Women especially when pregnant have special health care needs. How are those health care needs addressed in the unique health care bill? The new health care bill that was signed into law on March 23, 2010 means that all Americans will have access to affordable healthcare hopefully of quality care too. The new health care reform law – Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act or HR 3590 provides protection for all Americans and contains several provisions specific to women.
The law has a purpose of protecting Americans against the worst cases regarding fraud in the medical insurance field. Everyone presently uninsured will be able to obtain health care according to the recent health care bill including women and those pregnant. What other benefits will there be to pregnant women under the new heath care bill?
One immense change is that small-group insurance plans notorious for charging higher premiums for women than they do for men will be barred from doing this under the current health care plan. In the past women who could not afford to pay higher premiums and were pregnant are anticipating becoming pregnant were faced with a predicament of not being able to get the medical care they desired and needed during a crucial time in their lives – while pregnant and responsible for the well-being of another human being’s growth and development.
Previously, health insurance companies often denied coverage for pre-existing health conditions including previous C-section or simply because they had previously been pregnant. The novel health care bill prevents this type of insurance denial from occurring. In fact, the new bill mandates that all health care plans include maternity benefits being required to cover prenatal care, maternal care, and newborn care. Other services that may be needed following pregnancy including mental services and pediatric care, vision and dental services must also be a part of the health care benefits package offered to women.
The effective date varies by state but the fresh health care bill also provides for home visits through Medicaid for prenatal and postpartum nurse home-visit programs. This is an essential part of providing quality care to the pregnant woman and new mom.
Pregnant women will also enjoy other benefits that are fragment of the new health care bill including state and federally funded programs for low-income families that will shroud freestanding birth centers, assuring women who are nursing to be provided a space to pump while at work, Medicaid reimbursement to those providing midwifery duties as of January 2011 increasing the quality of home birth and center births, money that will be available for research into the causes and treatments for postpartum depression will also be a part of the new health care bill. The new health care bill will also mandate that unusual health plans be required to provide well-baby checkups as well as immunizations for women and children all preventive services that increase the quality of care given to women and their children.
Health care issues are one very principal consideration for any woman thinking about conceiving. She asks questions about the care options she has available to her and that are affordable to her. A pregnant woman planning ahead wants to be clear that now only will she have the quality of medical care that she needs and deserves while pregnant but that she and her baby will have the medical care they need during delivery and during the postpartum period of time when type of quality of medical care can have a direct impact on future health.
During all three of my pregnancies with my daughters health care concerns were reveal. Like many women, an unexpected change in employment at the end of my second trimester spelled disaster regarding health care coverage. Many women and their unborn children are suddenly without coverage when they need it the most. This health care bill will provide a bridge for coverage no matter what unexpected changes occur in your life during pregnancy.
My second daughter was born too early in part due to lower than normal standards of care. The hope is that with so many necessary eyes on how this new bill will be addressed, the quality of health care for everyone including low-income families will be raised. When health care is not only provided for but the level of care is of good quality all women and their children should be expected to receive the level of care that leads to decreased health care risks to babies and better care for pregnant women.
A blog of one’s own
Uninsured in the United States
Blogging is a relatively new technology that has helped shape how people communicate. With the serve of the internet, minority groups have been able to gain public support and attention from their blog posts. The internet has gained mass popularity in the previous 15 years growing at an exponential rate; it allows us to reach anyone anywhere at the speed of light. Blogging is important because the average person can now project their message to millions of people online almost instantly. Blogs have become a key tool for minority groups to accept their opinion across without spending a lot of money. They have empowered and given a voice to, people without adequate health insurance, and will be able to help more people in the future if the trend of blogging continues.
More than 44.8 Million people in the United States do not have health insurance (Wattenberg). This causes a great deal of concern for the average person living in the United States. The question is whether or not health insurance is worth the amount of money they will have to spend or if they even have the money to utilize on it. They then will look at the opportunity cost; this is what they will have to give up if they don’t catch health insurance. When struggling to make this decision they often look at themselves as healthy and won’t need or can’t afford health insurance. Health insurance costs on average of $10,880 dollars per family, however most companies shroud a great portion of,this cost, thus making it cost on average $2,713 per year (Appleby). These numbers are staggering for the average family in America who make only $48,201 per year.
The uninsured in the USA are a seemingly invisible group to political elite and law makers. The problem with Universal healthcare is that it would, in theory, give everyone an equal opportunity at who gets what doctor. In other words there would be no “better” hospital to visit if you were wealthy or had some sort of influence. The documentary Sicko Michael Moore outlines what happens to people without health insurance in the USA, and it also largely covers what happens to people who have health insurance but their plan limits how noteworthy care they can receive. The documentary also includes what happens to people who live in countries who have universal healthcare. The documentary was an extreme bias towards Universal Healthcare, but it outlined many facts. The following quote comes from the Institute of Medicine, was featured in the movie Sicko, and indicates the severity of the US healthcare problem.
According to the Institute of Medicine, “lack of health insurance causes roughly 18,000 unnecessary deaths every year in the United States. Although America leads the world in spending on health care, it is the only wealthy, industrialized nation that does not ensure that all citizens have coverage.” (“Insuring America’s Health: Principles and Recommendations”)
This is a scary number of people that die each year from the lack of financial means in the United States. With the institution of Universal Healthcare that number would be down to zero.
The scary facts about United States current healthcare system are that the United States Government is doing little in the arrangement of making this number go down. Hillary Clinton, one of the biggest supporters of Universal Healthcare, was bought out by the drug companies and doctors in the form of campaign money. She is the second highest recipient of money from the current healthcare system; thus causing a conundrum (Christensen). How can the government fix the current problem when the candidates themselves are in the pockets of the healthcare system and large drug manufacturers? Most view it as a problem, but do not know the extent of the problem; the healthcare companies are spending more and more money hiring people to fight congress over healthcare plans. In fact, there are 2,084 lobbyist and only 535 members of congress (Mayor).
The uninsured are a large marginalized group in the United States that are not being represented by the government with adequate representation. The drug companies have the most to lose if the United States government adopts universal healthcare. They will lose the most because right now they are making their fortune off the current health insurance plan in the United States. They make their money off not treating everyone and from their high premiums. The current Bush administration has been urged by the drug companies to not agree to a universal healthcare system. They offer payouts to high political figures such as George W. Bush himself. This money is just a fraction of the amount of money that these drug companies receive every year from American families.
The uninsured American has no way to argue with the insurance or drug companies over how much their care will cost them. To put it simply, they can’t. The following is a quote from Kuro5hin.org which posted this argument about bargaining rights of the uninsured:
“An individual who needs medical care has no bargaining power whatsoever with a hospital. He can either agree to pay whatever he is charged, or he can die. There are no other choices. In some cases, the government will force him to catch medical care – if he is a minor child in a family that does not wish to get him any for religious or financial reasons, or if he is considered not to be in possession of reason – but he will quiet be billed. Refusing medical care for a dangerous or fatal condition is something most people won’t do – and may, in fact, be considered evidence of insanity which takes away the patient’s right to refuse treatment at all. He can’t walk out because the price seems unreasonable. In some cases negotiation is fruitful, but often it isn’t.”
This following scenario is a real situation that far too many Americans face who are uninsured. They have no way to pay off their bill so they can only choose to refuse care instead, often doing this to help their families financially. Their bills often come by so high that if they chose to die, it would be better financially. So are we putting a imprint on human life?
Stunned by the frosty shoulder that the U.S. Senate shows the uninsured, I looked into loyal life accounts of uninsured persons in the United States and their chilling stories. The following story touched me because it is of a hard working miner named Lenny who worked all his life in unforgiving conditions. He survived a mine fire which killed 91 of his co-workers. This didn’t stop Lenny from returning to work, because after all he had three kids and with his job great health care. Unfortunately for Lenny he had health care up until the mine he worked for laid everyone off. This left Lenny with serious health problems from working underground for twenty years. He would eventually need medical care; so he applied for a job that offered medical assistance, and the only acquire was that it took 60 days to go into effect. The following comes from (Sered and Fernandopulle):
“The luck that had made Lenny one of the survivor’s of the 1972 mine fire had run out. Only 30 days after he began the job, he fell down onto the pavement in full cardiac arrest. Paramedics flew him to Spokane, Wash., to a cardiac unit. His recovery was far better than anyone expected, but he was saddled with enormous medical bills. A year later, he was sent to the hospital for angioplasty and eventually open-heart surgery. The doctors saved his life, but Lenny is still suffering acute headaches as a result of falling to the pavement when he experienced the initial cardiac arrest. The cardiologist sent him to an otolaryngologist, who then sent him to other specialists for treatments; none has eliminated his headaches.
The bill for his various surgeries, consultations, medications, and treatments is more than $140,000—it might as well be $1 billion in terms of Lenny ever being able to pay it. His sole income at this time is the $400/month pension he receives from the mining company.
The second ending to Lenny’s anecdote is a bit different. Speaking with feeling about the first time he had to ask for public assistance, tears reach into his eyes, which seems incongruous for a man who went wait on down into the mine as soon as the smoke from the deadly fire had cleared out. “We have worked all of our lives, even went to work sick,” Lenny says. And now, instead of the dignity of automatic access to care, he depends on the golden heart of the county indigent assistance program.”
Lenny’s case is not an isolated one by any means; many people are uninsured and portion similar stories about how the flaws of the unique healthcare system.
Recently the blogging phenomenon has allowed many people with internet access to be able to share their healthcare stories with the world. Many people who can’t afford insurance can’t afford the cost of high speed internet which is required in order to blog. However, many public libraries offer this service and this allows many to have a voice when they wouldn’t previously. Healthinsuranceblog.com offers many different facts about the benefits of healthcare and what could happen if you don’t have it. The blog does not give real life accounts of people who are uninsured, but they support raise awareness of what it means to not have insurance. The blog brings up a good point about why Universal Healthcare in the United States is unlikely, we don’t have the money to provide healthcare for everyone. The government currently does not have the allocated funds to cover insurance for everyone. With a tax it might be able to afford healthcare, but currently there is not enough money. Over 55% of the uninsured don’t pay taxes (healthinsuranceblog) and there would have to be higher taxes for everyone while only some people benefit. Health Insurance Blog is a political blog that outlines what the upcoming presidential candidates support for health care.
Healthcare is often a matter of life and death for many. Without health insurance, the uninsured cannot afford routine doctors visits so if there is something wrong with them it is not detected until it’s too late. Most of the illness that people derive can be easily treated with proper care, but since most people fear the cost of a doctors or hospital visit they are left untreated.
Uninsured persons use political candidates to relieve get their message to the public about how critical their situations are. On the website healthinsuranceblog.com the democratic author talked about how politicians are getting the public aware of what it is like to be uninsured:
“In the Democratic Party primaries of 1988, for example, candidate Michael Dukakis talked about a young single mother who had two jobs and still could not afford medical insurance for herself and her children. In 1992, Bill Clinton did the same, changing the story only slightly. This time it was the case of a woman with diabetes who could not get health insurance because of her chronic condition. And now, in the 2008 primaries, Hillary Rodham Clinton (whom I worked with on the White House Health Care Reform Task Force in 1993) describes a similar case. This time it is a single woman, with two daughters, who cannot pay her medical bills because her congenital heart defect makes it impossible for her to get medical insurance coverage. And Barack Obama describes similar cases, with the eloquence that characterizes all of his speeches. He frequently refers to his own mother, who had cancer and had to worry not only about her illness but about paying her medical bills.”
Healthcare cannot wait much longer. Americans are dying every day because they can’t afford to go to get a routine doctors visit or they can’t afford their medication. I looked at the earning of the CEO of GlaxoSmithKline which is one of the larger providers of health insurance, Jean-Pierre Garnier the CEO made $9.4 million dollars last year. How is it fair that many people in the United States are uninsured and can’t afford to secure the help they need, and the CEO’s of the companies that are denying them affordable healthcare are making a grand salary. When people have to work two jobs just to be able to afford to pay for their medications, why should insurance and drug companies continue to be making such a large profit?
Internet savvy users who happen to be uninsured illustrate their hardships over the internet. Oftentimes, people without healthcare who have problems have a hard time expressing their feelings about their situations because they either can’t afford to expend the internet or are too frustrated. The internet, along with blogs, has become a tool for people to voice their notion without the censor of mainstream media. Blogs are written by people who have a voice and without an agenda (for the most part anyway; there are also corporate blogs).
Health care blogs are written by numerous people including, doctors, people without health insurance, and supporters of healthcare for everyone also known as universal healthcare. The commonwealthfund.org is an internet site that describes stories of people without healthcare and their hardships. The site is made for people to gain awareness of how bad it is to not have healthcare, and even dash down the stereotypes of people without health insurance. One stereotype I used to have is that people without health insurance are sluggish, and or did not work hard enough to be able to afford it so it was be their fault for not having it. After looking at this area that gives minorities a voice, I learned that even college-educated men and woman have a hard time getting health care.
One profile on commonwealthfund.org was of a college graduate named Ryan who had to choose whether or not to accept a job based on income or healthcare. He was a healthy young individual who did not deem he would need healthcare so he decided to take a job teaching which did not offer ample benefits. Ryan fell down on his apartment stairs and hurt his knee, he now has very high hospital bills to pay off. He later had to take a job that paid less but offers health benefits. Ryan ended up getting care for his knee in Chili because they did not charge as considerable and offered equal or better service. The question I have to ask after reading Ryan’s story that he told was why should anyone have to decide between a career or a job that offers health benefits? What happened to what we were told as kids: “we can be anything we want to be? ” The truth is with our current plan many Americans are finding themselves working for adequate health service.
Blogs have become an excellent form of education for people who did not know about what is happening to the uninsured. With the recent popularity of blogs, many are using their voice to disprove common misconceptions about what is it like to not be fully covered by their insurance company when they need care. After reading all the Profiles of the uninsured on commonwealthfund.org I wanted to know more about how we could derive their stories across to more people. The upcoming election for president has given the most power to the uninsured. The biggest problem that is being addressed besides the Iraq war is the topic of affordable healthcare for all. The fact is that healthcare is only affordable for the average American making under $50,000 for a family is one that is mostly covered by their employer. But with the economy falling without or little growth since 2001 has not made it accessible for small companies to provide healthcare for their employees.
Small business owners are finding it increasingly difficult to afford the cost of healthcare for employees. Small businesses have to deal with high taxes by the government on their income (this number is usually around 35% but can very state by state), this is a high number so the amount of funds left after paying for overhead is very little. The goal of small business it to expand and grow, but how can they afford to do that with all the costs they have? If healthcare cost less for business owners the economy would follow suit. It would grow, and I dare say we would be out of the recession that we are currently in. There is little in construct of growth in the United States compared to other developing nations.
Universal Healthcare to many Americans is not important to them because they are already covered; however I am concerned about it because the United States is doing so poorly economically. Blogs have been important in addressing the issue of how much money in being spent by individuals every year. In 2003 1.3 trillion dollars was spent on healthcare by the American people. This is an alarming amount of money that is going to something that is under regulated as far as price goes. The drug companies and insurance companies are taking a mammoth part of all Americans income each year. Healthcare blogs have played a big role in getting the public’s attention at this issue. They often make issues aware to us that we may not have known about; blogs unlike mainstream media are not censored and do not have a corporate sponsor. Americans who do not have health insurance get their stories about their hardships on blogs or others write about them on their behalf.
I found a family member in my family who did not have health insurance. I learned last year she had a major operation on her back, and I often wondered how she was going to pay for it. I conducted an interview with her and what I found out was disturbing. I have to say I am slightly bias towards this because she is a family member; however it does not fabricate the facts any less chilling.
My Aunt Lisa Herbert is a working class woman who did not finish high school or attend any formal schooling after she dropped out. She got pregnant at the young age of 15 and had her first child at the age of 16. Lisa had a tough life from her teenage years. She had a hard time raising a kid at her age; she went through multiple husbands and boyfriends who would promise to take care of her children but left her financially ruined. Lisa’s story regarding medical insurance starts two years ago in 2006. From all aspects she had a hard life but she wanted to serene make something of herself, she got a job at a Dunkin Donuts as was promoted quickly to manager. She was enjoying for the first time in her life financial freedom even if it was small; she had the sense of independence. She went to work just as she has always done one day in the winter; she fell on the ice leading up to the Dunkin Donuts she worked at. She fractured one her vertebras, however not life threatening, neither were her injuries threatening enough to earn her become a paraplegic. However she was still injured. Lisa could not hasten or be mobile for over 6 months; now imagine this as she described to me, she was finally becoming financially independent and was proud to become a manager, then after one accident she landed in the hospital. She did not have good insurance; she had what Dunkin Donuts provided for her. She was “lucky” in the sense that because she did not have the financial means to sue them. Dunkin Donuts gave her the pay for the 6 months that she was not working. She took this as a gift, but from my point of view she could have got more out of them if she had money. Lisa then had to pay overwhelming medical bills (the actual amount was not disclosed) that mounted on her already oppressed situation.
Lisa’s story is not an isolated one or even a rarity in the United States. Many workers who are working either retail or chain restaurants are not making it financially. The rising cost of healthcare that is not provided from the companies that they are working for is overwhelming and often times unaffordable. The blogging community is just starting to pick up issues of social injustice that is being done to marginalized groups such as the medically uninsured in the United States and giving them a voice. These groups should not be silenced because they do not have enough money to pay for proper care or routine visits.
I want to address one vital issue that the readers of this paper may be having; I have talked a lot about universal healthcare and how the uninsured need care as well. Many Americans that I have spoken to said that they don’t want inferior quality care if we decided to do universal healthcare. I have a personal story I want to section to clear up any confusion with the quality of nonprofit hospitals or hospitals that offer free care. When I was the age of 15 I had a severe flat foot problem, with health insurance that covered nearly 99% of all medical bills my parents had to pay over $3,000 out of pocket for treatment in order to salvage custom made orthotics for my feet and other care. They did not work. I ended up going to a hospital in Springfield Massachusetts that offered free orthopedic care to anyone under the age of 18; we did this only because all the “specialists” we visited did not help my condition. My doctor I had was the top orthopedic surgeon at the hospital and could rival any at a paying hospital. He suggested a new treatment for my feet without surgery and gave me free orthotics that actually helped. My family had the money to secure nearly any doctor that would befriend me however this was the only doctor that knew what he was doing that we visited so far. He was aloof paid but by donations (he drove a 7 series BMW so he was getting paid a lot). I reflect that Americans that are opposing universal healthcare have a hooked view on what it means to not have insurance pay for their care. I want to address one more thing, I found out about this hospital from a healthcare blog (can’t remember which one) which had other patients writing about their care and how they were helped by this hospital.
Universal healthcare to many is something that we want and strive for in America; but the question we have to ask is can we afford it? A study was done on the National Center for Political Analysis website outlining what would happen if we adopted universal healthcare today. According to the site if we were to witness at another universal healthcare plan such as Sweden’s, America would suffer far beyond what it is suffering today. Due to lower funding to hospitals through taxes instead of the healthcare providers, we would experience the following, a lag in new staff for hospitals, reduction in staff at hospitals and clinics, reduction in beds at hospitals to house patients, undertrained people taking on higher responsibilities such as surgery (Larson,1). This makes it hard for us to consider universal healthcare in America when there are so many negatives. However should the voices of the uninsured that are dying simply because they can’t afford their premiums be silenced?
Many of the uninsured living in America now are between the ages of 20-30, these by all means are young healthy individuals who feel like they will never need insurance until past the age of 30. They think, what are the odds of getting sick? They are classified by the insurance agencies as “young invincibles” these are the people who do not have the average $3,000 a year to spend on health insurance let alone if their employer even offers it. Jake Hollner is by all rights a young healthy individual who at the age of 24 is working for Home Depot and is an artist fraction time. He missed the insurance that Home Depot offers as it is only offered once a year in a two week time frame. He thought to himself that he did not have the money to afford insurance (he was only making $6 an hour) so why bother? The money he would place from the insurance could be put to his medical bill if he had a onetime accident. He suffered from stomach ulcers since his undergraduate years in college, these ulcers just starting coming back so he decided to bite the bullet and go to the doctors for relieve. He paid $200 for the visit and $73 for the prescription. This was his entire paycheck for the week but he was fine right? The ulcers did not go away after he took his medication; he had to do the unthinkable for an uninsured person, he went to the emergency room. He lost his gamble with not having insurance he ended up paying a fortune for his ulcer coverage because he was without health insurance. The valid costs were not disclosed. Jake before the doctor visit could barely afford rent and other living expenses including health insurance (Amsden, 1).
There are other stories such as Jake’s out there, where young people who are rarely sick do not have the coverage they need in case of an emergency. The healthcare providers commented on this blog which Jake’s narrative was on. They gave him a link to get affordable healthcare through them, the provider is Blue Cross Blue Shield. Even if there was “affordable” healthcare to many, how could someone like Jake who was only making $6 an hour be able to fix his other expenses? There is no cutting corners in his case, he has no money and is living on necessities.
With the institution of universal healthcare people such as Jake would not have to pay a lot to obtain coverage since he does not make a lot. Why is it that in America the better off richer class doesn’t want to help everyone else? Universal healthcare redistributes the wealth that we are not getting a piece of. When the majority of our wealth is going to the 1/10 of the top 1% in our country how can the rest of us afford to live? In theory, their money would help fund everyone else with healthcare from their taxes. Wouldn’t it be better to live in a community where everyone helps each other, and there is no one who has to choose between eating or taking their child to the doctor’s office?
Universal healthcare is a topic that cannot be ignored any longer. We have too many people living amongst us who simply cannot afford the absurd premiums that the insurance companies are charging. The people that are dying because they cannot afford regular doctors visits are real people who have families and people that rely on them. This is a change that will need to be addressed as our recent president comes into office in the year.
Term life insurance is the simplest form of life insurance where the insured would get coverage for a short period. Once that period is over, the insurance will expire unlike permanent life insurance that does not only last for the life of the insured, but the money paid into the insurance will be accumulated to be paid out to the insured at the time of death or when the insurance policy matures. This means what determines the kind of insurance involved is the kind of premium paid on a regular basis and what the agreement was on the outset. The premium for the term life insurance is great lower than the permanent life insurance.
Usually, individuals use term life insurance when they need to cover college education for their children, a loan such as mortgage, consumer debt, and dependent care etc. If they die without fulfilling these obligations there will be money after their death so that their dependants who are the rightful beneficiaries would receive an agreed upon sum in a bulk payment to do whatever they think is appropriate. The problem is if the death occurs one day after the expiry date of the insurance policy, the beneficiaries will not be entitled for any payment. But in the case of permanent life insurance, as long as the policy had been kept current at the time of the expiry there will be money to be paid out even if the insured is alive, one of the reasons why the premium is higher. However, if the term life insurance holder dies within the insured period and the payment had been kept original, the insurance company will pay the agreed upon sum.
A useful aspect about term life insurance that is worth colorful is that if the insured become uninsurable because of a chronic illness, the insurance company could refuse renewing the policy when it expires unless the arrangement includes what is known as “annual renewable term” that will bind the insurance company to renew the policy. If that chronic illness kills the person within the renewed period, the beneficiaries would be entitled for a pay out. Even if the policy will be renewed yearly the contract could be stretched up to 30 years and eventually it might not avail advantage simply because the premium paid could go up as the age of the insured progresses and individuals would prefer to search for at permanent life insurance where the money they are paying could be accumilated up to the end of the policy and they will be entitled for a payment.
There are also two other features that are worth gleaming about this particular type of insurance that are called “level term life insurance” and “term life insurance with return on premium” at the raze of the policy. The first one, the level term life insurance, it is possible to lock the premium for a given number of years such as 10, 20, 30 years and within these years the premium will not change, otherwise, whenever the policy is renewed it is possible to pay a higher premium. The second feature is similar with the permanent life insurance where there will be a premium payback when the policy expires and the premium is higher than the regular term life insurance. At the same time, such insurance policies could allow to borrow money from the accumulated premium after a certain time had lapsed. This kind of insurance policy is recommended for people who are healthy and gain that they will outlive the expiry date of the policy, because they would get back most of the premium they paid while they were all along covered by a policy. The insurance companies will invest the difference on the high premium, could generate enough income to cover their cost, and could gather some profit too.
Another kind of insurance policy that topple in the term life insurance category with a little bit of a twist is what is called no exam protection that makes the insured exempt from taking any medical examination, where all that will be required is to answer a few health related questions and if the insurer is convinced that the insured will not be a high risk customer it is possible to arrange a policy that could mask up to 30 years. The whole map, especially the premium depends on the health, age, and the amount of the coverage that agreed upon. It is also possible to introduce what is known as level rates or level amounts of coverage where keeping the premiums and the coverage amount the same for the number of years the insurance is agreed upon is possible and for the extra privileges they procure the insured are expected to pay a higher premium than the normal term life insurance.
All forms of insurance use the same mortality table to come at the involved risk level and the cost of insurance. In addition, a death benefit is always tax-free even if the policy has always to be unique in order to find the help. The reasoning behind why term life insurance has a lower premium label is it is possible to tell, at least from the health perspective if an insured individual could die within a year time of the coverage or not, by simply making a good observation, but it is difficult to rule out accidents. However, statistics has it that except to what the insurance policy offers to the insured person in a form of security or peace of mind, not even 1% of term life insurance policy holders collect benefit, the reason why the insurance companies are willing to recall such risks with the interested low premium. Anyone who is holding the term life insurance for a given number of years can easily convert it into permanent life insurance without going through the required procedures new applicants will have to go through simply because there is a describe on file about the insured individual, but the premium will go up to meet the requirements of the permanent life insurance.
The conclusion is the insured will get exactly what they paid for most of the time, even if the risk is much higher for the insurance companies. The fact remains that insurance companies always gain profit on the difference and if there had not been a lucrative return for what they would be doing, not so many of them would do it. In all this what consumers have to do is inform themselves well about the available insurance policies that will give them the best coverage for the money they are willing to pay so that when something that is out of their control occurs it will not upset their life.
If you have Dental Insurance and are looking for a dentist, endodontists, oral surgeon, periodontist, or prosthodontist there are several things that you should keep in mind.
While all Dental insurance plans have a yearly maximum, you will also find that each and every plan has a network of providers that offer services to those individuals who have insurance. Whether you have Aetna, Delta Dental, Metlife or any other dental insurance there are ways in which you can stretch your dollar further and still get quality dental care.
Rule #1 – Look for a provider in your network. You can normally find a list of these providers on your insurance company website. Network providers are obligated to only charge you up to a certain amount that is set forth by your insurance company. A provider may charge $200.00 to pull your tooth, but if your insurance will only pay $140.00 for that particular service, then your provider cannot charge you anymore than the $140.00 if they are in network with your dental concept. If your plan pays 80% of that cost then you will pay less by using an in network provider versus an out of network provider. If you use an out of network provider then your insurance company will only pay $140.00 and you are responsible for the remainder plus your 20%.
In Network
Cost – $200.00
Ins. Pays $140.00
Your 20% $ 40.00
Your Cost $ 40.00
Out of Network
Cost – $200.00
Ins. Pays $140.00
Your 20% $ 40.00
Difference $ 60.00
Your Cost $100.00
So you would save around $60.00 by going to an in network provider.
Rule #2 – Always ask for a Pre-Determination. Some insurance companies require a Pre-D for any dental work or surgery over a set amount of money usually around $300.00. If you want to know for sure what your cost will be before having any work done, then request that your dentist’s office file a Pre-Determination with your insurance company. It will take a little longer usually 4 to 6 weeks, but you will know what your cost will be before you have the work done and your dental office should be able to remark you what amount of money you need to bring the day of your appointment.
Rule #3 – Know Your Dental Benefits. Most insurance companies or employers will provide you with a book about your benefits, keep this handy and refer to it if you are not sure what is covered. Most dental insurance will have a deductible of around $50.00 a year. You will have to pay this when having dental work done. Probably not for cleanings or x-rays but any major work will most likely have a deductible that you will need to pay before your insurance will pay any portion of the claim. So be prepared and know what your insurance benefits are so that you will be an informed patient when visiting any dental office.
Rule #4 Know your yearly maximum and use it wisely. You would be surprised the people who do not realize that they have a yearly limit on their dental insurance. I do not know of one Dental Plan that doesn’t have a yearly maximum benefit. I have seen them range between $1000 and $2000 a year. If you know what your maximum is and sustain up with what has been paid through your insurance you can conception wisely to have work done that is going to cost you more while you have the maximum assist you are allowed for the year. If you have a root canal in December and it takes all of your insurance that is left, then try planning to have the crown in January of next year. That way you will have less out of pocket expense. Feel free to ask your dentist office staff about doing this, they are usually very happy to work with you.
Rule #5 If you have a question, ask it. When you receive an EOB(Estimate of Benefits) from your insurance company always spy and see what your section is. It will usually let you know exactly what portion you are responsible for. If you get billed by a dental office for more than that amount, then call them and let them know that your insurance only allows that you be charged the amount shown on your EOB. If it is an in-network dentist as I have said before you will be responsible for even less than if you go to an out of network dentist.
These 5 rules will help you to catch more out of your dental insurance and give you control over what you pay for your dental care. It is your responsibility to know your coverage, yearly maximum and deductibles. The dental office staff will normally call and find out these benefits for you, but knowing some of this ahead of time will help you to know whether or not you can afford the dental treatment being agreed upon by you and your dentist. Your insurance company will answer any of these questions for you, they can tell you if you have coverage for dental implants, extractions, cleanings and all procedures that can be done on a dental visit. If you are considering dental implants call your insurance company and ask before making that appointment for consultation, that way you will know whether or not it is covered by your insurance.
I have worked in the office of an oral surgeon for several years now filing dental insurance claims. These are a few of the things that I have learned that can help you when choosing a dental provider or trying to stretch your dental budget as far as possible. The bottom line is that it is up to you to know your coverage and your network if you want to get as grand as you can out of your dental insurance idea each year.
When people suffer from mental health issues, it is unbiased the same as any other medical condition or disease that should be covered by all health insurance companies. However, this is not the case. Millions of people in America are afflicted with mental health problems every year, but only about one third of those Americans will get adequate insurance coverage for their mental health problems. Many Americans either don’t have insurance at all therefore can not seek treatment, or they do have coverage and are afraid that their mental illness will be recorded and flagged, so they do not seek treatment at all. There are some Americans that do not seek treatment for their mental illness simply because they are embarrassed.
When you are considering mental health insurance you should make sure that it covers the following, but is not limited to.
1. Therapist coverage- at least 20 to 30 visits per year
2. That it covers Anxiety
3. Depression- Manic Depressive
4. Schizophrenia
These are the most commonly covered mental health problems. Insurance companies do not cover Drug and Alcohol treatment (call your carrier). Always remember that insurance companies no longer pay for mental health problems like they used to, so it is important for each individual to contact their insurance carrier to obtain out what is covered.
There also are state agencies that do back with mental health coverage, you will need to get in contact with your local Human Services Department for further information. Today there are 43 states that have passed legislations providing some sort of mental health coverage for their residents.
Here are some of the mental health plans that are in my state of Kentucky. I have establish in the information for a 40-year-old female, smoker with mental illness and I received prices from 4 carriers with 5 different plans. The four carriers were Anthem BC/BS, United Health Care, Humana, and Aetna and here are the plans.
1. Anthem Blue Access Value 2000- plan type PPO, $2,000 annual deductible, office vistit co-pay $30.00, co-insurance 30% with a monthly premium of $155.25.
2. Anthem Premier 100- plan type PPO, $2,500 annual deductible, co-insurance 0%, $30.00 office visit co-pay
with a monthly premium of $239.89.
3. Humana One-Monogram Total/7500 Plus Rx- plan type PPO, $7,500 annual deductible, $25.00 co-pay for
office visit until deductible has been met with a monthly premium of 96.85.
4. Aetna PPO 2500- plan type PPO, $2,500 annual deductible, 20% co-insurance, $30.00 office visit co-pay until
deductible has been met with a $197.00 monthly premium.
5. United Health One Co-Pay Hold 80/2500- concept type is network, $2,500 annual deductible, 20% co-insurance,
and $35.00 office visit co-pay with a monthly premium of $218.59.
References for this article came from ehealthinsurance.com and healthinsurance.com
The health insurance from most parents covers their children. Some of the high schools and elementary schools give uninsured or under insured coverage for the parents so they don’t have to grief about their child. The problem is when they are already in college and turn 18 years old they are not covered anymore. We all know that sending our child to college is expensive so we can’t afford any emergency situations but we don’t know what might happen to our child. It is better to get a student health insurance plan to ensure our child’s health as well retain us from huge debts.
We might think that when our child grows to a young adult they don’t need any health insurance at all for they can take care of themselves but we know that when they arrive that age they become more adventurous and want to try everything and we can’t say that they will never get injured or they will never be ill. Getting a health insurance for a student will be beneficial for all the parents and it will be a good commence for them since eventually they will get insurance for themselves when they grow older. However, if they already have insurance for a student they might continue it and get a cheaper rate.
If you want to know where to gather health insurance for student, you can ask the administrator of the college your child is attending. There are universities and colleges that are offering the student a health insurance plan that has cheap rates. You can also check online and ask for quotes so you will have an idea and you can decide clearly.
Aetna or Blue Cross Blue Shield is examples of major providers medically where you can request for a quotes for your child’s insurance.
If you do not have student health insurance and you want to make your expenses as low as possible you can ask the counselor of the school or the staff of the public hospital for the local public clinic but this is not really advisable. It is still better to be prepared to have the best care.
You should not mediate the clinics that the school provides for your child’s health because they are not reliable for major injuries and if ever they will still charge you and it will tranquil cost you so you better make an intelligent decision on getting student health insurance for your child to insure her/his safety and that you will have no trouble worrying about your child.
If you want to have a worry-free life and a healthy child as well as a healthy pocket, health insurance for a student is a favorable investment that you can do for your child’s health. So when the time comes that there are emergencies, you know that there is something you can count on and you will never have to be in a tremendous debt because of medical expenses. You are also sure that she/he is getting the best care possible that is needed.
The House and Senate legislation for supposed health care reform are very similar and only differ largely in a few different areas and those areas are a public option plan, how to pay for this new system and abortion rights and coverage.
The House bill for health care reform is more of a reform and actually includes a pseudo public option that would act as a giant Medicaid plan for all Americans choosing to enroll in that level of coverage. Even though that isn’t a true public option it is light years ahead of where the Senate bill stands today.
The Senate bill has no such offering and really is nothing more than a big business mandate to order you and me into having to purchase over-priced unaffordable insurance or pay a much cheaper fine at the end of the year.
Senator Bernie Sanders, an Independent representative from Vermont introduced a true public option on the floor of the Senate a couple weeks ago, and republican Tom Coburn of Oklahoma requested to have the entire 700 plus page bill read aloud. Now while I am a fan of all the Senators reading each bill, something Tom should have requested during the Iraq War and the first Bailout for Wall Street, this was obviously a ploy to stall progress. Why would Tom Coburn do such a thing? Number one him and his on the take for-profit colleagues in the Senate would not have to vote yes or no for a real public option, what the majority of Americans want across this country; and number two Tom Coburn has already current over $700,000 for his campaign by the health industry for the 2010 election cycle.
I guess since Tom Coburn has favorite over $4 million dollars from the health industry over his entire career he was obligated to be such a prick and stand in the way of actually having a public option being voted on for the first time ever on the floor of the senate. If they didn’t have to vote no, they can’t be held responsible for failing the American public again, or so they think.
Another area of difference is how these new giant pro health care insurance reforms will be paid for. The House plan would want to raise taxes on the wealthiest of Americans making over a million dollars a year. The Senate plan wants to impose a tax on top tier health insurance plans, which will only affect anyone lucky enough to be able to afford top notch health care. It is such a shame that your health is reliant on your income and not something included in a society that deems itself so moralistic it invades innocent countries in the name of terror.
The third biggest dissimilarity is the issue of abortion, the House bill is straight forward, and insurance plans can or cannot cover abortion regardless of who is paying for it. Why that decision is given to a health insurance company, which is just a corporation of middle men who merely oversee the transaction of payments and not by free women is beyond me. The Senate plan goes even further in giving health insurance companies the choice to cover or not conceal abortions but also lets the state you live in decide also, so any republican state would probably not cover abortions.
Over all both plans aren’t even close to offering what the majority of Americans want in this country, a universal health care option where everyone is covered, everyone is given satisfactory care, and it is all paid with by already existing tax dollars that are currently being misused on wars, bailouts for wall street, space exploration, and a million other things less important than the health of yourself, your family, and your neighbors in this great republic of ours.
Healthbase, the leading award-winning medical tourism provider has partnered with the South Korean Wooridul Spine Hospital in order to bring greater options to Americans, Canadians and others looking for affordable, timely and high quality spinal treatments.
Boston-based medical travel facilitator, Healthbase Online Inc. and Wooridul Spine Hospital (WSH) of South Korea have partnered to provide uninsured and underinsured Americans, Canadians and others with more affordable spinal treatment solutions.
“We are very happy to have Wooridul Spine Hospital onboard. The combination of Healthbase as a leading award-winning medical tourism facilitator and Wooridul as a highly accoladed spine hospital means that our customers will have the highest level of service on both the ends before, during and after their medical treatment,” says the CEO of Healthbase, Saroja Mohanasundaram.
Awarded the best medical tourism website of 2007 by Consumer Health World, Healthbase provides medical travel services to patients looking for low-cost high quality medical care and dental care worldwide.
According to Hwang LEE James, Chief of International Patient Center at Wooridul Spine Hospital, “Healthbase’s excellent services are well-known in the industry and we are glad to have teamed up with them. At Wooridul Spine Hospital, we have been serving international patients for many years. With the help of Healthbase we look forward to making the medical travel process for our international patients even smoother.”
Established in 1982, WSH has more than 25 years of experience in providing systematic spine management as a total care system covering spine disease prevention, diagnosis, test, treatment and rehabilitation. Its 108 spinal surgeons treat patients in its various hospitals located in Seoul, Busan, Gimpo Airport and Daegu. For better communicating international patients’ needs and information, Wooridul International Patient Center provides English, Japanese, Chinese, French and Spanish language services.
“Healthbase has the biggest and geographically most expanded network of healthcare and dental care providers in the industry. With broader options comes greater convenience. We believe in giving more choices to our customers so they can make a better decision regarding their health care based on their personal needs and requirements,” says Saroja.
Healthbase serves the American, Canadian, European, African, Asian, Middle-Eastern and Asia Pacific markets, and offers more than 200 procedures at over 40 hospitals in 10 countries worldwide.
“With Wooridul Spine Hospital on board, our customers from North America, Asia and Asia Pacific regions will find it more convenient to proceed there for their spine-related treatments,” offers Saroja.
Wooridul Spine Hospital has innovated many cutting-edge technologies and methodologies for spine treatment. Mr. LEE adds, “We have developed a unique endoscope suited for more accurate diagnosis and fast treatment. In addition, we have developed our occupy original surgical method. Based on patient-oriented medical service, we have patient-dedicated teams where 4-6 spine doctors co-treat a patient for a 99.9% success rate.”
Among some of the many spinal procedures offered by Wooridul Spine Hospital are Percutaneous Endoscopic Cervical Discectomy (PECD), Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion (ACDF), Percutaneous Endoscopic Thoracic Discectomy (PETD), Percutaneous Endoscopic Lumbar Discectomy (PELD), Percutaneous Endoscopic Lumbar Foraminoplasty (PELF), Percutaneous Vertebroplasty, Kyphoplasty, Intradiscal Electrothermal Therapy (IDET), Total disc replacement (TDR), Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion (TLIF), etc.
Wooridul Spine Hospital has received training center certificates from International Musculoskeletal LAser Society (IMLAS), American Academy of Minimally Invasive Spinal Medicine and Surgery (AAMISMS), and Asian Academy of Minimally Invasive Spinal Surgery (AAMISS).
Healthbase provides spinal treatment, medical tourism and dental tourism services in South Korea, India, Thailand, Singapore, Turkey, Belgium, Hungary, Costa Rica, Panama and Mexico.
About Healthbase Online Inc.:
Healthbase, a Boston-based medical tourism and dental tourism facilitator, is a one-stop source for global medical and dental choices, connecting patients to leading hospitals around the world, through a secure, easy to use and information-rich award-winning web portal. Healthbase offers over 200 medical, dental, cosmetic and surgical procedures and helps patients scrutinize top quality healthcare in various categories such as bariatric, orthopedic, cardiac, spinal, dental, cosmetic, laparoscopic, etc. Healthbase’s partner facilities are located in India, Singapore, Thailand, South Korea, Turkey, Belgium, Hungary, Costa Rica, Panama and Mexico, and are expanding to the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia, Argentina, Brazil, El Salvador and Guatemala. To ensure that patients receive the best care possible, Healthbase works mainly with hospitals that have international accreditations like JCI, JCAHO and ISO. Healthbase caters to the needs of individual consumers, self-insured businesses, insurance carriers and third party administrators seeking affordable medical travel and dental travel options.
Contact:
Mumtaz Pachisa
Healthbase Media Relations
Healthbase
Healthcare Beyond Boundaries
287 Auburn Street
Newton, MA 02466, USA
Phone: 1-888-MY1-HLTH
Phone: 1-888-691-4584 (Toll Free)
Phone: 1-617-418-3436 (International)
Fax: 1-800-986-9230
Email: media.hb@healthbase.com
Website: http://www.healthbase.com
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