a negotiated amount).

    And that's the short version of how insurance works.

  10. MrRegulator66 says:

    Coming up this week, August 28th on PBS, Money Driven Medicine …watch it!

  11. sharron says:

    You can compare the quotes of various company here:

    For Life Insurance :
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    For Health Insurance
    http://top-usa-health-insurance-comparator.blogspot.com/

    Hope this help

  12. hiphopsocnroc says:

    Ruckus? WTF, what an insult to the people

  13. ajack50 says:

    we will vote every idiot in congress out in 2010 and odumba your gone in 2012,hopefully we can return from your socialist agenda you are nothing more than a liar and full of shit,we know you hate America and what itr stands for you fucking socialist,go to kenya and take all your idiot criminal czars with you

  14. deandra says:

    Most insurance will cover the costs you mention if the doctor thinks it is medically necessary. Check out this site to find the best health insurance just in one minute,

    http://best-free-health-insurance-quote-usa.blogspot.com/

    Here you can get free quotes from different health insurance companies in your area, its the best way to find an afforable health insurance with a reliable company.

    Best Wishes,

  15. ajack50 says:

    where are the jobs that we spent a trillion in stimulus? you need to take your socialist agenda along with your czars and go to kenya they love you there,we hate your socialist bullshit here. govt is a failure and you are the leader. leave our healthcare alone dirtbag

  16. obamaisapieceofshit says:

    Groundhog = obamatarded dumbfuck, just like the fuckhead in the video above.

  17. Jackie S says:

    No.
    The insurance through your husband's employer does not meet the test of having been established through the S-corp.

  18. synchronised says:

    You've asked a very broad question. There is no simple answer.

    In truth, health insurance works a little differently in each state.

    To answer your specific questions:
    1) No, health insurance is not compulsory for everyone. If you're lucky, you are able to join a group policy at work. (If you're really lucky, it's a good policy and the employer pays at least half of it.) Some states have recently made it compulsory, but that's such a recent change that there's no clear cut answer yet for how that's going to work.

    2) What happens if someone can't afford it is… they don't get it, usually. Except if your income puts you below the "poverty level", in which case you qualify for Medicaid. (In some states there are programs that typically provide assistance with insuring children, though they are few and far between for covering adults.)

    3) Health insurance rarely covers all the bills when you have a procedure done. Most plans cover 50-80% after you meet your deductible. The deductible amounts vary widely (but the trend is that the deductibles are getting higher and higher to keep the premiums down.) If you're really, REALLY lucky, you don't have a deductible (which is only an option on group plans), and you may only have to pay 10% of covered charges. (These plans are few and far between. As in, you might have them if you're in Congress.)

    4) Yes, the patient has some say over procedures. However, if the patient opts for an "experimental" procedure, or one that isn't deemed "medically necessary", then health insurance may refuse to cover any charges at all.

    In the end, as with most things, the middle class takes the brunt of these costs. This has become such a problem that more than 50% of all bankruptcies are as a result of medical bills (and of those, more than 75% had health insurance.)

    ** Edited to add:
    It's not ALL about the money when a procedure is involved. If it is, the state keeps track of complaints filed on behalf of consumers with "managed care" (ie. any type of network arrangement including Preferred Provider Organizations, Health Maintenance Organizations, and Point of Service organizations — also known as PPO, HMO, and POS) and may very well revoke a company's charter to do business in the state should the company be turning down too many legitimate claims.

    However, insurance companies are sticklers for following the "standard" for medical care. This is what makes it difficult to answer your question. Because they should not deny anything that's considered standard for care in the given circumstances (should not and will not being two completely different things, of course.) And there may be several options that would be considered "standard." If the patient wants treatment that isn't yet considered "standard", they would balk. Period.