The first question on many people’s lips when it comes to the mandatory health insurance is: “What’s it going to cost?” Unfortunately, there aren’t a whole lot of answers swirling out in cyberspace or anywhere else for that matter. On one hand, if insurance companies can’t turn down anyone, they may ultimately lose money insuring health risks. On the other hand they may have a pool of really healthy people that won’t need much in the way of coverage and the whole thing may just balance out.
There’s an awful lot of speculation these days about the end result of these enormous changes to the health care system that are about to begin and have, in some cases, already started. For instance, if there is no universal coverage lifetime limits, will premiums go up for everyone to cover the eventuality? Only time will tell.
To learn more and get a health insurance quote, visit http://www,benepath.com
Since the advent of instant health insurance quotes online, things got a whole lot easier for people who hated searching for health insurance information. Since mandatory health insurance is on its way into reality, this instant quote feature will be a big bonus for millions of Americans needing to buy health insurance.
If the last thing you want to do is try and figure out all the ins and outs of quoting and prices and exclusions and coverage and benefits, then stick with instant quotes online. You should aim to get up to four quotes for a good comparison. Just remember, that it’s not a good idea to buy health insurance based on price alone, as the policy may not cover your needs. Also keep in mind that what you want versus what you need are two different things, which is why you really need to know what is in the health insurance policy you want to buy.
To learn more and get a health insurance quote, visit http://www,benepath.com
You need to know how expensive the policy will be because it has to fit into your budget plans. Interestingly enough many people take the first policy an agent recommends. While it could be a good recommendation, you should get more information.
The agent recommended policy may not be the right kind of family health insurance plan for you. Education is the big thing here. Compare at least three plans and remember that the cheapest isn’t always the best. Cheap does not always equate to good coverage. If you do want decent coverage, you may need to revise your budget a bit.
To learn more and get a health insurance quote, visit https://www.benepath.com
OK, let’s look at this for a minute. If you must get a mandatory health insurance quote now, what is to say that will be the same quote you will get when you actually have to “buy” the health insurance? There is a huge difference between a quote and the final buy price when there is a lengthy period of time between the quote and the purchase.
Overall, this new Health Reform Bill that forces people to buy health insurance will either be a boon or a bust. Mostly, whether it’s a boon or a bust depends on the price of individual health insurance policies – as in – will they go up, up, up or will they go down, down, down? It might be foolish to think the insurance industry can self-regulate and not overcharge for policies to cover potential shortfalls for high risk insureds – but – we can always dream.
To learn more and get a health insurance quote, visit http://www,benepath.com
Once you have a handle on the price of your family health insurance quote, ask the insurance agent what exclusions apply. Why do you want to do this? You need to do this because the answers will tell you what is NOT covered in your family health insurance policy.
Knowing what isn’t covered is actually more important than knowing what IS covered, because if you don’t know what is covered you run the risk of getting an awful surprise later when you have medical treatment for something that “isn’t” covered when you thought that it was. While you’re at it, you should also make it a point to find out what your individual coverage limits are. This means what the limits are on EACH policy item.
This will tell you if you have enough protection for the family.
To learn more and get a health insurance quote, visit https://www.benepath.com
Fancy the concept of having to buy health insurance and then if you don’t, you get a hefty IRS imposed penalty. Boggles the imagination at times doesn’t it? Also raises the question about people’s human rights and how can the government override them and force them to buy health care insurance? That aside, insurance companies are currently frantically trying to figure out how to price the products they will be offering the millions of uninsured Americans who will flock to the insurance grail for a policy.
While this may generate a fierce round of competition among the insurance companies with regard to prices, chances are just as good that it may go the other way. Meaning that since the insurance companies may lose money on whom they insure, because they can’t turn down anyone, they may hike their rates to cover that possibility. It goes without saying that the next few years will be interesting indeed.
To learn more and get a health insurance quote, visit http://www,benepath.com
People across the country have just seen a 20 – 50% increases in health insurance quotes in 2010. Kaiser Health News even recently reported on how government regulators were having a tough time determining the definition of an unreasonable rate increase.
Shopping for a health insurance quote has never been so important or so necessary for businesses and individuals alike. Providing a quality standard of living is important for the well being of employees and their families and may seem like a challenge in today’s economic climate. With so many options available for medical coverage, it is difficult to know who to contact and even if it is worthwhile.
It may seem tempting to push the research for an affordable health insurance quote to the back burner, but not making that call can mean the difference of thousands of dollars. A health insurance quote may seem to have skyrocketed outside your budget, but what has become truly unaffordable to many is the meteorical rise in medical costs. If the need arises for any type of procedure involving surgery, hospitalization, ongoing treatments and prescription medication, you will be faced with serious costs that most people cannot afford (That’s why health insurance is soo expensive…).
The advantage of getting health insurance is that you are getting some means of being able to handle exorbitant medical bills.
Going through one of Benepath’s national network of insurance agents gives you the absolute best prices from the top insurance carriers in the nation with service from a local agent who understands which carriers are the best in your community for your needs. They will also give you a health insurance quote comparisons from all the top carriers to determine which is the most cost effective plan for you that covers the essentials you need.
Because medical costs keep rising, it is important to enroll in some type of coverage now, before the health insurance prices get even higher, even if all you do is get the most basic plan. There are three major reasons that could save you thousands for getting your health insurance plan now:
- Avoid Future Increases in Health Insurance Rates. We have just seen how rates have grown 20-50%. How much higher are they going to be when you finally make your decision on a health insurance plan?
- Don’t Wait Until its Too Late. It may be too late if you wait too long and you or a family member becomes sick. At the very best your costs will be higher and the worst case scenario may be that you cannot even get insurance.
- Peace of Mind. While the others are quantifiable, there is nothing like knowing you and your family have good coverage and that you won’t have to worry about what might happen.
For individuals and families buying health insurance for themselves, the smart decision is to get a high deductible health plan and not to buy a plan with copayments for prescriptions and office visits. The reason is simple – it will cost you much less in the long run.
However, if you do this, you must set up and fund an HSA!
There is a lot of evidence right now that when someone has a copay to see a doctor, that they will see the doctor many more times than someone who has to pay for the service out of their pocket. Which means that person is more likely to see a doctor when it is really needed and they will end up avoiding more expensive medical care.
The big advantage of the high deductible health plan is savings and protection. It protects you from the large health care expenses and saves you money today on your premiums. But don’t be dollar wise and penny foolish and not get the routine care you need on a day to day basis.
One of the best ways to help you avoid making cost decisions for care you need is by setting up a Health Savings Account (HSA). My recommendation is take at least half of what you save by purchasing a high deductible plan and investing in your HSA. For my family its $100 a month, and that covers all of our routine care like pediatric visits and prescriptions. We have a debit card attached to the HSA, so its easy to use as well. After all of our treatments, we even have money left over at the end of the year – and the interest is tax free.
Having the money in the HSA will help you avoid the mistake of not going to the doctor when its needed and will help you spread out the expenses you will certainly face as you take on a greater share of your necessary medical expenses.
And if you don’t use the money, when you turn 65 the savings that are there are the same as the money in your IRA. So its your’s to use without penalty. But you can still take the money out tax-free for medical expenses – which will be one of your biggest expenses when you retire.
Happy Hunting!
Because HMOs use physician and hospital networks with the least expensive providers possible these health insurance plans are able to provide you with benefits most people like such as low copayments for office visits.
The downside is that when you see health care providers outside of the network, you will end up paying much more if not all of the cost of the care because HMOs offer limited or no benefits for out of network care except in the case of an emergency. This is why many people who have serious medical conditions do not join these plans.
The managed health care plans that allow you greater flexibility are the HMO Point of Service (POS) and the Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) insurance programs. These plans will cover some or all of the medical services that you need with health care providers who are not part of the network. But check all the policy provisions and make sure that they will cover the type of service you are receiving and with the physician of your choice.
When you start comparing different health insurance quotes for yourself, your family or your business you will likely find that the deductible and other out of pocket benefits for these plans are quite a bit higher than a plan without copayments for office visits for the same price.
So, you need to consider why you are buying health insurance in the first place. Is it to:
Have the convenience of a low copayment when you visit a doctor? or
To protect you from the costs associated with a serious medical emergency?
The smart money always buys insurance for things that need insurance. In the case of health care, that is protecting against catastrophic loss. But most people complain about how much money they spend on health insurance and how little they get in return. So they end up buying HMO and PPO plans and hope they don’t get really sick. A decision like that can be one you end up regretting.
If you opt to not have a plan because of high insurance rates, do not wait until your health is a problem to start looking. If your health plan has been to not visit the doctor and not take medications, you may be quite surprised when you finally have a reason to check health insurance quotes. Health insurance companies view sick people as a risk, so they charge you more because they are more likely to pay more in actual claims than they receive in premiums. Depending on your condition and the carrier, you may not even be able to get coverage or could have your coverage taken away after you approved because of some technicality. The LA Times reported on how several insurers rescinded policies for many people who were sick due to technicalities in their applications.
Even though health insurance rates are high, hospital bills, surgeons, medications, and post procedure care can be exorbitant. What could have been manageable with a monthly payment for a health insurance plan now threatens the ability for you and your family to enjoy a healthy and happy life. In the end, it pays to have health insurance. Your health insurance rates will also impacted by your age, your past health record, and the part of the United States that you live in.
