Thursday, July 30, 2009

Short Term Health Insurance - Flexible & Inexpensive Coverage

Short term health insurance provides inexpensive and flexible coverage against all injuries and illnesses. The medical coverage under this insurance plan ranges from 30 days to 12 months. They are specifically designed for individuals as well as families who do not need any coverage for pre-existing conditions. Mostly, these plans are open to those who are in-between jobs or waiting for another insurance coverage to become effective again. They make an ideal choice for fresh graduates, people waiting on healthcare, people in non-traditional jobs, people in career transition, temporary employees looking for medical benefits, self-employed, or even those seeking affordable option to have COBRA coverage. Foreign students can also avail this kind of insurance coverage.

These temporary health plans include hospitalization, emergency care, preventive health programs, and prescription drugs. Depending upon the plan, the insurer can avail the medical or healthcare profits and benefits. These plans often cost just one time. They are flexible and allow the holders to pay on monthly basis. They may even have a single payment choice. They are inexpensive as compared to regular individual health insurance policy. The main advantage is you can easily drop this temporary insurance plan whenever you wish.

Generally, these plans have a limited lifetime. Normally, they cannot be renewed. After the tenure of a plan is finished, the insurer has to find health insurance coverage with a plan designed for long term. If you need a long term plan, you can easily find it through the short term insurance providers.

Applying for Temporary Health Insurance Policy

The application process to get a short term health policy is very easy than any regular long term insurance policy. Short term health coverage starts within 24 hours of your application submission. If you want to start immediately, you just need to pay your first premium by furnishing a valid credit card number. Most of these insurance plans offer a 30 days minimum coverage. At the end of your health insurance policy, the health insurance companies will let you re-apply for another temporary plan, if required by you.

What you need to remember is this short term policy is not intended for people who want to have pre-existing medical coverage.

The Beneficiaries

This kind of plan is actually meant for healthy people. Since it is inexpensive and can offer high coverage, it is suitable for the following sections:

* Part time and temporary employees who do not need coverage against a pre-existing medical condition * Fresh college graduates seeking temporary health insurance policies.
* Youngsters over 18 years of age.
Thus, if you are looking for a temporary plan to have medical coverage for a short period of time to have protection against unexpected health related expenses, you can opt for this plan that offers many benefits like any other standard health insurance plans. Have security and stability with your medical coverage with this plan now. What you need is to conduct a quality research on the internet to find out which insurance policy can work best for you to get the best coverage for unexpected health alarms.

Need Private Health Care Insurance?

Whatever state you are living in you will know that there are a lot of companies that are offering health Insurance. If you have a limited amount of time as most do, it is difficult to know which ones to approach for quotes.
That is why the easiest way to get the best deals on Private Health Care Insurance is to use what is know as a price comparison website. These sites allow you to relax, because they do all the hard work in collecting all the different health care Insurance companies into one place.

In fact you can access quotes from all of them with just a few clicks of the mouse, which means that you won't miss out on any of the best deals.

It doesn't matter what type of policy you are looking for from Small Business to Group, to Individual and family as well as dental, Short term, Student and of course Medicare Supplemental.

It's important to make sure that the site is not connected in anyway to any Private Health Care Insurance companies rather than listing them, (meaning that the site is not selling policies itself, just acting an a provider of information).
If it is it means that it will not be able to list all of the different providers in your area and that users will be missing out on some of the best deals.

Once you have found a policy, do make sure to check all of the terms and conditions that come with i,t to ensure you understand everything that's involved.

Health Insurance For the Unemployed

Besides just losing your job you will also lose a lot of financial security. One's job can be a big part of their self esteem and when you become unemployed your health can suffer. That is why getting health insurance for the unemployed is so important. If your previous employer did not offer you with health care you need to get a completely new policy.
When your employer has offered you with health care insurance you can use such services as the COBRA and Kaiser Family Foundation to transfer your health insurance from your employer to yourself. If you did not have these services, it is advisable to get a completely new policy.

Unemployment will be a tax on ones self esteem and through that it will have an effect on your health. When you have the least extra money to spend, your health will usually start to show symptoms of different diseases. This is because extreme stress will cause you to get sick, and when you don't have money to pay for the medical costs, you will stress even more. That is why it is important to get a health insurance for the unemployed so that you can afford to go to the doctor when needed.

Without your health you have nothing. And if you are sick you are unable to search for a job. That will lengthen then time spend unemployed and make it even more difficult to get back on the saddle. You should do everything you can to prevent a financial crisis and getting an insurance to cover your health care is one of the best things you can do.

Affordable Family Medical Plans - 3 Tips to Follow When Looking For a Quality Plan

Coverage Can Be Much Different from Plan to Plan
Sorting through family medical plans and the different options can be a challenge. There are many companies that have substandard plans, but many companies that have quality plans at affordable prices. Here are three tips to follow when looking for the best plan.

Check the Company's Financial Rating and Reliability
It's easy to find out whether you're dealing with a reliable company or not.

  1. 1) First of all, if you know someone who's insured by the company, ask them about their claims and customer service experiences.
  2. Second check the company's financial rating at AM best or standard and Poor's. It will give you peace of mind to know the company ensuring you or your family has the financial means to back up its claims.
  3. Third, check the better business bureau for complaints against the company, percentage of resolutions, and complain details to get a feel for how reliable the company is.

Check for Low Benefit Limits

  1. Many companies only pay for one surgery or operation if you need two or more surgeries resulting from the same accident or medical event. Be sure that you know how your company covers accidents and surgeries.
  2. Find out what your annual maximum benefit is for the year. Also find out what your lifetime maximum benefit is for you or your family.
  3. Ask your agent or the insurance company wants other limits apply to your policies benefits.

Find out How Your Family's Deductible Works

  1. 1) Depending on what insurance company and plan you choose, the way your deductible works can vary. It's important to know whether your deductible applies to your family as a whole war each individual family member.
  2. If your deductible applies to each family member, find out how many people must meet the deductible before the family deductible has been met. This way you'll know when your medical benefits will kick in. Understanding your family's deductible and how it works can save you heartache in the long run.

Follow these three tips to ensure your family gets the best medical plan, at the most affordable price.

Affordable Family Medical Insurance - Choosing the Right Deductible

For a family, choosing the right deductible can be an impactful decision. Some plans work differently than others, making it important to do your research before choosing a company and plan.

Family Deductibles Many companies offer family, or bucket, deductibles. This means that your family (as a whole) meets this deductible before your coverage starts. This is the simplest and most straightforward way of understanding the risk associated with the deductible you choose. Your family deductible is your maximum risk, not including any co-insurance you may be responsible for, after meeting the deductible. Single Deductibles Other companies offer single deductibles with a family deductible of two, three, or four times the single deductible. This can be deceiving when comparing plans because you may be looking at a true family deductible with one company, and a single deductible with another. It's easy to look at two companies that offer of $3,000 deductible and believe they work the same way. However, you could really be looking at a plan with a $3,000 family deductible and a plan with the $9,000 family deductible. Out-of-Pocket Maximum Similarly, it's important to review the out-of-pocket maximum in this same way. The out-of-pocket maximum is the most you will spend in one year after the deductible. To make things more confusing sometimes the deductible is included in the out-of-pocket maximum, and sometimes it is not. It's Important to Know Be sure when you are choosing the deductible for your family that you are aware of how your deductible will work.

A local independent health insurance agent is an excellent free resource that your family can use to find you the right plan.

To connect with a local agent and to get started finding affordable family medical insurance,
Also, to learn more about affordable family plans, While you're there, be sure to claim your free copy of my eBook titled "Seven Money-Saving Health Insurance Tips.

If you found this article helpful, please rate it using the five star rating system below. Thank you and good luck in your search for an affordable health plan!

Price Wars Are Cause Health Insurance Companies to Reduce Their Rates Drastically

In the United States, health-insurance rates see daily change. It's extremely likely that your rate has changed if you've held onto a health-insurance rate for the past 120 days. The same coverage could be available at a cheaper rate. Customers are not contacted about new and cheaper coverage - a troubling fact when insurance companies change their rates up to three times a month.

The consumer has a significant advantage over insurance-companies right now - the current recession is fueling an intense pricing war between insurance companies. If you're willing to find these cheaper rates, be aware that it can take at minimum half of a day. Finding a single quote for you is extremely difficult and drawn out, purposely designed that way by major insurance-companies. You must schedule at least half of a day to find a cheaper rate.
Without having to speak to a single sales agent on the phone, several private companies have provided Internet tools that will easily compare cheap rates from insurance companies - all for free.

To get all rates from major health-insurance-companies, once a huge feat for an individual, takes only 15 to 20 seconds for the search engine. There is no reason that any consumer with health insurance shouldn't compare their present and competing insurance companies to find the cheapest rate.

Why pay more for the same coverage? This is the perfect time for the average consumer to use these tools and lower the cost of their health insurance.

Getting Your Hands on a Good Health Insurance Plan

Are you looking for health insurance? Do you know what your coverage is? What is your deductible, and what is your premium? If you think that you just can't afford the prices of your current health insurance, or you think that you just need to finally get insurance, you should start looking into plans that are available in your area.

Blue Cross, which is a big nationwide health care provider, offers many plans. Additionally, you can find health insurance plans from Kaiser or any other number of HMOs and health insurers.

Have you checked your work's health plan? Most employees are offered a health plan of some sort in exchange for working full time for an employer. This is an extremely safe and cheap way to get good, quality insurance. If your employer offers health insurance, most of the costs are covered by him. You'll only have a few out of pocket expenses that you might need to contribute to your health plan.

However, if you are self employed or unemployed, you might need to go out and find your own health plan. If this is so, you should look into potential health services that are offered. Check out the Blue Cross Tonik Health Care Plans, which are great plans that can be customized to fit your needs. Additionally, make sure you look into family benefits, if you are trying to insure your whole family.


Are you looking for health insurance? Do you know what your coverage is? What is your deductible, and what is your premium? If you think that you just can't afford the prices of your current health insurance, or you think that you just need to finally get insurance, you should start looking into plans that are available in your area.
Blue Cross, which is a big nationwide health care provider, offers many plans. Additionally, you can find health insurance plans from Kaiser or any other number of HMOs and health insurers.
Have you checked your work's health plan? Most employees are offered a health plan of some sort in exchange for working full time for an employer. This is an extremely safe and cheap way to get good, quality insurance. If your employer offers health insurance, most of the costs are covered by him. You'll only have a few out of pocket expenses that you might need to contribute to your health plan.
However, if you are self employed or unemployed, you might need to go out and find your own health plan. If this is so, you should look into potential health services that are offered. Check out the Blue Cross Tonik Health Care Plans, which are great plans that can be customized to fit your needs. Additionally, make sure you look into family benefits, if you are trying to insure your whole family.

Don't get stuck without insurance. Stay safe, and stay insured. Look at your options today!

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Health Savings Accounts - How They Work

The idea of health savings accounts came about just before 2003, when they were adopted into law. They provide a great way to lower medical costs, insurance premiums, and save you money on your taxes. Here's how they work:

There are two parts to the health savings account idea. The first is the health plan.

Part 1. The Health Plan
You must have a "qualified" high deductible health plan (QHDHP) to be able to use an HSA. Qualified, meaning by the Internal Revenue Service. The idea is to take on most of your expenses by paying them out of your own pocket, until you reach your deductible. Deductible options usually range from $1,500 to $5,000 for an individual and $3,000 to $10,000 per family.
The plans are allowed to cover preventive care and accidents before the deductible, to certain amount. Otherwise most everything is covered after you completely meet your deductible. Many high deductible health plans have 100% coverage after you meet your deductible, but some don't. The best thing about qualified high deductible health plans is that the premiums are substantially lower than normal "full benefit" plans.

Part 2. The Health Savings Account
Once you have the health plan in place, you can open up a health savings account. Most banks and credit unions offer them to their customers. It's also usually an option to us your insurance company's preferred HSA providers. I personally think it's nice to be able to walk into my normal branch around the corner to make deposits, withdrawals, and order cards etc...

Deposits
You can deposit a certain amount in to your HSA each year. The limits change each year, so visit the IRS website to find out what the current limits are. Once you have your account open and your health plan in place, you can either leave the balance at $0 and deposit money when you need it, or you can deposit money and start building a balance so it's there and ready if you have a medical expenses. When you deposit money into your HSA, it goes in pre-tax and when you use it to pay for medical expenses, it comes out tax free. It's the only tax advantaged account with those features. (Normally with IRA's etc you get taxed on the way in, or on the way out. With HSA's the money is tax free going in, and coming out).

If You Have a Balance at Age 65
You can pay income taxes on withdrawals to supplement your retirement income. You can also use it tax free to pay for long term care insurance premiums, Medicare premiums, and you can still use it to continue to pay for your regular medical expenses, such as office visits, prescriptions, and surgeries etc...
The combination of qualified high deductible health plans and health savings accounts provide an excellent vehicle to help you save money on your health insurance and not pay taxes on your medical expenses.
To learn more about HSA's visit my While you're there, make sure you claim your free copy of my eBook titled "Seven Money-Saving Health Insurance Tips."

Or get started now and find out how much a Health Savings Account and High Deductible Health Plan could save you by If you found this article helpful, I would appreciate your help in rating it using the five star rating system below. Thank you and good luck in your search for an affordable health plan!

Getting Your Hands on a Good Health Insurance Plan

Are you looking for health insurance? Do you know what your coverage is? What is your deductible, and what is your premium? If you think that you just can't afford the prices of your current health insurance, or you think that you just need to finally get insurance, you should start looking into plans that are available in your area.

Blue Cross, which is a big nationwide health care provider, offers many plans. Additionally, you can find health insurance plans from Kaiser or any other number of HMOs and health insurers.

Have you checked your work's health plan? Most employees are offered a health plan of some sort in exchange for working full time for an employer. This is an extremely safe and cheap way to get good, quality insurance. If your employer offers health insurance, most of the costs are covered by him. You'll only have a few out of pocket expenses that you might need to contribute to your health plan.

However, if you are self employed or unemployed, you might need to go out and find your own health plan. If this is so, you should look into potential health services that are offered. Check out the Blue Cross Tonik Health Care Plans, which are great plans that can be customized to fit your needs. Additionally, make sure you look into family benefits, if you are trying to insure your whole family.

Don't get stuck without insurance. Stay safe, and stay insured. Look at your options today!

Health Insurance Does Not Always Protect Cancer Patients From High Out-Of-Pocket Costs

A new report from the American Cancer Society entitled "Spending to Survive:
Cancer Patients Confront Holes in the Health Insurance System" describes how group health insurance often fails people diagnosed with cancer.
The report shows how common it is for cancer victims to lose their jobs after becoming too sick to work. When they lose their job they may lose their employer-sponsored health insurance. They may be offered COBRA which may be too expensive for someone without a job. Making matters worse, once they lose their employee benefits, they find themselves un-insurable in the individual market

The study showed that cancer patients are more likely to die without health coverage.
The report highlighted 20 patients who had been diagnosed with cancer and who had group health insurance. Despite having private heath insurance through an employer group, cancer patients are running up large debts, filing for personal bankruptcy and even delaying or skipping treatment because they cannot afford the care.
What causes these holes in group coverage? There were several common themes. One patient found that his group coverage had pre-existing limitations which forced him to put off treatment for 12 months. Another who elected to be treated by an out-of-network specialist for ovarian cancer led to a huge debt.
Many patients learned that they had to keep working, even during their cancer treatments, or risk losing their insurance coverage. One case talks about a 10 year old with leukemia, whose treatments have almost exhausted the family's million dollar lifetime maximum.
When assessing the coverage of your group plan, be sure and look at the following:
1) Does the plan have high cost sharing, either because of deductibles or co-insurance or have low caps on services. 2) 2)Either may leave cancer patients vulnerable
3) Before you become too sick to work, find out what COBRA payments will cost
4) Find out if your state has a high risk pool. The coverage may be expensive but you can be covered
5) Consider investing in a critical illness policy. These policies pay a cash benefits if the insured is diagnosed with certain specific life threatening illnesses including cancer.
6)Sheila Guilloton is the owner of Prestige Planners, a health specialty agency placing health and dental insurance for business and individuals. Licensed with all the major carriers, she counsels and advises clients on how to select the most appropriate coverage.

Affordable Health Insurance For California Individuals and Families

A Wide Array
California residents have a variety of options when looking for health insurance coverage. There are a good number of companies that offer a variety of plans for individuals and families.

California Health Insurance Companies
Kaiser, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, Assurant Health, and HumanaOne are just a few companies that offer health coverage to California residents. Because insurance company's rating structures and approval guidelines vary so much, its important to have some help when deciding what company to choose.

California Health Coverage Options
California residents have the option of choosing from a variety of California health plans. As a resident, you have options to plans that cover office visits, maternity, prescriptions, and minor accidents before you are required to pay the deductible. On the other hand, insurance companies in California that offer major medical, high deductible, and catastrophic health plans. These plans cover your medical expenses after you have met a large deductible. By their nature they are priced much lower. An agent can also assist you in finding the plan that fits your needs and budget best.

The Best Free Resource
One free and valuable resource you can use is an independent health insurance agent that represents plans in your local area. Normally agents don't charge for helping you. They get paid a commission by the insurance company for helping you apply. The best part is, that it's the same price whether you use an agent or not, so why not use their experience, expertise, and knowledge to help you find the right plan. Using an agent is a valuable and unmatched free resource if you want to make sure you, or your family, gets the right plan at an affordable price.
Get started right now and to have a local agent contact you and get the process started.
Also, to learn more about these plans, visit my While you're there, be sure to claim your free copy of my eBook titled

"Seven Money-Saving Health Insurance Tips.
you found this article helpful, I would appreciate your help in rating it using the five star rating system below, so other California residents have the opportunity to read it. Thank you and good luck in your search for affordable health insurance!

Don't Look For Low Cost Medical Insurance Without Reading This!


A question that I am often asked is how to get the best deals when buying health insurance. My answer has changed over the last couple of years and here is why.
A while back there wasn't really a short cut, you had to search through all the different players in the marketplace requesting quotes and then choosing the best one. It worked, but only to a point, because you were always limited by the time that you had available and the patience for the job.
Now, however, there are special sites that collate all the different insurance providers in one place. This makes the job easy and perhaps more importantly, quick.

You can choose between all the different popular policy types from group and family policies to student, dental and short time as well as individual health policies.
All you have to do is find one and make sure that it is an independent site, so it is not tied in any way to a particular company or group of companies. This means that you will not miss out on any deals.
Once you have found this just compare all the different quotes that you get and then find the Low Cost Medical
Insurance that is best suited to your needs.
One thing I will mention is that health insurance companies are not obliged to offer policies to everyone so you must declare any pre-existing conditions at sign up and make sure that you carefully read through all the terms and conditions that come with the policy.

Health Insurance Tips - Monsoon Health Care


Monsoon has arrived and it is a right time to watch your food intake during this season. This season brings the excitement that makes you feel tempted to taste spicy, road-side snacks but it also brings the germs and bacteria that may cause you health problems.
Cough cold, flu and water-born diseases such as cholera, gastroenteritis are frequently observed health problems during rainy days. Handle them effectively with your regular kitchen ingredients. A little care can keep the monsoon troubles at bay. A comprehensive health insurance will also aid you, in case you have chronic health problems. Read more to know the basics of Monsoon healthcare.

1) Maintain personal hygiene
* Wash your hands properly with a medicated soap before and after consuming food. Regular hand wash with a mild sanitizer also serves the purpose. Follow it with almond oil or baby cream. Applying Eucalyptus or thyme oil will also sanitize the skin.
* Wear clean and dry clothes. Go for cotton and synthetic fabrics during monsoon. Keep a pair of garments with you while traveling.

2) Drink boiled water and avoid consuming uncovered Food
This is a common yet extremely effective advice. Boiled water is pure and consumption of the same also helps you to digest food in a right way. Avoid eating the street-side foods like deeply fried fritters, fruits slices and other such snacks. Have light and freshly cooked meals.

3) Consume hot foods
Have lots of hot, home-cooked foods like soups, curries, freshly cooked vegetables. Keep sipping lukewarm water between meals. Make use of the following ingredients while cooking to get rid of some common Monsoon ailments:
* Ginger is an excellent digestive herb. Start your day with a ginger tea or basil tea, which has medicinal value and works as a preventive measure for gastric problems, cold and cough. Also, few sips of honey and carrot juice help curing throat infection, which is a common problem in this wet weather.
* Garlic consists of anti-viral and anti-fungal activities that cure the cold, stomach infections and increases your overall stamina. Consumption of hot garlic soup or garlic juice mixed with onion juice in hot water works as a magic for cold and flu.
* A hot curry made by tamarind, butter and pepper also helps to clear the nasal passage and gives relief from cold. For those, who prefer non-veg, hot Chicken Soup is considered as one of the most beneficial of all of the hot liquids that cure cold and cough. Also, hot foods like spicy curries, mustard sauce help to clear the nasal blockage.
* Seasonal fruits and leafy vegetables such as apples, plums, lichies, apricots, spinach, carrots, cauliflowers, radish, fenugreek, lettuce should be included in daily meals. Eating an apple everyday provides basic nutrition and protection to your body. You should practice eating it more than reading it as an old proverb.
* A natural antibiotic like Goldenseal is beneficial when there is greater nasal infection during the rainy season. Peppermint candy and herbal teas are also very good at helping to fight with the monsoon ailments.
The regular spices, herbs and other kitchen paraphernalia can be so useful to handle the common monsoon ailments. These simple home remedies give you a natural relief and save you and your family from spending money on unnecessary bills and medication.

4) Warm Up
Don't skip your exercising schedule. Try to work-out more indoors. Many of us tend to get gloomy during monsoon. Exercise is the best way to manage your emotional health care. Learn new things like Yoga, dance or Martial Arts. Start your day with a group exercise or hit a local gym or a health club with a buddy.
Insurance
In case of extreme emergencies, a health insurance policy will cover you and your family against sudden medical contingency or bodily injury. Many insurance companies offer extensive medical insurance that includes a list of benefits such as free health check-up coupon, tax benefits, cashless claim and EMI facility.