Health Spas Guide » Health Insurance Rates

Health Insurance Prices Affected by Three Things

admin — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 04:48:42 +0000

Thankfully medical errors are evidently going down and ranking in about the 20% range. That means that 80% of the reasons for high health insurance prices are neglecting our health and medical inflation. On the surface 20% doesn’t sound that bad, but when you crunch some of the numbers you will be totally appalled.

Get this, and these are recent statistics provided by the Department of Health & Human Services’ Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. They’ve found that potentially preventable errors that happen during or after surgery may cost employers close to $1.5 billion a year. Yes, BILLION.

That’s a whole passel load of money being spent on fixing medical errors, extra costs that have no business happening in the first place. Consider the significant burden of these extra expenditures on the health care system. But then, you already know that, as you are paying ever-increasing health insurance rates.

Here’s just a quick sampling of some of the medical errors that add to the cost of running the health care system – and by the way – if the mistake made is fixed by the hospital, they try and bill the insurance company for it.

Extra nursing care resulting from medical errors is high up on the list of things filed in the unnecessary costs file and coming in at about $12,196 (33% more costs). Kidney failure or out of control blood sugars came in at $11,797 for 32% more expenses. Pulmonary problems, blood clots etc. was about $7,838 at 25% more expensive, followed by wound opening at $1,426 for 6% more expenses than should have been necessary.

The scariest part of the statistics is the number of preventable deaths – 1 out of every 10 patients who died within 90 days of an operation, died due to preventable errors. One third of those deaths happened after the initial hospital discharge.

This death or injury by medical error problem isn’t new. It’s been around for ages, but not much seems to be done about it. It’s arguable that the high demands on the health care system today would naturally result in errors due to the pressures. But if these medical errors take the lives of over 300,000 people nation wide a year, something has to give.

By: C. Green

Where to Get Low Cost Health Insurance in Ohio

admin — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 12:00:45 +0000

Thanks to rising medical costs, health insurance rates are at an all-time high. But there are places where you can get cheap health insurance in Ohio.

The first thing you need to look at when considering health insurance in Ohio are the types of insurance that are available. There are four basic plans:

1. Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) – These plans set you up with a network of doctors and hospitals who provide your health care. You must choose a primary health care physician who oversees your care and refers you to specialists, and you are only allowed to see physicians within your network.

HMOs are the cheapest of all the health care plans. They have low co-payments, usually $5 to $10 per doctor visit, and involve the least amount of paperwork.

2. Preferred Provider Organizations (PPOs) – Similar to HMOs, these plans set you up with a network of health care providers, but unlike HMOs you may see specialists within the network without getting permission from your primary care physician. If you see a non-network physician you may have to pay the bill yourself and submit it for reimbursement.

PPOs cost slightly more than HMOs, and co-payments average $5 to $10 per doctor visit.

3. Point of Service Plans (POSs) – These plans also set you up with a network of health care providers, but, for an additional fee, you may see a physician who is not part of the network.

POSs generally cost more than PPOs but are more flexible. Co-payments average $5 to $10 per visit.

4. Indemnity Plans – These plans let you choose your own doctor and hospital, and you can visit any specialist you choose. You pay a deductible, usually $500 to $1,000, before your insurance company will begin paying claims. After you pay your deductible, your company will pay most of your medical bill, usually 80%, and you pay the remaining 20%.

Indemnity Plans are the most expensive health care plans and involve the most amount of paperwork.

Low Cost Health Insurance in Ohio

In order to get the best rate on your health insurance policy you need to compare rates from different companies. The fastest way to do this is to visit an insurance comparison website where you’ll not only get multiple rate quotes, you’ll also be able to get advice from insurance experts who can help you find the best policy for your needs. It’s quick, it’s easy, and it’s free.

By: Brian Stevens

Florida Self Employed Health Insurance

admin — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 16:36:27 +0000

Florida residents that are self employed and looking for health insurance have a number of options available to them. Be aware that depending upon your health, your age, and other factors unique to your particular situation there is no hard and fast rule as to which option is best for you. However, there are some general guidelines that will help you make the best Florida self employed health insurance decision.

The first Florida health insurance option available to the self employed is to simply apply for an individual health insurance policy. The benefit to applying for an individual health insurance policy is that individual health insurance rates in Florida are very competitive.

The downside to attempting to purchase an individual health insurance policy in the state of Florida is that you must be healthy. According to FL law, a health insurance company can decline your application for an individual health insurance policy based on prior medical history (pre-existing conditions), height and weight restrictions, and other health related criteria.

That means if you have cancer, diabetes, weight problems, or a host of other physical ailments then you will be denied coverage with a Florida individual health insurance policy. (Any unscrupulous agent that tries to tell you other wise is misrepresenting whatever product he or she is trying to sell you as health insurance when in fact it is probably a discount health plan or a health insurance indemnity plan with very limited coverage).

The second Florida health insurance option available to the self employed is to apply for a Florida group health insurance plan. In Florida, any group of 2 employer/employees or more is considered eligible for a Florida small group health insurance. (If it is just you: 1 self employed person functioning as a sole proprietor in the state of Florida then you have a different option open to you – see option 3 below). The benefit to applying for a Florida small group health insurance policy is that that certain health issues that can signal an automatic decline on the individual health insurance side will not signal an automatic decline on the group health insurance side.

The downside to attempting to purchase a group health insurance policy in the state of Florida is that it can be very expensive. Think of it in terms of: the more potentially unhealthy people that the insurance company has to give health insurance to (group health insurance) the higher the premiums will be as opposed to where the insurance company can pick and choose who they will accept for health insurance (individual health insurance).

The third Florida health insurance option available to the self employed is for those that are functioning as a sole proprietor. Florida self employed sole proprietors can apply for a Florida guaranteed issue small group health plan. The Florida guaranteed issue small group health plans has an open enrollment period only during the month of August.

Florida self employed health insurance can be a somewhat tricky area to navigate without the help of a licensed independent Florida health insurance agent. There are also many different ways to save money in taxes – one of which being the ability to deduct your health insurance premiums paid on Schedule C of your tax return against and up to your Schedule C income (Meaning that even if you don’t itemize [Schedule A] you can still deduct your health insurance premiums paid all the way up to your Schedule C income!).

By: Joel Ohman

Health Insurance Rates Are Going Up

admin — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 15:36:53 +0000

You won’t like the answer to that particular question, but the facts are the facts. Health insurance rates are going up because of us. That’s right, we are the authors of our own misfortune if you will. Very simply we do not look after ourselves and by doing that, we send the price of health care rates sky high.

We drink, we smoke, we’re aging (OK we can’t do anything about that) and we don’t work out. Our obesity rate as a nation is abominable. The health care costs of treating alcoholics, smokers and obese patients are phenomenal.

It’s not just that we don’t take care of ourselves either. The other factors that drive up the cost of health insurance rates are medical inflation and medical errors. Now you might be thinking medical errors must cost a bundle. Actually, they are declining – a good thing by any standards.

The biggest area of problems is medical inflation. Just try to find out what a surgery will cost you, and good luck on that. Let’s say for instance you needed an appendectomy. You want to know what that will cost. No hospital or doctors office will give you that figure because they have no idea what they will bill you for until they bill you.

Surgery has almost become an a la carte menu where the doctor (and hospital) picks and chooses what you will get billed for. From the cost of dispensing pills to the cost of the pill itself and from the cost of the extra pillow you wanted to the extra dressing required for your incision. You get billed for each item. No wonder bills are so high and they can’t tell you what it costs.

However, having said that, it’s interesting that doctor’s offices are able to tell the biggest insurance companies paying the freight how much it costs to stay in hospital per day and what a certain surgery costs. See what’s happening here? The doctor gets paid a rate by the insurance company and then bills you extra for other things. Nasty, but it works.

If you want lower health care rates, start taking care of yourself. Don’t smoke, don’t drink to excess and get moving and work out. The healthier you are, the less expensive your health care costs tend to be.

By: C. Green

Low Cost to Low Income Health Insurance

admin — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 22:12:59 +0000

Health insurance rates rise and the value of the dollars tends to drop. In times like these we must know how to stretch a buck. This goes especially for families with a tight budget and many children. When searching for health insurance first thing you should do is see if there are any good programs available to you in your state. In your favorite search engine search for the following: (your state) health insurance site:.gov for example searching for: Nevada health insurance site:.gov will give you all the Nevada Government Health Insurance benefits available. From what I’ve seen most of these health insurance benefits are focused on dependents up to 19 years of age. You will be amazed as to how much you can save if you qualify to be enrolled into a Government assisted health insurance program. During my early twenties I had my family enrolled in DES health care assistance. One day I had to take my daughter to urgent care for a fever. The urgent care copay was one dollar. The medicine for my daughter was free. To be accepted into most of these programs you must fit the income requirements.

If you make too much you’ll have to do the next best thing which is compare rates and coverages between providers. If you don’t want to fool around with the whole search engine strategy you may want to visit a site that provides comparison quotes with the convenience of only having to fill out a single form. Once you do compare rates and coverages the goal is to find a coverage with a low deductible, low copays for office visits and affordable premiums. Good luck with your search.

By: Cole Sileven