Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Health Insurance Beefs

Do you suppose anyone would really have a beef with a health insurance company that provided not only affordable health insurance, but also a decent variety of health insurance plans?

That's a good question and the answer, on the surface, would be "No," no one would have a beef with good plans for reasonable bucks. However, while it might be nice to get a lower premium, there may still come a time when you need to get a problem with a claim sorted out. Then, decent health insurance plans or not, you want answers as to why your claim was denied and you want them now.

Taking up your beef with an insurance company that happens to be out of state is going to be an uphill battle and you might as well prepare yourself for a lot of frustration. The number of phone calls alone that you will make to try and get your issue resolved will no doubt ruffle your feathers. Dealing locally with an insurance agent in the state where you live will not only get you quicker service, but a knowledgeable agent who has the answers (in most cases) right at their fingertips.

To learn more about Health insurance quotes, affordable health insurance, affordable health insurance quotes, health insurance plans, visit Benepath.com.

Health Insurance Affordability

Even if you have lost your job and possibly your health insurance coverage, it is still very possible to find affordable health insurance and health insurance plans that will work for you. When you’re searching online for alternatives to being without health insurance, then go over everything you find on the site with a fine tooth comb. Look for the sites that offer affordable health insurance.

In most cases, the large insurance companies will have a variety of health insurance plans to choose from, so you should be able to find something you can afford.

While it's often difficult to totally understand all the options you are reading about on a website, make it a point to call a local agent with a list of questions. Local agents have a better grasp on what the local health insurance scene is like and what would likely be best for you and your family; they know what applies in your area. It makes no sense at all to speak to someone who is out of state about what hospital is best in your neighborhood. They'd have no clue.

To learn more about Health insurance quotes, affordable health insurance, affordable health insurance quotes, health insurance plans, visit Benepath.com.

Affordable Health Insurance Quotes a Bonus

With today's instant this and that technology, it's so easy to get affordable health insurance quotes that you'll wonder why no one thought of it before now. Without too much stress or hassle you can go to one site and find out all you need to know about health insurance plans, make a list of points you want to cover, and then start asking about health insurance quotes.

Affordable health insurance is a real necessity these days, as it's harder for people to keep a job. That means many Americans are losing their health insurance coverage. While it's understandable that people would opt to go without health insurance, it's not a smart idea in case something happens. And just because they have lost their job does not necessarily mean that affordable health insurance is out of reach. It's all in the plan they choose. Shop around online for health insurance plans that are reasonably priced. No one wants to be without health insurance.

To learn more about Health insurance quotes, affordable health insurance, affordable health insurance quotes, health insurance plans, visit Benepath.com.

Health Insurance Quotes Now Easier to Obtain

Actually, getting health insurance quotes these days is much easier that it used to be thanks to the advent of the computer and a few smart insurance brokers who knew what a convenience this would be. The ability to find affordable health insurance on the Internet is as close as your mouse.

Just think about it for a second; you won't have to call all the health insurance agents listed in the phone book, or go see them in their offices any longer. Imagine just booting up your computer and using your browser to search for an insurance website where you get health insurance quotes instantly. Yes, instantly. And they'll be quotes that provide you with a variety of viable options for affordable health insurance.

To learn more about Health insurance quotes, affordable health insurance, affordable health insurance quotes, health insurance plans, visit Benepath.com.

The Move Is On to Cut Health System Costs

In a move that affects the bottom line of hospitals and pharmacies, Washington cuts more money from their Medicaid program.

This particular innovation may have more applications right across America if the whole picture affecting the health system is taken into account. It's not a national secret that the health system isn't "healthy" and that it needs some serious revamping to make it over into something that provides access to medical services for everyone. But, that's another story.

This story deals with the operating budgets of hospitals and pharmacies by directly affecting what they generate in revenues. The State of Washington has done some budget slicing to their Medicaid program that shaves hospital revenues by close to 4% and pharmacies will be hit with a 2% budget cut. In other words, when a druggist dispenses prescription drugs to Medicaid patients, they will be getting, from now on, 2% less for those drugs.

This is billed as not only a cost saving measure to buck up the system and make it more cost effective, but as an efficiency move with an eye to cutting down on excesses in the health care structure. While this move may sound a lot like the campaign promises of the current president, there is still a long road to travel to make changes that will boot the bloat from the system.

Washington has broader plans for cuts and trims that involve, among other things, refusing to pay for as many C-sections and will insist that more prescriptions be filled using generic drugs. While this may ultimately spell economic disaster for Big Pharma, it is definitely a step in the right direction to address out of control health care costs.

In another move that raised a few eyebrows, Washington also informed Medicaid recipients they would also be paying more out-of-pocket expenses for things like nutrition supplements and home-health devices.

The next question is how this approach would fly in other states. This is a tough question to address, as each state has a different approach to how the administer their Medicare and Medicaid programs. Ultimately this will have to be a decision that each state takes based on the merits of their existing administration, and political will.

Even though the health care system needs to be retooled in the worst way, sadly, there are proponents who would rather avoid the major issue of accessible health care for all because it would offend the big private insurance lobby. Realistically speaking, unless the big insurance monopoly is tackled, the cost of health insurance is going to continue to rise, thus shutting out low income Americans.

To learn more about Health insurance quotes, affordable health insurance, affordable health insurance quotes, health insurance plans, visit Benepath.com.

To E-Prescribe or Not

E-prescribing may be the safe way to dispense medications in the future, and it's just beginning to make inroads in the medical system.

It's not a secret that most people will be the victim of at least one medication error a day if they happen to be in the hospital. Med errors have been known to occur in other health care environments as well such as doctor's offices, ER settings, at pharmacies, and in long-term care. The head count for errors of this nature is close to 1.5 million preventable injuries that may be avoided by taking more care.

It doesn't take much to make a mistake and it may all boil down to just one misread sentence or chart order for a potential fatality. Mistakes in hospitals range from overmedicating to under medicating and even giving drugs that are perhaps unnecessary or even dangerous. Medication errors increase the older the population gets and is subject to more trips to the hospital and more pharmaceutical support.

The solution to this conundrum of too many medications; not enough time; mistakes on the order charts; poor handwriting; and poor communications with other medical staff and with the patient may be avoided with the implementation of something called e-prescribing.

E-prescribing would provide the kind of knowledge currently missing for most physicians in a hospital setting – e.g. drug interactions with current meds the patient is on, information about any supplements or herbal medicines they may use, and a complete history of drug allergies and reactions. A good e-prescribing system is capable of doing multiple tasks at once and delivering virtually instant results.

E-prescribing allows health care providers to choose the right medication for their patients; considers the person's medication history and allergies; decreases the chances of a bad drug reaction; posts the cost of the medication along with viable alternatives; and also advises if the patient's insurance will cover a recommended drug.

Although many people wonder about the privacy and security of a system like this, it is only able to be accessed by doctors and pharmacists on a secure network that links them together. When issues like this come up in the health system, it is often more a matter of what will benefit the patients the most, than a matter of who will see the patient information.

In other words, the bottom line for the patient (and the system) is that patient safety will increase because e-prescribing will ditch illegible prescriptions, alert physicians and pharmacists about drug allergies immediately, and (perhaps the most important feature) is that it will update a patient's medication record for "all" prescribing doctors. Finally, a way to get everyone in the medical system on the same page, working toward the same end: patient care and safety.

It seems to be working and the federal government is actually handing out e-prescribing bonuses to health care providers. The deal is if they e-prescribe for 2009 and 2010, they get a 2% boost in Medicare payments. The e-wave of the future is beginning to look quite interesting. To find out if a local doctor trying this innovative system, check out www.learnabouteprescriptions.com for a list. Look for this system to be fully implemented by 2012 and for those physician's not using it for 2012, 2013 and 2014, to be penalized 1 percent of 2012/2013 Medicare charges, and 2 percent for 2014 Medicare bills.

To learn more about Health insurance quotes, affordable health insurance, affordable health insurance quotes, health insurance plans, visit Benepath.com.

The Beef with Affordable Health Insurance

Would anyone really have a beef with a health insurance company that provided not only affordable health insurance, but also a decent variety of health insurance plans?

Even if you do get health insurance quotes that make your heart go pitter-patter because they happen to be on this side of more than reasonable, there is likely going to come a time when you need to get a problem with a claim sorted out. Then, decent health insurance plans or not, you want answers as to why your claim was denied and you want them now.

If you opted to get your health insurance quotes and purchase from a large online insurance website that happens to be in another state, far, far away, you might find yourself on the phone a lot. That doesn't mean you will be getting any answers, it just means you will be on the phone often, "trying" to get answers. Health insurance quotes provided by a large volume broker are generally reasonable because they have precisely that – the volume to offer better rates, but that doesn't mean they offer better service, as you may find out.

What would an insurance company in Hawaii know about the local hospitals in Rhode Island? Not a lot and the same thing may be said about trying to settle a denied claim while working with an insurance company that doesn't know much about you or your area.

This isn't to say that their policies aren't good, because many of them are standardized across the nation (Medicare in particular); it just points out that getting a satisfactory resolution to a problem when you are that far away from the source is difficult, if not impossible. Fed up with being shunted from one department to another at the "big" insurance company, you may begin to regret not buying health insurance plans locally.

Dealing with a local agent will ensure you get a policy that is tailor made to your set of circumstances and lifestyle. It won't be a "general" package that, while inexpensive, doesn't do a thing for you. The thing about health insurance plans is that when you buy them, you are buying them for the long-term, not the short-term, so getting something that suits you now makes more sense than having to switch every year (unless you need to).

This is where speaking directly to a health insurance agent is a smart move. If you've had it up to your eyeballs dealing with out-of-state companies, it's time to call around and make the acquaintance of the local agents. They aren't there to sell you something unless that is what you want.

They're there to walk you through the various pros and cons of health insurance quotes, what they mean to you now and in the future, and outline the differences in health insurance plans. Once you know these things, you then become an informed buyer who is able to make some wise choices.

Clelland Green is with Benepath.com, a leader in providing health insurance quotes. Benepath provides individuals, families, and businesses with affordable health insurance quotes in just a few mouse clicks. To learn more about Health insurance quotes, affordable health insurance, affordable health insurance quotes, health insurance plans, visit Benepath.com.

Health Insurance Quotes Can Be as Easy as 1-2-3

Getting health insurance quotes these days is as close as your computer. Talk about convenience and talk about finding affordable health insurance.

Imagine not having to phone all the health insurance agents listed in the phone book, or calling on them in person. Imagine simply booting up your computer, clicking your mouse a few times and when you hit your browser, finding an insurance website where you may get health insurance quotes instantly. Yes, quotes that will provide you some viable options for affordable health insurance.

It's even easier than you might think to get affordable health insurance quotes with today's new technology. Now you can go to one site and find out all you need to know about health insurance plans while asking about health insurance quotes.

No matter who you speak to about the health system, the news seems to be very discouraging. It's getting harder and harder for people to be able to keep a job and as a net result, many Americans are losing their health insurance coverage. While it's understandable that people would opt to go without health insurance, it's not a smart idea in case something happens.

Even if you do happen to be unemployed, it is possible to find affordable health insurance and health insurance plans to suit your present circumstances. If you find an insurance site that offers health insurance quotes instantly, take the time to search the site for affordable health insurance. Most sites will have a variety of health insurance plans to choose from, so you should be able to find something that you are able to manage.

Yes it's often difficult to understand the range of options open to you when you are shopping for health insurance quotes and this is where it comes in handy to call a local agent. The local agents know their stuff and what is applicable in your area. It doesn't make much sense to talk to someone who is out-of-state about what hospital is best in your neighborhood; they would have no idea.

So for the best information on health insurance quotes and up-to-the-minute current information on any changes to the health insurance plans, go locally and get an honest answer and affordable health insurance quotes.

Clelland Green is with Benepath.com, a leader in providing health insurance quotes. Benepath provides individuals, families, and businesses with affordable health insurance quotes in just a few mouse clicks. To learn more about Health insurance quotes, affordable health insurance, affordable health insurance quotes, health insurance plans, visit Benepath.com.