Healthy New York Health Insurance Plan
Reader’s Question:
I’m looking to purchase a health insurance policy here in New York in the near future. What do I need to know about health insurance?
Milton
NYC
Milton, to give you an overview of what health insurance, it is mainly just another type of insurance covering hospital or medical expenses. Say, you were diagnosed with something life-threatening, like a stroke. A bypass operation was found out to be needed. It is unfortunate that after the surgery, therapy and other expenses will still hound you. It is really financially backbreaking to undergo a medical procedure such as a bypass operation without sufficient health care plans. Paying for a medical operation such as that will literally wipe out your fortune in a few months’ time.
You have to remember that this type of insurance product has a high decline rate. According to a study, around thirteen percent of applicants were denied to get a comprehensive medical health insurance in 2004. What does this mean? It means that while you are young, healthy and capable of paying for a health insurance, then you should do so. Who knows, a year or 5 years from now, you may be one of those guys included in the thirteen percent tally of declined applicants deemed as very risky. Not only that, but having a health care plan actually would make you a healthier person as you will be more inclined to go for check-ups.
Milton, if I may add also, non-smokers are given the privilege of having smaller premiums. To ask for quotations, please contact your health insurance agent in New York.
Exclusions in Health Insurance Policy Louisiana LA
Reader’s Question:
I understand very little about health insurance policies, and I constantly feel in the dark. I do not even have a clear idea of what might not be included, and this worries me. I’ve just always thought that health care insurance policies would save me from exorbitant medical expenses! Can you explain some of the limitations of a health insurance policy? I live in Louisiana.
Joy
New Orleans, LA
If you think that your healthcare plan includes every medical cost you might have in the future, you’re up for a surprise. Mostly, a very good health insurance plan means that you will only need to pay for a minimal amount, but certainly there are limitations to what is covered. Here are some exclusions to your healthcare policy.
First of these are pre-existing conditions. Many health insurance companies are reluctant to shoulder the cost of those medical conditions that you already had before you bought the health insurance policy. Insurers generally have an exclusion period of about 6 months; The state of Louisiana allows this period to be as long as one year. This means you cannot get coverage for pre-existing conditions within the first 6 or 12 months, depending on your contract.
Another is drug abuse. This exclusion assumes that you have inflicted the problem upon yourself. So, in the same way, attempts at committing suicide are excluded. So is alcoholism.
Mental illness–especially if it has already manifested before the start of your contract– will not be covered, as well. So, your psychiatric care will not be paid for by the health insurance company. The same goes for any treatment for learning and behavioral problems.
Cosmetic surgery is not vital to life or living, so looking more beautiful is something you will have to spend for on your own. Most medical procedures considered to be preventive are part of the exclusions, too. So are dental and eye care.
Of course, the best advice I could give is for you to make sure that you read your contract with any insurer very carefully and ask your health insurance company the questions that boggle you.
Tags: Health Care, health insurance, insurance
Prescription Drug Coverage Colorado CO
Reader’s Question:
I reside here in Westminster, Colorado, and the reason why I wrote is to ask if I still have to avail of prescription drug coverage even though I am already carrying major medical coverage.
Amber
Westminster, CO
The answer to your question is just simple. Why don’t you try to carefully read your policy in order for you to know which things it actually covers? For your information, major medical policies usually include prescription drug coverage. But it still depends on the company that holds your health insurance.
Now, if your major medical coverage does have prescription drug coverage, you still have to check if the coverage satisfies all your needs. In case you do not know, there are two available kinds of major medical coverage, which are supplemental and comprehensive major medical coverage.
With supplemental major medical coverage, you have to buy a basic health insurance plan. Then, you will first have to exhaust this plan before you are able to enjoy the supplemental major medical coverage. The only thing is that supplemental major medical coverage is another policy altogether, and typically it does not pay for things like basic visits to the doctor.
On the other hand, comprehensive major medical policy is a full-proof kind of major medical plan because it pays for almost every kind of expense, such as hospital expense, surgical expense, physician’s expense and other major medical expenses. But be reminded that the provisions of these medical policies still vary from company to company.
So, after knowing all these, I still suggest that you read your policy, or just contact your health insurance provider there in Colorado.
Tags: Health Care, health insurance
Spring break travel health insurance
Reader question:
I’m going on spring break this spring. Normally I’m insured through my school, but do I need a different health insurance for this?
July
Depends.
I think the first step for you would be to ask your school’s health insurance provider what their rules are for traveling while insured. Most school plans will at least cover you if you go home over break or during the summer. It depends on the school, but that might cover you regardless of where in the country you go. However, if you plan on traveling outside of the country for spring break, then that is a whole other story.
A lot of insurance companies for travel health insurance have certain plans for young people every year around the time for spring break. There’s nothing exactly for college and university students, usually, but a lot of times the plans are offered for people under thirty. One extremely cheap options is from Travel Guard Insurance, which has a program for people in their twenties and under which can cost from $29 on up for every trip. The cost of the insurance is dependent on the cost of the trip, but you only pay one time per trip.
One travel health insurance plan that might be particularly appealing to young people traveling during spring break, or even for any other break, is the Lifeguard plan offered by Champion health insurance. This costs about $47 for a trip averaging around fifteen days in length, and if you plan on doing anything risky, such as white water rafting or mountain climbing, you can add on a high risk provision for 15% more, averaging at $54. Champion’s CEO states that his company wants to raise awareness of the need for travel insurance when going on vacations or any other trek out of the country, because many people aren’t aware of not being covered while traveling.
There are a bunch of things that you will need from a travel insurance company that are usually offered. This things include provisions for if your trip ends up being cancelled midway, emergencies, delays in your travel plans, and losing your things through the airport. You might figure that coverage isn’t necessary, but you never know what you will need. Your insurance company should also have a all day all night help line which you can call from anywhere in the world to ask questions about your coverage.
If you get travel insurance, you should make sure that you are covered for being transported back to the U.S. in the case of your death. It’s not something you want to think about, but it’s always a possibility, and no one knows when they’re going to die. If you die in another country, they have no obligation to follow the traditions of your country or to send you back, and transporting a body can be expensive.
Most of all, just make sure that you make yourself safe for your trip, know where to go for medical help wherever you are at, and have fun!
Cheers,
Fashun Guadarrama.
International health insurance
Reader question:
We’ve just started making enough money so that we can seriously think about taking vacations every year. We’re planning the first one now (way ahead of time), and we’re trying to make sure that we do everything right, because we want to travel internationally and we’ve never been out of the country before. What should we plan for with international health insurance?
Mike & Susanne
Great question.
Everybody knows that they should have health insurance at home just in case something happens, and it doesn’t make sense that there are people who don’t think the same for international travel health insurance. It’s much easier to get into trouble when you’re in a place that you’re completely unfamiliar with. What if you end up driving in England? Accidents would be more likely while you’re getting used to their different driving styles. Getting a travel health insurance plan is extremely important, even if you will only be gone for a short amount of time. Here are some tips.
- MEDICAL EVACUATION.
This is one of the most important features for your international health insurance plan to have. If you just stuck with your regular health insurance plan, then you might get at most $1k for medical transportation, which is great at home, considering that an ambulance usually costs around five hundred dollars. However, if you travel outside of the country, one thousand dollars won’t life light you home, so you’ll need a much higher cap for a travel plan.
There are so many cases where Americans will go to a country and get injured or sick, only to arrive at an out of the way local hospital where their needs might not be met. These customers will then have to be transported via helicopter to a hospital more up on Western medicine, and those costs can come up to as much as $50,000–just for the flight!
You might think insurance isn’t necessary when you go on a cruise, but it’s the most important time to get it, especially medical evac coverage. If you’re on a ship, it costs more to get a flight, and the distance will most likely be longer since in most cases you will be being transported back to the states.
- Expect the unexpected.
I think it’s wonderful that the two of you are planning your trip so thoroughly, but there may be one aspect of planning that you’re missing: the possibility of cancellation or delay of your vacation. You might have your insurance, have your bags packed, your tickets paid, your hotel room reserved and everything, only to come down extremely sick the night before you leave. No one wants to go on vacation with a fever, so this can throw all the plans down the drain, especially it comes during that short one week vacation that you only get one time a year.
That’s why you need trip cancellation or interruption insurance. If you get this, then if something comes up so that you don’t get to go on your vacation, the insurance company will pay for any of those tickets, reservations, and so on that you can’t get your money back for. Same goes for if you have to end up coming home early.
- Terrorism.
It’s no fun to think about all of this stuff when you’re planning an exciting trip, but terrorism is becoming more and more prevalent, even in what are considered the safest areas. There have been many acts of terrorism even in Switzerland, where the crime rates are incredibly low. So anywhere you go, there is the possibility, just as there is if you stay at home.
Normally you can get your expenses reimbursed if the U.S. State Department hands out a warning about your destination country due to terrorist activity. You can also usually get your money back if an act of terrorism has been perpetrated in your country or city (depending on the insurance company) of destination within thirty days of your trip.
- Have fun!
The most important thing about your trip is to have a good time. Having international health insurance will make this easier, making you more secure while you’re away from home and able to know that your health is in good hands. Getting with a company that has a twenty four hour customer service line is the best way to keep yourself happy and comfortable with your plan while you are enjoying your trip.
Cheers,
Fashun Guadarrama.