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Living Abroad and Your Health Insurance Needs
2007-07-12 07:33:00
Taking an extended trip abroad requires an enormous amount of planning. Although it may not be foremost in your mind, your health insurance coverage is an important part of this planning.Standard health insurance plans are generally not designed to cover extended periods of international travel. Most managed care plans do cover emergency treatment regardless of where it is administered, but other types of care are typically limited to a local network of providers. Health maintenance organizations (HMOs) may pay nothing if you seek routine care from a non-network provider, while preferred provider organizations (PPOs) generally cover only a portion of these costs. And most Americans do not qualify for the national health-care programs offered to citizens of many European nations. Before you go abroad, find out what coverage you will have. Tell your insurance company how long you will be overseas and what countries you will visit.For some travelers, travel insurance may be an adequate...
More About: Living , Insurance , Health Insurance , Ving

Short-Term Health Insurance
2007-07-12 07:31:00
You've just graduated from college or moved out on your own, and you're no longer covered under your parents' health insurance plan. Or perhaps you've flown the coop on your cubicle job and you're looking for the next big thing. Maybe you've found a new job, but your new employer's group health insurance plan won't kick in until you've been with the company for three months. These are good reasons to look into short-term health insurance if it's available in your state.What's in a name . . . As the name implies, short-term health insurance typically offers coverage for 30 to 180 days, although some plans will cover you initially for up to 12 months. If your short-term need runs longer than the coverage, you may be able to renew the plan, but don't count on anything beyond a year.Most short-term plans will cover you in the event of an accident or a sudden illness. As you might expect with almost any health insurance plan, short-term plans may have benefit limits, and you...
More About: Health , Insurance , Health Insurance , Short-term , Short

Single? Don't Overlook Disability Insurance
2007-07-12 07:30:00
The sun finally comes out and you decide to take a motorcycle ride. When the corner comes up a little too fast, you slip on sand, crash, and break your arm. Your health insurance will cover your medical bills, but you're worried about the weeks of lost income that stretch ahead. Even if you don't own a motorcycle, your chances of becoming disabled are great. In any given year, one out of every eight people will suffer a disability of some kind, from auto accident injuries to common back problems. And if you're single, without anyone else's income to rely on when you can't work, disability can mean financial disaster. Unless you have disability insurance, that is.What coverage do you have? If you're working, you may have group disability coverage through your employer. Many employers offer short-term coverage that pays disability benefits for a limited period of time, from a few days or up to a year (sometimes two). Some employers also offer long-term coverage that has a two- t...
More About: Insurance , Disability , Single , Look , Sabi

The Right Time to Buy Long-Term Care Insurance
2007-07-12 07:25:00
The older you get, the more likely your chances are of requiring some type of long-term care assistance. And because you know that the cost of even just a few years of long-term care can easily wipe out your life savings, you're thinking about buying long-term care insurance (LTCI).For the most part, deciding when to purchase LTCI will depend on your age and your ability to pay the premiums. Since premiums are based on your age at the time you purchase the policy, the younger you are when you purchase LTCI, the less expensive your premiums will be. However, there's a tradeoff. If you purchase LTCI early, you may be paying premiums over a long time period.So, just when is the right time to buy an LTCI policy? Although insurance companies will write an LTCI policy for anyone between the ages of 40 and 84, most people purchase LTCI when they reach their 50s or 60s. That way, they won't end up paying significantly higher premiums because they waited too long to purchase a policy.Shou...
More About: Insurance , Time , Care , Long , Term

Eating Your Way into the Hospital and the Poorhouse
2007-07-12 07:25:00
Ballooning costs and ballooning waistlines. When it comes to health and health insurance, these are the two biggest issues on the plate today. But are these really two separate problems? You already know that too many super-sized meal deals will cost you in the long-term, but you may not have realized how much of a price you`re paying now --in health insurance dollars-- for the national weight problem.Dollars & Pounds Health insurance rates have long been on the upswing, with double-digit increases in each of the past three years. Most analysts blame an increased use of medical services for driving up costs. But are we really just a nation of doctor`s office junkies? Surely we don`t go for fun. Why are we seeing the doctor so much anyway? The answer may be: obesity.Curiously, insurance started getting more expensive at about the same time Americans really started getting heavier. It`s impossible to know exactly how much obesity contributes to the increase in insurance costs, but tak...
More About: Hospital , Eating , Ouse , Spit

Make Sure You're Covered When You Retire
2007-07-12 07:23:00
If you?re looking to retire soon, it's good to look ahead and try to determine if your medical expenses will be adequately covered in retirement. Many Americans don't discover the gaps in their Medicare coverage until it's too late, and they are forced to pay out of their own pockets for medical expenses they assumed would be covered.Medicare coverage requires that you meet certain deductibles before coverage begins, and you must pay significant co-payments for many types of medical treatment. In addition, traditional Medicare does not offer a prescription drug benefit.Because of these deficiencies in Medicare coverage, you may wish to consider purchasing a supplemental medical insurance policy called Medigap. Medigap is specifically designed to fill the gaps in your Medicare coverage. Although Medigap policies are sold through private insurance companies, they are standardized and regulated by state and federal law.Under federal law, there are ten standard Medigap plans, each of...
More About: Make , Sure , Retire , Covered , Tire

The Truth About Lies-When Doctor's Change Information To Get HMO Approval
2007-07-12 07:21:00
The relationship between doctors and health insurance companies can be a rocky one at that, and much of the tension stems from the hassles doctors encounter when it comes to HMO denials. The potential for HMO's to deny a request, coupled with the hassles surrounding the denial, have risen to the point of doctors actually misrepresenting their patients, just to get approval. If a patient's HMO denies their request, a doctor can appeal the decision, but the process to get a health insurance company to change their decision is a troublesome one.Studies have shown doctors are more willing to lie about their patient's medical condition to get them approved when their case is considered severe, or when there is a high likelihood that an appeal will be denied. If the appeal has a higher probability rate for acceptance, doctors and physicians are less prone to stretch the truth when it comes to medical records and conditions. The more likely the HMO will deny coverage, the more likely a ...
More About: Truth , Information , Change , Doctor , Format