Who should have Health Insurance?

27 Mar

Posted by: Cobra Help Center in: Health Insurance

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Everyone regardless of his or her current age, disability or income needs medical insurance. Medical insurance does not just pay for medical emergencies but covers the cost of regular checkups often required as we age. Health insurance can cover the cost of routine doctor visits, hearing test, vaccinations, vision test and dental cleanings. Health plans can also be combined with dental and vision plans, to cover the cost of eyeglasses, expensive dental surgeries and life saving surgeries.

Though many individuals often worry about the cost of insurance, it will actually reduce the amount of money that will have to be paid out of pocket when visiting a doctor’s office. A single visit to a doctor can cost upwards of a hundred dollars with visits to a specialist usually costing twice as much. With a health insurance plan, members would likely pay a fixed dollar amount at a fraction of the price.

Health plans are also necessary for those taking prescription medications. Most individuals who take prescription medications take several at a time and the monthly cost without a health insurance plan can be severe. For example, to lower cholesterol physicians commonly prescribe Lipitor. The average retail price for Lipitor is around $70. Some other commonly prescribed medications can cost twice as much.

Health insurance plans offer different services and options to make them more affordable. Employed individuals can often sign up for health care through their jobs and plans can cover spouses and children. Those with low income can often take advantage of government sponsored programs created for those with limited funds. For example, Medicaid is sponsored by funds from states and the federal government to offer medical insurance for individuals and families with low incomes. Medicare is a federal government health insurance plan that covers senior citizens. Consumers can choose to sign up directly through a health insurance provider. Health plans also exist for those who are self-employed and many trade groups and associations offer insurance to members.

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How to Keep a Low Cost Health Insurance Plan

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You parents have been telling it to you since you were young, “You cant believe everything you hear.” No where is that more true then when it comes to health care. Finding health insurance that is high quality and low cost is possible for those who want to take the time and effort to understand what they want. The only way you can know what you want is to have the right information and knowing your options.

If you have just lost your job, going on COBRA can keep you continuously insured and you wont have to worry about pre-existing health conditions. (Look around this blog, there is plenty on COBRA)

The easiest and most effective way to lower your insurance costs is to live healthier. People who are overweight or eat unhealthily will always end up paying more in insurance because of the risk that person is to the insurance carrier. Those people whose cholesterol is lower and have a proper weight will pay much less and live a better life as well.

Shop around! Never go with the first carrier you see on T.V. or a friend recommends. Contact a qualified insurance broker who can look at all your options and suggest the proper course of action.

DO NOT LAPSE YOUR COVERAGE. This is the biggest mistake a person can make when it comes to health insurance. If you stop paying your health insurance or drop your coverage for any amount of time, you may become uninsurable. Conditions as small as a gall stone can make you uninsurable for a year or even a lifetime.

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How is Medical Insurance Underwritten?

18 Mar

Posted by: Cobra Help Center in: Health Insurance

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to the RSS feed to keep up to date on all new posts and information. If your COBRA is within 63 days of expiring, your ability to get guaranteed major medical insurance is running out! Contact Cobra Help Center today!

Medical insurance underwriting is a formal process through which major medical insurance companies evaluate the risk of possible financial loss if coverage is extended to a single individual or group.

There are several risk factors that medical insurance companies may consider in their underwriting criteria for individuals such as age, health status and history, occupation, hobbies, risky behaviors, and lifestyle. If you are applying for individual coverage, the insurance company will often require you to fill out an application that will be reviewed by the underwriter. In addition to giving identification information such as your name, address and Social Security number, you will probably be required to answer questions about your past and current medical history, weight, hobbies, and habits such as smoking and drinking on an individual coverage application.

Individual underwriting typically does not take place in the same way for those enrolled in group coverage, such as that through an employer, union, or association. If you will be covered under a group policy, you will be asked to fill out a short application that includes your name, address, Social Security number and any dependents that will also be covered. The insurance underwriter will consider the number of people covered on the policy and the type of work being performed as underwriting guidelines. Often, individuals joining an insured group must serve a probationary period before becoming eligible for coverage and then they can enroll during the eligibility period; often call “Open Season.”

If you have medical insurance through your employer, you have the advantage of being eligible for COBRA coverage should your employment end voluntarily or otherwise, provided your employer has 20 or more employees. COBRA is an acronym that stands for the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, which is a law passed by Congress in 1986 to help eligible employees keep their medical insurance up to 18 months after a job loss or when transitioning between jobs. If you decide to keep your major medical insurance coverage through COBRA, you will be responsible for paying the full group coverage rate and any administrative fees but you will not be subject to individual underwriting. You will receive a booklet from your employer that explains what COBRA coverage provides, your eligibility period, and sign up information should you choose to continue coverage.

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Posted in: Insurance,Medical,Underwritten

What is COBRA Health Insurance?

21 Mar

Posted by: Cobra Help Center in: COBRA Health Insurance

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to the RSS feed to keep up to date on all new posts and information. If your COBRA is within 63 days of expiring, your ability to get guaranteed major medical insurance is running out! Contact Cobra Help Center today!

COBRA is not a Health Insurance Plan unto its self. COBRA is the right you have, as a former employee to a company with 20 or more other employees, to continue your medical insurance for as long as 18 months (or more in certain conditions). The former employee is allowed to keep this coverage with a no pre-existing conditions waiver, which is key for those with very expensive diseases such as cancer, diabetes or others.

The catch? You must pay for this coverage at 100% of its cost. Those on COBRA pay the premium from their own pockets. Cobra is some cases though can be less then individual health coverage. Those who have ANY pre-existing conditions though, this is definitely the best option, as while you are on COBRA these conditions will still be covered at the rate they were while you were employed.

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Why should I have Health Insurance?

29 Mar

Posted by: Cobra Help Center in: Health Insurance

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to the RSS feed to keep up to date on all new posts and information. If your COBRA is within 63 days of expiring, your ability to get guaranteed major medical insurance is running out! Contact Cobra Help Center today!

When considering the economy, most people try to save money wherever they can. This is a smart strategy, however, there are some things that everyone needs and should not ever be skimped on. Health insurance is one of those necessity’s.

Even if you are trying to save money, you really need to have comprehensive medical insurance. One of the top reasons that people file bankruptcy is medical debt. You can quickly get into thousands of dollars of debt or even more, with just one hospital visit that goes uncovered by full major medical health coverage.
Health plans can help you avoid medical bankruptcy. Having health insurance means that you will only have to pay a percentage of the total amount or co-pay per visit. Considering that a hospital visit can cost thousands of dollars a day, the hospital co-pay is often a couple hundred dollars a day, if that! The savings definitely makes health insurance a good long term investment.
What if you or a family member has an accident or is diagnosed with an illness? You do not want to have to worry about how to pay for treatment, or if you can ever treat the condition at all. You would want to get them the best treatment possible. If you have medical insurance, you will worry less about the cost of treatment and concentrate on your loved one who may desperately need it.

Many deadly diseases such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes and others go untreated for years because the person was to afraid of the cost of getting treated. Though doctors bills may be scary, what is more frightening is the idea that a preventable disease could have been treated in the early stages if it had been just found. Early diagnosis is the key to survival, but that can not be even an option if a person never even sees a doctor for a health problem they may have.
Certainly you should try to be frugal and save money when possible, but consider that some things are necessary. Your health plan is one of those things that should never be lacking.

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What is Health Insurance?

26 Mar

Posted by: Cobra Help Center in: Health Insurance

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to the RSS feed to keep up to date on all new posts and information. If your COBRA is within 63 days of expiring, your ability to get guaranteed major medical insurance is running out! Contact Cobra Help Center today!

Health insurance gives assistance with paying medical bills for various health procedures, including surgeries and routine exams. Medical insurance can also aid in acquiring medical aids, such as wheelchairs, medications and a variety of health monitors. Insurance, by definition, is the avoidance of a unknown catastrophic loss for a known gain. In practice, you pay a insurance carrier a fixed premium for the assurance that if the worst should happen (Ex. A health condition that may cost thousands or tens of thousands of dollars), you are covered from a severe financial problem.

There are several types of health plans and it can seem daunting at first. An indemnity plan is the type of plan that is most flexible to meet a person’s needs. With this type of plan, you’re able to choose your own doctor and are able to see a specialist without needing to get a referral from your primary doctor.

A health maintenance organization, or a HMO plan, will cover your expenses if you go to a doctor or health care service that is within the company’s  organization. With an HMO, a recommendation from your primary doctor is needed to see a specialist. Patients must get approval from the HMO in order to go into a hospital or to receive any health care that is not an emergency.

Medical insurance provided by a preferred provider plan, or PPO, is less flexible than a traditional plan but more so than an HMO. You can see any doctor and specialist you’d like, but co-payments may be higher if the doctor is not a preferred provider. A PPO requires approval for hospital entrance, but they are more likely to file medical claims for you.

Health insurance given through a point of service plan, or POS, is akin to a HMO plan in that the doctors you are able to see are part of the service’s network. Some services with a POS are not available such as organ transplants, prescription drugs, mental health services and infertility treatments.

An exclusive provider plan, or EPO, is like an HMO however it is coordinated by the Department of Insurance. This type of insurance only covers expenses if the doctors are included in the network of the EPO.

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Where can I get Health Insurance?

10 Apr

Posted by: Cobra Help Center in: Individual Health Insurance

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to the RSS feed to keep up to date on all new posts and information. If your COBRA is within 63 days of expiring, your ability to get guaranteed major medical insurance is running out! Contact Cobra Help Center today!

There are three main ways to get health insurance. The first is directly to the source, from an insurance carrier. The second is from an agent, who basically works for a insurance company. The third is from a broker or underwriter.

An insurance carrier has their best interests at heart. If you went a car dealer, and asked them what car you should get, their first recommendation would be their best car, of course! They make the most off of this and you pay the most for it. Insurance carriers are the same way. Insurance is not a mini-van, and one size does not fit all. Insurance carriers would love for you to think of it like that though, as they can and will only recommend their own product, and most times their most expensive product first, hoping you will take it.

Agents are really just employees of the insurance carriers, but don’t get a salary most times. In that case their even worse! Agents get paid on commission, so the person at the insurance carrier you talk to isn’t really going to care what plan you buy as much as an agent as they get paid no matter what (in most cases). Agents want you to buy from the company their represent, because they are not allowed to sell elsewhere. This makes an agent a bad choice as they cant give you all the options you need to me the right choice.

Broker or Underwriters, like Cobra Help Center or Planning Financial Futures can give you the best choice and selection for your money. A broker represents not just one carrier, but every carrier in your state. This not only allows you the widest choice of options, but the best price for your coverage. Each person insurance needs are different, and change with time. One company may be good for you while you single, but when u get married another might provide you better coverage at a lower cost.

An agent or insurance carrier can not provide you with all the information that you need to purchase the right plan for you. They are interested in which plan is best for them. A broker can lay every plan in your state, that fits your needs, in front of you and guide you to the best benefit options and health coverage that suits you. Don’t be fooled by the crafty agents saying they represent the best company, compared to a broker who represents every company.

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Popular Health Insurance Issues from March

01 Apr

Posted by: Cobra Help Center in: Health Insurance

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to the RSS feed to keep up to date on all new posts and information. If your COBRA is within 63 days of expiring, your ability to get guaranteed major medical insurance is running out! Contact Cobra Help Center today!

The world of Health Insurance and COBRA can be a very confusing one, especially with our current economy. News is constantly changing and new information about COBRA is becoming available daily. If you did happen to miss any of our posts last month concerning changes in COBRA or Health Insurance, we have put together a “Best of” list for you:COBRA Insurance Qualifying Events COBRA insurance is an extension of health care benefits that would have been otherwise lost due to a variety of reasons. There are a number of qualifying events that will make you eligible for COBRA health insurance coverage, provided you were previously covered under your employer’s major medical health plan.The first and most common qualifying event is that you were fired or voluntarily left employment with the company. COBRA will be offered to you under these “separation circumstances”, as long as you were not terminated for gross misconduct.COBRA coverage is also available if you, or your spouse or legal guardian, have experienced a reduction in the number of hours worked which has caused a loss of full-time benefits.Finally, COBRA eligibility may be established if you undergo one of these “change in life” events: divorce or legal separation from your spouse, divorce or separation of a legal guardian, death of a spouse or guardian, a spouse or guardian becoming entitled to Medicare, and the loss of dependent child status under the rules of your guardian’s health plan.How is Medical Insurance Underwritten? Medical insurance underwriting is a formal process through which major medical insurance companies evaluate the risk of possible financial loss if coverage is extended to a single individual or group.There are several risk factors that medical insurance companies may consider in their underwriting criteria for individuals such as age, health status and history, occupation, hobbies, risky behaviors, and lifestyle. If you are applying for individual coverage, the insurance company will often require you to fill out an application that will be reviewed by the underwriter. In addition to giving identification information such as your name, address and Social Security number, you will probably be required to answer questions about your past and current medical history, weight, hobbies, and habits such as smoking and drinking on an individual coverage application.The Cost of COBRA is Relative Measuring the cost of health insurance can be an eye-opening experience. In this era of rising health costs, all employees, their spouses and even their dependents are aware of the cost of health insurance. There is no such thing as a low cost health need. Unfortunately, most individuals do not give much thought to the cost of health care until they are faced with the possibility of losing their health insurance. Even then, the cost of COBRA coverage compared to the value of Cobra health insurance is often misunderstood.The cost of Cobra health insurance is regulated. But, if the individual participated in a group plan, the cost of COBRA far exceeds the individual’s previous cost experience. Persons who elect to continue their Health Plan through Cobra may be required to pay up to 102% of the premium cost.Which was your favorite? Confused by a issue? Want more information about a specific topic? Let us know in the Comment Box below!Share Information about Health Plans with your Friends:

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Posted in: Health,Insurance,Issues,March,Popular

Individual Health Plans Vs. Cobra Health Insurance

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to the RSS feed to keep up to date on all new posts and information. If your COBRA is within 63 days of expiring, your ability to get guaranteed major medical insurance is running out! Contact Cobra Help Center today!

COBRA (The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act) was passed in 1986 and provides for the continuation of group health plan and insurance coverage when an individual loses his/her job for 18-36 months. COBRA offers an alternative to an individual or family health insurance plan. Though COBRA may seem scary, it is but one of your numerous options to keep you and your family continually insured after you lose your job or your benefits.

What is COBRA and what does it cover?

With COBRA insurance, you will receive the same coverage and benefits you received under your former employer’s health plan. The key difference is that the former employee now has to pay the full cost of the health insurance coverage.This can be up to 102% of the monthly premium.

Short Term Insurance Policy

Many people turn to Short Term Health Insurance Policies to cover their needs from one job to another. This option, though a good one if the situation needs it, can lead to some bad things. First, many of these short term policies are not HIPAA certified, meaning you may face waiting periods or a decline if you apply for coverage after the short term policy expires. Second, some employers may impose a waiting period, as well as some carriers, if you are coming from a short term policy or even COBRA. With a Short term policy, you may not be able to extend the coverage, leaving you uninsured while you wait for coverage.

Pre-Existing Conditions

COBRA is a safer bet for people who have pre-existing conditions and may not otherwise pass medical under writing for health insurance coverage. Additionally, if you will be undergoing a major medical operation or have been diagnosed with a medical condition, COBRA may be your best option. Even if you are in good health, taking COBRA can be a safe option, just incase you have a condition that you are not aware of, that makes you uninsurable.

Learn How to Shop for Insurance:

There are several key things to look for when shopping for insurance. First, don’t compare your current plan to another plan that does not offer the same benefits. Some people will see a lower cost option and assume it is the same coverage they previously had. That may not always be the case, and in most cases isn’t. Secondly, always consult the full plan outline and make sure there aren’t any loop holes that an insurance carrier can use to exclude a condition. Finally, look at all your options. Just because an agent says that the carrier they represent is the best thing out there, does not make it true. Always seek out brokers, or people who represent many different carriers, and weigh all your options thoroughly.

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Posted in: COBRA,Health,Individual,Insurance,Plans

What is the Purpose of Health Insurance

30 Mar

Posted by: Cobra Help Center in: Health Insurance

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to the RSS feed to keep up to date on all new posts and information. If your COBRA is within 63 days of expiring, your ability to get guaranteed major medical insurance is running out! Contact Cobra Help Center today!

There has been a great deal of talk in the news lately about health insurance. Health insurance is designed to assist you in times of unexpected crisis. On top of helping you cope with day to day medical bills, health insurance is there to help defer costs if you find yourself in an accident and admitted to the hospital for treatment. It is no secret that a trip to the hospital can run thousands of dollars, but with the proper medical insurance you are able to have those costs covered and get the treatment you need when you need it.

It is important that everyone be involved in some form of health insurance for that time when crisis may strike. There are a variety of health plans available from a variety of sources that can fit any lifestyle or any budget. The government offers forms of health insurance that many people can qualify for, and there are many companies that offer affordable health insurance for those that need it. One visit to the hospital without health insurance could be a  financial disaster. Don’t get caught without the security that health insurance offers. Take the time to look into the various health insurance plans that are available, and find the one that is right for you.

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Posted in: Health,Insurance,Purpose

COBRA Insurance Qualifying Events

18 Mar

Posted by: Cobra Help Center in: COBRA Health Insurance

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to the RSS feed to keep up to date on all new posts and information. If your COBRA is within 63 days of expiring, your ability to get guaranteed major medical insurance is running out! Contact Cobra Help Center today!

COBRA insurance is an extension of health care benefits that would have been otherwise lost due to a variety of reasons. There are a number of qualifying events that will make you eligible for COBRA health insurance coverage, provided you were previously covered under your employer’s major medical health plan.

The first and most common qualifying event is that you were fired or voluntarily left employment with the company. COBRA will be offered to you under these “separation circumstances”, as long as you were not terminated for gross misconduct.

COBRA coverage is also available if you, or your spouse or legal guardian, have experienced a reduction in the number of hours worked which has caused a loss of full-time benefits.

Finally, COBRA eligibility may be established if you undergo one of these “change in life” events: divorce or legal separation from your spouse, divorce or separation of a legal guardian, death of a spouse or guardian, a spouse or guardian becoming entitled to Medicare, and the loss of dependent child status under the rules of your guardian’s health plan.

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Posted in: COBRA,Events,Insurance,Qualifying