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.

To get started with KCHIP, you need to fill out an application. In order to do this, you will have to go to an eligibility office in your area. These offices are usually open from eight to five, and if you don’t know where one is, you can look it up in the phone book. You need to remember what you should take with, which is:

• two months worth of pay stubs for every working person that lives with you
• if you have any other type of income, such as Social Security, take the last award letter.
• proof that you have childcare with receipts from the daycare or nanny
• medical insurance info, but only if your kid had insurance at least si months ago

If your child was insured at some point within the past six months, there is certain information that you need to provide. This information includes what the company that insured your child was called, what plan your child had, and what the number of your policy or group was. You also need to provide the dates in which the policy was in effect, the person whose name is the main one on the policy, and anybody else whose name is on the policy.

Cheers,

Fashun Guadarrama.

I live in Atlanta and I made a Georgia health insurance claim but my medical health isnurance company denied it for no reason. What do I do?

Millie

I’m glad you asked.

One of the most frustrating things to encounter when you are involved in a medical health insurance claim battle is a denial, especially when it is for health care that you might have really needed. This can cause a lot of problems, both for your finances and for your health. There may be may reasons that you were denied, from improper understanding of your medical health insurance policy to going out of your health coverage network. If it is one of the above, you may have a chance at an appeal, but likely you will just have to put up with it.

If your Georgia health insurance company really has wronged you, though, and you are sure of it, you can take things to a higher level. Rather than staying and feeling depressed that your medical health insurance claim will not be covered, you can file a complaint with the Georgia Department of Insurance. The Georgia DoI deals with these kinds of things and will investigate the health insurance company you complain about.

Cheers,

Fashun Guadarrama.

I live in Indiana and don’t have health insurance. How does health insurance work in Indiana?

Rick

Here’s how.

The troubling thing about Indiana health insurance and that of many other states is that, if you are someone who is not in completely perfect health, it can often be difficult to get a health insurance plan with good coverage. In Indiana, companies get to reject you for many reasons including what your current health is and whether or not you have pre-existing conditions.

If you have a pre-existing coverage in Indiana that you developed within the last year, you may be in trouble. Some health insurance companies will cover you but exclude coverage for that condition, so you don’t have medical health insurance for what you need it for the most. Others might just not cover you at all, and you will have to look elsewhere. If your condition is from more than a year ago, it cannot be taken into account when considering an exclusion.

If you are going to get Indiana health insurane, you can either get it through the Comprehensive Health Insurance Pool, or CHIP; an individual medical health insurance plan that you buy from a medical health insurance company; or a plan provided by Indiana health insurance through the state that you can get based on income.

Cheers,

Fashun Guadarrama

Lots of companies are playing tricks by giving out fake policies to various customers. You think you have great coverage and that your policy is real until you need to use it, when you find out it’s fake and that it doesn’t actually work in your state. There are also health insurance companies who don’t have enough money to provide for you if you make a claim, and have a history of screwing people over before. To find out about your health insurance company, call your state’s office of insurance regulation.

Cheers,

Fashun Guadarrama.

When you are in a situation like this, you don’t want to make any big commitments, especially with something as expensive and important as medical health insurance. That’s why if you find yourself in these positions, you should buy short term health insurance. Short term health insurance is a health insurance plan similar to more long term ones, but is given for a period of only 6 to 12 months. Sometimes it can be renewed over and over for up to 36 months.

It might be the case that you just can’t afford the cost of regular health insurance, and thus need another option while you try to get back on your feet to the point where you can afford it again. Short term health insurance is cheaper, so it is also helpful for people who don’t have any current prospects for health insurance, but just need something to hold them over in a hard time.

Cheers,

Fashun Guadarrama.

Luckily, in New York health insurance, any group health insurance plans that you get through your place of work has to cover more than just yourself–it has to cover your whole family. So if you have NY health insurance with your employer, your spouse and children must be covered as well. It also helps that if you or anyone in your family have a pre-existing condition, they are still entitled to get NY health insurance and can’t get turned down. Even if you are part of a smaller company, you don’t have to worry about your medical health insurance plan getting canceled just because one of the employees has to make a claim.

Cheers,

Fashun Guadarrama.

It’s old news that medical health insurance for many people really does sucks, as they talk about in this video I found on YouTube. It’s kind of funny, kind of weird (especially the constant shot of that guy wearing a mask, not sure why that’s there), but it’s also revealing of the way many Americans feel about their medical health insurance coverage. Many people who work for large companies get great deals on group health insurance, and people who have enough money can buy plenty of good health insurance for themselves.

One of the big issues about medical health insurance, other than why so many people either don’t have it or don’t have enough of it, is about elective health care. This doesn’t always have to do with health care necessarily, and often involves elective procedures such as botox, lasik surgery, and breast augmentation. It’s up for debate about whether other people covered by a health insurance company should be made to suffer higher payments because of someone doing something that isn’t necessary for their health. However, as you can see in the video where they talk about breast reduction, sometimes it’s hard to draw the line between what is elective surgery and what is really needed.

Cheers,

Fashun Guadarrama.

I’m seventy years old and have been living in Florida for six months. What kinds of programs does Florida have for health insurance for seniors?

Duke

SHINE.

Sorry, not trying to be unreasonably cheery. That’s actually the name of Florida’s health insurance program for seniors. SHINE. It stands for Serving Health Insurance Needs of Elders and is the state’s subsection of the program, called SHIP, or state health insurance programs, that is existent in every state and territory of the United States. SHINE does not actually provide Florida seniors with senior health insurance–that’s what Medicaid is for–but it does provide them with plenty of very useful services.

SHINE is, essentially, a way to educated senior citizens living in Florida of what their options are when it comes to medical health insurance. It helps them decide what they want to do in the long run, and helps them disentangle the confusing red tape that is wrapped around the new, improved Medicare prescription program. This free education comes in the form of one on one counseling and group efforts.

Cheers,

Fashun Guadarrama.