Tuesday 1 December 2009

Portability As it Relates to Health Insurance

My Budget Health Insurance
6 N 17th St
Philadelphia, PA 19103
tel. no. (610) 956-1881

One of the largest health Insurance companies in Philadelphia specialising in Family and Individual cover, creating plans that won't break the budget. Get a free quote today by visiting our website.

The economy, or even a change in career path, could cause you to be faced with decisions regarding the issue of maintaining your health insurance coverage. Group health insurance plans generally stop when your employment ends. Only through COBRA (Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act) do you have the option of continuing coverage under the former employer's group insurance plan for up to 18 months.

This option is generally made available only to persons that were covered under a plan that covered 20 or more employees. Should you elect to choose the COBRA option and remain covered under the group plan? This option of portability has some advantages and disadvantages.

The cost of the COBRA option is expensive since you are bearing the full cost of the premium. The employer does not subsidize the premium in any way and may even charge an additional administration fee. Healthy individuals and families can purchase personal health insurance plans less expensive than remaining on the employer plan through COBRA.

COBRA can only be used to extend coverage for a certain period (generally 18 months). A healthy person takes a possible chance of developing a serious health problem while being on COBRA and having their coverage period expire. While HIPPA (Health Insurance Portability and Protection Act) guarantees portability to a personal plan in certain situations, a serious health problem would cause the premiums to be much higher on the personal plan. Having a personal plan that can be kept on a permanent basis eliminates this problem.

The main advantage of portability is for those with serious medical conditions. Having the ability to elect COBRA and then transition to a personal plan after COBRA ends is important. This means that the insurance company cannot decline someone's waiting period for pre-existing medical conditions.


Advice on Buying Health Insurance Coverage

My Budget Health Insurance
6 N 17th St
Philadelphia, PA 19103
tel. no. (610) 956-1881

One of the largest health Insurance companies in Philadelphia specialising in Family and Individual cover, creating plans that won't break the budget. Get a free quote today by visiting our website.

If you are currently buying health insurance coverage you most likely are a victim of a job loss or cost cutting which took away your company insurance. Don't fret. With a little homework on your part, buying health insurance coverage will be easier than you think. Here are some tips that can help your search go a little smoother.

Do an Internet search for "buying health insurance coverage at the lowest cost." You will get many sites advertising low rate insurance. Research the rates of some of the known companies and make a list of 3 or 4 with the lowest premium rates.

Next you will want to go to the websites of each of these companies and find out about the exact type of coverage they offer. Most of the companies will have similar coverage but don't just accept that as gospel. Do the research to make sure you understand exactly what you are getting. If you don't you may get a big surprise at a time you can least handle it.

After you have decided on the company with the best benefits and the best rate, consider a few extra things that may be able to lower your premiums at bit. If you can handle a larger deductible, you will save on the premiums you pay. Don't have a deductible that would wipe you out financially just to have a low rate. This would defeat the purpose of having insurance. But if you can cover the first $1000 of expenses yourself, this will lower your premiums quite a bit. Buying health insurance coverage is no fun, but if you spend the time and effort researching your purchase, you will find it well worth it when you need to use your insurance. Relax and take your time.

Low Rate Health Insurance - How to Search For the Right Health Insurance Plan

My Budget Health Insurance
6 N 17th St
Philadelphia, PA 19103
tel. no. (610) 956-1881

One of the largest health Insurance companies in Philadelphia specialising in Family and Individual cover, creating plans that won't break the budget. Get a free quote today by visiting our website.

The internet is a great place for you to find informative resources for health insurance, where you will be able to get numerous quotes from competing companies and look at different plans to see what suits your needs and budget. You do not have to disclose any personal information in order to receive a quote.

You can spend hours or days on the phone talking to insurance people or you can do this all on the web and get everything you are looking for simply by means of your email, doesn't get much simpler than that.

Not only does the web make the whole process much simpler, but you don't have to answer personal or financial questions that would come up if you were talking to an insurance agent on the phone.

If you are in a financially tight position right now, but still want to have some health insurance coverage, the questions that the agent may ask might make you feel a bit embarrassed about your situation. No one likes to admit that they are having a tough time.

Even if you are not having financial problems, you still want to get the best deal possible on the best coverage you can get and agents are on commission and the more they charge the more they make.

Another advantage of getting insurance quotes on the internet is that it is free and your home phone or cell phone won't be ringing with insurance agents bugging you for the business. This is all personal and confidential and until you decide what insurance company you would like to look further into there will be no one calling you.

Having health insurance is important, no matter if you are single or have a family. Online quotes are great and you can find some super deals, but you also want to do a little research before you sign on the dotted line.

You want to look into the types of insurance there are, what you want to be covered, is there a length of time or waiting period before the insurance becomes active, how long will these rates last before there is an increase etc. These are just a few of the questions you need to ask yourself about the insurance you are thinking of getting.

So by all means, don't hesitate and get yourself health insurance, but make sure you do your homework so that you know what kind of coverage you want.


Cheaper Health Insurance - How to Search For a Health Insurance Policy Online

My Budget Health Insurance
6 N 17th St
Philadelphia, PA 19103
tel. no. (610) 956-1881

One of the largest health Insurance companies in Philadelphia specialising in Family and Individual cover, creating plans that won't break the budget. Get a free quote today by visiting our website.

One of the most important things we need to take care of is our health. Our lives depend on it. If we do not have the health to sustain the daily demands of life, then, we get sick and even worse, we might have to suffer a lot more than just simply being sick.

This is why it is equally important to have security in some form or another. One of the best methods for securing your health is by having health insurance. Finding the right health insurance can be a bit troublesome for most people. You need to spare more than a couple of hours to search for the right health insurance that will fit your needs.

There are a lot of websites on the internet that offer cheap health insurance quotes. These companies are not just your run of the mill insurance company, they are those that are trusted and have been in the business for many years.

The search is free for those who want to have all the information needed about a health care insurance policy along with the rates and benefits covered within the specific policy. This is very advantageous, especially for those who are on a very tight budget.

This is also helpful to those who are in need of finding the right health care benefits they want to have in a health insurance policy without facing pressure from salesmen.

You need to think twice before you buy an insurance policy. You need to consider two major factors that could make or break your decision making strategy. One is the cost that is attached along with the policy and the other is how much coverage does the policy have.

If a policy offers you insufficient cover and you become seriously ill you could find yourself facing the prospect of taking a huge loan or even selling your home to pay the bills, or face the risk of legal action.

You should think more than twice if the medical insurance you are about to purchase will cover the costs of all the benefit it promises. You should also consider buying an insurance policy that would also cover the cost if you or a member of your immediate family becomes ill or is suffering from a chronic illness.

You need to make sure that you understand everything that is inside the health insurance policy so that you will not have problems if you do become ill.

Re-Thinking Health Insurance - Using a High Deductible Makes Sense

My Budget Health Insurance
6 N 17th St
Philadelphia, PA 19103
tel. no. (610) 956-1881

One of the largest health Insurance companies in Philadelphia specialising in Family and Individual cover, creating plans that won't break the budget. Get a free quote today by visiting our website.

As the cost of health insurance continues to increase, most people have had to come up with ways to curb these increases. The process should begin with giving some thought to the real purpose of health insurance. When premium costs were not the major issue, everyone focused on benefits. For many years, we became accustomed to very low or no deductibles and minimal co-pays for doctor office visits and prescription drugs.

Is insurance supposed to cover these small expenses on a first dollar basis? Would we expect our auto insurance policy to cover oil changes or new tires? Certainly not, but we were all okay with it when premium costs on health insurance were much lower many years ago. Now that cost is the major factor, we must consider the real purpose of insurance being the transfer of a large potential loss to the insurance company. Health insurance was never designed to cover doctor office visits or any other non-catastrophic medical expenses. Our desire for plans that are rich in benefits caused our fall into the mindset of thinking that these plans are the way it's supposed to be. Getting out of this mindset has been painful since no one likes to pay more and get less.

Increasing a deductible on your health insurance policy triggers a question in everyone's mind. Will I ever meet such a high deductible and am I wasting my money? Let's look at an example for a family in Virginia and make some comparisions:

Husband - age 49
Wife - age 49
Child - age 20

Plan Option 1:
$500 deductible per person
Co-pays for doctor visits and prescription drugs
$644 monthly premium

Plan Option 2:
$5000 family deductible
No co-pays
$210 monthly premium

In this actual example using premium rates from Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, there is a monthly cost difference of $434 or an annual cost difference of $5208. Common sense tells us that no matter how many doctor visits or prescription drugs are needed, the entire family deductible of $5000 could be fully funded by the annual premium savings of $5208. Since it is not likely that the deductible will be met every year, part of the $5208 would belong to the customer rather than being given to the insurance company in high premiums.

Although we like the thought that our insurance is paying for our expenses, it becomes evident that the customer is actually the one that is paying through higher premium costs. A premium is a "guaranteed loss". The insurance company does not refund any portion of the premium if catastrophic health care is not needed in a particular year. Using the strategy of a high deductible guarantees the customer a profit every year that medical expenses do not exceed the premium savings. The dramatic premium savings between the two plans make it a safe bet for almost everyone.