Shop Around and Save November 10, 2006

Many people know to shop around to save money on most things in life. Yet when it comes to health care and insurance, a lot of people don’t realize the importance of shopping around. According to The Merced Sun-Star the average knee replacement surgery is $73,000. Since most people are choosing 70/30 plans to save money on health insurance, that can mean an out-of-pocket expense of over $20,000.

Choosing insurance can be critical to the care you can afford. Some people only choose a catastrophic care insurance, and others end up choosing treatment that is not covered by their health insurance. Unexpected bills can be disasterous to your finances. So, shopping around for insurance is of the utmost importance.

Still, shopping around for insurance is not the only thing you can do to keep your medical costs down. You can also shop around for care. You have a right to ask your doctor or hospital how much procedures will cost. If you have flexible insurance, you may be able to get the care you need somewhere that costs less.

Also, if you ask your hospital about costs, they may also be able to help you find health programs that can assist in the financial burden of procedures or care. Many hospitals have charity or payment assistance programs, and there are also private organizations that specializing in helping patients receive financial assistance. Discuss your options with your hospital and insurance patient advocate.

Shopping around can be key to not only finding health insurance that saves you from large hospital bills, but so can shopping for medical care and assistance. While there may

How Much Did Your Family Pay for Health Insurance This Year? October 26, 2006

How much did your family pay for health insurance this year? According to The Huffington Post the average family cost $10,880 this year in health insurance. While $8,167 was covered by the employer, that still leaves $2,713 to the worker.

Don’t think that figure is significant? Well, the number is a 9.5% increase over last year, and the number is expected to go up. It is also significant, because it only shows the statistics of families that have employer-based coverage. The cost of family insurance is equal to the salary of someone on minimum wage. Now is is making more sense why over 46 million people don’t have any health insurance? Even if someone is making more than minimum wage, they may not be able to afford the cost of insurance for an entire family, let alone themselves.

So, if people cannot afford health insurance, they most likely cannot afford medical care. When it comes to maintaining good health, medical care is essential. It’s time to stop just talking about changing our health care system and actually start advocating real change.

The Need for Long Term Care Insurance October 19, 2006

According to Market Day Daily News there is a health care crisis on the horizon. Met Life is reporting that 70 percent of people over 65 will need some sort of extended care before they die, and 90 percent of those over 65 years of age will have at least one chronic condition. Yet, not enough people consider whether or not regular health insurance alone will be enough.

There is a huge burden associated with long-term care. It places an emotional physical, and financial drain on the caregivers. One Met Life study done in 2003 reported the cost of long term care was $180 per day, or $66,000 per year. Yet those numbers can even rise over $150,000 with private home care. The study also estimates that by 2021 nursing home care may rise to over $175,000 per year.

So what is a person supposed to do about the rising cost of care? One alternative is long-term care insurance. This is a special insurance program that “pays for extended care when Medicare or major medical is exhausted.” There are a range of plans available that cover nursing home or home health care.

Some people say that long-term care insurance is just an added expense, but so is over $4,000 in medical bills. Would you rather pay $80 to $100 dollars as month now or $4,000 dollars a month later? You decide.

Once you know you want to consider long term care insurance you should know the facts. Start by reading the rest of the article on Market Day here, but you should also make sure you get enough quotes to compare rates and services from different companies. An informed choice is always a better choice.

Possible Expansion of HSAs September 30, 2006

Whether or not you agree with Health Savings Accounts or not, they are pretty much here to stay. A tax panel in the House of Representatives voted to approve legislation that allows people to put more money in their health savings accounts. Under this potential new legislation you would also be allowed one time transfers from your IRAs and other transfers from flex spending accounts.

The backing of this bill is mainly from Republicans, causing much debate in this election year. Republicans state that the bill makes insurance more affordable and attractive. However, Democrats are saying that the bill is only a tax break, not really health care policy. They go on to say that the bill only helps the wealthy and threatens traditional health insurance.

Depending on what side you are on, remember that this bill is not quite law…yet. The bill will probably be put on the backburner until after the break and the elections.

You can view more about this bill at eMax Health.