Friday, March 28, 2008

What health insurance company is best for a kid

What health insurance company is best for a kid?
I am looking for a good and reasonably priced health insurance provider for my 9 year old son.
Insurance through my work is outrageous so I'm looking for an outside provider. His mother is suppose to have already put him on CHIP with the state of TX (by court order) but she refuses to do so for some reason. I hate the idea of him being without health insurance. Anyone had any good experiences with certain companies? Any suggestions or feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Other - Cultures & Groups - 3 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
State health plans are often among the best coverage, least expensive plans around for kids. However, if that's not an option (as you've indicated), then check into an individual plan for your son. As you found out, putting him on your plan at work will probably give him pretty good benefits, but group plans usually assume that, on average, there will be 2.2 kids/employee; therefore, someone with 1 or 2 pays more while someone with 3 or more pays less (hey, that's how insurance works: it "averages" things out across a lot of people). However, by buying an individual plan for him you'll only pay for "his" coverage. Further, you'll be better able to get a less expensive plan that might be better suited to his actual needs. Try this site, if you want to find the best or the cheapest health insurance just in one minute, http://cheap-health-insurance-usa.info/ Here you can get free quotes from different companies in your area, its the best way to find an affordable health insurance with a reliable company. Hope this help,
2 :
I'm in Florida..and a licensed agent. I have my children on BCBS of FL I like the plan and services have been great! However, almost all health insurance companies offer a plan for children... Call an agent ( Independent agent) and get quotes from ALL. Good luck
3 :
http://healthinsuranceconnection.info/ has a short form you fill out and they will give you rates from all kinds of different providers.


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Monday, March 24, 2008

How do health insurance premiums go down if private insurance is forced to cover preexisting illnesses

How do health insurance premiums go down if private insurance is forced to cover preexisting illnesses?
99% of the claims made in favor of the house health care bill are outright lies. It is amazing that people believe these things. Explain to me how if private insurance companies are forced to cover people with preexisting illnesses and not allowed to discriminate on a variety of factors, costs go down.
Government - 8 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
Through the competition of a "public option" that would also be required to insure those with "pre existing" conditions.
2 :
I would rather the government subsidize the few and not change the many. Insurance companies cover bad drivers with DUI's too, in fact there is competition for them. How many times have you seen those commercials on TV, "DUI, No Problem, SR22, No Problem, Accidents, No Problem", call Cheap Insurance.
3 :
"99% of the claims made in favor of the house health care bill are outright lies." That looks anecdotal, which gives it a certain ironic hue. Otherwise, this question is a very obvious one. People aren't thinking critically about what they're being told. You don't even have to have taken an economics course to understand what drives insurance costs. But a lot of people still don't seem to understand.
4 :
The cost isn't going anywhere but up. Any rational person knows that, but this debate is fueled by emotion, not logic.
5 :
That's not the whole problem. Insurance companies have tons of money. They can easily influence what you hear on the radio. If something threatens the almighty $, they will make sure the proper hypnosis gets run on the public.
6 :
Simple read how UK (Our Cousin) does it. There system of healthcare is not flawless but they don't let people just die because of no insurance and they lets doctors be the professionals they were supposed to be. They also ration there healthcare system in which the elderly are of course excluded from many public health care treatments and they must resort to private healthcare. Are they socialist? No. Are they Fascist? No.
7 :
Why does that question sound so much like a death panel?
8 :
my answer is i dont know but i know with regulation it will. how? because we spend more than any other country in the world and we dont cover them and they do. maybe its stopping the inflation on drugs. in the movie sicko you see a 911 worker getting medicine in cuba that cost her 120 dollars here and five cents there. maybe its incentivising wellness rather than rewarding bad jobs. doctors today make more money by keeping patients sick now. i dont understand how a plane flys or how a car engine works but i have seen them work. i see these systems working overseas. an i see the people there doing better. sometimes doing the ethical thing is the best thing for us economically too. for example the environmental breakthroughs that we will create will get the world importing from us.


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Thursday, March 20, 2008

How to get health insurance for Dubai visit visa

How to get health insurance for Dubai visit visa?
Hi, I am planning to bring my husb and kid on visit visa. I heard that the health insurance is mandatory for visit visa. Where (or how) to get (or how to apply) this health insurance for vist visa. Please advice. Thanks.

United Arab Emirates - 2 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
Check your domestic health insurance (if any) and bank (if you have a "premium" type account); the might include travel insurance. If not, try the people who you buy home/car/pet insurance from; they might offer you travel insurance at a reduced rate. In the UK, the Post Office usually has the best deals on travel insurance, but I don't know how common this practice is in the rest of the world.
2 :
First make sure that your current health insurance plan does not cover you internationally. Most Blue Cross Blue Shield ( http://www.RxMom.com/BlueCross/ ) do actually have overseas benefits. Next visit http://www.rxmom.com/travel to get very affordable Travel Insurance Plans that include hospitalization and emergency evacuation and trip interruption benefits. You have many choices so please make sure to select the plan that meets the requirements of the visa authority and your length of stay( You may want more benefits than they require, just for your own protection)


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Sunday, March 16, 2008

What would happen to health insurance companies if government take over the health insurance system

What would happen to health insurance companies if government take over the health insurance system?
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I heard that Obama is trying to push a public health system that will allow everybody to have health insurance no matter what pre existing conditions he or she may have. If this is reached, what would happen to insurance carriers like Blue Cross, Blue Shield? Will we need these companies and health insurance agents?
Politics - 26 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
It would be screwed up just like everything else they touch
2 :
Blue Cross would be a thing of the past, as would quality health care.
3 :
We will go to Mexico to get Health Care.
4 :
They become government workers.
5 :
It would turn into a mess. Many people would loose their jobs & more big government would be created. Bob K: I think you are delusional
6 :
Those thieves and cheaters will be out of business.
7 :
From John B to John A: Most of these health care partners would fall under heavy pressure and would either merge to form one central health care conglomerate or they would wither away due to the universal aspect of health care that Obama is trying to implement. Best believe that people would still continue to put their trust in the private health sector.
8 :
We'd see the end of tobacco companies. Alcohol and the snack food industry would be out on a short leash as they should be. Companies that are detrimental to health should pay for the medical expenses in their entirety. Republicans should agree as they are always screaming about being responsible and accountable. Why should we pay for the damages inflicted by the tobacco industry? They make profit from their victims and we pick up their tab for the damages they caused. Give me a break.
9 :
Government can't even fix our roads. What do you think?
10 :
If there is a "public" system, there would be no need for insurance companies in the health care area. The people employed by the insurance companies would have to get an other job, like selling automobiles or real estate.
11 :
well... I mean the gov. will need A LOT of people that do the same jobs that people do for these insurance companies... not all but many... the sales people would be the ones that were really hurt... no need to try and sale, if the gov. has mandates...
12 :
they will close down and add to the jobless people in america plus the landslide it would do to the financial market when they go belly up
13 :
If everyone is guaranteed coverage then you don't need insurance industries. It would solve the issue of insurance lobbying.
14 :
The HMO's will stop making their trillions of dollars. A doctor will decide what care is needed instead of some CEO at Blue Cross making 40 million a year. The drug companies will have to stop ripping us off too. Good question. To all you racists: Barack will fix this bushed up economy and George will be found guilty of war crimes.
15 :
They will still be around but they will become unofficial government agencies controlled by beaurocrats just like the one that run the DMV, exciting isn’t it.
16 :
It's called Universal Health Care, where everyone is insured. It's amazing, you actually get doctors making the decisions for you instead of the greedy business CEOs of the insurance agencies.
17 :
Currently the way we ration health care is via the health insurance industry. Those who can't afford insurance go without. Those who can afford insurance, have profit motivated employees decided which treatments will be covered. Medical dollars could be spent much more efficiently without the profit motive. Just as out of business brokers and bankers are now becoming federal bank auditors (from NPR yesterday) so could current health insurance experts move into the government and work FOR the people instead of against them.
18 :
Nothing would happen. Obama's plan is an option, not a mandate. It is only available to those that are not offered health ins. through their employer, or those that can't afford high cost insurance.
19 :
It will just be more people out of work and on the Obama welfare roles if he is able to put public health insurance out of business, like he is trying to. As Obama comes out with more of his spending plans, it is painfully obvious that his goal is to destroy public businesses and cause Americans to be forced out of work and onto his welfare roles.
20 :
Being a doctor will no longer be an economically suitable job. Therefore, med students or med student hopefuls and current doctors will begin to pursue other professions. So people who need medical attention will still pay for it through taxes, and they'll get a lesser quality of care. Kind of a lose-lose situation, if you ask me. And it increases dependency on the government... And it gives illegals, who DON'T pay their taxes, free health care - meaning we get to pay for them if they break a leg, even though they're here breaking our laws. Make that a lose-lose-lose-lose situation.
21 :
A single payer health care system would replace all the health insurers. They would all have to go find work elsewhere. This would result in billions of dollars in savings. the 3500+ health insurers each have their own billing requirements that tie doctors and hospitals up in red tape and has spawned a 5 billion dollar medical billing industry. That would all be replaced by a single billing standard - saving the system nearly 5 billion dollars per year. Since there will be one source for insurance, all doctors, hospitals, and specialists will be "in the network", resulting in greatly expanded choice for people who otherwise are restricted by HMOs and PPOs. Everyone will be insured, so there will be no incentive for waiting until the medical condition is in crisis. This will result in far less use of ERs (the most expensive form of care). Thus, ERs will be freed up so they can concentrate on those who really need emergency care. This will result in faster ER responses and billions of dollars in cost savings. Once insurance companies no longer interfere with yours and your doctors decisions, the quality of care should increase dramatically. As far as I've seen, nobody has mentioned reducing doctor pay. And I hope they never do. But even if they did, it would not result in fewer doctors. Where would they go? It's not as if they can go anywhere else in the world to get the kind of pay they get here. Even at reduced rates, they still would be the best paid in the world.
22 :
They would definitely shrink, but they would still be around. Look at Medicare, they have supplement polices which the individual has to pay. If you think the government is going to pay for Heart surgery, Cancer treatment, you're in for a rude awakening.
23 :
If they wanted to become a participating payor in the government plan they would have to agree to the payment formulary outlined by the government. For the companies that chose to go along with the government plan, you'd end up seeing a whole lot more HMO type plans available and the PPO plans would pretty much go away. Those that didn't participate as payors under the government's terms would pass their extra costs on to the consumer purchasing the insurance. If doctors are given an option to participate, they'll refuse to accept the government plans and will jack up their costs to private pay insurance clients (the same as many are doing with Medicaid today). If it's all nationalized and we fall under one payor, just take a look at how Medicaid works today and that's what you'll get. Doctors will also close up shop. Demand will be high and supply of qualified health care professionals will be low. Edit - Another thing to consider is that there will be unanticipated levels of enrollment if they leave multiple payors in place and only have the government plan for those whose employers don't offer coverage. Larger businesses will be required to offer insurance, but businesses with few employees won't. Those small businesses that are offering it now will stop. Their employees will then become dependent on the government health care system. My mom's a small business owner and pays part of her employee's insurance costs now. I can assure you that if this kicks in she'll drop it. She's having a hard enough time keeping her doors open as it is and that would save her a ton. This is exactly what happened when Hawaii went to their plan to insure all children in the state. People dropped their private insurance and used the state insurance. The program lasted for about 6-7 months before the state couldn't afford it any more. @ bob k - If you think the greedy insurance companies are bad about determining what care you will and will not receive, wait until the government decides that for you. Ask any Medicaid patient about how much say they or their doctors have in the care that they receive, and you'll love your greedy insurance company.
24 :
They will cease to exist as what happens when the government becomes a player in the market instead of an arbiter. We get to watch the government simultaneously regulate the health care back into the Stone Age while eliminating the competition.
25 :
cuts out the middleman. How the heck can you defend a multi BILLION dollar industry that produces NOTHING.
26 :
From my limited knowledge of the USA system I'd say that nothing much would change. The state health system would become a bit better and private health systems would continue to operate just like they operate now. There's no need to reinvent the wheel. If you need further answers, just look at all the other countries that went through it already and see what happened there. You can see Canada, UK, France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Cuba, in fact I think everyone else I can think of.


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Wednesday, March 12, 2008

What health insurance company is best for a child

What health insurance company is best for a child?
I am looking for a good and reasonably priced health insurance provider for my 9 year old son.

Insurance through my work is outrageous so I'm looking for an outside provider. His mother is suppose to have already put him on CHIP with the state of TX (by court order) but she refuses to do so for some reason. I hate the idea of him being without health insurance. Anyone had any good experiences with certain companies? Any suggestions or feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Other - Pregnancy & Parenting - 1 Answers
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1 :
Try this site usainsurancequotes.net Here you can compare quotes from different companies


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Saturday, March 8, 2008

Am I able to write off Health Insurance Premiums for tax purposes at the end of the year

Am I able to write off Health Insurance Premiums for tax purposes at the end of the year?
I am looking to purchase my own health insurance instead of going through my company. I know that the company takes out the cost on a pre-tax basis, but their insurance is not the greatest. If I do decided to sign up for health insurance, will I be able to use the cost of my own health insurance as a deduction fo tax purposes?
United States - 7 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
I think so
2 :
If you talk to your accountant,. he can explain it fully. Basically, you can deduct medical & dental expenses, insurance premiums, medical related travel, as part of yout itemized deduxtions. If you don't itemize, you're out of luck.
3 :
You may deduct qualified medical expenses you pay for yourself, your spouse, and your dependents, including a person you claim as a dependent under a Multiple Support Agreement. You can also deduct medical expenses you paid for someone who would have qualified as your dependent for the purpose of taking personal exemptions except that the person did not meet the gross income or joint return test. You deduct medical expenses on Form 1040, Schedule A (PDF), Itemized Deductions. The total of all allowable medical expenses must be reduced by 7.5% of your Adjusted Gross Income. For more information, refer to Publication 502, Medical and Dental Expenses.
4 :
Your medical and dental expense on your itemized deduction schedule is reduced by 7.5% of your adjusted gross income. Your pretax health coverage through your employer is in effect 100% tax free(as if you deduct the full amount). Hence your tax savings will be greater through your employer provided plan even if you itemize on schedule A.
5 :
Health insurance is not deductible for individuals unless done through a Section 125 plan. Even in that case, you can't deduct the expense, you can only pay for it with pre-tax dollars.
6 :
The following paragraph is taken from an IRS publication regarding Itemized Deductions. Medical expenses include insurance premiums paid for accident and health or qualified long-term care insurance. You may not deduct insurance premiums for life insurance, for policies providing for loss of wages because of illness or injury, or policies that pay you a guaranteed amount each week for a sickness. In addition, the deduction for a qualified long–term care insurance policy's premium is limited. Refer to Publication 502 , Medical and Dental Expenses.
7 :
Yes. Ins premium, doctor visits, prescription drugs, contact lenses, and necessarily surgery or purchases are deductible. Over the counter drugs and unnecessarily surgery like boob jobs are not. You add them all up, substract any medical reimb and thats your medical tax deduction. but it is limited to 7.5% of your Adjusted Gross Income (which is your income - adjustments), so if you make too much money you most likely cant take the benefit. If you want to save more money, add in you over the counter drugs.


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Tuesday, March 4, 2008

I have private health insurance and insurance from work

I have private health insurance and insurance from work?
I have private health insurance from blue cross blue shield, I also get blue cross blue-shield from the work I do for the state. If I was to use the insurance from my work would it be a conflict with the insurance I privately have? I was told that they would cancel each other out and I would lose my private insurance. Is this true??? I don't really want to lose my private insurance for health and security reasons but I also don't want to keep paying more if i don't have to in the long run.
Insurance - 4 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
If you have two insurance one from work and the other is private, than you will not get the benefit for the same illness from both places - ie. supposing you have a bill of medicines of $100/- you will not be paid $100/- from both your employers insurance and your private insurance. You can claim for the benefits which the employee plan is not contributing to from your private plan or any amount that exceeds the employee limit from your private plan. Yes, you are paying higher amounts if you are paying for both the plans. Whether this is advisable can be said if you go to an agent or compare both the plans and find out what the differences are. Secondly you need to decide the coverages you need and than take a decision.
2 :
I would suggest canceling the one insurance that does not cover the things you want. You will be paying twice as much and not getting twice the amount of coverage. Talk to your insurance representative to see which one they think will benefit you more.
3 :
In most cases, you are paying too much for your coverage. You generally are best off just getting the bcbs plan from your employer. However, they can work together in some instances. If one is used as primary and then the other can pick up the co-pays at the doctor's office and other things. I know one person who has a situation like this. However, this person has coverage from their own employer and their spouse's employer. Their plan pays as primary, the other picks up everything except the annual deductible. Since the plans are written differently from each other, if they used the spouse's plan as primary, then their own plan would pick up nothing as secondary. Since both plans are through the employers and that person has a lot of medical expenses, it saves money to have both plans on that one person. Since the spouse has few medical expenses, they only have one plan on that spouse. In most cases, your private medical insurance is going to cost you more to carry than the out-of-pocket maximum on the plan with the employer. In most cases, you would do well to carry only one plan.
4 :
your anser here http//www.cars-carss.blogspot.com ok


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Saturday, March 1, 2008

What affordable health insurance would you recommend for my uninsured 21 year old daughter

What affordable health insurance would you recommend for my uninsured 21 year old daughter?
She works full time but her employer charges an outrageous amount of money for health insurance. I know there are many many young people who don't have health insurance, mostly because of the cost of high insurance premiums. But my daughter really needs it cause she has some health issues that will stay with her for a lifetime. thanks everyone!
Other - General Health Care - 5 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
I have news for you, if she doesn't have insurance NOW, she's going to be screwed. If she has pre-existing conditions and gets private health insurance, they are not going to approve ANYTHING related to those conditions for at least a year. Her best bet is signing up with her employer at the next open enrollment and paying the higher premiums. Then she can get a secondary insurance for a year and drop the employer's insurance plan.
2 :
Health insurance is obviously tied to your life style, sports activities etc., and in many cases inherent illness in the family. If your daughter has problems she would have to declare them to insurance co. and this will put premium up. If she doesn't declare then when she is ill and they check her medical records they will not pay out. So get quotes and compare with existing policy that her employer runs. I would suggest that she is better off on the works one until she changes her job.
3 :
CIGNA is pretty good. I have their Starbridge Choices plan. I pay 21 dollars every two weeks for my husband and i.
4 :
this link will help uhttp://www.archive.org/details/healthcarecovera00unit
5 :
An individual policy may be less expensive, however an individual health policy can do several things depending on her health issue. They could increase the premium, they could exclude her health issue from 6 months to permanently, or they could decline to accept her. A call to a local agent that works with all the major companies in your area could answer your question. A group policy has to accept her. They may exclude the pre-existing condition up to 1 year but it may be her only choice. Everyone on the group policy pays the same premium, no matter their age or health. The bad news is if the group is small enough and if her condition is expensive it would eventually raise the premium for the entire group.


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