State Health Insurance -- According to Census Bureau

The United States Census Bureau splits all insurance coverage into two groups. It is either private coverage or coverage through the government. These two groups have divisions within each group. There are three divisions in the private coverage group; and likewise, three divisions in the governmental group.

The government insurance coverage is classified as Federal Health Care Plans, State Health Care Plans and Local Health Care Plans. Each plan is funded by the government at that level. In addition to these three classifications, there are six categories of government insurance coverage. They are Medicare, Medicaid, SCHIP, Military Health Care, State-specific plans and Indian Health Service.

Most people know that Medicare is for people sixty-five and over and for some people with disabilities who are under sixty-five.

Many people have heard of Medicaid, and know that it is Health Care for low income but are not really sure what the coverage area includes. Medicaid is one of the State Health Care Plans which is administered by the state and was developed for low or no-income families. This insurance is not for individuals or people who are married with no children, unless they are blind, disabled or aged and are in financial need. Depending on the state, Medicaid may be called by a different name.

SCHIP or the State Children's Health Insurance Program is one of the State Health Care Plans that is given matching funds from the federal government so that health insurance may be provided to families with children. SCHIP was created to give health insurance to families with children who have income that is high enough they do not qualify for low income programs such as Medicaid and have no other source of insurance for their children.

Every state has one of the approved State Health Care Plans for SCHIP coverage. Each state can develop their own SCHIP eligibility requirements and policies, but they must stay within the wide-ranging federal guidelines. In some states, the SCHIP funds can be used to cover pregnant women, the parents of children who are also receiving benefits from Medicaid, and other adults.

However, even with this coverage in place the number of uninsured children in the United States continues to rise. The Vimo Research Group conducted a study in October of 2007 that concluded 68.7 percent of these children were in families whose incomes were two hundred percent of the federal poverty level or higher. Several states had deficits in their SCHIP funding in fiscal year 2008.

Individual Health Insurance

Individual health insurance is usually taken out when health coverage is not available through the employer. Usually this insurance is expensive and less consumer-friendly compared to a job-based insurance. But it is better than having no health insurance at all.

The best way to start looking for individual health insurance is by trying to find an independent agent. An independent insurance agent has to register with the Department of Insurance in the state. Therefore, you can check with the department for a list of registered insurance agents who are licensed to sell health insurance in you state.

Or else, you can check out the National Association of Health Underwriter website to find an independent agent. Another option that is very popular these days is the Internet, which gives you the freedom to search for health insurance companies online.

It does not matter where you purchase the policy, as long as you compare different policies and select one that is best suited for your medical needs. Here are some things that you should look for when purchasing your individual health insurance policy.

1. Make sure the policy cannot be cancelled and offers you guaranteed renewable coverage. In other words, as long as you pay the premiums and do not attempt to cheat the insurance company, the policy cannot be cancelled. Sometimes, insurance companies cancel policies when the insured fall ill and this is legal in many states. By having a non-cancellable clause, you can be assured that your policy will be valid even if you fall ill. Another option is go for conditionally renewable policy where the insurance company can cancel all policies similar to yours, but cannot just cancel your policy alone.
2. The policy should have clear terms where it lists what is covered, what is not covered and when the coverage actually begins.
3. Your policy should have a 10-day rescission period during which you can carefully study the relevant documents to see whether the policy is right for you. If you decide it is not and you do not like the terms of the policy, you can cancel the coverage within 10 days and get back the premium you paid.

There are many different levels of coverage available under individual health insurance and if you do not understand anything, make sure you ask the agent or insurance company to explain it to you. Do not wait to fall ill to figure out that the policy does not cover the health care service you need.

Affordable Senior Health Insurance Coverage - Part 2

Basic supplemental benefits are covered by each of the 12 Medigap policies while additional benefits are determined according to the plan you choose. For example supplemental Plan A is the most basic. Everything in Plan A is offered in Plans B thru L, with these plans offering even more coverage. You will find cost sharing, depending on the level is different for Plans A to J and Plans K to L but that the services offered are similar.

In the event of serious illness or accident, especially for persons who did not sock away a substantial retirement fund during their working years, having to pay the amount that is left after Medicare and Medicaid have paid their share could be catastrophic. For senior citizens a policy that can take care of most of what government insurance plans for seniors do not has many benefits and deserves a look.

Supplemental health insurance for seniors is not too expensive and generally affordable. Just remember it is very important that you compare the policies offered by different insurance companies. Whether you do it locally or easily on line this task should not be skipped, compare. After doing some research you may find that not only is it affordable, senior health insurance is something you can not afford not to have.

Article from AARP.org

Affordable Senior Health Insurance Coverage - Part 1

Recently affordable senior health insurance coverage has been a big topic as a saving grace for those who can least afford high medical cost. With the skyrocketing cost of health care senior citizens have a way to help pay some of their the costs of health care that are not covered by the original medicare health plan with supplemental insurance officially called "Medigap Policies". The reasons these policies may prove beneficial are that they assist senior citizens who can least afford it from incurring bills they can't pay or from being denied care when needed.

A Medigap policy is health insurance that's sold by private insurance companies, each insurance company decides which Medigap policies it chooses to sell. The good thing is that these health plans for seniors are the same from one supplemental health insurance company to the other. You can choose from up to 12 different standardized Medigap policies, letters for Plans A to L are used to identify each policy.

The supplemental benefits in any Medigap Plan are the same for any insurance company. These letters A-L also denote basic and extra supplemental benefit levels. Once you decide on a affordable level of insurance that meets your needs the only difference will be the costs not the plan. Also these senior citizen policies must follow Federal and State laws that are mandated to protect you.

This standard was set specifically to prevent confusion and most importantly to make comparison easy. A Medigap policy must be clearly identified on the cover as "Medicare Supplement Insurance." You can effectively do a search online and compare the costs of providers you may consider knowing that the health plans offered by all potential companies are the same and that they offer identical supplemental benefits. This is why to get the most affordable senior citizen supplemental health insurance rates it is critical to compare Medigap insurance policies as rates widely vary.

Article from APPR.org

State Health Insurance

State health insurance helps many people who are denied health insurance because of a medical condition or they are required to pay exorbitant insurance premiums. Insurance companies categorize these people as high risk and many states now offer risk pools to people who cannot afford health insurance due to their medical condition or those who just cannot afford them high premiums.

Although health insurance is not cheap but there are ways to get short term state health insurance through state risk pools. These risk pools are funded by the state through different means like taxes on hospital revenues. However, the main source of funding comes from grouping people together so that the group as a whole gets a competitive rate for the health insurance policy. This works similar to an employer's health insurance policy. And, the balance cost is are paid by the state.

This type of state health insurance has limited funding and is not cheap; but it offers people health insurance for short term until they can qualify for something more affordable and reasonably priced.

In order to qualify for a state risk pool, you should be a resident of the state you are applying in. Also, you should fulfill at least one of the following criteria:

· You have to show proof that health insurance was denied to you
· Your current health insurance premium should be more than the risk pool premium
· You should have a health insurance but your carrier denies payment for certain medical services or pre-existing health condition.

When you have state high risk pool health insurance policy, you cannot have Medicaid or Medicare, but some states have programs that allow people to be part of high risk pool plans while still being eligible for Medicare.

Health Insurance - Your Best Plan to Buy

This may seem obvious the list below when looking to buy your best insurance for you and/or your family. These 5 things you should focus on to get your best health insurance policy

1.) Do research on the insurance companies. Each one will have a rating. AAA rating will be the ones that will have a better track record.

2.) There are many different types of policies to chose from. Determine what you really need for health care coverage given your financial situation and individual or family needs.

3.) Check on your doctor visits and other medical services on how your are covered and what kind of reimbursements you will have.

4.) Make sure you have a good insurance agent. Make sure they have a good track record. Like anything else a good agent will make all the difference in the world. The good ones will always look out for your best interest which will give you the best coverage at the best price

5.) This one will be helped by having a good agent, but make sure you know what your policy covers and what it doesn't cover. Not all policies cover all things. Not by a long shot.

Taking time to do some research and to find your best options will pay big dividends in the long run. This all may seen like basic and obvious to you, but many people cannot answer these basic things that we all need to know when we are buying the best insurance plans and the best coverage.

Health Insurance Plans -- Which 2 Plans are Best for You

A good health insurance plan is one of the most important things someone needs to have for good health coverage. But what should a good health insurance plan consist of?

It can be a bit of a challenge today to find the right insurance plan for someone and there family because of the diverse options available. However when choosing a good health insurance plan, don't simply base decision on the cost of the monthly premium.

Know the details of the health insurance plan – what is the health coverage and what doesn't it cover. Also find out the health insurance plan's in-network as opposed to out-of-network health coverage and expenses. What are its co-payment amounts, deductible amount per family member if applicable, and the coverage caps?

The next step is to find out the health needs of the people included in the health insurance plans. This step can be quite complicated. Is everyone in good health overall? Does anyone have any pre-existing conditions? Would someone at any time feel the need to approach certain medical specialists or institutions? Once they answer these questions, a person will be ready to start choosing a good health insurance plan.

People must gather all possible health coverage options available for there needs. If an employer is offering group insurance, options may be limited. If someone is self-employed, they will have to choose from the different private health insurance plans. Whatever the case is,understand the difference between the two basic types of health insurance plans offered today: the Indemnity Plan and the Managed Care Plan.

With an Indemnity Plan, a person is free to choose when and where they want to get medical assistance. This type of health insurance plan has a higher out-of-pocket cost, but for many people, the added price is fair when they consider the freedom they are getting.

With a Managed Care Plan, the person is required to only use the services of medical professionals and institutions that are part of the plan's “network”. In general, someone would need pre-approval for medical services beyond basic preventive care. In terms of costs, the costs of Managed Care Plan are lower.A Managed Care Plan is a good choice if the person (or there dependents) don't have major health problems, are not concerned about who provides them medical services, or have to keep tabs on there medical costs.

Of course, this was just a very basic overview of the two types of health insurance plans. Research these two plans and study them more deeply

The Major Benefits of Travel Insurance - Part 2

Also if plans have been made prior to the incident, for example the hurricane damaged the hotel that the traveler had planned to stay in, this would also be reimbursed. Also, if a trip has been planned and paid for and it has to be canceled due the severe weather this will also be reimbursed.

Another benefit of having travel insurance is it also covers a traveler if going on a cruise. A lot could happen on a cruise that would require travel insurance. For example if the luggage was lost and is not returned within 12-24 hours, they will reimburse the traveler for any items that were lost. The same applies if flying and bad weather occurs and a trip is canceled or delayed they reimburse the costs incurred.

By purchasing the travel insurance it assures the traveler that no matter what happens they are covered.Whether it be an illness, unforeseen bad weather, having an accident, having to cancel trip due to an emergency in the family, even if luggage is lost. Everything is reimbursed or accommodations will be made.

If an emergency happens and the traveler has to return to their country it's included. It's cost effective. Without this travel insurance it could cost the traveler more money and cause more stress than one could imagine. Travel insurance is the best insurance to get when traveling within the country or out of the country.

The Major Benefits of Travel Insurance - Part 1

The benefit of having travel insurance is so important. This insurance offers health benefits, weather benefits and accident benefits. It offers everything that is needed when traveling. Whether it be in your country or traveling abroad.

One benefit of purchasing travel insurance is the health benefit. This would cover everything from a broken ankle to a serious illness. This is important if traveling out of the US. Most US health care insurance companies do not cover when out of the country.

When choosing a package include the 24 hour hot line for emergency in case the doctor or hospital does not speak the language. The travel insurance will also cover emergency evacuation. This means if something happens to the traveler and they must return to their country this insurance covers that as well.

Another benefit is the weather benefit. This also is an important travel insurance. There might be a time that unforeseen bad weather approaches. Such as a hurricane. This travel insurance will cover the traveler if they need to evacuate the state or country immediately. It will reimburse if the trip was delay due to bad weather. It will also cover accommodation that is within reason.

More in Part 2

Family Health Insurance

Purchasing Family Health insurance, there is a lot to consider in purchasing Family Health insurance. There are many plans that are available that you can buy that can add or reduce the cost.

We have all heard of the following: HMOs - Health Maintenance Organization; PPOs - Preferred Provider Organization; POS - Point of Service Plan. There is a new one that has come into the mix and it is called the Health Savings Account. With HMOs the doctors and associates work directly through the HMO. PPOs and POS are organized by the health insurance.

The POS is the most flexible of the three. The Health Savings Account is a supplemental service used for retirement and is meant to replace the high costs with low deductible health insurance policies. So, there has been a change when it comes to health insurance coverage.

When purchasing Family Health insurance make sure to investigate the "Child Health Insurance Options." There are state and federal plans available. There is health insurance coverage for low income families but most parents choose to add their children to their own policies to save money.
If your insurance doesn't offer a family or group plan there are always the PPOs and the HMOs that do. In researching a quote for Family Health Insurance you need to fill out the information to receive a quote.

The company needs the following information:

Gender

Height

Weight;

Smoker - yes or no

Birth date and your zip code.

After you have filled out all of the information for your family you can submit for information for the health insurance coverage and the quote.

Health Insurance Options- It Pays to Investigate

Health insurance, in this modern world of cancer, heart disease, AIDS, diabetes, asthma, ageing and other diseases and afflictions, it is a good idea to have some sort of health insurance. There are many types of health insurance coverage available; unfortunately, like most things in life, you get what you pay for, and good coverage can be 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 catastrophic coverage, which would carry a very high deductible and the premium would be less than comprehensive coverage which would have a 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.

Medical Insurance - Research Your Options

With all the different medical insurance that is available, you might ask your self what company should I choose and what coverage would be the right fit for me. Of course if you have a family to consider you will have to explore a wider range insurance coverage of any health care plan.

Medical insurance in a nutshell is a person who agrees to pay a monthly amount of money to a health care provider in return for financial protection against any foreseen accident that would require major medical care.

So what kind of health care plan should I consider when doing some research. The main ones would be:

1.) Personal Coverage

2.) Coverage for you and your family

3. ) Small business coverage

4.) Travel Insurance

5.) International Travel

6.) Major medical

It is defiantly worth your time to do your research on what would be the best health care plan your you and your family. It much easier today to do that will all the various medical insurance coverage that you can apply for on the internet.

In most case you will be able to type in your zip code and see what health care providers would best meet your health insurance needs. In many case you will have over 150 companies to care a quote. What is nice is these quote are free with no obligation to buy.

So now is the time to get your Free Quote today as there are over 50 million people uninsured in the United States alone. Do not let this happen to you

Overseas Travel Health Insurance for India

Health Insurance policy valid within India is issued with difficulty for those above 60 years in age. In the case of Overseas Travel Health Insurance for India, the policy can be issued even for the age of 84 years but subject to following documents being attached with proposal form for all those whose age is above 70.


Health Insurance policy issued to you is valid in India only. When you travel out of India then you need Overseas Travel Health insurance policy because of following reasons :

i. If Hospitalization is required while you are in a foreign country then treatment may not start in a hospital; unless you make the payment in cash or by credit card or produce health insurance policy reference / card.

ii. Some embassies of foreign countries need it as part of documents for issue of visa itself. An example is the Germany Embassy or Spain Embassy.

Even though this policy in the beginning was for taking care of hospitalization/medical treatment only but at present this product is available with certain additional features.
You will notice that while in the case of Health Insurance policy valid with in India is having the limit of Rs 5,00,000 but in case of Overseas Health Insurance policy sum can be as high as US$ 5,00,000, which is nearly equal to Rs. 235 lakhs. (Rs 2.35 crores)

Health Insurance policy valid within India is issued with difficulty for those above 60 years in age. In the case of Overseas Travel Health Insurance for India, the policy can be issued even for the age of 84 years but subject to following documents being attached with proposal form for all those whose age is above 70:

• ECG test
• Blood test
• Urine test

Medical assessment in specified format duly filled/signed/rubber stamped along with license no. of the postgraduate (M.D. or a above) doctor who has filled the report. It is to be understood that report by MBBS qualified doctor is not valid.

The medical specialists of the Insurance Companies generally based in Zonal office or Head office review the documents and decide:

1. Whether to accept the proposal and underwrite the risk
2. If to underwrite the risk should there be loading on premium rates and what should be the maximum amount of Hospitalization covered.

This approval cycle can take 2 to 5 days. Normally for a person of 70+ age the limits imposed with respect to hospitalization / medication in the policy are between US $ 10000 and US $ 50000. You will notice that this is much less in comparison to limit of US $ 5,00,000, which is available to those who are in age group of 70 years or less.

The good thing about this policy is that it is even issued to those who have preexisting disease. Hospitalization in foreign country even with the disease (preexisting) is covered.
On the concept of loading factor starting on a specified data it has been seen that for a person aged 84 traveling to USA, a specific PSU loaded the premium by 150%. Private Insurance Companies are generally not issuing policy to those, who are 80+in age.

In these recent months we notice that PSU's have started discouraging the issue of such policies
These policies can be divided in to :

1. Single trip policy
2. Annual Multi trip policy

As the name indicates single trip covers a single trip, which is starting on a specific date and ending on a specific date. It is possible to extend the date on payment of additional premium subject to condition that no claim has been made. Extension of policy is at the discretion of the Insurance Company.

Annual Multi trip policy is having validity of 1 year. As many trips as you wish are possible but it is subject to the condition: "Single trip not being more than 30 days." Some Insurance Companies now offer option of single trip not being more than 45 days.

Small Business Health Insurance

If you are a business owner with more than 2 employees and up to 50, then you fall under the small business category. This means you will need small business health insurance to cover your employees and it is a must. Although it is not a federal rule, it make sense to have it because you can get sued by one of your of employees over work-related health problems.

Reports show that more than 80,000 cases are filed every year in the United States against employers for injuries and illnesses caused due to work and work conditions. And, the employer is not even aware until they are hit with court charges and nevertheless he or she ends up paying a fine or penalty. So it is better to give your employees the small benefit of insurance than rather pay exorbitant penalties in court charges.

Workmen’s compensation prepares you and your business to plan better and also safeguards your small business from unnecessary expenditure and overheads. Budgeting for employee insurance plans on a yearly basis is the wisest thing to do for any small business owner. A small business health insurance will cover various aspects like work related injuries and the hospitalization costs for an employee who is sick; also it takes care of the monthly salary and compensation during the recovery period.

This monthly compensation can vary for the time period the employee can be covered based on the seriousness of the injury or illness. Based on your business needs you can get a comprehensive small business health insurance plan. All you need to do is look for the correct plan with the right insurance company.

Getting Quotes for Your Health Insurance

If you are investing in a personal health insurance plan then it is always better to shop for health care quotes. The process of shopping has become very easy with the use of Internet these days. There are several resources available online where you just need to fill forms with some basic information about yourself, and you can easily get a quote free of cost.

There are hundreds of companies that offer health insurance plans and there are hundred of plans available to suit practically any budget. If you do not know what kind of plan you need and how to go about it, then the whole process can be a daunting task. Before shopping for health insurance, first itemize your needs and what kind of coverage you are looking for.

For example, if you are looking for complete coverage that will pay for dental, optical, out patient and hospitalization, then you need to shop accordingly for the health care quotes. It is always better to request a quote from 2 or 3 companies at the least so that you can compare the prices and the benefits that you are getting for the amount that you will be paying. Also, give importance to the coverage plan and the doctors' network the insurance company offers.

There are several websites that can make our shopping easy by giving you health care quotes from different companies. You can easily shop, compare and decide the plan you need. You do not have to depend on guesswork or phony companies that keep irking you about various insurance plans, which do not give the benefits that you are actually looking for.

Health Insurance - A General Overview

Health care is a very expensive affair in the United States and people without health care insurance pay huge amounts for basic health check up. We all need insurance for ourselves and our families for various things like dental, medical, injuries and hospitalization. We live in a world full of uncertainties and never know when we need what type of health care.

People fall sick all the time and it is something we cannot avoid even by being careful. A doctor’s visit when you do not have an insurance plan could cost you $120 and the medicines not being included in this price. A health care insurance plan directly saves you from these kinds of unexpected expenditure.

For most people the companies that they work for cover them through basic group insurance plans. However, additional coverage like dental and optical plan is not provided by them. It makes a lot of sense to invest in a good insurance plan that takes care of your family and your needs without you having to pay large amounts as a deductible.

It is quite important to understand how the insurance plans work in order to choose the right one. What is health care insurance? It is basically an amount that you pay yearly as a premium so that it covers your medical needs. The amount is broken into various parts which are identified with different terminologies. An insurance plan will consist of the following components:

Premium: An amount that is payable on a monthly or a quarterly basis in order to cover health coverage.

Deductible: A deductible is an amount that is not included in the premium but is payable when you actually seek health care. The deductible depends on the total amount incurred for treatment and the amount the insurance company would have to pay to cover your hospital bills.