Posts Tagged ‘health insurance companies’

How to Shop for Health Insurance when you have a Pre-Existing Health Condition

Thursday, January 21st, 2010

Many Americans deal with a number of diseases and maladies at any give time throughout their lives. These diseases, often termed “pre-existing” health conditions through health insurance companies, can often mean not being able to receive health insurance if you lose your current health insurance.

However, having a pre-existing health condition does not always mean not being able to be insured if you lose your existing health insurance coverage. You do have options; it’s just a matter of knowing your rights and your options:

  • If you lose your health insurance with one company, but then find another job with group health insurance coverage, you cannot be denied coverage for your pre-existing health condition. However, if group health insurance coverage isn’t available through your employer, you may consider being a group by yourself for health insurance purposes. This “group of one” policy is only available in about 12 states throughout the country, so check to see if this type of policy is available through your state.

  • Check to see if your state offers a “risk high pool” health insurance - a type of health insurance for individuals with pre-existing medical conditions. This type of health insurance is available in about 30 states, so look into whether this option is available in your state.

  • If you lose your job, consider continuing your health insurance through COBRA. COBRA allows you to continue with your health insurance coverage, but you must pay for it yourself. Although this is an expensive option, many individuals with pre-existing health conditions find it invaluable if they lose their health insurance coverage due to a lay off.

  • Don’t wait too long to apply for new health insurance, as most states require health insurance companies to accept you if you lose your employer health insurance and apply for new insurance within 60 days of being laid off.

  • Inquire about professional organization health insurance. If your new employer does not offer group health insurance, you may be able to get group health insurance through a professional organization that relates to your profession. Again, this will vary from state to state and profession to profession, so it is up to you to do the research necessary to find professional organization group health insurance.

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Will Your Health Insurance Cover the Costs of Private Home Care?

Friday, October 23rd, 2009

Injured, ill, or recovering from a debilitating surgery or sickness?  If you’re unable to maintain your regular daily activities and / or you’ve been forced to recover with a sustained period of bed-rest, then you may be eligible to receive private home care!  Covered by select health insurance companies, individuals can receive incredible benefits from at home care; best of all, if your health insurance covers this form of treatment, then you can recover without risking your financial savings.

What is Private Home Care?

Private home care essentially serves to allow patients to recover in the privacy of their own home, as opposed to recovering in a hospital.  Ideal candidates for private home care are often individuals with issues / health concerns such as:

  • Post-surgical patients
  • Individuals undergoing various cancer treatments
  • Debilitating injuries that restrict physical movement (ie: amputation, broken limbs, etc)
  • Elderly individuals in need of specific care and support

With private home care, certified health specialists, registered nurses, or other approved health experts can travel to your home for designated meetings or “appointments” each day / week.

Private Home Care and Health Insurance Coverage

While each health insurance company has its own policies and restrictions regarding private home care, individuals with long term health insurance may often be able to reap coverage benefits for such services.  Oftentimes, long term health insurance policies offer to cover around $150 to $200 per day for at home health care services; however, if you or a loved one does not have long term health coverage, then Medicare may still offer options for support.  Medicare will generally serve to help individuals over the age of 65 receive approximately 8 hours of private health care each day (24 hours each week in total) for a 60 day duration of time.

If you’re hoping to hire at home care for you or a loved one, begin by evaluating the current withstanding policy to find out what coverage options are available.  Also, contact various at-home health care providers to compare prices.  To help alleviate the financial burden, some at-home care service experts may allow individuals with minimal insurance (or no insurance) coverage to purchase bulk-care packages at an additional discount!

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Health Insurance News: Will a More Competitive Market Lower Health Insurance Costs?

Wednesday, August 26th, 2009

As any capitalistic market functions more effectively with competition, leaders are concerned that a lack of competition among health insurance companies is resulting in huge costs for individual policy holders. In examining a lack of competition on a smaller scale, any American can simply imagine how, for example, a local pizzeria could demand incredibly high prices for its food when no other pizza restaurants are nearby to force lower rates. Once a new pizzeria comes to town and begins offering greater promotions and discounts, however, the pre-existing restaurant is subsequently forced to reduce its own prices in order to compete with the new, more enticing and affordable, competition.

Similarly, as the debate over health care reform continues to gain attention and friction, new reports suggest that opening the current health insurance market to greater forms of competition would result in dramatic health cost reductions.

Will Competition Lower Health Insurance Costs?

Rumors have circulated that government reform of the current health care system would result in an elimination of competition among health insurance companies; however, recent students reveal that the opposite may be true. According to reports, major cities and areas across the country are only provided with two major health insurance competitors-when these few providers dominate the market, policy holders are unable to take advantage of competitive cost reductions and promotions.

To combat this issue, many republicans and democrats in congress agree that the lack of competition among health insurance companies is causing immense consumer overcharges and fees. As such, some political believers argue that a government reform of the industry could offer a more equitable balance of costs and package deals, as the competition among insurance providers could be restored, allowing for policy holders to gain greater cost reductions and savings. As many political and economic leaders assert, health insurance companies currently have no incentive to negotiate with their policy holders, network hospitals, or other organizations. As a result, higher premiums can be more steadily sent along to the patients, as the patients are forced to pay the costs demanded by their health insurance provider.

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Insurance News: Are Health Insurance Companies Ignoring the Younger Generations?

Wednesday, August 12th, 2009

As health insurance has become an increasingly heated social and political topic, investigators are finding that some health insurance providers may actually be ignoring younger generations.

While no one enjoys receiving stacks of advertisements and promotional mailers in their daily deliveries, there is a definite decline in marketing for younger generations!. This may save on one’s mail load, however, this gradual decline may prevent some in-need families from gaining access to pertinent provider packages, discounts, and offers. As health insurance companies have statistically targeted more towards baby boomers than towards the younger X and Y Generations, experts warn the Gen X and Y-ers to become more proactive in seeking health coverage.

An Analysis of the Generations

To examine the marketing histories of most health insurance companies, major analysts have compared the baby boomer generation to individuals from the X and Y generations. Known as the younger generations, Generation Y is a label that typically classifies a range from the 1980s to the 1990s, while Generation X usually refers to the years ranging from the 1960s to the 1970s. As the older and most populous generation, the baby boomers were born in the close years following WWII. By analyzing these various age / generational groups, studies prove that individuals from Generation X were reportedly sent 15 percent less health insurance marketing / mailing offers in June of 2009 (when compared with the baby boomer generation).

Adding to this, Generation Y is estimated to receive 25 percent fewer marketing / mailing offers than their own parents’ generation! Yet, amazingly, as all generations need and require health insurance coverage, experts argue that each generation should be catered and marketed to equally.

Health Care for Gen X and Y

In examining the decline in health insurance marketing over the span of aging populations, experts argue that Generation X is a generally under-served and in-need market. As Gen X is classified as a target group that is typically caring for younger children and aging parents. In fact, a survey shows that 72 percent of Generation X is saving for their child’s future education, while 53 percent of the Gen X group is even anticipating to care for their parent(s) and / or relative(s) in the future. As such, having access and information on beneficial health coverage plans is imperative.

Yet, Gen X is not alone, as Generation Y is also experiencing an overall decline in marketing and offers. Ultimately, to avoid the common pit-falls of misinformation and lack of access, experts argue that Gen X and Y populations should actively seek out information to best meet their family’s current and future needs. As the Gen X and Y populations are growing to be the new target market for expansive health insurance packages, an independent evaluation of programs can allow families to more thoroughly prepare for imperative health-related demands in the future.

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