INEXPENSIVE ALTERNATIVES TO EXPENSIVE HEALTH INSURANCE

Transcription

1 INEXPENSIVE ALTERNATIVES TO EXPENSIVE HEALTH INSURANCE THE PROBLEM: For a variety of reasons, millions people do not have health insurance, and if you are reading this, you may be one of the millions. The main reason for this is that the full-coverage health insurace is very expensive, and many people simply can't afford it. And many of those people who can initially afford it are forced to drop their coverage because the premiums (payments) rise tio high year after year. In many cases, the cost of covering a routine expense through insurance is actually more than the cost of the service itself. In other words, the premium for some medical services is higher than the actual cost! THE SECOND PROBLEM Even if you can afford health insurance, you will most likely have to pay a deductible before the insurance company pays for your expenses. In some cases, your deductible may be as much as $5,000 or more. That means you would to pay that $5,000 out of your pocket BEFORE the insurance company would start paying on your bill.

2 Some people can't pay that high of a deductible. Insurance companies can lower your deductible, but then you will usually have to pay a higher premium (monthly payment). So either way, you can't win with the full-coverage insurance companies. THE ALTERNATIVE SOLUTION - SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTAL INSURANCE So perhaps there are two parts to your question: Can you find supplemental insurance? Should you pay for supplemental insurance? The answer to the latter may depend on the answer to the former. There are other types of supplemental insurance that are more plentiful, such as hospitalization coverage that pays you a fixed dollar amount during a hospital stay, or a specific condition policy that pays extra if you have treatment for cancer or other "dread" diseases. One of the best benefits of supplemental health insurance is that it offers payment for pre-existing medical conditions when many other types of insurance exclude this benefit. Typically a waiting period of twelve months is required before payments are available for pre-existing medical conditions on a newly issued insurance policy. Supplemental health insurance policies vary. Some supplemental policies insure against specific illnesses like cancer and heart disease. Others cover accidents, and still others pay a daily benefit to a person who's required to stay in the hospital, usually called a hospital indemnity policy. If you can't afford traditional full-coverage insurance to pay for

3 your share of basic medical costs, the next question is what type of supplemental insurance is best for you? Would you prefer hospitilization coverage? Or some other limited coverage? supplemental health insurance plans come in many differnt forms including: Specific Sickness Insurance There are policies which give lump sum benefits to help you expenses for heart attacks, strokes, multiple sclerosis, heart surgeries, cancer, and other illnesses. Cancer Insurance This type of policy provides benefits to help pay for excess cost of medical care for cancer treatment and other related expenses such as inpatient and outpatient care, daily hospitalization and intensive care unit confinement, as well as for surgery anesthesia, chemotherapy, radiation and more. Hospital Indemnity Insurance This type of policy provides a daily benefit for inpatient hospitalization, intensive care and recovery care following hospital confinement due to a covered sickness. It also provides a benefit for outpatient surgery and emergency room treatment for each covered sickness. If you cannot afford standard, full-coverage insurance, this type of policy would provide you at least some security for hospital stays, and you can purchase it inexpensively.

4 Accident Health Insurance or Accidental Death and Dismemberment Supplemental Insurance This type of supplemental insurance typically would reimburse you for medical costs resulting from accidents. Benefits are paid if you die (to your beneficiaries) or are disabled due to a specific accident outlined in the policy. Premiums are usually low and no medical exam is required. Accidents can include car accidents and accidents in the home or at your job. Also, if you loose limbs, fingers, toes, or your vision due to a covered accident, you may be able to collect a percentage of the death benefit Another popular and fast growing type of supplemental health insurance is Basic Health Insurance. This policy is available to almost anyone in the states where it is approved. This policy covers the bulk of the most commonly incurred medical charges - things like doctor's office visits and lab tests. There are no deductibles or co-payments, so this is a nice benefit to combine with other high deductible health insurance plans. The policy pays a fixed dollar amount for each doctor's visit, lab test or other listed procedure. Supplemental insurances are extra insurance to cover what standard insurance will not cover. For instance if you develop a heart problem your deductibles could total a few thousand dollars (still much better having no insurance!) on top of you not being able to work for months - the monthly bills still have to be paid! Supplemental cancer insurance would pay some, if not all, of the deductible and give allowances for things like normal utility, rent, etc. bills that you have while you are not working. ADVANTAGES OF SUPPLEMENTAL HEALTH

5 INSURANCE: - CHEAP AND AFFORDABLE : You can usually get these insurances for as cheap as $20 per month - NO DEDUCTIBLE: Supplemental health insurance usually doesn't have a deductible that you would have to pay for fullcoverage insurance. - LOW RAISES IN PREMIUMS: Usually supplemental health care insurance premiums for individuals don't rise unless the premium for every policy-holder in the state which the reside in rises. Even if the premium rises, it is usually at a marginal amount. - LESS HASSLES: When you purchase supplemental health coverage for a particular need - let's say hospitalization, the insurance company will usually pay a set amount for each day of your hospital stay despite the type of your sickness or injury. - FLEXIBLE: With supplemental insurance, you can pick what kind of coverage you want. For instance, if you can't afford standard health care insurance for doctor's visits, you can buy inexpensive supplemental health insurance that will pay a fixed amount on the (more expensive) hospital stays, so that if you have to go to a hospital, your pocketbook or wallet won't totally be emptied by the high costs. - NO EXAMS REQUIRED: With the standard full-coverage health insurance, companies often require people to apply to undergo medical exams (such as blood tests, blood pressure test, etc.) before they will issue a policy. With supplemental insurance this ususally isn't required. THE ONLY MAIN DISADVANTAGE:

6 - LIMITED COVERAGE: With supplemetal health insurance plans, usually only a set amount of money will be paid - for instance, $300 per day per hospital stays, and $150 per outpatient surgery. Having SOME coverage is better than no coverage, and for around $20 to $30 per month, it is a bargain that most people can pay. Let's face it, if you ever go to a hospital, you will want the best treatment possible. It is a widely felt that people with NO health insurance whatsoever get worse care than those with SOME KIND OF HEALTH INSURANCE. Some health care facilities outright REFUSE to treat people with no health insurance coverage! If the hospital knows that at least some of the bill will be covered by an insurance company, then you will most likely get better care. It is better to have some limited coverage than having no health insurance at all. Supplemental insurance can be purchased directly from regular insurance companies. WHAT TO DO TO GET COVERED: 1. Decide what kind of supplemental health coverage you need most. For instance if you can't afford regular insurance, but want some kind of coverage for hospital stays, then you would look for a hospital supplemental medical plan that pays a set amount daily (for example $500 per day). So if you stayed in the hospital for 10 days, the supplemental insurance would pay $5,000. Again, these type of alternative plans can be purchased for $25 to $35 per

7 month. 2. Contact the major insurance companies, tell them what kind of supplemental plan you want and compare prices and benefits. 3. Choose the best supplmental plan for you at the lowest cost with the most benefits. 4. That's it, an at least now you have SOME coverage at a price that you can afford. Option 2: Your spouse's plan (for married couples) Obviously, this is not an option for everyone. Compare the cost and the coverage to what you would have with your own COBRA plan. Does it offer what you need? One big plus: If you're moving from one group plan directly to your spouse's plan, you can't be excluded for any pre-existing health condition, such as a pregnancy. Before you sign on the dotted line, ask yourself two questions: How stable is your spouse's job? and How strong is your relationship? If your spouse gets sacked, both of you will be stuck with the COBRA version of your spouse's plan. Ditto if you divorce. If either of those scenarios is an issue, it might pay to compare your COBRA plan to your spouse's when you evaluate your initial options.

8 Option 5: No insurance Joining the ranks of this country's 42 million uninsured is not a good option. Going without insurance puts both your physical and financial health in peril, as medical bills are the fourth-biggest reason people go into serious debt, according to statistics from the National Foundation for Credit Counseling. If you can't afford anything else, at least pick up a catastrophic insurance policy. While it won't cover every doctor visit -- or be as cheap as you might expect -- at least you won't be wiped out if you or a family member become seriously ill. Before you make any decisions, evaluate your financial and health situation, do the research and see what coverage choices are available. Copyright (c) R.Press. All rights reserved. ========================================== IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Lady Lawbreaker By G. J. Fuller

9 Twenty-three-year-old Brooke Taylor is still trying to come up with her own definition of normal. The doctors at Westside Mental Institution call her cold-blooded and insane. Brooke prefers to think of herself as a healthy mix of insane and genius. Recently released from the psychotherapy sessions to begin a new life, the strikingly beautiful Brooke is headed to Louisiana to visit friend. Now all she can do is wonder whether she will ever have anything positive to contribute to society or whether her high-octane, remorseless lifestyle will kill her before her next birthday, It is A few days later Brooke enters a grocery store in Independence, Louisiana, a black cowboy hat perched on her head and icy-blue eyes that reveal nothing. She immediately finds herself caught in the middle of a dramatic robbery. As a man in a ski mask waves an AK-47 and demands the customers follow his orders, Brooke wages war against the gunman, and uncovers a deadly conspiracy. In this novel based on true events, a young woman with a shadowy past puts her shrewd attitude and intuitive skills to work as she gives the two deadly perpetrators a night they will never forget. Louisiana is never the same again. A masterpiece of suspense intrigue. Brooke Taylor is one of the most complex and bizarre characters ever. Once again, Fuller does a great job. -Ridgewood Village Book Club. CLICK THE FOLLOWING LINK TO FIND THE BOOK AT AMAZON.COM: