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