Is Your Insurance HEALTHY? by Irina

that each of us should be able find that optimal balance!

To begin with, we must recognize that we are dealing with two

different levels of health care needs and must cover those needs

with two separate tiers of payment. One level is catastrophic

illness - and for that, insurance is the answer. Policies that

carry a high deductible (say, $5,000 a year) are relatively

inexpensive, even when the coverage is very high ($1 million or

more) or unlimited. That is because most people do not get

catastrophic illnesses or injuries.

The second level comprises health maintenance and routine medical

procedures. For these, insurance is not the answer. Instead,

there are two alternatives. One is for people to pay these costs

out of pocket, the way we now pay for many other routine needs.

There are number of benefits to this approach, including no

managed care and less paperwork. For many people, coming up with

the cash to pay routine medical bills, especially if they know

that any major illness or injury would trigger a backup insurance

plan, would not be difficult.

For others, however, it would. Fortunately, back in the 1980s,

the idea of so-called patient advocacy via health care savings

programs was born. The availability and popularity of these

programs is picking up year after year, as more and more people,

unable to get or afford health insurance, are discovering them

for the first time. These programs negotiate prices with health

care providers on behalf of their members. Since they represent

large groups, the resulting discounts are usually the same that

the hospitals and physicians give to big insurance companies. But

this is where the similarity with old health insurance model

ends.

With health care savings program, it's a patient, not an

insurance company, who pays the bill. This seemingly minor

adjustment makes a world of difference. It benefits medical

providers because they get paid "on the spot" without enormous

paperwork and disputes with insurance companies. It also benefits

individual consumers who get access to the discounted "insurance

rates" without having to pay high premiums. Yet most importantly,

the entire system appears to be financially sound and socially

viable.

Unlike traditional insurance model, the patient advocacy actually

encourages people to seek medical help as soon as the need arises

thus preventing "little aches" form developing into life-

threatening illnesses and financial disasters. Monthly membership

fee is affordable and no one can be turned down because of a pre-

existing condition. Many of such programs also allow their

members to contribute money to medical savings accounts. Federal

law makes this an attractive option, because medical savings

accounts are tax deductible or not taxable, as long as the funds

are used to pay for health care.

Five years from now, average health insurance premium may well

exceed a car payment and a mortgage payment combined together.

There is, however, a way to keep our families healthy without

jeopardizing financial security. This writing was intended to

assist the reader in finding that right solution by providing a

better understanding of the ever-changing situation and available

options.

Copyright (C) by Irina 2003.

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About the Author:

Irina runs home-based business helping people save on health care

and create steady stream of residual income working from home

http://www.megaone.com/hbb/savemoney/

mailto:imakemoney@freeautobot.com

=================================================================

Go to Page 1

BIO:

Irina runs home-based business helping people save on health care
and create steady stream of residual income working from home
http://www.megaone.com/hbb/savemoney/
mailto:imakemoney@freeautobot.com

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