Health Spas Guide » Insurance Risk

Texas Individual Health Insurance

admin — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 07:28:30 +0000

Whether it’s a minor sickness, injury or a major disease, visit a doctor and the inflated medical bill will jolt you into looking for health insurance ASAP. Survey the market and you will find that there are two major individual health insurance plans, managed care health insurance plans and fee-for serviced plans.

The managed care health plans can be further categorized under the preferred provider organization (PPO) and the HMO. The highlight of the managed care plans is that these insurance companies manage your choice of health provider. They have a list of doctors and hospitals and only if you restrict your visits to the service providers in the list, then only will the plan cover your medical costs. This is not say, that you have no choice regarding the health provider. Under some managed care health plans, you can visit a doctor of your choice, but the financial benefits provided, you visit a listed doctor, are far greater.

Also, if you opt for the managed care health plan, you will need the nod of approval of a listed doctor, in case you have to visit a specialist. You must also keep in mind that usually there are many alternative ways to a treatment, and if a situation so arises, the general tendency of the insurance providing company would be to settle for the option that is the least expensive.

Fee-for-service plans: These are the traditional health insurance plans, and they are also known as the indemnity plans. They are costlier than the managed care plans, but their major advantage is that you can visit a service provider of your choice. This plan is especially suitable for those who are suffering from an illness and have faith in their own doctor only.

Apart from the above, the state of Texas also provides coverage to pregnant women and people with special disabilities.

There are also the Texas Health Insurance risk pool health coverage plans, which cover families whose income is high enough to exclude them from Medicaid, but at same time not high enough to buy private insurance. In act, the Texas Legislature also provides for two plans to provide health coverage to children between 0 to 19 years. These are the CHIP and children Medicaid program.

The aim of both these programs is to provide health coverage to children in terms of check-ups, immunization, preventive health care, labs tests and doctor visits.

By: Peter Emerson

Texas State Health Insurance

admin — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 07:37:56 +0000

Apart from the options of buying individual insurance and being covered by group insurance through companies, there is also the Texas Health Insurance risk pool, initiated by the Texas Legislature. This health insurance coverage is provided to people who cannot obtain adequate coverage as a result of their medial conditions.

It is also open to “federally eligible individuals” as defined by HIPPA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act1996). This program is managed by a nine-member board of directors, all of whom are appointed by the Commissioner of Insurance.

The policy issued by this Pool covers medical expenses including prescription drugs. There is a standard premium rate set by the members of the board. These rates are usually reviewed twice a year.

The state of Texas also has provision to insure the health of children. One of the programs is the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) initiated for families who don’t qualify for the Medicard program, but at the same time are not in a position to buy insurance. The coverage under this plan is for children between the ages of 0 and 19 years.

The other program is the children’s Medicard. This program considers children between the groups of 0 to 19 years. This program is provided at no costs and is beneficial package in that apart from covering medial bills and prescription drugs, it aims at preventive health care.

The coverage is provided to children whose families have assets below the established levels.

Both the CHIP and Medicard programs are beneficial for children. They cover a full range of services from regular check-ups, preventive care, immunization, lab tests, to hospital visits and the related expenses.

The advantages of both the programs are many. Apart from the health benefits, both these programs provide coverage at affordable rates that can well fit the budgets of all qualifying Texan families. The premium rate is flexible and is calculated based on the number of people in the family, as also the total income and expenses.

All said, both CHIP and Medicard have been designed by the Texas Legislature to give relief to families who neither qualify for Medicard nor have the ability to pay the expensive installments of private insurance.

By: Peter Emerson

Affordable Health Insurance in Houston, Texas

admin — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 01:24:49 +0000

Houston, Texas provides many things to many people. Museums, fairs, marathons, festivals – you name it, and Houston, Texas has it. Not only can you find fun, but you can also find safety. How? Residents are able to find affordable health insurance in Houston, Texas, too.

Fortunately, Texans have several options when searching for affordable health insurance in Houston, Texas. Try following these steps.

Continue your health insurance with COBRA. If you are a Houston, Texas resident who has lost his job, COBRA (otherwise known as the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1986) should be the first alternative you consider. Under COBRA, Houston, Texas residents can remain covered by their former employer-sponsored health insurance for up to 18 months after they have lost their jobs.

Not covered under COBRA? Texas has certain health insurance continuation rights for those residents who are either not eligible for COBRA, or who have maxed out their time being covered under COBRA. The health insurance continuation rights allow you to stay covered under the same health insurance policy for another six months.

Exhausted your COBRA benefits and state continuation rights? Perhaps it is time to look at the Texas Health Insurance Risk Pool. If you have reached your limit of COBRA benefits as well as your health insurance state continuation rights, you may be eligible for the Texas Health Insurance Risk Pool. Of course, you must have maintained some form of health insurance for the previous 18 months, and no break in coverage can be longer than periods of 63 days.

Feeling too financially stressed for any of the above options? Look into the TexCare Partnership, which offers affordable health insurance to Texans based on family size and income.

For more information about these ways to obtain affordable health insurance in Houston, Texas, contact the Texas Department of Insurance. You may even find that you are eligible for other means of affordable health insurance, too.

By: Elizabeth Newberry