Florida Health Insurance Chat l Group Health Insurance Blog

A free healthcare clinic in Ohio has taken on new members of staff so that they can treat more patients. The Free Medical Clinic of Greater Cleveland has been treating patients without dental insurance for some time now; however, recently, the clinic has expanded and is now welcoming more patients through the door than ever before. It is estimated that staff are now helping around 140 patients per week.

The clinic targets those who have no insurance and patients who have policies which only cover basic treatments; currently, the number of people without both health insurance in Ohio and dental insurance is extremely high in the USA and thousands of people are putting off going for treatment because they cannot afford the associated costs.The clinic offers routine treatments, including examinations and dental X-rays, as well as preventative treatments; recently, the clinic has also teamed up with a local dentist who is offering veneers. Patients can also benefit from emergency treatment.

Samir Ridha, the health director at the clinic, said that the clinic was now helping more people than ever before and new members of staff have enabled them to increase the range of treatments available to patients. They hope to continue helping those in need and are looking to expand further in the future.

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A rule that will require health insurers to maintain a medical loss ratio (MLR) of 80% for their individual and small-group products already has caused some health insurance broker to restructure they way they pay brokers and agents. Other insurers have decided to scale back or exit the individual market. One health plan has said it will close its doors at the end of the year due in large part to the new rule, according to interviews and documents obtained by HPW.

The regulations, such as the exclusion of lifetime and annual benefit limits, also could have a negative impact on the individual and small-group markets. Beginning on Jan. 1, health insurers must ensure that at least 80% of premiums for small-group and individual products go toward medical costs or activities that improve health care quality. The MLR floor is 85% for the large-group market. Health plans that don’t meet the minimum MLR will be required to pay a rebate to customers.
While the rules regarding how MLR will be calculated have not yet been released, some health plans already have made changes. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) says it will provide HHS with final recommendations for the new regulations later this summer. The ratios could “potentially disrupt the availability of private health insurance,” Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty wrote in a June 16 letter to NAIC President Jane Cline. In the letter, McCarty encouraged the association to study the public policy and legal implications of excluding agent commissions from MLR calculations.

An NAIC actuarial subgroup recommended that HHS adjust the MLR requirement in states where the percentage could “destabilize” the individual market. The subcommittee proposed that a three-year transition period be allowed in such states. By that time, individual policies are slated to be sold through state-run insurance exchanges. At a June 22 meeting between President Obama, health plan CEOs and state regulators, Kansas Insurance Commissioner Sandy Praeger suggested that the MLR rule be phased in for individual and small-group plans.

One of the nation’s leading healthcare providers, is partnering with Health Compare , a one-stop online guide to help individuals and families easily research, compare, buy and enroll in the right individual health insurance plan at the right price.With more than 9.5 percent of our nation’s population currently unemployed, it is crucial that the healthcare industry understand and cater to the changing needs of today’s consumers. A partnership between CIGNA and Health Compare will allow both companies an opportunity to successfully meet their demands and expectations.

“Based on these staggering unemployment statistics, it is critical for us to help the millions of people who are currently without proper health coverage,” said Kathy Feeny, Senior Vice President of Health Compare. “Our goal is to reach those that may not be able to afford COBRA and make them aware of the available cost-effective alternatives.”

Using proprietary technology, Health Compare presents easy-to-understand information on health plans — including PPO and HSA — providing the tools to transform choice into real decisions. Users simply enter their information and receive instant quotes online based on CIGNA’s local offerings.

“We are thrilled to be teaming up with Health Compare as it will serve as an outlet for us to connect with consumers seeking cost-efficient health plans as an alternative to COBRA,” said Chris Roames, VP of Alternative Sales, CIGNA Individual Segment. “Having the opportunity to work together will allow us to target this audience and deliver the options that successfully meet their individual needs.” With over two decades of experience and 600,000 policies managed by corporate parent, The Word & Brown Companies, all Health  Compare customers can rely on Health Compare client support representatives to always be at their side, providing them with a renowned and unbiased “Service of Unequalled Excellence.”

Rosita Velez seems like just the sort of person federal lawmakers had in mind when they included a provision in the sweeping health reform law creating new high-risk insurance pools for people who are uninsured and have serious health problems.

Velez has not seen a doctor since losing her health benefits after being laid off by AT&T in 2008. The 34-year-old Bridgeport resident no longer fills the four prescriptions she needs for rheumatoid arthritis. Instead, she soaks her hands and feet in hot water.

Right now, Gov. M. Jodi Rell and top state health officials are trying to determine whether Connecticut residents like Velez would be a better off under a state-run high-risk insurance pool or a federally-run program. Some outside experts say a federal program might be better, but not enough information is publicly available to determine how much someone like Velez would have to pay in monthly premiums.

Indeed, Velez, who barely scrapes by right now on her limited income, might not be able to take advantage of this new program at all, no matter who runs it.At issue is a provision in the federal health-care overhaul that called for the creation of new high-risk insurance pools, designed to provide coverage for people with pre-existing group health insurance conditions and who have been without insurance for at least six months.

Congress established a $5 billion pot of money to create the new insurance pools and gave states the option of running their own program or having the federal government run it for them.The high-risk pools are a stop-gap measure, set to expire in 2014, when insurers will no longer be able to deny coverage to people with pre-existing conditions and will be required to charge those patients standard rates.

A term policy has a set coverage period - anywhere from one to 30 years. When it reaches the end of that term, the policyholder decides to renew it or not. Term policies provide no cash buildup like whole or universal life insurance - it only provides a death benefit if the insured dies while the policy is in effect. Because term doesn’t provide an investment component (the cash value), term is generally much cheaper to buy than whole or universal life.

There is debate whether to buy term life insurance or whole life. Some argue whole life is poor because you might get a better return from other investments. Yet there are good purposes for these investment-feature policies - such as part of an estate-planning strategy.  first, decide if you need insurance. People without dependents generally don’t, while people with spouses and families do. The primary point of life insurance is to replace income if a breadwinner dies.

Questions you should ask when buying insurance:

How much income would your spouse and children need to replace your income over a period of years based on your current age? Will your spouse or guardian need to provide childcare support?  Is there a mortgage to pay off? Are there substantial short-term debts to pay off?  What are estimated college expenses for children and spouses, and when will those expenses start? How much will burial expenses be?

Online life insurance calculators can help you address questions 1-8. The last two questions require more thinking in terms of what you or your spouse has done with estate planning. Youth and health are also factors in how much insurance you can afford. Life insurers will investigate suspicious claims, so be honest about facts you report.

Many term life policies are both “renewable” and “convertible.” Renewable means you can renew coverage without a medical exam. Convertible allows you to convert your term policy into an equivalent cash value policy from the same carrier during the term of the policy. The kind of coverage you choose depends on your personal needs.

It’s important to work with financially healthy carriers. Insure.com provides free ratings from Standard & Poor’s on various insurers. Other online sites provide ratings from A.M. Best. Finally, don’t buy insurance and forget about it. Review your insurance purchases every few years as part of your overall financial plan. Life circumstances change - incomes rise and fall and family size changes. Your insurance holdings need to reflect current needs and conditions.

With the right amount of storm surge, especially in this area where homes sit right on top of the sand, oil could very easily make its way into our own backyards. So can we rely on our insurance policies to protect us?In property policies there are direct perils. Wind is a peril for an insurance policy. A fire is a peril for an insurance policy. You have to have direct damage to your property. Something like oil on the beach is not a physical damage to your structure itself, and therefore the policies unfortunately do not respond,” said Tina Blackwell, Vice President of Blackwell Insurance.

Since the Deepwater Horizon rig explosion, local insurance agents have had to field questions on policies daily.So to help clear the air, Newschannel 7 asked the question on many homeowners’ minds. “What do you do to protect your property from hypothetical oily storm damage?”"People need to make sure they have flood insurance and not just regular homeowner’s insurance if they want coverage,” said Trey Hutt of Hutt Insurance Agency.

“The flood insurance is going to respond with any flood. FEMA is the lead on all flood insurance policies and they have come out and said they will address oil claims,” said Blackwell.In June, FEMA announced “the mixing of oil and other pollutants with flood waters is not unusual during a storm” and damage caused by pollutant-filled flood water is covered under the National Flood Insurance Program.

This means FEMA will cover damages due to oil driven ashore by a hurricane, but you must have term life  insurance to qualify.”Probably the number one problem we see with insurance, other than valuation issues, are people not buying flood insurance. If you’re in Florida, just because you don’t think you’re in a flood zone, doesn’t mean you’re not prone to being flooded,” Hutt said. Even among flood policy holders, there is still a gray area when it comes to potential oil damage. Each claim is handled on a case by case basis.

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Even after selecting the best insurance firm in accordance to the information received from the instant auto insurance quotes, it is advisable that more research should be done on the credibility of the insurance firm before buying the policy. Use the services of organizations like Better Business Bureau who have specialized in revealing the reputation of insurance firms. You can also visit your state’s department of insurance website for confirmation on whether an insurance company is licensed to offer auto insurance services.

Discovery Benefits of Fargo is getting its 15 minutes of fame on the Internet.And it isn’t pretty.
It involves a story about a single mother in Colorado Springs, Colo., who lost her job and is battling leukemia and was in jeopardy of losing group  health insurance.
The reason? A check she sent to continue health coverage through her former employer was short.
The discrepancy resulted when La Rosa Carrington had to estimate her premium because a stimulus program paid part of the tab.Carrington’s estimate of her monthly premium was $165.15, but the amount due was $165.16. A form letter generated by computer software informed the woman that her coverage was not “reinstated” due to insufficient payment.

The story about Carrington’s turmoil appeared Tuesday in the Colorado Springs Gazette under the headline “A penny for this thought: Outrage.”By Wednesday afternoon, the story went viral after it was picked up by the Drudge Report, the Internet tabloid.“My medical bills are coming in like locusts, and you’re holding up my benefits because of one red cent?” Carrington told a reporter from her hospital bed last week.

Carrington, 52, was able to get the matter straightened out in three hours “on a day when she wasn’t feeling good, and upset her so much that she got a headache and had trouble sleeping,” the Gazette reported.Now Discovery Benefits is eager to get out its version of the story – sending a statement to news organizations, and talking to reporters.

“She was never in jeopardy of losing coverage over this,” said John Biwer, president of Discovery Benefits, which acts as a “middle man” between the insurance company, employer, health providers and individuals receiving coverage through their former employer.During Carrington’s three hours of angst, Discovery Benefits was on the phone with the insurance company and hospital to resolve the problem, Biwer said.

The miscommunication that caused Carrington’s anxiety and frustration was blown out of proportion in news coverage, he said.“The story is somebody was wronged,” Biwer added. “At the end of the day, she was never in jeopardy of losing her coverage.”Barbara Cotter, the Gazette reporter who wrote the story, disagrees that her reporting was inaccurate.

Buying life insurance for the first time can be a daunting task for anyone. Finding the best provider to fit a person’s needs, filling out all the paperwork and satisfying all the requirements can be quite scary for many people. Luckily, there are several time- and money-saving tips that a person can utilize while buying life insurance.

firstly you can Quit smoking before purchasing life insurance. The simple fact of the matter is that smoking greatly raises the mortality rate for people who partake in the activity. The health risks of smoking are great, and smokers will find that their life insurance premiums will be much higher than those who are smoke free. Most life insurance providers will evaluate each case individually, taking into account the amount of tobacco used, current health problems caused by smoking and length of time a person has smoked. Life insurance providers will also evaluate the length of time a person has been smoke free, so it is a good idea for a person to give up the habit at least 12 months prior to purchasing life insurance, in order to save themselves from an increased premium.

You can Purchase life insurance early, rather than later in life. For many people, buying life insurance in their younger years seems like a waste of money. The truth of the matter is that the younger a person is when they purchase life insurance, the less their premiums will be. Besides saving a person money, buying life insurance at a young age also increases the likelihood that they will be accepted by an insurance company. Insurance companies are allowed to deny whole life insurance, and the truth of the matter is that as a person ages, it becomes less profitable for an insurance company to cover them.

In addition to life insurance, younger individuals will benefit from purchasing accident insurance at an earlier age. Most companies will guarantee acceptance for individuals ages 18 to 35.