Monday, June 28, 2010

What are some affordable health insurance in the NJ area

What are some affordable health insurance in the NJ area?
I am 25 years old and currently unemployed. I will be a student in the health care field and I'm required to purchase health insurance.

I also have to get a physical exam along with vaccinations. I looked online for some insurance and I have to pay at least $250 a month which is too much for me. Are there any affordable health insurance?
Other - General Health Care - 2 Answers
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1 :
Medical Discount Plan ideal for those who cannot afford or qualify for traditional health insurance. The companies offer discounted health services for a quite low monthly fee. Benefits include a range of discounts for doctors, hospitals, dental, vision, prescriptions, vitamins, as well as other health services. Individual & Family Health Plans This is a major health insurance plan for individuals and families. If you are looking for comprehensive long term health insurance coverage for yourself and/or your family members who are 62 years old or younger - this is the plan to choose. Short Term Medical Plans This plan is ideal for individuals in transition. Maybe you have just graduated from college and are no longer covered under your student health insurance or you moved out on your own, and you're no longer covered under your parents' medical insurance plan. Or perhaps you're employed part-time, going to school, leaving home for the first time, or even retiring early. Maybe you've found a new job, but your new employer's group health insurance plan won't kick in until you've been with months. YOu are not the only one who met this problem,I have met this type of problem before.I have good experience here Â Â www.HealthInsuranceIdeas.info Â Â to solve my similiar problem.
2 :
You need to compare the quotes of different health insurance companies, and balance the coverage with how much you spend. Obviously, if you are healthy, you shouldn't be paying an extra 500$ or so on obscure coverage. Be sure not to be scammed by anything offering cheap health insurance. The site I'm sharing has a lot of helpful info on how to get cheap health insurance.

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Thursday, June 24, 2010

Is health insurance responsible for the ridiculous cost of health care in the US

Is health insurance responsible for the ridiculous cost of health care in the US?
Since capitolism is based on the concept that competition mixed with supply and demand will motivate compainies to maximize their efficiency and innovation, would it not seem that health insurance,
whereby the person receiving the service is not actually required to pay the bill, would prevent hospitals from caring about havign a reasonable price fortheir service, or for operating efficiently? (sorry for the long sentence) Since hospitals are plentiful, would not simple free market economy work with with medicine in the US, and force prices to drop the a reasonable amount that people can actually afford, as it does with food, shelter, and all the other necesities that benefit from the superior free market economy? Could solving the problems of health care in the US be as simple as eliminating all health insurance companies?
Economics - 6 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
There is no simple answer. Some causes:(1) the last 12 months of life, people consume (on an average) more resources than in all of their previous years, though there are plenty of exceptions. i have seen hundreds of thousands expended to add a week to the life of a dying patient.There is no longer an acceptance of death as a part of life. People say "do everything".(2). Lack of personal responsibility-people on Medicaid smoke and then demand expensive respiratory treatments, alcoholics and the morbidly obese go on disability for their self-inflicted disease. They don't pay their own bills.The costs get shifted to those who do. (3). The breakdown of the family, the building block of society: in past generations people took care of their frail or ill relatives. now they demand that the health care system do it . (4). new treatments and meds-horribly costly. BTW, Hillary or Barack won't be participating in what they plan for you.
2 :
1 - Medicare is over 120,000 pages long. That is the first problem. Nothing capitalistic and free market about that. 2 - No you don't need to eliminate health insurance companies. The problem is that politicians write laws and force health insurance companies to provide mandatory coverage for a whole list of things that people may otherwise not want. It drives up premiums and forces consumers to pay for things they don't want. Simply let healthy insurance companies offer whatever they want to offer and then let the consumer decide. Health insurance would eventually become like car insurance - pay for the big things, but not all the little things that consumers should pay out of their own pocket (like regular exams and blood work, x-rays and other simple test.) Guy above me is correct. I worked in a LARGE charity hospital (that went under water a couple years ago-hint) for two years. People are unbelievably irresponsible and 3rd party payers (like Medicare) allow them to be. "The government will pay for it." I've also seen unbelievable measures (expensive) to keep somebody alive for a minimal amount of time. People need to understand that hurts everyone else when they take those extraordinary measures. .
3 :
recent rise is medical cost is mainly due to medical malpractice suits, which are a great risk for hospitals, so they take out insurance against it, which adds to costs of all medical services. I.e. doctor makes a mistake, patient sues and wins $20 million, which come out of pockets of all other patients.
4 :
This is not pure free market. It will be pure free market when: 1) Companies compensate employees for not taking medical insurance. If A and B works the same job in a company and A takes the company paid medical insurance he in theory makes 20% more than B for the same job. 2) I can buy drugs from whereever and when ever I want. I take the risk. Most procedures done in US can be done in India for 10% of the cost. But the risk is mine. 3) FDA remains just an advisory board. They advise and I decide to accept it or not. I think this is the root cause of all the evil. 4) No restriction to opening up a medical school. When the tech boom started there were a million new engineering and quasi engineering schools opened. Where are all the medical schools opening?
5 :
There is some truth to that - whenever an industry is subsidized by the government, demand rises. But there must also be a shortage of supply - and that's from restriciting growth of health care providers. Some of this is from frivolous malpractice suits, some from the high costs of providing the expensive equipment required for modern health cars.
6 :
money and mankind are the cause of all evil, just follow the trail.

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Sunday, June 20, 2010

How do health insurance companies define pre-existing health conditions

How do health insurance companies define pre-existing health conditions?
Is it based on the time of diagnosis or the time the condition was likely to have originated? For example,

what if I take out health insurance and a week later I go to the doctor and get diagnosed with cancer? I didn't know about it beforehand but the insurance company says the lump must have taken months to develop? What's the outcome?
Other - General Health Care - 2 Answers
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1 :
Usually most companies define this is being treated by a doctor for a certain time period before. Such as if you have been treated for asthma by a physician in the last six months. This would be a pre-existing condition. What you detailed out though in all probability would not be considered a pre-existing condition because you were not under treatment for such a condition before the insurance was taken into affect. The reason I do say in all probability is sometimes it seems to me that the make stuff up as the go along and if the patient doesn't fight them then the are all the better for refusing the claim. It is a business after all.
2 :
A pre-existing condition is a health condition that existed before the policy was purchased. Generally, for both group and individual insurance plans, if you have seen a physician within the previous 12 months (this period may vary in different plans) for a health condition, that particular condition will not be covered, either permanently or for a specified waiting period (usually six months to two years), or you may be refused coverage or charged a higher premium for the coverage. The National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship (NCCS) points out that cancer survivors have a pre-existing condition from the time of diagnosis through the remainder of their life, since a cancer survivor usually needs to see a physician at least once a year for a checkup.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

How to Compare & Buy the Senior Citizens Health Insurance in India

How to Compare & Buy the Senior Citizens Health Insurance in India?
I am 40 years old. I want to take Health Insurance Policy for my parents. Age of my Father is 68 & my Mother is 62. Health condition of both of them is good. I have lack of knowledge about Senior Citizens health Plan. I want Comparative Analysis of Senior Citizens Health Insurance to buy.
Insurance - 3 Answers
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1 :
For Compare & buy the Senior Citizens Health Insurance Link: http://www.insurancemall.in/I-Opener/post/2008/07/How-to-Choose-a-Cashless-Senior-Citizen-Health-Insurance-for-Parents.aspx InsuranceMall I Opener: Buying a Mediclaim Policy for our old parents or parents in law is a tricky affair in India. There are limited insurance coverage options available in the market for the aged population in India and unlimited restrictions on coverage. Some companies have a quality coverage, but stringent pre proposal medical checks - some provide a policy without health checks but with large restrictions right-left-centre. For Comparison of comparative Analysis Click here Link : http://www.newsandreviews.in/index.php?p=409&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1 To Know more about this write to Mahavir at mahavir@insurancemall.in
2 :
go there
3 :
hi, i have found this site one. hope will be useful. check it out : http://looking-insurance.blogspot.com

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Saturday, June 12, 2010

Can a health insurance application be cancelled before it is processed

Can a health insurance application be cancelled before it is processed?
I filed a health insurance application today with my agent.

I later found a ton of mistakes and things I forgot on it. I know you can do an amendment, but would it make more sense to cancell the application somehow and start over (since they most likely haven't even started to process it yet)? Is this even possible?
Insurance - 4 Answers
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1 :
Ask your agent, not Yahoo.
2 :
That is up to the agent and the insurance company. I am sure it is possible since it is not illegal.
3 :
Just cancel it and submit another. You can't necessarily submit an amendment...actually it's doubtful that you could.
4 :
Contact your agent and resubmit a fresh one. If you have made misrepresentation than in any case your claim will be denied in a future date. If information is missing, your agent should contact you for the missing information.

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Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Why does Health Insurance not pay the full amount of the bill

Why does Health Insurance not pay the full amount of the bill?
Can someone please help and explain to me why if I have Health Insurance why do I still have to pay doctor bills? Why does my health insurance only pay part of the cost for a test? This really confuses me...Thanks for your input! Thanks Mel! Your answer helped me alot! So I guess I need to actually go to the doctor more in he begininng of the year in order to get health insurance to pay 100%. Makes sense.
Insurance - 8 Answers
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1 :
It's called "co-insurance." Many plans are set up so that you are paying 20% and the health insurance company pays 80% up until a certain point, where you have reached your "max out of pocket" and then 100% is covered. The ratio may vary, but 80/20 is pretty common. Some plans do exist with no coinsurance, though often you will have a higher deductible or premium. They always get ya somewhere. If you have the option to seek different plans, weigh cost of a plan with coinsurance and without.
2 :
~~Health care companies are for profit corporations. They want to make money and to do so means paying the providers the least amount they can, and pass off as much as they can to the consumer (and still stay competitive), so they make their nice big profits.~~
3 :
Health insurance could pay the whole bill, but your premiums would be through the roof. Paying part of the bill is accepting part of the risk, which makes your overall premiums lower. Plus, plans with lower copays and deductibles are typically targeted towards unhealthy people, so the costs are even higher than they should be. My advice, only go to the doctor when you need to. Any percentage of 0 is still 0. And no.... going to the doctor earlier in the year does not mean anything will be covered at 100%. It just means you'll get your deductible out of the way earlier. Copays do not count towards the deductible.
4 :
You fundamentally misunderstand. Health insurance does not pay 100% of the costs - it does not mean "free health care." It means cost sharing and protection against catastrophically expensive bills.
5 :
The article from the source explain very good this confusion. Look at "Problems Related to Procedure Codes" and "Problems Related to The UCR". I could make a summary, but there it is better explained.
6 :
Health insurance has a fundamental problem. At the point of use, neither the doctor nor the patient has any incentive to limit treatment to only what is required. For example, given the choice of two tests both parties may prefer the more expensive one - the doctor earns more and the patient feels better treated. Maybe you even do two tests, even if the simplest would do. In one sense this is not a problem for the insurance company - they just split the cost across all the premiums. However, it does tend to make the insurance progressively more expensive and unaffordable. Adding a copay encourages the patient to ask questions about the treatment cost while still being protected and giving some incentive to limit treatment. This brings a cost benefit, along with the straight reduction from you paying part of the cost directly. A deductible also acts to reduce the cost as it excludes smaller claims so the average claims per policy goes down. A lot of claims are small, and have expenses that are high compared to the claim size so there is a further cost benefit. Finally, all things being equal, you would expect generally healthy people to be attracted to the lower premiums offered with a high copay or deductible. Giving one more expected claims cost saving.
7 :
because in america we don't have socialized medicine. it's every man for himself so if the best deal you can cut with an insurance company is that you pay a premium, which doesn't guarantee coverage, and then you have to pay a portion of covered treatments, and on top of that 100% of non covered treatments, that's just the way it is. now if you're willing to pay 50% or more in payroll taxes, go and move to europe and let us know how their healthcare works.
8 :
If insurance paid for everything then what incentive would you have to not use it for any little pain you might have. So, if you used it more often the costs would be even greater than they are. It's a catch-22 because you could also argue that people don't go when they have small things which could turn into big things without proper treatment. Regardless we work on a system that transfers money. 'Utilization' is also why a $2,000 deductible is MORE THAN $2000 cheaper than a $0 deductible. Lower deductibles notoriously have more claims and get used more. And, to respond to the one above answerer....there are plenty of non-profit health insurance companies and those companies work the same as the for-profit ones. So, the notion that non-profit is somehow better is just wrong. If it was correct then the non-profit companies would be the only ones left in the states they do business in.

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Friday, June 4, 2010

What is the best affordable health insurance plans

What is the best affordable health insurance plans?
I am 20 years old and do not have health insurance and I need to get my wisdom teeth pulled! So i'm looking for an affordable health insurance.

I've already applied for Medicaid and was denied.I need help please!
Financial Aid - 1 Answers
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1 :
Check out this site, if you want to find the best or the cheapest health insurance just in one minute, http://cheap-health-insurance-usa.blogspot.com/ Here you can get free quotes from different health insurance companies in your area, its the best way to find an afforable health insurance with a reliable company. Best Wishes,

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Tuesday, June 1, 2010

What is the best affordable health insurance plans

What is the best affordable health insurance plans?
I am 20 years old and do not have health insurance and I need to get my wisdom teeth pulled! So i'm looking for an affordable health insurance.I've already applied for Medicaid and was denied.I need help please!
Financial Aid - 1 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
Check out this site, if you want to find the best or the cheapest health insurance just in one minute, http://cheap-health-insurance-usa.blogspot.com/ Here you can get free quotes from different health insurance companies in your area, its the best way to find an afforable health insurance with a reliable company. Best Wishes,

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