Getting The Health Insurance Coverage You Need
Health insurance is a necessity. Anything can happen to anyone at anytime. You could be doing a simple rearrangement of furniture and end up with a hernia in one breath. Sometimes, finding the right policy is difficult, but this article will offer some advice on how to sift through all of the options.
Choosing the right health insurance plan will be a time and money saver in the future. Whether it is an HMO, PPO, POS or any of a variety of coverage types, the cost associated with medical treatment needs to fit within your budget and needs. Look for plans that will encompass care from your family physician, which will make your coverage more practical.
If you do not have perfect health, make sure to shop around with different insurance companies. Agencies all have different standards that they use for their different risk levels. Some allow higher cholesterol rates or higher BMI's in their policies. If you fall on the borderline, it's worth your time to research who will give you the best deals at your current levels.
Take advantage of any wellness programs offered by both your workplace and your health insurance company. Both of these may reward you in different ways, such as your workplace offering a cash-incentive for completing an exercise program, or your insurance company lowering your premiums if you follow a quit-smoking one. These offers are rare, but helpful.
If you do not want to change doctors or facilities, make sure that your current provider is covered when changing plans. It's frustrating to try to save yourself money only to find out you have lost your doctor of the past 10 years. Check on the approved facilities as well so you don't end up having to go to a hospital that is inconvenient for you.
Look at your prescription coverage every year. Health insurance companies like to change what medications they are willing to cover, so make sure you read the fine print every time you re-enroll. If you need medication on a regular basis and your insurance company no longer covers it, you need to find a new insurer.
Before purchasing health insurance, take your own needs into consideration. You do not want to be stuck paying for health insurance that does not help you with the care you need. For instance, if you plan on starting a family soon, get a health plan that covers pregnancy and delivery costs.
Use the resources available to you. There are several websites online that allow you to privately input your family's information, and use it to compare health insurance policies and prices. This can be extremely beneficial to those who may not have the time to shop around for this information on their own.
Even if you have a PPO, if you're considering any kind of procedure, you should definitely contact your health insurance company to be sure the procedure you want to have is covered. All too often, people have procedures done without checking with their health insurance company, only to find after the fact that the procedure was not covered and they are now 100% financially responsible for it. Know before you go!
When shopping for health insurance, consider your need for maternity coverage. Maternity coverage is often expensive and leaving it off can save you thousands. Even if you are planning to add to your family, consider your desire to use a birth center or participate in a home birth. These options might not be covered by your policy, even with maternity coverage, so the extra premium paid may be wasted.
Group insurance is almost always cheaper than personal insurance, so see if any organizations in your area offer it to members and then join the group. There are many groups that offer insurance to people who are self-employed, or alumni of a college, for example. Check around locally and you're bound to find many options to choose from.
When shopping for health insurance, consider your need for maternity coverage. Maternity coverage is often expensive and leaving it off can save you thousands. Even if you are planning to add to your family, consider your desire to use a birth center or participate in a home birth. These options might not be covered by your policy, even with maternity coverage, so the extra premium paid may be wasted.
Purchasing a good health care policy is amongst one of the most important decisions of your life, and you should make an educated choice. Know what each individual policy offers, deductibles, and co-pays. What you don't want is to purchase a policy blindly and find out in the event of an emergency you don't have the coverage you need.
When trying to search for a new health insurance plan that suits your needs, try to shop around a bit. Like other major purchases, it makes a great deal of sense to shop and get quotes from multiple policies. It doesn't matter if you are looking for supplemental, primary, or short term policies, you can at least get some quotes and information from possible providers now.
Buy your health insurance as part of a group package. Group insurance usually has a lower cost than individual health insurance plans. If you currently are employed, your employer should be able to provide group rates to all employees. You can also get a group rate by joining an alumni association or a union.
Look out for health insurance polices that also offer eye and dental care converge. Some health plans now include this extra converge and these plans could save you a lot of money. Paying separately for dental procedures, lens, glasses, annual eye and dental checkups, etc. can really add up.
Review the claims process before selecting a health insurance policy. Some carriers work with medical offices to streamline and simplify the claims process. Others require you to pay for care out of your pocket and submit claims for reimbursement. Depending on your personal preferences and medical needs, the claims process may be read more an important consideration when selecting health insurance coverage.
Begin educating yourself on what the basic types of health insurance plans are, in order to make the right choice for your needs. For example, you should know the difference between an HMO, which requires you to choose a healthcare provider from its network, and a PPO, which allows you more flexibility in choosing your doctor. Start by understanding the basic differences, then get more details on the type of plan that is more suitable for you.
Hopefully this article has taken away some of the confusion and burden of health insurance and given you some great ideas on which coverage to look out for and what pitfalls to avoid. This process has become one of those unpleasant yet necessary parts of life that we do not really look forward to but really have no way around so any way of making it easier is well worth your looking in to!
Telehealth changing care from outer space to local clinics
A coach for the Detroit Red Wings hockey team beams an ultrasound image of a player's ankle from the locker room to a nearby hospital. Doctors diagnose a fracture.
A similar ultrasound device, miles above on the international space station, peers into astronauts' chests and examines how their lungs weathered a recent spacewalk.
Welcome to the world of telehealth. Those examples are a few from the field, more narrowly defined as telemedicine. Telehealth uses digital technology to project a doctor's presence in places as different as rural Kansas and outer space, without the patient ever stepping into a physician's office.
Telehealth made a shaky debut in the early 1990s, when high costs, regulatory barriers and plodding Internet speeds hampered its acceptance. But today, improved technology and falling costs have made innovations like videoconferencing, home medical monitoring and digital records available to more Americans.
It has even become a White House priority.
"The 21st century health care system is using a 19th century paperwork system," President Bush said during an address last month in Baltimore.
Bush cited the subject in his State of the Union address this year, asking Congress for $100 million to improve health care information technology. A presidential committee has said it will release a report in June recommending that federal agencies make it an integral part of the nation's health care planning.
Interest in better medical oversight has spiked since a federal study in 1999 estimated that 98,000 people die annually from medical errors that occur in hospitals -- some of which could be prevented by computerized systems to check prescriptions, monitor drug interactions and offer better access to records.
"Patients will be the greatest winners," said Jeffrey Dunbar, who founded a telemedicine firm in the mid-1990s and now works for Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. "The technology has come a great way ... We have taken a quantum leap in the past five years."
https://edition.cnn.com/2004/HEALTH/05/10/tele.health.final/index.html
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1ZiSk2MOF17UdugnGNqOAojsLDrM0Qu-pLwshdGqch_M/edit?usp=sharing