Is Health Insurance Cheaper If You're Healthy?

Insurance companies have various ways of determining health insurance premiums. The laws which regulate these practices vary from state to state. Currently many insurance companies charge rates according to the health of each applicant for individual policies. Generally the person's age, gender and occupation are factors in determining rates. Current and pre-existing conditions are also factors in establishing prices.

The Health Status Rating is a rating system which charges higher premiums to people who have medical conditions or a history of medical conditions. Oftentimes, a health status rating is used for people who are joining a health plan for the first time. This is primarily used for individual and small group health plans.

The Health Status Rating system specifies certain conditions which could increase the likelihood that new clients may need health care. In these cases a person who might need health care could pay more than one who does not indicate a need for health care. Currently insurance companies can decide to offer or decline insurance coverage to people with certain underlying conditions. However, beginning in 2014 under the new health care insurance law they may not be able to do this.

Employers seeing their health insurance costs increase are raising rates. They can do this by requiring some workers to either pay higher deductibles or increase the costs of their policies. Individuals and families who don't have employer-provided health insurance are particularly vulnerable to high rates because they must pay for the total insurance bill on their own.

One national company has requested that employees must reveal their weight, height, body fat and blood pressure. The company referred to this as a "health screening and wellness review." Employees who refuse to provide the information will be required to pay an extra $50.00 per month for their health insurance.

Let take a look at this requested information. First of all the company wants to know the height, weight and body fat levels. This means they want to know the percentage of body fat relative to your overall height and weight. Your body fat percentage is calculated by taking your age, height, weight, gender and waist measurement into account. This will determine if you have too much or too little body fat. Body fat levels affect the immune system. Too much or too little can increase the risk of developing health problems.

High levels of body fat can be dangerous to your health because excess body fat increases your risk of developing serious health problems. High blood pressure is one of the primary risk factors. Excess amounts of body fat also increases your risk of developing high cholesterol, cancer and diabetes.

Low levels of body fat can be detrimental to health in numerous ways. Extreme low levels of body fat decrease the function of the immune system. This increases the body's susceptibility to illness. It can also deprive the body of stored energy and lead to a loss of bone density which can increase the risk of stress fractures.

Your health insurance costs may definitely be cheaper if you are in good health. Therefore, your best option to avoid an increase in your cost of future health insurance is to be as healthy as you can be. In general, eating right and exercising will go a long way towards achieving this goal.

[Continue reading...]

Does Health Insurance Cover Plastic Surgery?

Plastic surgery is not only used to make people look good. It many cases, it is necessary or the patient's well-being. These cases are called reconstructive surgeries. It means that a part of the patient's body has been damaged and need to be repaired. Most insurance agencies will cover a lot of reconstructive surgeries.

In order to be covered, any plastic surgery must be necessary for the patent's well-being. For example, plastic surgery of the nose is covered only if it is meant to clear the respiratory ways, thus allowing the patient to breath. An insurance agency will pay for plastic surgery for lips, if their actual state prevents the insured from eating.

These reconstructive procedures are usually necessary for people who were involved in an accident. However, the doctor needs to convince the agency that the plastic surgery is necessary from a medical point of view. There are many cases where reconstruction of the skin was not covered because it served only a cosmetic purpose, even though the person was involved in a serious accident.

Breast reconstruction is covered after mastectomy. This procedure is required by law if the woman's breasts had to be removed because of cancer. Breast reduction surgery is covered only if the weight of the breast can damage the woman's back.

There is one big exception which is covered by most agencies: weight-loss surgery. People who suffer from obesity are in danger of facing many other medical complications. If they are insured, most future medical expenses will be paid by the agency. In this case, a weight-loss surgery can save the insurance company a lot of money. However, not everyone can qualify for this procedure. Only people how suffer from severe obesity and their health is in great danger may get coverage for such a surgery. Will the skin reconstruction procedure be covered? No, unless it is necessary. Saggy skin, in most cases, does not endanger your life, so it is not covered.

What about plastic surgery for the sake of looking good? Is there any agency that covers such procedures? I am sorry to disappoint you, but no. it is highly unlikely that you will find any health plan to cover plastic surgeries that serve only a cosmetic purpose. So, if you want to make your nose a bit smaller, or lips a bit bigger, you'll just have to pay for it out of your own pocket.

[Continue reading...]

Health Insurance for the Beginner

When it comes to your family, selecting the right health insurance plan could be one of the most crucial decisions you ever make. There are so many choices, but in a sense, for your loved ones there will never be enough. With plans changing from year to year, costs going up and down, it is a good idea to do a bit of research before finally purchasing your policy. It may take a little longer to aquaint yourself with the area of health insurance, however, in the long run, it will definitely be the best for all involved.

There are two basic types of health insurance: indemnity plans, sometimes called fee-for-service, and managed care plans. With indemnity plans, you are allowed to use any medical provider. You also have a deductible to pay each year before the health insurance company starts paying. In this plan, fees for medical tests are prescription drugs are paid for.

While indemnity plans offer choice of doctors and health care providers, managed care plans have contracts with certain physicians and providers to supply services to members at a lower price. A managed care plan has reduced costs, but smaller selection of doctors and services. Three forms of the managed care plan are: Preferred Provider Organization (PPO), Health Maintenance Organization (HMO), and Point-of-Service (POS) Plan.

Health care can be extremely costly; that's a given. But, just how expensive? There are quite a few different costs to take into account when looking into health insurance. First, there is the premium, or the monthly fee for coverage. Premiums range considerably depending on your coverage. Next comes the deductible, the dollar amount that has to be fulfilled before the company aids in your health care costs. And of course, there are co-payments and co-insurance; two more ways of dividing up expenses with your health insurance company.

[Continue reading...]

Why Does Health Insurance Cost So Much?

Why does health insurance cost so much? Year after year, many of the articles that appear in print detail the specific factors driving the cost of healthcare.

These factors include: general inflation, advances in drugs and other medical devices, rising hospital and doctor expenses, government mandates, increased consumer demand, litigation, fraud, and cost shifting.

The basic answer is that a magic bullet to solve the cost of insurance does not exist because the real difficulty is controlling the cost of healthcare. A simple way to dramatically decrease the dollars spent on healthcare is to reduce the demand for healthcare.

I have seen estimates that up to 40% of all healthcare related expenses result from preventable conditions. These preventable conditions are caused by lifestyle choices such as tobacco, obesity, stress, lack of exercise and poor diet.

Most of us, myself included, make lifestyle choices everyday that eventually increase our demand for healthcare. We are never going to be able to totally eliminate all lifestyle related healthcare costs. However, improved lifestyle choices would cause a dramatic reduction in demand. This would then result in a similar reduction in the dollars spent on healthcare.

Lower demand for healthcare would result in lower health insurance costs, increased productivity, and reduced absenteeism. If your organization has not done so already, your organizational leaders need to seriously consider the benefits of health promotion and disease prevention programs. Your return on investment will most likely be as high as 2:1 in the first year.

[Continue reading...]

How to Shop for Individual Health Insurance

If you find yourself in the position of shopping for an 
individual health insurance policy, there are certain things 
you'll want to keep in mind. Whether you are coming out of 
a job that covered you before, or are at the end of your 
COBRA benefits, or simply have never had coverage before 
there are things you can do to get coverage on yourself and 
your loved ones.

The basic thing to know is that if you have a shot a group 
health insurance, whether through a job or an association 
you're a member of, that is usually much more affordable 
than buying individual health insurance on your own. First 
you need to figure out your health insurance goals; in other 
words, what are you after? If you're young, healthy as a 
horse, no dependents and not attempting Mt. Everest next 
week, you may want to opt for a policy that covers only the 
catastrophes, and cover the rest out-of-pocket. On the flip 
side of that, if you're the sole bread winner with a family 
to support, the scenario is different.

The basic choices you'll have are Fee-for-Service, Managed 
Care Plans, and Association-based health insurance. Fee-for- 
service is the traditional indemnity plan, harder to 
acquire, more expensive, but usually great coverage. 
Managed care plans include most HMO's and PPO's. These offer 
lower costs but your choices are somewhat limited. Another 
way to get insured is through a group or association you 
may already be a member of, such as professional, religious 
or trade organizations. Often they may offer health 
insurance. It's worth checking out, as sometimes you can 
strike gold in this vein.

Things to consider when you're looking for any policy are 
what's covered on this plan, how much are the monthly 
premiums, what is the yearly out-of-pocket, what is the 
deductible, how much are office visits, does it cover 
preventative medicine, vision, dental? And I'm sure you can 
come up with many of your own. Sit down before you go 
shopping and make a list of your needs and wants, and decide 
in advance what you're willing to give to get. Be aware that 
once you start getting quotes they can vary as much as 50% 
for the same person! Remember, you're shopping, and nobody's 
making you do anything. If one insurer isn't cutting it, 
move on to another. If you're coming at this cold and have 
no good recommendations it may be wise to use a broker who 
represents several companies, as he or she wil be more 
likely to find the best policy for you, as opposed to 
selling the company they work for.

Shopping for individual health insurance can be 
frustrating and time-consuming, but if you come armed with 
facts you'll be able to navigate this highly competitive and 
ever-changing field.

[Continue reading...]