Group health insurance in Lexington
Randall Jackson, Sr., of Lexington, Kentucky, owns a small car repair shop with only three workers other than himself. They work well and hard, but Jackson is unable to give them the one thing that he believes is necessary for an employer to provide for his employees–health insurance. He has worked side by side with these good men and see them go through struggles with their health and that of their families, but as not been able to offer a helping hand because the price of health insurance is so high that he, in his small business, cannot afford to provide it. Not even for just three employees.
This situation is a big one concerning Lexington health insurance. It is required by law that companies with more than fifty employees provide health insurance plan options to its employees, but that leaves smaller companies with fewer employees high and dry. These companies are able to slide under the law without insurance, even if they can afford it, but for the most part small companies in Lexington are unable to provide health insurance coverage to their employees because it is too much cost in addition to the payroll. These small businesses already have enough trouble keeping ahead with a proft. Adding health insurance coverage would diminish that profit by quite a bit.
The state of Kentucky has come up with a solution, though, and although they are only trying it out at the moment, it will probably do a lot of good to help small companies and their employees with health insurance in the future. Called ICARE, which stands for Insurance Coverage Affordability and Relief to Employers, this jump start program is intended for providing small businesses with enough money to insure their employees. Passed by the state legislature in early 2007, the program will provide small businesses with forty dollars per employee, which will go towards their health insurance coverage. This forty dollar per person sum is given for each month, and if a certain employee is high risk or has a pre existing condition, then they are provided with extra for him or her.
Cheers,
Fashun Guadarrama.
Affordable California health insurance
Reader question:
Why is it so hard to get affordable California health insurance?
Mary Anne
Great question.
It is hard, isn’t it? To be completely honest, it’s hard everywhere, but it is true that in recent times getting affordable health insurance in California has gotten even harder than before, and it’s become more of a public issue. With rising health care costs, more and more people are without California health insurance and a lot of new laws and proposals have come up in the state legislature about the issue.
Even though things are getting worse everywhere, in California it’s worse than ever. The issue isn’t even about getting affordable California health insurance anymore. It’s about getting health insurance in California at all. The California Health Care Charterbook states that eighteen percent of the population of California is not covered by health insurance as of 2002. Just looking at the elderly, 20% aren’t covered at all, and they are often the ones that need it most.
One of the main reasons for this large lack of coverage is the burgeoning immigrant community in California. It takes up 27% of California’s people, and 52% of that 27% who have been in California less than five years don’t have health insurance. The number only goes down by twelve percent after the five year mark.
Those under the age of eighteen are doing the best as far as health insurance in California. But mostly this is because of Medicaid, and as soon as those kids hit eighteen, they will join the uninsured population. The same will be true for many of those kids who are insured under their parent’s plan right now.
All of that doesn’t mean that it’s impossible to get affordable California health insurance, although it is difficult. It will take more shopping around than in other states, but eventually, if you get enough quotes and know your business, you can find a health insurance provider that is satisfactory.
Cheers,
Fashun Guadarrama.