Health Insurance Coverage in Michigan For Diabetes Patients
Good news is coming out of Michigan for people with Diabetes, who have to face so many medical costs every year just trying to keep up with their condition. As of January 10th, health insurance companies under the regulation of the Michigan Department of Insurance are going to have to start covering supplies needed for controlling Diabetes, such as insulin, within ninety days of that date.
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.
What is HMO medical health insurance?
Reader question:
What is HMO medical health insurance?
Miriam
I’ll tell you.
The main benefit of getting an HMO, or health maintenance organization medical health insurance plan, is that this most popular of employer provided health insurance plans also tends to be the cheapest medical health insurance plan. It’s more designed for group health insurance, which is why it finds such popularity among companies insuring their employees. HMO medical health insurance is also one of the few health insurance plans that puts a lot of emphasis on preventive care.
The reason they put so much emphasis on preventive care is because, the way HMO sees it, is that preventive care can help reduce risks in an insurance pool by decreasing the likelihood that its members will develop a medical conditions, and thus it reduces medical costs. That is why it is the best to help someone stay healthy, not just to help them out if something goes terribly wrong.
The Good:
- The main thing is preventive care, which lowers both their costs and yours. HMOs also require less paperwork, and when you make a co-payment on something it will cost far less than it would with another medical health insurance plan.
- The insured under a health maintenance organization just pay a little fee each time they go to the doctor, and that is considered their co-payment.
- The coverage goes wide, with such things as outpatient services, extended medical treatment, short term mental health treatment, hospital stays, and emergency room visits.
The Bad:
- Picking and choosing the physician that you go to isn’t as easy as with traditional indemnity. Instead, you are only able to pick one provider, and that is who you must go to once he is listed on your insurance.
- The doctor you must pick has to be within the HMOs network. If you go to a hospital or physician outside of the network, then you won’t be covered at all.
- If you want to go outside of the network to see a specialist and still be covered, then you have to have a referral from your primary care provider.
Cheers,
Fashun Guadarrama.
Catastrophic health insurance and high health insurance deductible
Reader questions:
Could you explain the high deductible plans of catastrophic health insurance?
Amy
Absolutely.
There are two major things that you must consider before you decide to get a catastrophic health insurance plan. The first is that you will only be covered for major hospital visits, and will have to pay for everything else out of pocket. The other major thing is that any catastrophic health insurance plan will come with a higher deductible than the usual medical health insurance plan, so you will at any time have to be ready to take onto your own wallet much higher costs than usual, even if you are paying cheaper monthly premiums.
How high is it? Should you choose to get a catastrophic health insurance plan, you’re going to be looking at deductibles of around $500, possibly even more than that. Besides that, if you get a catastrophic health insurance plan, there will usually be a lifetime maximum coverage of between two and three million, and if you should reach this maximum coverage point, then you will no longer be covered and your policy will be canceled.
If you do have a $500 deductible, you’re going to have to pay for everything up to and including five hundred dollars. Once your medical expenses go past that, your coverage starts. Even if you have a deductible as high as $15,000, and you have to get some kind of treatment that costs ten thousand, you will have to pay for it. Now you can see why even with its cheaper monthly cost, catastrophic health insurance can be more expensive than most other types of plans.
When major medical costs are spoken of as regarding catastrophic health insurance, pregnancy is not included. So if you’re thinking of getting catastrophic health insurance just because pregnancy is indeed major medical care and involves a hospital, don’t fool yourself.
Cheers,
Fashun Guadarrama.
Student Health Insurance
I came across this video on YouTube today, and like a thousand other videos on that site, it’s a hilarious but at the same time stupid tape of some college kid beating himself up for laughs. It’s funny if you’re in to watching people run into walls. I think, also, it’s kind of relevant to the topic of student health care, which is necessary even if you aren’t the sort of person that tries to ride a skateboard down an escalator or something equally insane. It’s really important to the teenager heading off to college for the first time who will no longer be able to be on their parent’s health insurance policy.
Even if you’re older and are going off to college for the first time, you need to put some extra thought into getting student health insurance. Consider the fact of how much college costs. You’re going to be in a high stress state (no pressure!) for at least four years, having to deal, usually, with full time classes and at least a part time job. With the loans you’ll have to pay back and the remaining costs that you’ll have to cover with the money you make from work, while still having to pay rent and electricity and buy food and entertain yourself, do you really want to be paying so much extra for exorbitant medical costs? Heck, the emergency room will charge you five hundred dollars even if they did nothing more than advise you to take some Tylenol. That’s where student health insurance comes in. As a student who already has a lot on your plate, you need that extra protection.
The primary thing that you need to do when you take out a student health insurance policy is check out the coverage summary. That will tell you about the highest dollar amount you can get for each benefit, the deductibles you can get, and co-insurance.
Remember when deciding your deductible amount that if it’s low, you’ll have to pay more on your monthly payments. If it’s high, you can pay less now and more later. The decision should all depend on your financial situation.
Co-insurance is another thing. This is about what your policy takes care of after you’ve met your annual deductible requirements. Usually it’s 80/20, which means that if you’ve met the requirement, then…well, say you have a medical bill of $100. Your student health insurance company pays $80, and you take the rest.
Being sure of the safety of your health is important, which is why you shouldn’t be dismissive of things like student health insurance. Remember that before you take out a student health insurance policy, you should get several quotes and know the questions that you need to ask. Being educated on your options can help you get the cheapest student health insurance deal around.
Cheers,
Fashun Guadarrama.
Student health insurance is important
If you’re a student, student health insurance should be near the top of your list of priorities. You’re away from home and probably aren’t depending on the parents as much anymore, and without that place on your family’s health insurance policy, a student health insurance plan is the only way to insure that you are taken care of so that you don’t end up slouching under the weight of medical debt for the rest of your life. You want to get that good job and live good after college, not be worrying about the thousands and thousands of dollars in medical costs even after you pay off your student loans.
But the strange truth is that college students, even ones studying medicine, are opting out of student health insurance. The widely held belief seems to be that the university clinic is an okay way to take care of your medical needs. It isn’t. Student health clinics are sub standard and don’t see to your needs. If you want real coverage an protection, you need to get student health insurance.
Different insurance companies will give you different quotes on your student health insurance premium. Because of this, the most important step in taking out a student health insurance policy is to shop around. That means finding quotes from different companies and comparing. There are plenty of sites on the internet that provide you with free quotes, and it’s very easy to do the research.
Once you have these quotes, you’ll be able to narrow it down to a list and talk to your insurance companies personally. Here are a few questions that you should ask:
- What is the maximum that I am covered for?
- Do I have to get a referral if I want to see a specialist?
- Is the student health insurance policy for both undergaduates and graduate students?
- Do I get to choose my own doctor? From a list, or freely?
- What does it cost?
- How high is the deductible?
- Am I covered to go see a doctor when I am not sick or injured?
- Am I covered while traveling?
These are important questions to ask, but if you think of more, go ahead by all means. Anything that you can do to help you narrow it down.
The deductible is a really important aspect. If you get a higher one, you’ll get cheap health insurance rates. But if you do end up opting for a higher one, consider that it should be something you’ll be able to afford. If you’re a medical student, you could get some professional courtesy, which will make things cheaper but won’t apply to deductibles.
Cheers,
Fashun Guadarrama