Posts Tagged health insurance providers

How to Find Proper Healthcare Coverage

There a lot of things a person should consider before enrolling himself or herself in a personal health insurance program or signing his or her family up for a family insurance plan. Whatever the case, always weigh your options and consider how much you can afford and what you and your family will need. It takes more than comparing one or two health insurance quotes; you must also consider quality and availability.HMO vs. PPOHMO stands for Health Maintenance Organization, while PPO is Preferred Provider Organization. Both offer quality individual or family insurance plans but HMO and PPO also differ several ways. The main advantage of an HMO-based health insurance plan is the cost. Their premiums are lower than other plans and very affordable for the common consumer. The medical and other health benefits covered in an HMO-governed family or personal health insurance plan is serviced by doctors and hospitals listed in their network.PPOs, on the other hand, offer more flexibility than an HMO plan, as you get to choose your own doctor and basically   have more control over your health plan. However, a health insurance quote from a PPO is more expensive compared to that of an HMO.HMO is cheap while PPO offers autonomy. Your decision will ultimately depend on your family’s financial situation as well as their needs.Personal or Group CoverageIndividual health insurance is designed to cover unemployed and self-employed personnel. It is a bit expensive and sometimes health insurance providers will reject your application for insurance if you have an existing health condition. Group insurance is a cheaper alternative and if ever you get terminated from work for reasons other than grave misconduct, you can apply for COBRA (Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1986) and be covered for 18 months. Another great thing about group insurance is that, often times, they cover members of the group regardless of their profiles and pre-existing medical conditions.Changes in the PlanYou also need to know whether you can alter your health plans in the future should the need arise. If you get married or if your wife has just given birth, you need to be able to add your spouse or your child as a dependent. Try to find out if you can switch plans if your current plan won’t suit your needs in the future.Prescription DrugsYou also need to consider if your plan will co-pay for any prescription drugs that you or your family might need. Most health plans shoulder a significant share of prescription drugs costs if the drug purchased is included in their list of prescriptions covered. For generic drugs, you can expect to pay about $5-$10 while you can pay upwards of about $25-$50 for name brand drugs.Added BenefitsTry to find out whether or not you need to add other benefits to your health insurance package. These added benefits can include dental, vision, and various therapies. While adding extra services to your plan may seem to be a good idea, choose only those options that you really need as they add up to the total price of your insurance policy.Talk to an Insurance AgentTaking some time to chat with a professional can give you a clearer picture of the whole situation. You can detail your needs and your financial range while the agent can come up with a policy that suits your specifications. But don’t just talk with one agent, talk to several and see who presents the best offer.Enrolling in an insurance program is an important investment. You should carefully consider each option available to you and discern whether these policies meet your needs, coverage and financial comfort. Do not settle for a cheap insurance package with low-level benefits and small coverage. By shopping around, you can obtain a quality insurance policy that really covers your needs and fits nicely with your wallet.

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Related posts

The Healthcare Reform: What Does That Mean For Family Law In New York

I am so excited that the healthcare reform bill has finally been passed.  Not only for myself but for my clients who opt out of certain divorce settlements because of the cost of obtaining their own healthcare coverage.  For instance, a client of mine recently spent several years and several thousand dollars trying to settle a case only to agree to a Separation Agreement so that his ex-wife can remain on his health insurance since she had a pre-existing condition.
Up til now, well actually not until 2014 when the pertinent provision goes into effect, health insurance providers were able to deny coverage based on pre-existing conditions or they would charge astronomical premiums for this group.  In fact, part of the basis for the Domestic Relations Law, Section 177, enacted in 2007, was to put all parties on notice that the provider/spouse may no longer be required or permitted to continue coverage for the non-provider/spouse.  Oftentimes it was the wife, especially unemployed or underemployed wife, who was covered by her husband’s health insurance and was not aware that his employer prohibited continued coverage once the parties divorced.  This created a huge problem for many women, particularly  middle-aged and older, when it was difficult for them to obtain coverage on their own since they are more susceptible to particular illnesses.
If they are of Medicare age then not so much, but the younger wives had very few options.  Additionally, in non-maintenance divorces, having the resources to obtain health insurance was almost impossible, even more so when the wife had a pre-existing condition.  So now, under this new law, more uninsured and “uninsurable” will be covered by one provision or another.

As for child support, the cost of health coverage is an “necessary add-on expense”, which is added to the basic child support obligation of the non-custodial parent.  This meant that in cases where the basic child support amount already consumed most of the custodial parent’s disposable income, that the cost of adding a child to his health insurance made the circumstances even worse especially if the child had major health issues.  Now, since this portion of the healthcare reform goes into effect immediately, no insurance provider can deny a child with pre-existing condition and thus the custodial parent’s cost for maintaining coverage does not have to send him to the poorhouse.   On the other hand though, the provision that states that providers can no longer “kick off” dependents once they reach 18 years old will certainly create a burden for the non-custodial parent.  In New York, the child support obligation terminates at the age of 21, unless emancipation occurs before then, but the add-on expense of maintaining health insurance coverage ended at 18.  So now, the custodial parent may petition the court to continue coverage until at least 21, since the legislative and judicial branches deal with how the new bill affects that provision of the Family Court Act.

Child custody and juvenile delinquency cases are also affected by the new law.   Since serious health concerns of the child and the ability to provide for them may be a factor in custody determinations and many juvenile delinquents need therapeutic/psychological treatment, ensuring  that coverage will be intact will affect how the courts address these issues.  Despite the fact that Medicaid, and other government sponsored programs, covers millions of children in New York there are still many who were not eligible for any of these.

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Related posts