Yes, the economy is bad and as a nation we are all struggling to try and get through it and find some light at the end of the tunnel. Many people know they need health insurance or they could be in a lot of trouble financially if something happened to them. But, where do they get affordable health insurance that won’t break their budget? What if you are self-employed and your income varies every month and you don’t know if you can pay for a health insurance policy?
These are good questions and the answer relates to how you personally budget things in your business and your personal life. Most often, there are corners that may be cut and money saved aside for a health insurance policy. It’s a matter of doing without something that could wait to allow you to buy cover now that will protect you and your family in the future. Remember that having a health insurance policy may be mandated in the near future. This means you will “have” to find a way to pay for a policy. Better to do it now on your own, than have it forced on you later.
To learn more and get a health insurance quote, visit https://www.benepath.com
In one of our last blog entries, we discussed the fact that there are two sides to the argument that health insurance rates are going to go up – those who say no, the competition will drive the rates down versus those who say with a higher medical loss ratio, the rates will go up. Since we don’t have any real way to figuring out what will “really” happen, we’re left trying to monitor online news about what is happening in the health insurance industry. What are some of the major carriers going to do when the medical loss ratio goes up to 80%?
Well lately, it seems there has been more speculation that when the loss ratio goes up, so does the price of the premiums. That actually makes sense because an insurance company is a business, and what business do you know will willingly run at a loss for their customers? If you said no business would do that or they’d go bankrupt, you’d be right. That means if the prices are quite likely to go up with the advent of health care reform, then you might want to think about getting health insurance NOW, and not later.
Your dollars, your health care, your choice – make it one that makes sense financially and health wise.
To learn more and get a health insurance quote, visit https://www.benepath.com
Any time you have ever been involved in a debate over the current health care system since the advent of health care reform, you come away feeling more confused and frustrated than ever. While everyone seems to have ideas, no one knows how to go about making any difference in the long-term. Sure there are changes in the wind, but you wonder if they will actually “do” what they are intended to do. Debates are great, but rarely are there answers on either side.
Well, now that health care reform is officially “here,” you have to wonder what is coming next. Will mandated health insurance fly? Will insurance companies do their part and not charge people and arm and a leg for health insurance? Will everyone really have to have health insurance by 2014 and if so, how is that going to be enforced? So many questions, and not enough answers. What do you think?
To learn more and get a health insurance quote, visit https://www.benepath.com
If the price of health insurance quotes will actually go up as some industry analysts suggest may be the case, then how is that going to help the millions of Americans who don’t have health insurance plans now? The answer is it won’t help them, because if they can’t afford a health insurance plan “now” then they won’t be able to afford one later either.
Furthermore, since health care reform was intended to level the playing field for everyone to be able to get health insurance, if insurance companies jack the prices up to recoup their projected losses, how does that affect the intention and actuality of health care reform? It seems that insurance companies don’t want to play their part in keeping the nation healthier and reducing medical expenses, but are definitely interested in making “more” money on the backs of those who need health insurance.
Ask yourself this question as well: “If mandated insurance does become a reality, and people are forced to buy health insurance, where is the money going to come from to ‘pay’ for the health insurance?”
To learn more and get a health insurance quote, visit https://www.benepath.com
The whole idea of health care reform is a good one, but its implementation may leave something to be desired. For instance, there is a great debate over what will happen to health insurance quotes now that health care reform has been passed into law and changes have started to happen.
On one side of the fence people say the cost of health insurance premiums will go up. On the other, they say they will go down. Funny thing is there are good arguments for both sides of this issue. They will go down because in the initial rush to sign up more people (to make more money), insurance companies will have good rates to be competitive; rates that might only last for a year until renewal time.
They will go up because if the medical loss ratio for insurance companies is now pegged at 80% then the insurance companies won’t take that hit on their own. They will pass that back down to the consumers in higher insurance premiums. What do you think?
To learn more and get a health insurance quote, visit https://www.benepath.com
On the front page of the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal were two articles that really hit at the heart of health reform’s promise of covering everyone and reducing/controlling health insurance costs.
In the New York Times there was also a full page ad run by the American Medical Association urging Congress to pass emergency legislation to prevent their reimbursement rates from dropping. This happens every year as Congress does not have the will to actually implement cost saving measures it adopted years ago to control runaway Medicare expenses. I’m sure that Congress will come back from their Memorial Day break and pass this legislation; like they do every year.
So what makes anyone think that when the time comes to start cutting provider fees under health reform that Congress won’t pass emergency legislation every year to prevent those cuts from happening. I am pretty sure that it won’t, and the attacks on the Dartmouth Study are the initial campaigns by health care providers to make sure its not their fat cut from the meat to pay for health reform.
Karl Rove in his Op-Ed piece in the WSJ makes some pretty compelling arguments about other hidden costs, points out that the Congressional Budget Office has added another $120 Billion to the price tag of health reform and that Medicare’s chief actuary sees many places where the unintended consequences of health reform will cost us a lot more money. While slanted, its worth a read.
When promoting the cost savings of health reform, the administration used the Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care to show that there is up to $700B a year in potential savings by eliminating “waste” in the health care system. Today’s article in the New York Times makes a very compelling case that the potential savings are significantly less than advertised as “measures of the quality of care are not part of the formula”.
The study mainly shows the varying costs of care in Medicare by region. Everything about savings was an extremely loose extrapolation of the data as it was argued that care in Iowa and Minnesota is better and cheaper than care in New Jersey or Miami. In fact, this article points out that there is little evidence to support this notion.
Bottom line, the recently enacted Health Care Reform plan will cost our country significantly more than advertised and it is simply not possible to provide universal coverage without raising revenue (aka taxes) – on pretty much everyone.
If the legislation goes into effect, it will make our existing budget problems worse and it will lead to higher taxes eventually, and again, not just on people making more than $250,000.
Personally, I am not opposed to the concept that everyone should get health care, but in a democracy we need to have an honest conversation about how much that will cost and then decide if the majority of the people are willing to pay for universal coverage.
Finding quality health insurance is never easy, unless you have no health problems, aren’t overweight, and don’t smoke. Basically its easy to find health insurance if you don’t need health insurance.
So, if like most Americans, you or someone in your family has some minor health condition (ADD for kids, high blood pressure, overweight, etc) you will go through a process of getting health insurance quotes with the best rates, then going through underwriting and finding out that either:
You are going to pay more than you originally thought for the same coverage, or
You will get a policy at about the same price, but it will have riders that exclude or limit coverage for your health condition
What are you going to do about it?
You essentially have three choices.
Accept the increased premium or policy riders – This is usually the best course of action because now that you have gone through underwriting, you will have to disclose this to other carriers you try to get a better deal with. Ultimately, you will most likely end up with the same result.
Look for another carrier – If you were offered a policy with riders, you may be able to find another carrier who does not rider policies and only increase premiums. Then you can decide if you want to pay the higher premium or accept the limits on your coverage. If your condition is severe, many states have programs that offer guaranteed issue coverage – but it can be very expensive.
Reject the offer and continue to go without health insurance – This is a very poor option as even though you may not have been provided with the coverage you want, you do have coverage and a broken leg can cost up to $20,000. So, it may not be perfect, but it certainly will protect you and your family from financial difficulties due to unforeseen medical expenses.
Of course this is all a short term problem until the guaranteed issue provisions of health care reform go into effect in 2014, but until then you will need to manage with what is available.
Happy Hunting!
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The debate over health care reform is not as volatile as it once was. Now, with the change in the makeup up the House, things might be different. The thing to consider is this: if the House is not able to deal with the energy crisis, the economic crisis, the comprehensive immigration crisis (and the list goes on), how will they deal with health care reform?
A House with a completely different composition passed health care reform. This is politics we are talking about, and in politics, whichever way the wind blows is how the House and Senate vote. This does not bode well for the future of health care reform. Some may say “yay!” and others may have regrets for the possible demise of a promising step forward in American health care.
How do you feel about it?
To learn more and get a health insurance quote, visit https://www.benepath.com
