When comparing individual health insurance quotes in the marketplace it is very important that you are comparing plans that have similar policy benefits.

Ask about the limitations of the health insurance coverage as well as the deductibles. Additionally, 14 percent of Ohio residents under the age of sixty-five did not have health insurance during 2005.

Unlike most of your employed counterparts, there is no employer subsidy for your health insurance. Contacting a benefits insurance broker whenever you call or email a health insurance broker, it is very important to prepare ahead of time.

We also find ourselves more stressed about finances and frustrated about escalating health insurance premiums, greater deductibles, larger co-pays and higher taxes.

How much better can it get for those with no health insurance? We offer a unique and innovative suite of individual health insurance solutions, including highly competitive HSA-qualified plans, and an unparalleled ‘real time’ application and acceptance experience. They are responsible for paying their own taxes, and you no longer have to pay for health insurance.

Private health insurance should not be confused with permanent health insurance, which is something completely unrelated to medical costs and which pays out an income if you become permanently ill. It was our decision to write so much on health insurance after finding out that there is still so much to learn on health insurance. A recent study showed that 74 percent of standard workers have health insurance through their jobs, compared to only 21 percent of non-standard workers.

Many folks also believe that long term care is covered by health insurance and/or Medicare. This can be car insurance, gas, transportation, health insurance, food, etc. Health insurance portability & accountability act ensures complete security of digital health information that includes - secure storage system and secure transmission of digital information over the Internet.

If you’re interested in premium individual health insurance preferred provider plan at affordable rates, created specifically for young, healthy individuals, you should take a look at precedent.

One business man predicts that if nothing is done and the health insurance premiums keep increasing that in the year 2008, the amount of health premium contribution to employer will surpass their profit. The number of people that are forced to go without health insurance is nothing less than a crisis in this country today.

Voted the number one insurance portal by Florida consumers, Florida Health insurance web, reports nearly three million Floridians without health insurance in Florida. So it does not make sense for them to be paying a high premium for a traditional health insurance plan with co-pay, particularly when their medical treatments are not covered anyway.

You and your family’s health insurance needs will change as well so be sure and add or remove options and benefits to customize the plan to best fit your needs.

A health insurance lead can also be someone who is self-employed and needs to obtain coverage for themselves or their entire family. Smoking will not immediately disqualify you from being approved for health insurance but it really doesn’t help your over all cost. And managed care has capitalized further by applying the medical, disease-based model onto the practice, requiring any and all users of health insurance to declare a diagnosis worthy of treatment.

Increased premiums may drive people who fund their own health insurance out of the system by making personal insurance unaffordable. If you need to get a Florida health insurance quote there are several ways of getting started.

Compare Health Insurance Plans – Get Affordable Health Insurance!

Although it’s not technically required, most of us need a good, affordable health insurance plan, especially with the rising cost of health care today. If you’re currently in the market for a good health insurance plan, the best approach is to compare health insurance plans.

We should look for the best coverage first and the best price second; however, it’s possible to find the best coverage at the best price if you take the time to compare health insurance plans. There are three factors to consider when you begin to compare health insurance plans to find the most affordable one for you. You want to think about your budget, the medical expenses you can insure and those you can leave out, and deductibles.

First, find out what your monthly payment will be. Is it a payment you can afford? If it’s a payment that’s going to stretch your budget a bit, is the coverage worth it, i.e., is it coverage that you’re most likely going to use?

Second, find out what kind of expenses you can insure. You may save money by just insuring the medical needs for which you’re most likely going to seek medical attention.

Third, ask about deductibles. How much money are you going to have to pay out of your own pocket before your health insurance plan will start to pick up the bill? Once you meet that deductible, exactly how much of the cost will your health insurance plan cover? Also ask about health providers that are considered out-of-network. Does the health insurance plan you’re interested in have a network of doctors that will be cheaper? If you see a doctor who’s considered out-of-network, how much more will you be required to pay? How much of the cost will your health insurance plan cover if the doctor is out-of-network?

It’s important to compare health insurance plans when you’re in the market for affordable health insurance.

What to Consider When Choosing a San Jose Dental Insurance Company

In the United States, healthcare is important. When it comes to healthcare, there are many individuals who atomically think of their local physicians. While it is important to be concerned with the overall health of your body, it is also important to be concerned with the overall health of your teeth. That why it is important that you try and obtain dental insurance, if you don’t already have it.

To obtain dental insurance, you will first have to find a dental insurance company to work with. If you live in or around the San Jose area, you will want to search for San Jose dental insurance companies. You can easily search for these companies by using recommendations from those that you know, by searching through your local phone book, or by using the internet.

In your search for a San Jose dental insurance company; it is likely that you will come across two different types of companies. One of these companies may be an insurance company that is based out of the San Jose area. In addition to being locally based, you may also find insurance companies that are not based in the San Jose, but that service the area. Both of these company types can be considered San Jose dental insurance companies.

As previously mentioned, the first step in obtaining dental insurance is to find a San Jose dental insurance company to work with. Instead of just examining one insurance company, you are advised to examine number of them. This may help to ensure that are getting the best deal. If a low-cost dental insurance plan is what you are looking for, you will want to go with the San Jose dental insurance company that charges you the lowest amount of money for coverage.

While it is important to find dental insurance that is affordable, it is also important to consider what type of coverage you are obtaining. In most cases, you will find that many low-cost dental insurance plans do not cover all dental procedures. This means that, even with a San Jose dental insurance plan, you may still be required to pay for your own dental work. To prevent this from happening, you are advised to fully examine the services covered by the San Jose dental insurance company that you are looking to do business with.

The coverage and cost of a San Jose dental insurance plan is important, but you may also want to examine the level of service that you will receive. When it comes to examining the level of service provided by a particular company, you will want to know how they treat their customers. Whether you are only filing a dental insurance claim or you are looking for additional information, you will want to be doing business with a well-known, reputable, and friendly insurance company.

If you are interested in further examining the reliability of a particular San Jose dental insurance company, you can either call to speak to an insurance representative or use the internet to search for feedback left by previous clients. With a little bit of time and research, you may not only be able to find a reputable San Jose dental insurance company to do business with, but one that offers quality, yet affordable health insurance plans.

Getting and keeping affordable health insurance in your state is up to you. With health insurance market constant changing with new laws, new research and increasing cost of healthcare. It is up to us to do our research to understand health insurance and the ways on how we can control health insurance costs. Health insurance companies to stay competitive understand the need for affordable health insurance plans. Insurance companies are constantly changing their health plans to make them more affordable. The only real way to make health insurance plans more affordable is to exclude certain benefits. It is a risk that insurance companies are taking. Since most of the time when shopping for the health insurance plan most people do not understand what is exactly covered and what is not covered.

We have to agree that health insurance companies are not going to give away free coverage. With that in mind we have to agree that insurance companies are also not going to have a plan that cost less cover everything exactly the same as the plan that cost more. The cost of health insurance is almost the same across the board not matter which insurance company you go with. It is true that insurance companies that run more efficiently can offer better rates. What makes that largest difference in the cost of the actual plan is what and how it covers medical bills in case of emergency. The great thing is insurance companies are closely regulated by state insurance commissioner. State laws do vary and so do health insurance health plans in every state. For example in some states insurance companies can exclude certain pre existing conditions to offer you a lower rate. If you have some medical issue and it is being covered by workman’s compensation insurance then you would not need to have double coverage. In other states like California you either get approved or you will get a higher rate or you will get declined. Insurance companies in the state of California cannot exclude coverage on pre-existing conditions once you are approved.

With all of that in mind let’s look at all the options we have to make our health insurance plans more affordable. First is our deductible, which will give us largest control over health insurance premium we pay to Health Insurance Company. There are three types of plans with deductibles. One is a health plan where you have to meet the deductible to get any benefits, the second one is where everything is covered with small co-pay and deductible applies only for hospital stays and third the most popular and the most dangerous one in no deductible. No deductible plans in most cases are the creative work of the insurance companies. In most cases plans that have no deductible you will be responsible for what’s called daily fee and co-insurance. In most cases you could be more out of pocket with no deductible plans then a plan with a deductible.

Second we have more and more insurance companies offer health insurance plans with option of have brand name drug coverage or just generic prescription drug coverage. What does that mean to you? Well the simple way to explain this is that brand name drugs are the drugs that you see on TV commercials. Prescription drugs are regulated by FDA and by FDA rules after the brand name drug has been on the market for over five years over drug companies can copy it. That means that when Drug Company comes out with a new drug they can charge for it as much as they want and no one can copy their formula for that drug for over five years. The reason FDA has that type of rules is because they figure that it takes a lot of money to research new drug. By FDA regulations brand name drugs and generic drugs must have exactly same active ingredient. Basically they are exactly same drug just one cost a lot more. Talk to your doctor before you make any changes. Here is where we are getting with this is if you get a health insurance plans that covers generic drugs only you can save your self a lot of money on your health insurance premiums. With some health plans you can also customize your prescription drug deductible.

Third is health insurance plans that give you option of covering your doctor visits or not covering them. This option could save you a lot of money. What that means is some health insurance plans will allow you to pay for your own doctor visits versus having insurance company pay portion and you pay co-pay. You have to ask your self how many time do you really go to a doctor every year? Most regular doctor visit will cost you anywhere from $55 to $75. Therefore you if you go once or twice a year to a doctor and you can just pay out of pocket and save $50 a month on your health insurance, would you do it?

Well here you have it with these three options you can get affordable health insurance. There are some other options you can also take a look at like Health Saving Account qualified health insurance plans, which is a different topic. It all just makes sense, why pay for something you do not need and not going to use. With some simple decisions you can get the coverage you want at the premium you can afford.

Do you ever feel like you know just enough about Health Insurance to be dangerous? Let’s see if we can fill in some of the gaps with the latest info from Health Insurance experts.

Health insurance is something that most people don’t think about very often and yet it is something that when comes foremost to mind when a loved one is sick. Health Insurance coverage varies across the world, even across the different states in the United States of America.

Health insurance is a very specific type of insurance. With this type of insurance the insurer pays the medical costs of the insured if the insured becomes sick due to covered causes, or due to accidents. The insurer may be a private organization or a government agency. Health Insurance can protect a family from financial devastation in case of serious illness.

Today, according to statistics from the US Census Bureau, many Americans, approximately 85%, have some form of health insurance. Many people, about 60%, are insured through their place of employment or through health insurance acquired personally. For about a quarter of the population, federal or state government agencies provide the insurance. These agencies may include Medicare and Medicaid as well as various state funded health insurance plans.

I trust that what you’ve read so far has been informative. The following section should go a long way toward clearing up any uncertainty that may remain.

Today, health insurance costs are rising, which is a concern to many people. Because of ongoing advances in medical care and in technology, medical treatment is more expensive. These advances help people to live longer. Today there are more senior citizens than ever before – our population is aging. The elderly population is more frail and prone to illness thus requiring more medical care than a younger population that is healthier. This also causes an increase in the price of health insurance.

Health insurance costs are also rising due to personal health choices made by individuals. Poor eating habits, smoking, drug and alcohol abuse, a lack of exercise, obesity are some of these poor health choices. In addition, there are still rural areas where there is a lack of health professionals including doctors.

Today, health insurers offer discounts and incentives to people who love a healthy lifestyle. Often, a person will provide health information and a personal medical history when buying health insurance. This history may address questions such as smoking, weight, drug use, and disease history. The incentives offered by health insurance companies today may encourage individuals to quit smoking or make other positive changes in their lifestyle. Many times, heath insurers will not insure pre-existing medical conditions. The medical history provided will screen out such applicants.

Because of the concern over pre-existing medical conditions, there are now state and federal laws that help ensure that those individuals with pre-existing conditions can acquire or maintain health insurance, even if they need to change plans or providers. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is a federal law ensuring that all health insurance plans nationally have a common set of standards. In addition, states can also have laws regulating health plans including group health insurance and individual health insurance. This means that the laws regulating your health insurance protections may vary from state to state. Keep in mind, that even with these laws, access to health insurance may not be protected in all situations.

COBRA continuation coverage can help you if you leave of change your job. Under COBRA, you may be able to remain in your old group health plan for a certain length of time. This can assist you in those times when you are between jobs or waiting for a new health insurance plan to cover your pre-existing condition. Under COBRA, there are limits to what you will need to pay to continue your coverage.

When word gets around about your command of Health Insurance facts, others who need to know about Health Insurance will start to actively seek you out.

For those who don’t know, health insurance is simply the coverage of medical claims of an individual, against the medical costs. Like many others you may not be able to afford an expensive insurance policy - but you can eliminate all the frills you don’t need and get the low cost health insurance you want and still be adequately covered. Health insurance, as with any kind of insurance today, whether individual, personal, business or family health insurance, is always a gamble. You’re gambling that you’ll take out more than you are paying in and your health insurance company is gambling they will pay out less.

You want to know what to look for in any type of good insurance. If you have always had a health insurance benefit where you’ve worked and especially if you were a state or federal employee and now find you have to buy your own, you may not be able to afford the level of coverage you used to have. Finding good low cost health insurance today is easier than most people think.

To start, shopping for free health insurance quotes online is the easiest and best way to find low cost health insurance coverage. If you have any permanent health problems, such as diabetes, or have had cancer at any time in your family history, your monthly cost could easily be more than your house and car payment combined, but there are many different good insurance plans available today in the US.

The cold hard facts are the older you get the more important your health insurance policy becomes; this isn’t to say that you should not be concerned about your insurance when you’re younger. In case your doctor decides that something is an absolute medical necessity and it’s not covered under your current policy, the insurance company may exercise its discretion in paying for it, but don’t hold your breath. Many report they were eventually covered yet many more people get turned down.

One of the best ways to find low cost insurance is to get free health insurance quotes online. You can generally get very fast quotes and you want to compare several companies, as they will all have different criteria. This will be the fastest way to find low cost insurance.

Most importantly, you want a health insurance provider or company that has a good track record for paying without fighting you on every little detail. Your local agents may only be able to offer what they have currently available and not be able to offer you what’s best for both your pocketbook and your health.

The death rate in any given year for someone without insurance is twenty-five per cent higher than for someone with insurance so you want to make sure you get the best coverage you can get at the lowest cost as soon as possible. Heart-attack victims who don’t have insurance are less likely to be able to get angioplasty, which is often the treatment of choice. People who have pneumonia who don’t have insurance are less likely to receive initial or follow-up x-rays or necessary consultations.

In general because people who are uninsured are sicker than the rest of us because they can’t afford proper medical care, they can’t get better jobs, and because they can’t get better jobs they can’t afford insurance, and because they can’t afford insurance they get even sicker.

Although it does increase your risk, one way to lower your insurance costs is to set a higher deductible; if you’re in good health you’ll like come out ahead, barring an unforeseen event such as an accident, etc. Keeping yourself in better health will help you with less health insurance claims. All the insurance companies have to be very competitive because it’s so quick and easy to compare them with the other competing companies online.

Children without any insurance are less likely to receive proper medical attention for serious injuries, for recurrent ear infections, or for asthma for example and you want to avoid having to face a $100,000 open heart surgery without having any insurance.

So taking out insurance with higher deductibles and spending a little time online comparing at least five or more companies will make it more likely that you’ll find the best low cost insurance. There are many different health plans so make sure you get an understanding of all the low cost health insurance policies that are available from each company. Cheap or low cost insurance does mean a lower price and in some cases lower quality, but the price may be more important to some than the quality of the health plan. You don’t want to pay for more than you need but you want to consider any possible future health events you might encounter too.

Finding good, hopefully cheap, low cost insurance without giving up quality does not simply mean looking for the lowest premium but it means fully understanding all of the costs that will be involved in your policy. And finding the best health insurance is easy to do online, whether you’re shopping for long-term or short term health insurance from California, Texas or Florida.

With the rise of medical insurance costs today, most people look for low cost health insurance premiums that will ensure quality medical attention at the time of need, but at a price they can simply afford. Make sure to keep in mind that with low cost insurance options, you’ll need to compromise somewhat on the variety of services covered. Proceed surely but carefully.

If you’re living in the state of California, who doesn’t have an insurance coverage, then it’s high time to get yourself insured. If you are not getting yourself insured, then you are sure to face lot of financial troubles when you go for any medical treatments or emergencies. This is the reason why many doctors and experts advice people to take up health insurances which will aid them during emergencies for their families. Now there are so many individuals, who need to be reminded to take up their insurances. If you are single living person, that is if you are living all alone try to get yourself a California individual health insurance plan. This is a plan which is been designed for people like you who don’t live with anyone or have any dependants which offers you the best medical coverage.

One of the biggest advantages of getting a California individual health insurance is that it is a cheaper plan, hence affordable for those who are living alone. Coming back to family health insurances, most people think that there is no need to take up insurance when a person has children. It is easy to think that way, but you need to understand that your children’s health is also very important. There is another important reason to get a health insurance; many people go to visit their doctors or physicians only when they come to know that they are ill or sick. Actually this is an incorrect way of keep yourself health! You need to go for regular check ups, at least for annual check ups to make sure that you are free from health problems. But if you have a health complications, such annual or regular check ups will help you to diagnose your disease earlier and treat you accordingly. Here is where your health insurance comes to the rescue!

If you have a health insurance, then your annual health check ups becomes cheaper and you are actually motivating yourself to visit your doctor often. But if you are uninsured, you may try to avoid health check ups due to the cost factor and you are actually putting your health into risk, that’s including your families’ health! If an uninsured individual comes to know that if he or she is suffering from a disease or health complications, then the individual needs to pay out lot of money for the medical treatment which will bring financial crises. So get yourself insured.

• Though the insurer does not pay the full insured amount, the medical insurance company will pay the medical cost to the insurer at the time of accidents or illness.

• Insurance policy is kind of financial instrument which can be used during medical treatment.

• Medical health insurance policy reduces the financial burden of insurer and helps to reduce their payments to the healthcare centers.

• Medical insurance plans are always estimated has profit for the insurer and it also provides interest rate for the sum insured.

• When payment of premiums and period of medical insurance policy is completed, the insurance company will pay off the insured amount to the insurer without any fraud.

Nowadays world is full of uncertainties and lots of risk is to be undergone by the people during their course of activity. So to come up with the uncertainties and risk, different kinds of medical insurance plans has been estimated different insurance company. Generally, medical insurance policy covers the cost incurred due to accidents or illness for the insurer.

Shijina is a SEO copywriter for california state health insurance. She has written various articles like self employed health insurance california, health insurance in california, california health insurance plan, california medical insurance and more. For more information visit our site california health insurance . Contact her through mail at shijinaseo@gmail.com.

We all know that it’s better to be safe than sorry, and this the main reason why people opt for health insurance. No one likes to think of the possibility that they might get sick or injured, but when such unfortunate events occur, you have to be covered. The health insurance guarantees that all your medical expenses will be paid for by the insurer in case of illness or injury. Of course, everyone hopes for good health. However, if you should happen to need medical assistance, it’s a lot better to have access to the best treatment possible without having to pay for everything out of your own pocket.

There are many types of health insurance plans that the insured can choose from. Some of these include the government health plans, workers’ compensation, group health insurance, and, of course, individual health insurance.

The individual health insurance plan is the best option for those who are self-employed or whose employer does not provide them with health coverage. The individual health insurance plan can provide coverage for either the insured alone or for the insured and his or her family.

The process of choosing a health insurance plan can be rather complicated and time-consuming. You are presented with a lot of options, starting from the different types of health insurance all the way to the various options that each health insurance plan offers. It’s understandable why most people look for affordable health insurance. It’s common sense to realize and accept the fact that at one time or another you are going to need medical assistance, in which case you should have health insurance. However, you have to consider advantages and disadvantages. If you are looking for a cheap health insurance plan, your options are quite varied; however, you have to keep in mind that such an insurance plan will not cover too many medical services. Therefore, it’s best that you consider an affordable health insurance plan, which may not be the cheapest there is, but which will provide you with coverage for a larger number of medical services.

Your medical history is a good indicator of the type of individual health insurance plan that you should opt for. If you have had health problems that required medical attention or if you or anyone in your family is more likely to need medical assistance in the future, you should weigh your options carefully. There are affordable health insurance plans that can provide coverage for your needs.

Unless you know someone who can refer you to an insurance company and guarantee that they will be able to provide you with the best individual health insurance, the best place to look for affordable health insurance is the Internet. You realize that you have to make an informed choice in order to be completely satisfied with the results, especially given the diversity of health insurance plans available on the market today. Looking for information on the Internet is the most convenient way, as it saves a lot of time. A simple search on one of the most popular search engines will provide you with many websites of health insurance companies. What you need to do next is fill out a form and get your health insurance quote. From this point on, it is up to you to choose the best and most affordable health insurance.

For more resources about Individual health insurance or even about affordable health insurance please review this webpage

As an employer or a participant you might be leaving money on the table by not properly taking advantage of certain features and benefits of your company’s health insurance. As a licensed Consultant and Group Benefits Brokerage company, with clients across the country, we are successful in reducing group benefit expenses because of our experience and our intimate knowledge of the factors used in determining pricing. This top 10 list should be helpful in increasing your insurance knowledge, maximizing your plan benefits and possibly reducing your company’s expenses.

Background and Overview:

For most companies, group benefit plans, specifically medical benefits, are among the highest non-producing company expenses. Unlike other expenses, medical benefits hits home since it affects our employees and our families personally. Therefore, it is of paramount concern that the CFO and Director of Human Resources take into consideration the needs of their employees, the needs of their employees’ families, pricing, and specific benefits being offered.

The ability for an employee or an employee’s family member to use a favorite physician such as a Pediatrician or an OB/GYN is often affected by this decision. The ability for employees and their families to use specialized treatment centers in the event of a catastrophic medical situation also lies in the balance of the Health Benefits decision. Quality and access to medical care varies from insurance carrier to insurance carrier.

Staffing and Retention:

The primary purpose of Group Benefits as a whole as it relates to employers is to attract and retain employees. It goes without saying that the broader the benefits, the easier it would be to attract and retain a higher quality workforce.

As a reciprocal, industries that utilize high turn-over positions with minimum-wage employees may not necessarily choose to utilize the highest quality insurance policies to attract and retain employees. Employee pools may be abundant and the bottom-line total expenses may be more important than the quality and level of care offered.

With that said, let us share with you some money-saving ideas and under-utilized features of your medical benefits. Keep in mind that some items may relate to your current coverage while others suggest a change in coverage or a change in features of your plans.

The following represents our list of the top 10 frequently made mistakes as it relates to Group Health Insurance. This list is in no particular order. Each item may or may not apply to your current situation.

Top 10 Medical Benefits Mistakes:

1. Not Catching Medical Problems Early

To use a few cliché’s, “a stitch in time saves nine” or “prevention is the best medicine”, or “kill the monster while it is tiny.” I am not sure if the last one is a main-stream cliché but it does hammer home the point that prevention is often the best medicine. Early detection is the second best course of treatment. Many doctors argue that colon cancer is extremely treatable if it is caught in the earliest stages. If the cancer is not detected early there is a risk of the cancer getting more aggressive and spreading through the body. Every person should take the time to get regular exams. Every person should be aware of key medical indicators such as weight, blood pressure, and cholesterol levels. As a person gets to certain recommended ages, mammograms and other early detection tests should be done regularly. Just because you never went for a cholesterol check does not mean your cholesterol levels are zero. That is as foolish as driving around in an automobile without a gas gauge and assuming you don’t need to put gas in it since there is no indication of the level. The life you save with early detection could be your own or someone who you love.

Depending on the size of your group and which state your business is located in, early detection means fewer large insurance claims which translates into lower premiums for your company.

2. Not Using the “Value Added Benefits”

Many times, when you think of medical benefits you only think about doctor visits and drug plans. Often, employers and employees do not realize that their insurance carrier might also include services known as “Value Added Benefits”.

Health Insurance Carriers offer these Value Added Services to encourage healthy lifestyles. Healthy lifestyles would yield healthy employees which keeps insurance claims down.

It is important to understand your value added benefits for several reasons. First you, your family, and the employees you work with can benefit from these services. Second, your management or human resources department might come off as heroes just by telling employees about these value added benefits. The benefits are already included so you might as well tell people about them.

Examples of Value Added Benefits Include:

a. Vision – some carriers have pre-negotiated discounts for vision care such as eye exams and eyeglasses.

b. Nutrition and Supplementation – Certain carriers provide discounts or reimbursements for nutritional supplements. Supplementation might keep employees healthier and prevent certain diseases. Some employees are often already paying out-of-pocket for supplements so any discounts become bottom-line savings for the employee.

c. Quit Smoking - Employees may be entitled to discounts on programs that relate to quitting smoking. Without going into a lecture as it relates to the dangers of smoking, let’s just say that when an employee is ready to quit, it is easier to do it with the help of professional programs. In the event that the Surgeon General is right about the dangers of smoking, healthier employees are happier and more reliable as an employee. This could also avoid future hospital visits and catastrophic treatments as well as delay premature death.

d. Weight Management – Employees may take advantage of weight management programs. In some cases employees might already be using well known programs such as Weight Watchers™ or Jenny Craig™. Many scientific medical studies directly relate disease and health risk to an individual’s weight. Once again, a healthy employee calls in sick less often, is more productive, and on a selfish side, is likely to minimize the number of claims against your Insurance Policy. Certain company sizes in certain states may be rated and premiums are charged based on the claims filed against the insurance carrier.

e. Gym Membership – Discounts and reimbursements may be available for health club membership.

f. Hearing - Certain hearing centers may have pre-negotiated discounts with your insurance carrier.

g. Bicycle Helmets - Safety equipment such as bicycle helmets may be available at a discount with specific insurance companies and retailers. Certain states mandate that children under a specified age are required to wear a helmet while riding bicycles, skateboarding, or roller skating. Even if helmets are not mandated, it is alarming how many serious injuries might have been prevented with the proper head protection. If you need or want a helmet anyway, you might as well get a discount on it.

h. Store Discounts - Various retailers may have a pre-negotiated incentive worked out with your insurance company such as baby stores or household goods. This is good for the store from a marketing prospective and it is good for the consumer to get a discount.

i. Security Improvements – Security companies my provide discount services for your home protection and safety additions.

j. Stress and Alcohol Management - Different services may exist for stress management and alcohol rehabilitation and treatment programs.

k. Mail Order Discounts – Certain carriers offer additional discounts for mail order prescriptions. This is especially useful for drugs prescribed for the long-term such as heart medicine or cholesterol drugs. You know you need it any way so you might as well stock up by mail.

3. Not Getting a Second Opinion:

Different Insurance professionals have different experiences and abilities. Some Brokers are only Brokers while others are also Licensed Insurance Consultants. Some Brokers specialize in Property and Casualty or Life Insurance while others specialize in Group Health. If you are concerned with your Health Insurance rates and services, perhaps a specialist is what your company really needs.

Speaking as an insurance professional, we of all people, respect and appreciate client loyalty based on past service and existing relationships. On the other hand, how do you really know that you have the most appropriate policy and features if you do not get a second opinion from a different Broker or Consultant? If the relationship with your Broker is that solid, it would not be difficult for your Broker to keep your business. If your Broker’s skills are not current and sharp as it relates to your company, his/her complacency might be costing your company tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of dollars.

Oftentimes, an insurance professional might become complacent with existing clients. This may be due to increased workload, understaffing, or the fact that they are too busy finding new clients. They may not be focusing on your bottom line.

A second opinion introduces a fresh perspective regarding your company’s health insurance needs and options. It keeps your broker honest and reminds them that they need to continue to service and provide creative solutions if they wish to keep your business.

Make sure the carrier alternatives are of “like kind and quality”. That simply means they are an apples-to-apples comparison.

Mix it up a little. Find out what the increase (or decrease) in premiums might be if you increase (or decrease) the co-pay, deductibles, in-network deductibles, and co-insurance. Look at different options with the drug plan as well.

Sometimes it pays to self-insure a portion in order to reduce premiums. Look at the total exposure, have your broker figure out worst cases scenarios, and contemplate the probability that the scenario could come true. This dovetails with mistakes #4, #5, and #6 coming up.

4. Not Looking at the Big Picture of Total Costs

Very often, companies only look at the monthly premiums associated with their healthcare coverage. This is not the only variable when it comes to insurance rates. It is important to look at the total picture which includes:

a. Co-pay amounts

b. In-Network and Out-of-Network Deductibles

c. In-Network and Out-of-Network Co-Insurance Levels

d. In-Network and Out-of-Network out-of-pocket expenses

e. Out-Of-Network Reasonable and customary reimbursement levels

f. Gated or Non-Gated

g. Drug coverage co-pays, co-insurance and deductibles

h. Disease Management and Wellness Programs

i. Employer/Employee Contributions

j. Network Accessibility

k. Disruption Analysis

l. Monthly Premiums

m. Maximum Exposure

n. Maximum Benefits

o. Tax Treatment (See #9)

p. Quality of Coverage

l. Introduced deductibles on drugs

m. Generic and non-formulary drug discounts

Each of the above can be a topic unto itself. We can offer a free consultation to look at your coverage and suggest ways to maximize cost savings and improvements. Please see the “About the Author” section at the bottom of this article for more details.

Paying 100% for Employees

If you pay 100%, by law, employees cannot “waive out” of the insurance plan. Participation must be 100%. By paying less than 100% of the benefits you are able to “create consideration”. This gives you flexibility.

What is so bad about having to take advantage of benefits if you are paying all of it? The fact is, certain employees would not be able to use a spouse’s insurance plan if they had to use yours. The spouse might offer better quality coverage with more options and better quality doctors.

Do you really want to have to pay for everyone’s insurance if they do not want insurance or prefer to waive coverage and go on their spouse’s plan? That means paying higher expenses for something that will likely never get used by certain people.

5. Not Listed as the Right Group Size (or Perhaps a Different Stated Size) Is There Common Ownership?

Depending on your circumstances, such as what state that you do business in, you may or may not benefit by being classified as a small group or as a large group. By simply classifying clients in the most appropriate group size we have saved clients thousands of dollars.

Generally speaking, small groups are considered to be groups consisting of between 2 and 50 full time eligible employees and large groups are considered to be groups consisting of 51+ full-time eligible employees. A full-time eligible employee is not the same as an employee that may be covered under the benefits. For example, a group can have 55 employees, with 40 employees on the group health plan, and be classified as a large group.

Depending on your employee population it could be either advantageous or disadvantageous to be considered a 2-50 sized group. Read #6 of this list for more information.

Is There Common Ownership?

In certain situations some companies have common ownership with other companies. Depending upon the percentage of ownership, in certain cases it makes sense to insure the companies separately, while in other cases it might pay to combine the employees and consider it a larger group.

6. Not Knowing Your Employee Population or Offering Different Plans

Similar to #5 in classifying the group size, money can also be saved by having an overall understanding of the demographics that makes up your group. Typically, younger people are healthier and can often afford to take certain medical risks that older employees cannot afford to take. If you realize that your company is mostly made up of younger people who are healthy, it might be a good idea to utilize a high-deductible tax qualified plan with a Health Savings Account (HSA). A high deductible plan is essentially betting on the fact that claims will be minimal throughout the year, so why not pay the lowest premiums available, and at the same time accumulate cash in the Health Savings Account (HSA)?

A high deductible plan does not necessarily mean that you intend to pass on the increased deductibles to your employees. Your company can be willing to pay the deductible (or a portion) through a Health Reimbursement Account (HRA).

Not Offering Different Plans for Different People

More recently than not, the market has been trending towards companies offering multiple insurance plan options. The company may provide a base contribution allowing the employees to choose between “a base”, “a buy-up”, or “an HSA plan”.

In addition, companies can offer a plan based upon employee classification. For example, “Class 1” employees can consist of executives and managers and “Class 2” employees may consist of all others.

7. Not Comparing your Coverage to Your Peers:

The trick is to be competitive without giving away the shop. Typically, to generalize for a moment, law firms might offer the best insurance available for the money while assembly line workers might be given average benefits for manufacturing. But what is average and how do you find out what is standard and customary?

A “Benchmark Analysis” is a report that can be ordered to get statistics and trends about comparable companies in your industry, company size, and/or in your region. Although these reports often cost some money, the information provided could be valuable in attracting and retaining qualified employees without giving away all of the profits.

8. Blindly Auto-Renewing

Even if you love your Broker, it is a mistake in not treating each renewal period as an opportunity to find out what policies or other insurance companies are more competitive or appropriate for your company. Each renewal period should be treated just like you are looking for insurance companies for the first time.

With our clients this step is invisible to them. We always look at the renewal numbers and compare them to other carriers or to other policies within the same carrier. Over the years it became obvious that the only constant in life is change. Based on the insurance company’s desire to increase or decrease market share, they often choose to increase or decrease their risk tolerance and policies. A renewal period is a great opportunity to make sure you have the right coverage for your circumstances.

9. Not Using the Right Tax Treatment for Your Company

Although we encounter this particular “money-waster” often, we are not an accounting firm and suggest that you speak with your tax advisor, accountant, or CPA before doing anything.

Pre-Tax or After-Tax Dollars:

Typically speaking, health insurance premiums are tax deductible with pre-tax dollars, while co-pays, deductibles, co-insurance, and prescription co-pays are usually paid with after-tax dollars. It might be a good idea for your accountant to work with your broker to come up with a tax strategy that works well with your human resources and health benefits objectives.

Employee Tax Treatment

Are the employees paying for their portion of the health insurance premium through the use of a “Section 125” premium only plan? This will allow employees to pay the health insurance premium on a pre-tax basis thereby reducing the employer payroll taxes.

You may want to consider offering a Flexible Savings Account (FSA). An FSA allows employees to pay for a portion of their un-reimbursed medical expenses on a tax-free basis.

10. Losing Money Due to Poor Administration.

We hear about it almost every day. Due to poor administration, employers neglect to advise the insurance carriers of newly terminated or newly eligible employees.

In many cases, the guidelines are rigid and clear. A simple mistake with administration may cause your company to either pay insurance on someone who is no longer with the company or it may open yourself up to liability. Had an employee been eligible for benefits, but somebody forgot to do the paperwork, your company could be liable for claims.

Liability of not setting out corporate notices

Notices may need to be communicated due to changes in coverage or policy changes. Once again, in many cases the burden of proof might be on you. If you do not notify employees of the changes you might be held accountable for the lack of notifications.

COBRA Notifications

Last but not least, in many circumstances an employee has a legal right to be notified if they are eligible to participate in the COBRA insurance program post termination. COBRA is the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act. This gives employees the right to continue health insurance given certain qualifications. By not properly notifying the employee, your company is in violation of federal law and can perhaps be held accountable for claims and medical expenses incurred by the employee. By properly notifying the employee, the liability lies in the hands of the employee and the insurance company if they choose to continue coverage.

So What is Your Next Step?

It’s great that you made it this far into the article and that by itself gives you plenty of things to look at in deciding if you are making any of the above mistakes. In some cases you can change your behaviors midstream. For example, you can find out from your current carrier if there are any Value Added Benefits that you may not be aware of. You can also make sure that your company has an accurate list of employees who should be on the policy or need to be added.

Once again, Group Health Insurance is one of the largest non-producing expenses for most businesses. It is up to the business as well as their employees to maintain an active role with wellness, routine exams, and disease management programs. Insurance might be considered an expense, but when it comes down to it, health and lives are at risk.

DISCLAIMER: Information is intended as a general nature. Always consult a licensed professional before implementing anything.

Copyright© 2008 Economic Evaluation Group, Inc.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

John R. Klimchak has been in the insurance field for over 20 years. He is a licensed Insurance Consultant and a Licensed Insurance Broker. Mr. Klimchak is also the President of Economic Evaluation Group, Inc. (www.eegroup.com), a firm specializing in Group Health benefits and other related services. For a free consultation call (516) 338-2800 and reference the “Top 10 Mistakes Article”.

Individuals with pre existing conditions like diabetes, cancer, heart disease, heart attack, stroke, kidney disease, liver disease, AIDS, depression and a long list of other health conditions, have found it almost impossible to find affordable healthcare. These health issues are causing thousands of individuals to be declined for health insurance. If you are looking for uninsurable health insurance or pre existing condition health insurance, you know how hard a task that can be.

Sometimes preexisting conditions allow an insurance company to deny your health insurance request. However, there are ways you can be provided with affordable healthcare coverage. If you can combine creative insurance planning with the knowledge and understanding of what is available, you’ll greatly reduce the chance of potential financial strain on you and your family.

Should you find an insurance company that will provide health insurance; you’ll quickly discover that this coverage is not cheap. And… the coverage will probably be limited in scope when compared to the coverage for someone with no known health problems. The bottom line is this, whatever coverage you can get, it’s probably best to take it until something better comes along.

You can find affordable health care. I have listed 6 choices below.

Group Health Insurance: The best choice for those with a chronic conditions, pre existing conditions or even uninsurable. It’s really a guaranteed issue health insurance plan. With group health insurance, coverage is usually provided by your employer or your spouse’s employer. The employee will typically have little, if any, choice concerning the features of the coverage. The main advantage of group insurance: new employees will usually get coverage without any medical questions or concern for a pre existing condition. One disadvantage: coverage usually ends when the employee’s job ends.

Professional Organizations: Most don’t know about this option. A number of professional organizations offer their members a health insurance program as a fringe benefit. This health insurance coverage could be a great way to stay insured if you are uninsurable or have a preexisting condition. This is really like a group health insurance policy. See if you can get access to a membership organization which offers health insurance for preexisting conditions or health insurance for the uninsurable. A valid certification or career experience may be required to join. Other associations might accept your membership without these prerequisites. Look for local and national associations. Even with a yearly membership fee, it still might be worth the money.

Private Individual Health Insurance: If you are without group healthcare coverage from an employer or professional organization health plan, yet you have pre existing conditions that have caused you to be uninsurable, obtaining individual health insurance is probably going be a little tough. If you do find coverage, the premiums will often times be unaffordable. However, this still might be your best choice for now. You can always go with a better plan in the future.

State Risk Pools: For individuals who have serious medical conditions, some states allow access to either private individual health insurance for uninsurable or health plans for uninsurable. These plans are defined as high-risk health insurance pools. Individuals in these state risk pools have access to comprehensive private coverage plans. However, the premiums can be very costly, often double what private health insurance would cost for someone who is healthy. Individuals may find enrollment is closed to a new enrollee or the state pool has a long waiting list. These high-risk pools are often the last resort for people who have serious pre existing conditions and are paying exorbitant fees for their insurance, or who are able to meet key state conditions for enrollment.

Discount Health Cards: Companies selling discount health cards claim to save subscribers money by offering discounts on a hospital, doctor, prescription drugs, dental, vision and chiropractic care. Consumers seeking affordable healthcare may be confused by these health cards. They really are not health insurance. You’re still responsible for paying the medical bills. The discount health card simply offers a reduced price for services from participating healthcare providers. They often times make grossly inflated promises on expected benefits and savings. Use caution when purchasing these discount health cards. You may pay more than you save.

Guaranteed Issue Health Insurance: For those who are uninsurable, those with preexisting conditions or someone who just can not afford or qualify for health insurance, then a guaranteed issue health insurance plan may be a good choice. These plans, known as “mini-meds”, are not to be confused with “discount health cards”. These plans are usually quite affordable and offer a considerable amount of coverage. Most pre existing conditions are covered after 12 months. Understand these plans are not basic health insurance or major medical coverage but are limited indemnity plans. This just means the plan pays benefits based on a pre-defined amount per service or procedure. Usually covered are doctor visits, hospital stays, emergency room visits, surgery, accidental death, etc. Most do not require completing medical questions or taking a physical exam to qualify.

Low cost health insurance programs offer health insurance policies at a much lower price than other insurance companies. Often students, people who are unemployed and low-income families seem to be the best candidates for low cost health insurance. They can choose from many of the best low cost health insurance policies that offer coverage at a much lower price. Some people want to include dental insurance in their plans and they can often get some very good rates. And there are many low cost health insurance plans for students also.

If the plan is through your employer they offer low premiums compared to many of the other health insurance programs in the marketplace. In some of the plans, the employer pays a share of the premium. However it’s important that, although they are not as expensive, the plan really should fit the consumer’s needs. It’s important that the low cost health insurance plan should offer adequate protection against major diseases such as cancer and diabetes.

Employer’s low cost health insurance plans usually include an annual full physical or medical check-up. This complete physical or medical check-up is free and by which an employee can find out if they have any medical issues. Employers who carry these types of plans boost the morale of the employee as it shows that the employer cares about the employee. This type of employee benefit is sorely missing in the third world countries.

Group health insurance can be ideal because groups get much better rates than individuals when it comes to health care and health insurance. Many small business owners or others who are self-employed who want the best rates incorporate their businesses to give the insurance company the appearance of a larger corporation. Then they try to get cheaper health insurance rates.

Group insurance plans are highly discounted when compared to individual health insurance policies so getting hooked up with a group plan is desired. However group insurance is only a part of the equation. There are deductibles, co-pays, and a few other variables that are factored into the rate so it’s always possible that individual health insurance or even family health insurance may turn out to be just as affordable as group insurance in the long run.

Many people are looking for short term health insurance plans or just some temporary health insurance when they are in-between jobs. COBRA covers people for the short term while they’re looking for their next job. And once they do find work, they will get a good low cost health insurance plan through their employer.

Another way to get affordable or low cost health insurance rates is to turn to a health insurance consultant for help. Some consultants say that the best way to find affordable, low cost health insurance is to get a group health insurance plan sponsored through an employer. However this is just one simple fact. They can often help you find the best rates for students, find dental insurance or health insurance that will cover pre-existing conditions. Many people don’t know that health insurance consultants exist.

However the best way to get the best low cost health insurance is to compare, compare, compare online. Comparison shopping online is a must to get the best deal. Many websites have the ability to help you compare the rates of many insurance companies and providers and offer ratings, reviews and consumer reports. These sites are affiliated with many different insurance companies who want your health insurance business and many will offer quality but cheap plans. They have the ability to offer several free quotes at one time with just a click of the mouse. When you compare online it won’t matter if you’re from Texas, California, Florida, Arizona or any other state.