If you do not carry health insurance, consider getting it soon. If you do not have coverage by 2014, you will be faced with a fine. Health insurance exchanges are already doing business in many states, and there isn’t much doubt that health care reforms will continue to introduce changes to the coverage landscape.
If you want to maintain some control over your coverage and choose a plan that deals with your personal needs and wants, act now. Speak to private health insurers to learn about your options. Health insurance policies have never been more competitively priced than they are now. Remember, without some form of health insurance, someone will need to pay the enormous bills should you ever need serious medical treatment. Make sure you and your loved ones never face such impossible payments.
While many companies are either eliminating or downsizing health benefits for their workers, group insurance still remains one of the most cost effective choices to still offer employees health care benefits. Even though the economy appears to be variable on any given day according to what is happening in the White House, businesses need to stay running and offer their workers some form of health insurance.
In the alternative, those same workers could also opt to apply for group insurance on their own, and take advantage of the lower rates and have choices over what they want for coverage. Many company controlled health insurance plans offer coverage for things people may never use, but are still paying for out of their salaries. Groups of like-minded individuals can band together and apply for group insurance the way they want it. It’s certainly better than having no insurance at all.
It’s been said that Medicare and Medigap supplement insurance is so convoluted people would rather avoid dealing with the issue. Certainly there are a fair number of things that someone who just turned 65, or who is older, does need to know about Medicare and Medigap insurance supplements, but it does not need to be a major exercise in frustration.
The best time to find out how Medicare works is to start doing some research before you reach the age of 65. Ask around, do some reading, speak to an insurance agent. Yes, that’s right. Pick up the phone call an experienced Medicare insurance agent. They know their products inside out and can suggest a custom fit insurance package just for you, including what Medigap supplements work the best with your Medicare coverage.
This saves you endless hours of time trying to determine what might be the best way to go to get everything that you need. It’s far easier than you might think getting the perfect Medicare/Medigap custom insurance coverage that makes sense for you and your spouse.
Posted on Wednesday, November 20th, 2013. Filed under
Medicare.
Even though many people few they cannot afford health insurance, the truth of the matter is really that they cannot afford not to have it. It’s a simple matter of factoring in what life offers up from day-to-day, and sometimes that is an unwelcome medical surprise.
If you are in an accident, slip and fall and break a limb, sustain head trauma or experience heart issues, and need to go to the hospital, if you do not have insurance, the bill will virtually bankrupt you. Even one day in hospital can cost up to $3,949, and that is just for staying there, not adding in all the extra things you may require, such as medications, an extra pillow or a wheelchair.
Not having health insurance is not an option, and soon, by law, there will be no other option but to have it. Act now and retain some control over what you choose that works the best for you.
Many people wonder about privacy and security when it comes to new systems like e-prescribing. One of the things to consider is that the e-prescribing system is only available to doctors and pharmacists on a secure network. While the privacy and security issues are certainly valid, it often comes down to whether or not a system like this will work efficiently. If it does, then people are prepared to give it a fair chance. It may save their lives and it might be worthwhile.
The idea behind e-prescribing is that patient safety increases because the system will ditch illegible prescriptions, warn physicians and pharmacists about drug allergies immediately and update a patient’s medication record for all prescribing doctors.
It doesn’t take much to make a medication error; it may just boil down to one misread sentence or chart order for a potential fatality. Most often mistakes of this nature tend to occur in hospitals, long-term nursing, and assisted living facilities, and the cover the gamut from over-medicating to under-medicating patients, or even dispensing medications that are unnecessary or dangerous. As our population base ages, the likelihood of medication errors increase. This happens because the older we get, the more trips to hospital we usually have to make. And doctors often prescribe doses which best suit younger people, but don’t always work as well for seniors, who have additional medical issues.
The solution for too many medications, not enough time, mistakes on the order charts, poor handwriting and poor communications with other medical staff, and with the patient, may be avoided with the implementation of e-prescribing. It’s all done by computer in a secure environment and would provide complete patient information at the click of a mouse.
E-prescribing offers the ability to provide the kind of knowledge currently missing for most physicians in a hospital setting – e.g. drug interactions with current meds the patient is on, information about any supplements, or herbal medicines they may use, and a complete history of drug allergies and reactions. With e-prescribing the doctor would have an instant result to refer to instead of relying on anecdotal evidence given by the patient. This would also mean nothing would be second-guessed as the complete medical history is present immediately.
E-prescribing allows doctors to select the right drugs for their patients, takes into account the person’s medication history and allergies, reduces the chances of a bad drug reaction, gives the cost of the drug(s) along with viable alternatives and also indicates if the patient’s insurance covers a recommended drug.
E-prescribing may be the safest and best way to prescribe medications in the future, and it’s just beginning to make inroads in the medical system.
Statistically speaking, most people, at some point in their life, will be the victim of at least one medication error per day if they are in the hospital. Medication errors also occur in other health care settings like doctor’s offices, ER settings, at pharmacies and in long-term care.
Believe it or not, every year there are close to 1.5 million preventable injuries that would have been avoided by taking more care. E-prescribing may reduce the number of medication errors.
E-prescribing is actually on its way in and is currently being used in the health care system by doctors on a trial basis. However, it is actually more serious than just a test, as the federal government is already forking over e-prescribing bonuses to health care providers.
To find out if a local doctor in your area is trying this innovative system, check out www.learnabouteprescriptions.com for a list. Look for e-prescribing to be fully implemented by now, and if any doctors are not using it for 2013 and 2014, they will be penalized 1 percent of 2012/2013 Medicare charges and 2 percent for 2014 Medicare bills.
Johnny Apple was an older man. He loved his job as a carpenter and went home every day proud of what he had accomplished at work. His employer did not provide health insurance, saying it was too expensive and that workers could get it on their own. Johnny figured he didn’t need it. He was careful and he could use the money for something else.
Early one morning on the job, Johnny and his partner were installing cabinets at a new job site. His partner tripped over piece of lumber in the restaurant kitchen. The cabinets, weighing a good 200 lbs. or more, and made of steel, landed on Johnny’s legs. Paramedics were able to cut him loose and get him to the hospital.
With one crushed leg and a broken pelvis, Johnny faced a long road to recovery. He also faced the possibility that he might never work in the carpentry trade again. He had a lot on his plate to deal with. When his hospital bill arrived, his first thought was he would have to declare bankruptcy. He could never in a million years pay that bill. He wished he’d been smart enough to get health insurance.
If you don’t want this story to be yours some day, consider buying health insurance. There are reasonably priced policies available.
