What’s the deal with those discount health insurance cards?

Martha

Great question.

Discount medical health insurance cards claim to be a great alternative for people who don’t have the money to be able to afford insurance. For that very reason, they may be a little attractive at first, especially to any of the millions of uninsured who have no other option. It would be a great idea to offer low cost health insurance to those who fall through the gap between government aid and medical self sufficiency. However, upon closer look, this discount medical health insurance cards aren’t all that they’re cracked up to be.

The business of discount health cards is growing fast, and many health insurance companies are now offering them as an affordable alternative to full on health insurance plans. What they do is give the card holder discounts on things like doctor appointments, hospital visits, and prescriptions. In some cases, they may be the only option for someone who can’t afford health insurance, and thus it won’t matter that that person is still footing the whole medical bill, just with a slight discount. However, for those who feel the need to avail themselves of this option, an eye should be kept out for the many cards that are fraudulent.

Many sellers of these fraudulent discount cards make it look like the cards are actual health insurance, when they aren’t. They are not regulated, and there’s no way to protect yourself as a consumer if you get one of these cards. Even the more normally legitimate businesses that offer the cards tend to make it look like the savings and discounts that you get from them are much more than they actually are. If you fall for this, you could end up paying more for a card every month than it’s saving you money.

Even if the discounts they promise are technically on the card, a lot of times there will be a bunch of under the table fees that will take those away, so that in the end the only thing that this card you have will be is a piece of useless plastic. It can have the effect of making some people who can barely afford their health insurance plan exchange it for a card, convinced by the companies that it is an actual health insurance plan, only to find themselves paying all of their medical bills.

There are many of these companies out there who are trying to steal your money without actually giving you anything in return. One company has already charged unwilling customers for cards that they never wanted, fraudulently using their credit card numbers.

Cheers,

Fashun Guadarrama.

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.

I am about to get my health insurance in New York. I am just curious, what are the factors that affect a person’s health insurance rate? I just wanna make sure that I do some research so I’ll be ready once I purchased my health insurance.

George

NYC/p>

When shopping for health insurance, your will be asked to fill out a questionnaire. This questionnaire, will give an idea to the health insurance companies on how risky you are to be insured. Following are some of the main factors that health insurance companies take into consideration in setting health insurance premiums:

1. Health History. If you have maintained a good health history, which means you were not in and out of the hospital or no heart attack for the past 10 years, then you don’t have to worry. You won’t expect a high health insurance rate since you pose lower risk to be insured;

2. Weight. If your weight is beyond normal or you have a Body Mass Index (BMI) of more than 39, you will find it difficult to get a health insurance company willing to insure you. So, I would suggest burn those fats first.

3. Smoker. If you do smoke, then quit. We all know smoking causes cancer. But if you can’t quit, then expect a higher health insurance rate for you;

4. Age. If you are older, the higher your health insurance premium would be. The reason is simple, as you aged, the chance of filing health claims is higher as compared to when you are younger; and

5. Job. If you work as a pilot, fireman, or any other hazardous jobs that puts your life at risk, then you would be expecting a higher health insurance rate.

If you get group health insurance with your employer, usually you’ll get an option of what kind of plan you want, and the type you choose will determine both how much freedom you have in determining your health care path, and how much you will be paying for your monthly premium. Figuring out whether you should opt for more expense with freedom or cheaper premiums with lots of restrictions is difficult, so here’s some points to follow.

• Network. Deciding between a plan where you are required to stick to a network of physicians or going with a different plan can often be determined just by seeing what the selection offered by the plan’s network is. Research into a few of the doctors and make sure they give quality care, ask other patients about them, and so on. You may have a family doctor that you’re attached to and should choose a more flexible plan if you want to keep going to that doctor.
• Travel. Are the doctors in the network within good distance of your home and office? Do you have options if you have an emergency and have to go to the nearest place? What happens if you get sick or injured while you are traveling?
• Price. Lucky for you, as someone who has group health insurance through their employer, your boss will be picking up part of the tab. Still, you should find out the details about what exactly your company will pay and what will be left over to you, as well as asking questions about co pays and prescriptions and the like.
• Freedom. Do like to pick your doctor or save your money? Usually, employer sponsored health insurance will require you to stay within a network, but often there are more expensive options for going out of the network.
• Think ahead. You may be a healthy bachelor right now with a health care plan that fits you, but what about down the line? If you get married and start a family, will your insurance cover your spouse and children? Pregnancy? Retirement? What about huge things such as surgery or treatments if something happens in the future that you can’t foresee? If such things are covered, are they covered immediately, or do you have to wait until the end of the year for your company’s enrollment?
• Coverage. Does your health plan cover preventive care? What about physicals and dental appointments? Prescriptions? Ambulance and ER visits?
• Extras. These are the things that not all health care plans provide for, but you might need in the future. Lots of plans don’t cover mental health care, but do you need it? What about family planning, such as abortion or infertility treatments? Chiropractics?
• Pre existing conditions. This might be one of the biggest things that you need to worry about if you have one and need to get good health care coverage.
• Coverage caps. Health insurance plans do not provide you with infinite coverage. Often, they’ll set a certain amount that they can pay out through your plan over a year or a lifetime. You should make sure that this is a decent amount so that, even if you end up with some huge medical bills, you will come out okay. Many employers will offer health savings account to help their employees avoid problems with these caps.
• Claims and complaints. One of the most important things to getting a good experience out of your health insurance plan is being able to have a voice in your coverage. You should be able to complain and be listened to. You should be able to fight against claims being rejected or being reimbursed for too little.

Cheers,

Fashun Guadarrama.

It’s been a long time since there has been any kind of reform of health insurance in Michigan, longer than ten years, so many see this as a welcome expansion of the system. The types of supplies for patients with Diabetes that will be covered by the new requirement, will include such things as:

• insulin
• oral medications
• insulin pumps
• blood glucose testing supplies
• physician and diabetes educational opportunities
• anything else needed to manage the condition

The vice president of the American Diabetes Association states that in the past, many families who struggle with the problem of Diabetes have had to wait, have had their claims denied, have been forced to go without their medications and supplies for lack of money, and these are things that are necessary for them to continue living. Why, she wonders, do we save other lives that are more immediately in danger, while letting Diabetes patients slowly lose theirs? This new program will save thousands of lives across the state of Michigan.

Called the Diabetes Cost Reduction Act, similar things have gone into law across forty two other states in the country. In those other states, though, the covered products still come with required co pays, which may keep some patients from getting their necessary supplies. the DCRA is the first to not require this.

One of the things that brought this about was the huge increase in cases of Diabetes throughout the state of Michigan. Sixty seven percent more people have it now than did in 1997, says the Center for Disease Control. of the 660,000 Michigan residents that have Diabetes, one third of them are not aware of the fact. Considering the ramifications of not taking care of your self properly when you have Diabetes, raising awareness alone could save many lives.

Cheers,

Fashun Guadarrama.

If your approval letter states that you will have to pay a premium, wait then for the bill that will arrive from the Premium Payment Center. You can’t pay until you get this bill. You can’t send in the payment without the bill, and you absolutely cannot give the payment to your case worker, because they aren’t allowed to accept them. Not everybody has to pay a premium. It’s really only for people who still managed to qualify for KCHIP, but who were near the top of the eligibility bracket. The first time that you have to pay your premium it will be double the amount, but that will be the only time that you have to pay so much. The reason is that premium payments for KCHIP have to be made in advance.

If you want to take a few dollars off of your bill for KCHIP, then you can pay three months at a time, which comes out to $54 for most families. If you pay this way, it is cheaper. You should always make sure to send in your payment for your KCHIP premium ASAP. You get the bill one day, you send it out the next. They give you two months to make the initial payment and still qualify, but if you don’t pay within that time, then your child will not get KCHIP and will not be sent an insurance card, so make sure to get your payment out as soon as possible.

Cheers,

Fashun Guadarrama.

Even if you do take a while to make a premium payment, but still pay it on or before the due date for the first payment, your child will still be covered during that time although you may have to be reimbursed and make the payment for their treatment initially. If your child gets approved, then his or her coverage begins that same day that you applied at the office, even if you weren’t approved yet. So if you had to take your kid to the doctor or hospital while waiting for approval, that is covered, too.

If you are sending the payment through mail, then you need to take precaution to send it at least a week ahead of time, so that the office has plenty of time to receive and process the payment before the due date. If you mail it on the due date, then your child will likely lose his or her coverage. The amount isn’t too much–every family pays twenty dollars a month, whether they have two kids or eight. If you don’t pay your premium, then you will have to pay twenty dollars more in order to apply again for coverage for your child.

Cheers,

Fashun Guadarrama.

An example of a family who is 200% of the federal poverty level is a family with two adults and two kids that brings home slightly over forty thousand every year. There are different requirements for the number of people in every family. If you have a family of five people, the cap is $48,260. For six, it is $55, 220. For seven, it is $62,180. If you have more children than that, contact your KCHIP office that is local to find out what the maximum income for your family size is. The income, you should be aware, is based on how much you make every year before taxes are taken out, not what you actually bring home.

The income limits for KCHIP don’t always remain the same, as they have to be adjusted for inflation and changes in wages. If you are unsure of your income, make sure that each April you check and see what the new limits are so that you don’t waste time applying only to find out that your are ineligible.

Cheers,

Fashun Guadarrama.

If you choose to cancel your insurance policy and get KCHIP, then your child may have to wait six months before they can receive child health insurance coverage through this state insurance plan. This will never be the case for families who make little enough to qualify for KCHIP and not be required to pay a premium. However, if you are trying to insure a previously covered infant and your income is at least 186% of the federal poverty level, then you will have to wait six months. The same applies to any child up to the age of eighteen whose family makes at least 156% of the federal poverty level. If you lost your insurance in circumstances that you could not take charge of, you can get this waiting period waived.

There are children who may have been previously insured but who do not need to wait, nor pay a premium, in order to receive KCHIP. They are able to be insured as soon as they are approved, regardless of how they came to be uninsured. These children include those between the ages of one and five whose parents make at least 134% of the federal poverty level, and at least 150%; and kids between six and eighteen whose parents make at least 101% and at most 150%.

Cheers,

Fashun Guadarrama.

The month that falls before the last month of a twelve month period, the KCHIP office will send you a renewal form in the mail. You will have to fill out this renewal form with your family and your child’s current information, not the information used to apply in the first place. You will have to state and prove current income and any type of current insurance that is not KCHIP, even if it is not for the child.

You can’t just mail the renewal form in, though, sadly. You have to go up to a local DCBS office on or before the first day of the twelveth month of coverage. You will also be required to bring certain documents that you had to bring before, such as paycheck stubs for two months, in order to prove that the family is still at an income level where they need child health insurance coverage through KCHIP. If you don’t make it in by the first, that is not your last chance. A final notice will be mailed to you that will provide you with instructions of how you are still able to renew your child’s coverage. If you lose or ignore this final notice, your child will lose his or her coverage at the end of the twelveth month.

Cheers,

Fashun Guadarrama.