Health Insurance Update

by mheo soriano

Insuring yourself is advantageous
Studies show that with health insurance, surgeries and other medical services appear cheaper. In case of an injury you can immediate treat injuries with less hassle. For example a knee injury that requires a surgery would cost up to $13,000. What would you do if you don’t have this value readily available? Isn’t insurance a better alternative than loans with high interest rates?

You can get immediate treatment

When you have private hospital insurance you’ll never have to go through waiting lists for long periods to get treated. Plus there is a higher chance that you would have the doctor of your choice. If you are admitted as a public patient, the hospital will choose one for you. Lastly it is better to receive the treatment as soon as possible to avoid the risk of worsening the complication.

To be continued…

by: Mheo Soriano

Why should you get a health insurance?

If you think that getting a health insurance is no good… then you are wrong.

Nowadays you can never tell when or what will hit you… one day you’re up, and you may be down on the next. You have to be prepared anytime, for anything.

When subscribed to a health insurance, you can save on income tax and additional lifetime charges. Plus the fact that you can even get expensive medical services anytime you need them, especially during times when you get sick and don’t have the money to spend for it.

to be continued…

Under the State of California, there are no laws explicitly requiring employers to provide medical health insurance to their employees and or their dependents. However, there are a number of rules and regulations that cover those who do offer medical insurance for their employees which may or may not include dependents.

There are some notable state and federal legislations that govern the different aspects of how businesses must manage issues concerning health insurance. Which laws apply to certain businesses would depend on the number of employees concerned and what particular coverage is provided. Some of these state and federal laws are:
1. California Small Group Law AB1672
2. COBRA and CalCOBRA
3. Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA)
4. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
5. California Mental Health Parity Law AB88

Attempts to provide universal health care is being done in San Francisco. The success of the plan is based on rarely discussed notion: cultural competency. Treatment of patients will no longer be based solely on raw data such as cholesterol and blood pressure levels. Demographics like race, gender, sexual orientation and such will be taken into account in marketing the proposed plan.

In a city populated by various ethnic and racial groups, multitudes of immigrants with more than 100 different spoken languages, significant gay and lesbian population, success of the plan will hinge largely on how cultural competency is practiced.

Unprecedented increases have been seen over the past several years on the cost of providing health insurance for employees. Health insurance premiums have grown to double digits and there seems to be no change in this trend. One reason is how health insurance is utilized by employees. Many employees feel that insurance coverage must be completely spent monthly. Consistent visits to their doctors contribute to the rise in premiums.

What most fail to realize is that health insurance is a standby protection in case of emergency. It is a safety net for events that catch you off guard. Practical usage of health insurance coverage will help to bring the cost down and make it affordable for more people.

Children’s health financing in the United States is primarily public sector funded. Financing is shouldered by the state and federal governments with administration falling under the state. Other sources of public insurance are the military and Medicare, however, coverage of both is fewer than 5% of the children’s population.

Majority of the children’s population remain uninsured due to various reasons ranging from socio-economic status of the family or lack of employer’s coverage for dependents. Majority of working parents do not have coverage from employers or meager earnings make health insurance unaffordable. Some do not even qualify for public health insurance due to residency or status. Health care for uninsured children has remained out of reach.

Thorough analysis of your current health insurance benefits or coverage may reveal some important information on underutilized coverage or benefits that do not correspond to employees� needs. It is more practical to identify health insurance coverage that is beneficial to majority of your employees.

As an example, maternity benefits in company health insurance would not be beneficial to majority of employees unless majority of your employees are married women. It would be more cost effective to present alternatives such as shared premium payments for additional coverage for those who would benefit from maternity coverage. This would make health insurance coverage more meaningful for your employees.

Congress has passed a bill which expands children’s health insurance, which allows an additional 8,000 kids to enjoy coverage from health insurance. These are children who belong to families who are above Medicaid requirements but cannot afford to get a private insurance policy.

The House on Monday approved legislation to expand the ARKids First children�s health insurance program. The Senate passed a bill that would tax hospitals and then use the proceeds to bring in more federal matching dollars for Medicaid, as well as legislation to provide schools across the state with defibrillators. House Bill 1700 by Rep. Robert Moore, D-Arkansas City, passed in the House in an 82-14 vote and now heads to the Senate. The bill would change the maximum income level to be eligible for ARKids First from 200 percent of the federal poverty level to 250 percent.

Read the whole story here.

Where’s the money going to come from? It apparently comes from an expanded tax on cigarettes, which charges an additional 56 cents per pack. Some are protesting the move though, and are suggesting insurance vouchers to be handed out to children. Proponents of the bill have shot back, saying that looking to the private sector for help in providing better child health care is the more logical step. And after all, we could do better with less people lighting up and smoking.

But again, like many other laws, the general public still has to wait a bit before the benefits trickle down to their level. But this is largely good news especially to those whose families lie in the limbo of being overqualified for Medicaid but cannot afford to pay for their own private insurance.

There is a growing discontent amongst people and small business owners who may have to shell out more cash to pay for the government’s move to revamp the health care system. This has brought about by plans to further revamp the health care system as the new government takes office this coming 20th of January. Many are already feeling the pinch of the recession and hate this type of tax increases for they are already stretched to the limit, strapped of cash.
Most jobless, almost 12 million by the middle of this year if trends continue are getting more help but in the long run, even after recovery they still have to bear the brunt of the costs for the proposed health care overhaul. Big plans have been laid out and as the government grows its financial budget deficit who else would be paying for the said costs but consumers and regular citizens themselves. This is not a good sign form many who have already lost jobs due to downsizing, laid off as victims of the recession are having to go without health insurance in whatever form. Time will tell if the moves to revamp the system would be effective enough to decrease the gap of insured and uninsured as the recession takes hold.

写真提供: medheadlines.com

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