Choosing the right health insurance can be a difficult and confusing endeavor. The primer below is designed to give you a basic overview of what to look for in an insurance thought.

How to Get Health insurance

If you are fortunate enough to get health insurance through your job, your out-of-pocket costs are most likely deducted from your check. Many companies offer basic coverage including emergency room costs, doctor’s visits, prescriptions, x-rays, lab tests and chiropractic care. Additional health insurance is often available to cover dental, vision and long term conditions. This type of supplemental health insurance will most likely involve additional fees.

If you freelance or are a small business owner, you may need to purchase an individual health insurance policy. This can be accomplished by contacting a health insurance carrier or by contacting an insurance broker. The benefit of using an insurance broker is that a broker is not tied to any one carrier and can provide you with a variety of different rates.

However, a note of caution about choosing an individual health insurance plan-Be clear to check the rating of your company with A.M. Best, which evaluates the fiscal health of various insurance agencies. If the carrier’s rating is less than A, you need to keep searching for other options.

Types of Health insurance

There are two main types of health insurance; fee for service plans and managed care. Under fee for service plans, you will need to submit a claim for each medical cost. You are then reimbursed for each covered expense.

Under managed care, certain rules and regulations apply to keep healthcare costs as low as possible. PPOs and HMOs are two types of managed care plans. With PPOs, you have the option to see any doctor within the PPO network. You may also be referred by a PPO doctor to another doctor outside the network and collected receive the lower cost. However, if you decide to see a PPO doctor outside of the network without a referral, your bill may be significantly higher.

HMOs stipulate that you must visit a doctor within the HMO network with the exception of emergencies. HMOs are excellent for covering routine medical costs such as checkups, flu shots and hearing tests. However, although HMOs are considerably easier on the pocketbook, they offer much less flexibility than PPOs.

Health insurance Checklist

Whether comparing programs offered through your job or shopping for health insurance on your own, you should recall the following into consideration:

-Your overall health and the health of your family.

-How the health insurance plan handles fundamental care.

-Out of pocket costs to you.

When investigating a health insurance carrier, you may want to ask yourself the following questions:

-How often will you need to sight a doctor? Do you or any family members require specialized care?

-Will the plan cover the basics beyond annual office visits? How does the health insurance plan handle maternity care, prescriptions, surgery, hospitalization, lab costs and other medical fees?

-Is there a deductible or amount of money that you need to pay before the health insurance plan begins to extend coverage? What is the co-pay, if any? (A co-pay is the difference between what the carrier covers and what you pay out.)

-How much will it cost to glimpse a doctor outside of your plan?

All of these factors need to be carefully considered before choosing a health insurance plan.

Supplemental Health insurance

Beyond basic health insurance, you may wish to investigate supplemental coverage such as vision care, dental care, disability insurance and long-term care insurance. For instance, many plans cover dental cleanings and eye exams, but do not cover more extensive procedures. Disability insurance pays out an income if you are unable to work and long term care insurance can cover costs associated with an extended illness, such as at home care and physical therapy.

Take care to fully investigate the terms any supplemental health insurance that you choose to purchase.

Over the past decade or so, medical office training has become substantial business. However, few of those programs distinguish between medical office management and managing a mental health practice. While medical office management focuses a lot of attention on coding and billing procedures and multi-tasking phone lines and 15-minute appointments, managing a mental health practice requires excellent one-on-one people skills and the ability to handle constant upheaval. Due to the endless possibilities for the organization of a medical and mental health practice, the tips in this article focus on the outpatient private therapy practice.

A mental health practice does not require learning long lists of CPT (Modern Procedural Terminology) and ICD (International Classification of Diseases)-9 or -10 codes. Unless there is a psychiatrist on staff, billable codes are very few. Although the ICD or DSM-IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual) codes may be more lengthy, each mental health practice tends to have clear specialties preferred by the provider. Rather than the memorization skills needed for medical office management, managing a mental health practice calls for adaptability.

Patients seeking treatment at a mental health practice are generally there for three reasons: they have reached the “end of their rope” and are making a desperate cry for help; their children are out of control and causing the entire household to fall apart; they have been ordered to seek treatment by either the courts or an agency trying to help a dysfunctional person or family. All three of these scenarios have one thing in common – desperation. Understanding how emotional turmoil affects a person’s behavior is crucial to gaining and keeping patients in a mental health practice.

Emotional disorganization often causes the sufferer to be irritable and easily annoyed. This trait may become evident at the very first phone call. Retain in mind that this person has probably been suffering for a long time and he or she has finally made the decision to seek professional help. Now, you are telling him the next available appointment is two weeks out. And no, the office is not open nights and weekends, nor can we see you on your lunch hour because we have to eat, too. People have no qualms about taking time off work to go to the doctor for flu symptoms. Taking time off to bring one’s son to the “shrink” is a different matter entirely. The ability to cease calm and polite in the face of unreasonable agitation, and to step in to purchase the abuse when other employees are ready to hurry out the door screaming, is a necessity when managing a mental health practice.

Another manifested trait of emotional difficulties is lack of attention, concentration, and short-term memory. Generally, this trait comes into play when scheduling appointments. Since therapy appointments are usually set up for a week or two ahead, or a month during the phase-out period, you have about a 50/50 shot that the patient will remember. People usually will remember appointments for blood work or MRI’s and other medical tests. These tests are not a part of the patient’s normal routine, so the unusual nature helps with committing it to memory. Once patients have had three or four mental health visits, though, it becomes more routine and less memorable. Adeptly managing a mental health practice means being able to organize databases and set specific guidelines and times for reminding patients about the appointment. The manager also needs to have in place a tracking system for missed appointments. Not only do missed appointments mean the mental health practice is losing money, but it also means the patients are not getting better. Depending on at what point the patient is in therapy, it is easy to sink back into old routines, inappropriate behaviors, and mood disturbances. Managing a mental health practice requires following patients closely and providing memory aides to ensure they collect the most out of the therapeutic process.

Stress reduction seminars always preach one particular principle – don’t take your work home with you. This adage is vital when working in the mental health practice. For the first two weeks after I started working for a clinical psychologist, I went home every night and had vivid dreams and nightmares. Children being abused, shadows chasing me through dark alleys, my son being alone and in a place I couldn’t reach; all were variations of themes with which I was coming in contact at the office. Managing a mental health practice means you will be exposed to the worst, most bizarre, and predatory extremes of the human psyche and human behavior. In the average general practitioner’s medical office, you can take comfort in the fact if Ms. Jones follows the doctor’s orders and takes the medication, her sinus infection will go away. Baby Jones’ rash will disappear in a few days, and even Mr. Jones’ diabetes is responding well to diet and insulin.

In the mental health practice, when a seven-year-old child has been abused, neglected and abandoned, how do you tell yourself honestly that he will, without a doubt, get better? You don’t know if he will or not. Some of the most extreme behaviors may disappear as the child learns through play therapy how to properly express anger or to deal with separation anxiety. But as that child matures and his emotional capacity matures, he will often re-live the early experiences. Issues that seemed to recede at age eight may reappear at age fourteen. Girls, and boys, sexually abused may never gain the capacity to have a normal relationship. The paranoid schizophrenics may improve with the new medication, but will the voices ever really go away? You can’t know. Patients build up tolerance to medications so that previous doses are no longer effective. Acute stress, which we all experience from time to time, may be enough to send the person spiraling back to pre-therapy psychoses. Bipolars will stop coming to therapy when they enter a manic phase because they are now on top of the world and life has never been grander. But when they plummet back to the depressive phase, can you convince them to come back to treatment before they take their own lives?

The human brain is a miraculous creation that depends upon finely-tuned processes to function properly. The effects of that creation malfunctioning, whether from internal or external influences, results in behaviors ranging from violent outbursts to near catatonia. Managing a mental health practice brings you into uncomfortable closeness with the sometimes horrible and always awe-inspiring results of a brain gone despicable. Prefer that intimacy home with you, and it will permeate every aspect of your life.

Both medical office management and managing a mental health practice require the inescapable skill of insurance knowledge. Frustrating as it can be, all insurances are not created equal. Coverage for mental health services is not the same as coverage for medical services. Some insurance plans may cover only 50 % of mental health services. Most require payment of larger deductibles than that for medical treatment. Insurance plans within the same company don’t necessarily provide the same coverage, either. For example, Blue Cross & Blue Shield, one of the nation’s largest insurance providers, has a multitude of different plans within the company. For mental health treatment, some of those plans cover 50 %, some cover 80 %, some cover 100% with rigid criteria; some cover sessions with only doctorate level Ph.D.’s and PsyD.’s, while some cover LPN’s and social workers also; some allow only fifteen or twenty visits a year. Most plans will not pay for evaluations that have to do with court proceedings, school placement for learning disorders, or personality testing (required in some states) prior to gastric bypass surgery. Just because an insurance company paid a clear amount for one patient does not mean it will cover the same amount for a different patient.

Some patients have a difficult time concept that the insurance coverage is different for mental health than for medical. Unfortunately, that difference is often enough that the patient cannot afford to pay the deductibles and co-pays. The laws are slowly changing and requiring insurance companies to provide more coverage for mental health treatment. However, until the “powers that be” realize that mental disorders can be honest as debilitating as medical problems, insurance companies will continue to provide sub-par coverage, robbing a certain percentage of the population of necessary treatment. Managing the mental health practice means you have to be familiar with insurance plans, which plans pay for what, and for whom the coverage is provided. This familiarity also means that you have to be prepared to look a person in the eye, knowing this single mother of two children with severe Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder can’t afford it, and tell her that instead of the $20 she is used to paying the medical doctor, she owes the counselor a $500 deductible plus 50 % of each visit.

Managing the mental health practice requires a high level of sensitivity and insight rarely touched on in medical office training. If the patient on the phone says it is an emergency, you don’t know if Junior unprejudiced set fire to his bed or if the patient is sitting on her bed with a bottle of pills in her hand. You have to know which patients have severe anxiety so you can schedule them at a time when the waiting room has few people in it, or have an empty room available for that patient to wait in. You have to be able to smooth other patients down when they hear a child screaming from the play room because the therapist is making him pick up the toys he just knocked off the top shelf. You have to be able to ignore the person carrying on a conversation with Joe, when that person is the only one who can peer Joe. So if you thrive in a chaotic, bizarre but never listless environment, then managing a mental health practice is the job for you.

A Look at a Century of the Costs of Health Care

The three primary “sponsors” for health care costs are individuals, businesses, and government; these three categories of people are the obligators in the cost of health care. Health care services and supplies are funded, both publically and privately, through government-run programs such as Medicaid and Medicare, private health insurance, employer-based health care options, other private revenues, and out-of-pocket expenditures. Demographics and economics are constantly changing the type (and quality) of health insurance that is available, the benefits offered within specific plans, and the arrangements made to share costs. Ultimately, the rising costs of health care are passed directly to the individual through increased premiums (or employee-portion), raised co-pays, and higher deductibles. The history of health care costs covered in this article will present clear trends and indicate the often viscous cycle of cause and effect. (Cowan and Hartman, 2005)

At the beginning of the 1900s, major changes were underway that would eventually shape and define the health care system today. The early 1900s saw the American Medical Association become a powerhouse in organizing the medical field through the ushering in of national, state, and local medical associations, and no longer were physicians required to provide free care to patients in hospital settings. The most significant influential factor that would shape the future of heath care costs in the early 1900s was commenced by the railroad companies, who were the first business to offer insurance to their employees as well as providing on-the-site hospitals. These events at the begin of the century were monumental in the effect they had on shaping the future of the health care industry. (Public Broadcasting System, n.d.)

The next 40 years (1910-1950) brought more change and demonstrated the large role that the United States government, politics, insurance companies, wars, and medical advances would play in contouring the structure of health care and health care costs. In the 1910s health care reform faced stiff opposition by physicians and special interest groups; reformers held the first national insurance conference; and the medical community placed an increased focus on cleanliness within health care settings, began using antiseptics, and increased the consume of pain medication for treatment. Although clearly revolutionary in increasing quality of care, it was also the first medical advances that would raise the costs of health care. However, the war of 1917 successfully, although temporarily, placed health care reform on the “abet burner.” (Public Broadcasting System, n.d.)

The 1920s and 1930s initiated strong political involvement in health care. Politicians became complacent about health care reform in the 1920s, and it would be another decade before any political progress was made. The medical profession began to gain prestige, which led to a rise in rates charged and physician wages, which prompted the health care reform to change focus from the loss of income due to being ill to the rising costs of medical care. The Great Depression of the 1930s took attention off health care reform again while Americans were concerned with being able to retire and being insured against unemployment. The Roosevelt Administration felt tremendous pressure to reform health care, specifically the rising costs of care; however, political disagreements prevented any real progress, including the passing of the Social Security Act without it having addressed health care at all. Blue Cross took the initiative to inaugurate offering private hospital care insurance, despite being advised against such action; yet, the majority saw these prepaid health care plans as too radical. (Public Broadcasting System, n.d.)

The 1940s brought World War II and considerable governmental control over employers this would be the second step America would capture toward employer-based health care plans. During World War II, the United States government placed hefty wage and effect restrictions on employers, and to remain competitive, employers began offering group health care plans to new employees as an incentive to hire and keep an equitable workforce. Politicians finally overcame their complacency, as President Roosevelt asked Congress to pass an Economic Bill of Rights that would include the right to have access to adequate medical care, and President Truman proposed a nation-wide health care idea that would cover all Americans. However, Truman’s idea met with rigid opposition by the American Medical Association, who called Truman’s national health care plan a Communist ploy, which by the mere linking of Communism caused the plan to bomb with the American people and with Congress. (Public Broadcasting System, n.d.)

The decades from 1950 to 1980 present recurring themes: rising costs of health care, political conflicts, medical advancements, failed political attempts to reform health care and palpable changes within the medical infrastructures and within insurance companies. The second half century begins with health care costs having risen to 4.5% of the Gross National Product, proposals for hospital insurance meet dismal failure, and troubles begin brewing in Korea which causes health care reform to again take a back seat to world-wide hostilities. By the end of the decade (1950), there are new advances in the medical field, which cause hospital care costs to double. The 1960s find most Americans unable to afford insurance if they do not have employer-based health care plans, making it particularly difficult for the disabled and elderly to afford health care. The number of insurance companies exceeds 700, and high-cost medications are now being approved by most major medical insurance companies. The United States government fears that there is a shortage of medical professionals which prompts them to take measures that would entice students into the medical field, and President Lyndon Johnson signs Medicaid and Medicare into law. By the end of the decade, the number of physicians who specialize in a specific area of treatment rises by 14% to a total of 69%. (Public Broadcasting System, n.d.)

The ’70s and ’80s see tall changes in insurance policy (perpetrated mainly by the federal government). In 1970, Nixon changes the name of prepaid group health care plans to health maintenance organizations (HMO) and provides federal endorsement, assistance, and certification to insurance companies. Nixon proposes a national health care plan that is subsequently rejected, and his “War on Cancer” initializes the research and institutionalization of the National Institutes of Health. By the 1980s, health care systems have begun to follow suit of corporate America, starting a shift from public health care systems to the privatization of health care. Insurance companies start complaining that fee-for-service physician payment system is being taken advantage of, and the physician capitalization payments (payments made to providers on a contractual basis: per-member, per-month type fee that may be contingent on age, illness, gender, and set) becomes increasingly common. The federal government, under the leadership of President Reagan, changes Medicare billing from payment-by-treatment to payment-by-diagnosis which begins a similar shift with private insurance companies. (Public Broadcasting System, n.d.)

The end of the century’s common themes are rising costs, ineffective and unsustainable insurance structuring, and a financial crisis not seen since the Great Depression that places families, homes, and businesses at risk. The 1990s saw health care costs skyrocket to the tune of twice the rate of inflation; expansions in managed care provide a slight and brief respite, but by the end of the decade, more the 44 million Americans have no insurance coverage. The health care reform bills that actually made it to Congress, fail to pass, and the rising health care costs continue into the 21^st Century. Employer-based insurance rates increase a whopping 131%, the cost of which is passed onto employees or dropped altogether. Direct-to-consumer advertising for medical supplies is on the rise and has the potential to lower medical costs but only by a paltry amount. Studies conducted in 2007 confirm that 1.5 million families will lose their homes to foreclosure annually due to high medical costs and more than half of all bankruptcies are linked to medical expenses, with 80% of those who filed reporting that they have major health insurance coverage. In 2009, it is expected that health care costs will reach, if not surpass, $2.5 trillion. Further advances in technology and medical procedures are expected in the coming decade, which will relieve to drive the costs of health care even higher. (National Coalition on Health Care, 2009)

The old adage that “history always repeats itself” is never clearer than with the history of the health care system in America. The clear, recurring trends are partially effective government intervention, medical advances that drive the cost of health care up, along with wars, political unrest, and economic downturns that distract from the health care costs of Americans. The United States government provides small interventions that are only partially effective, followed by long periods of time in which the governing officials attempt to distance themselves from the unpleasantness of the health care reality or are too overwhelmed by the sheer complexity of a solution to the problem to mobilize in a promising direction. Medical advances increase the quality of care, but also serve to drive up the costs of health care. Wars, political unrest, and economic downturns serve to temporarily remove focus from health care while the health care crises continue to grow astronomically. It is clear the current infrastructure and regulations are ineffective, yet there does not seem to be a solution in sight.

Health Care Worker Shortage

Being able to have quality health service delivery is dependent upon having the right resources; those resources are equipment, information, medications, finances, and perhaps most importantly, highly motivated and skilled staff. The 1960’s experienced a physician and medical professional shortage that prompted the federal government to offer incentive to entice students into the medical field and expanding existing programs and schools (Public Broadcasting System, n.d.). Beginning in 2005, the Association of American Medical Colleges recognized that the United States is again facing a similar shortage of medical workers. State and federal government leaders met at a conference held by the Association of American Medical Colleges as the first step to getting the political cogs turning. The general consensus is that the situation will become much grimmer within the next 15 years, if no steps are taken to true the situation. (Simon, 2009)

A Vicious Cycle

Employees can expect to pay even more in 2010 for health care coverage. Employers are passing the rising costs of health care onto their employees. This may include higher deductibles, more out-of-pocket expenses, higher co-pays, and higher insurance premiums. The government accelerate programs, Medicare and Medicaid, do not pay health care providers anywhere arrive the actual cost of services and products received, so these costs are transferred onto insured clientele, resulting in the increase in private insurance premiums. The rising costs of insurance premiums results in fewer health plans being offered to employers but at higher rates. Employers are looking to reduce costs and save money, fair as their employees are; cutting costs on insurance premiums is an easy way for employers to save money while ultimately increasing the out-of-pocket expenses for the employee. (Kavilanz, 2009)

Government Attempts to Control Rising Costs of Health Care

Government attempts to control health care spending have thus far been hugely unsuccessful. The government attempted to control the costs of health care spending through Medicare and Medicaid which was established in the 1960s by President Johnson (Public Broadcasting System, n.d.). In 2006, total health care spending averaged $19,000 per household; approximately 58% ($11,000 per household) was in the form of government-subsidized healthcare (Medicare and Madicaid). By the end of 2010, inflation-adjusted government healthcare spending is projected to grow to an average of $13,000 per household. Costs of healthcare are expected to climb to 25.8% of total government out lays in (2008) and 28.4% in 2010. Overall national healthcare costs are likely to increase even further with the implementation of Medicare prescription drug coverage. Medicare accounted for 38% of public spending on healthcare in 2005, and it has grown an average of 9.3% annually since 2002. The cost per beneficiary has continually been increasing faster than the per capita growth of the economy, and Medicare actuaries can see no waste in sight. Because of Medicare and Medicaid, the government portion of the nation’s healthcare burden has steadily increased, but the majority of health care funding continues to settle on the shoulders of employers and consumers. (Steuerle, 2007)

The Medicare Drug Prescription Plan, initiated in 2006, provides a crucial serve to many seniors on a fixed income; however, it had a rocky start, as many recipients were confused regarding the admission process, and seniors were largely unaware of what their options were. The multiple private plans offered a number of choices, but the insurance lingo was difficult for many seniors to comprehend. The 37% of Americans who have no prescription drug coverage indicates that the quandary is precarious at best, yet, it remains most grave for seniors, who narrate 12% of the 37% of the population that have no prescription drug coverage. The Medicare Prescription Drug benefit only covers partial drug costs, the rest remain out of pocket, which presents a huge dilemma for those on a fixed income. For the rest of the population, however, particularly those who remain uninsured, the high cost of prescription medication remains a notable barrier to health care. (Newsbatch, 2009)

Health Care Reform

Health Informative Technology is the wave of the future, and this is never truer than for the health care industry. Health Informative Technology has the potential to slash the cost for health care. Electronic prescribing has been recommended to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services by the Medical Group Management Association; electronic prescribing is used to stimulate advancements in electronic health care. Electronic prescribing would allow other areas of health care to move more swiftly while protecting the privacy of consumer’s health information, privacy and safety while streamlining administrative procedures resulting in a reduction of administrative costs. The primary recommendations are that standards dictating electronic prescribing would be flexible, allowing for easy adjustment based on the needs of the health care organization regardless of the organization’s size, volume, or specialty; the establishment of a quantified return on investment through research and analysis; electronic prescribing systems be organized in such a way to prevent undue burden while ensuring that the technology is implemented in a timely manner; and provide an outreach program that would educated pharmacies, healthcare providers, and consumers of the benefits electronic prescribing would provide. (Medical Group Management Association, 2005)

Health care reform needs to include provisions that have no lifetime or yearly limits on coverage, no denial of coverage due to pre-existing conditions, and no cancelation or denial of coverage due to a family member getting sick. This is particularly a problem with cancer patient, diabetics, and heart patients who all too frequently find themselves facing these very issues. Reform also needs to take the focus off of providing care once an individual gets sick, to the prevention of sickness; some treatments can prevent the progression of illnesses, reverse them, and prevent additional illnesses, but they are not universally covered by insurance. A prime example of this would be weight loss surgery, although not successful in all cases, it is successful in the majority of cases and has been shown to reverse diabetes and prevent comorbid conditions like heart disease. Yet very few insurance companies will cover this type of treatment, and many individuals cannot afford the treatment without the assistance of insurance. Reform should prevent insurance companies from charging higher premiums based on health, gender, location, or age. While some individuals may be at a higher risk for some illnesses, this does not mean that health, gender, location, or age preclude the individual will create certain diseases. Is this anything short of discrimination? Americans need health care that is affordable and has the stability that currently does not exist. (Americans for Stable Quality Care, n.d.)

Can the federal government control the costs of health care? If one looks at the previous examples of federal health care spending (Medicare and Medicaid), then the answer is clearly no. The primary reason that the government cannot control the rising costs of health care is because the only successful intention to control costs is through competition: supply and demand, the very fabric this country was built on. The concept of supply and demand is the ability of the consumer to purchase in an open market the product that offers the best value for their money. This applies pressure to all the providers to lower costs in order to remain competitive in a free, open market. A consumer living in Virginia most likely will not be able to bewitch insurance from an insurance company located in California; the reason for this is that new government control limits the insurance market. If Congress passed a bill that would legalize health insurance purchases across state lines, then the colossal companies that dominate the insurance market would have to compete with all insurance companies which would effectively nick insurance premiums nationwide. (Kibbe, 2009)

The rise in healthcare costs has driven many Americans into the poverty level. This persistent rise in health care costs has slowly, but steadily, eaten into the take-home pay for American workers. Americans are crying out for health care reform that will remove the real possibility of having to ask: can I afford to steal my child to the doctor or do I go without water, food, or heat? History does repeat itself unless one takes a step back and learns from the mistakes made in the past.The earmarks of any fine health system is the ability to deliver safe, effective, high-quality, and personalized care to the people who are in need of it, when they are in need of it, and without wasting vital resources. Medicare, Medicaid, and Medicare Prescription Drug Plans are the three most influential government attempts to control the costs of health care, and all of them are failing. What the future holds for health care and if health care will become an affordable option for everyone is impossible to predict; however, one thing that all Americans can agree on is that the system and infrastructures in place now are not working and health care reform is a necessity.

References

Americans for Stable Quality Care. (n.d.). The benefits of reform: Health care reform’s impact on you and your family. Americans for Stable Quality Care. Retrieved from http://www.stablequalitycare.org/reform-benefits.shtml? sc=om-g-s-hreform

Cowan, C. & Hartman, M. (2005). Financing health care: Businesses, households, and governments, 1987-2003. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Health Care Financing Review; 1(2). Retrieved from http://www.cms.hhs.gov/HealthCareFinancingReview/Downloads/Cowan2.pdf.

Kavilanz, P. (2009). Employees face ’shockingly higher’ health costs: It’s open enrollment time. As employees nationwide peruse their benefit options, experts say prepare for ’shockingly’ higher costs. CNNMoney.com. Retrieved from
http://money.cnn.com/2009/10/19/news/economy/healthcare_openenrollment_changes/index.htm

Kibbe, M. (2009). The government can’t control health care costs. Real Clear Markets. Retreived from http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2009/08/25/the_government_cant_control_health_care_costs_97374.html

Medical Group Management Association. (2005). MGMA comments on the proposed rule on electronic prescribing. Surgistrategies.com. Retrieved from http://www.surgistrategies.com/hotnews/54h1110391439390.html.

National Coalition on Health Care. (2009). Health care facts: Costs. National Coalition on Health Care. Retrieved from http://www.nchc.org/documents/Fact%20Sheets/Fact%20Sheet%20-%20Cost%20Sep-09.pdf.

Newsbatch. (2009). Health care policy issues. Newsbatch.com. Retrieved from http://www.newsbatch.com/healthcare.htm

Public Broadcasting System. (n.d.). Health care crisis. Public Broadcasting System. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/healthcarecrisis/history.htm.

Simon, B. (2009). Teaching and VA hospital issues: What will the physician shortage mean for you? Med Center Today. Retrieved from http://medcentertoday.com/article.php? id=64&chapter_id=1.

Steuerle, E. (2007). Is health spending out of control? National Center for Policy Analysis. Retrieved from http://www.ncpa.org/pub/ba586.

The mutter of health insurance can be a confusing and frustrating one for home business owners. It may seem like affording health insurance is an impossibility. However, health insurance is one expense that you really cannot afford to skip. If you are the distinguished source of income for your family, you must contemplate the ramifications of not having health insurance. Your family is counting on you. One serious accident or illness can lead to the loss of your business and your family’s income.

For those who work from home and have no other employees, you can either capture individual health insurance or group health insurance. Many insurance companies now offer group plans for a single business owner. Prerequisites to purchasing group health insurance will differ for each provider. Individual insurance plans will engage your recent health and any preexisting medical conditions into legend when deciding whether or not to give you coverage. However, a group understanding cannot refuse coverage based on existing medical problems.

When considering which health insurance conception to pick, be determined to mediate about how mighty of a deductible you can afford. If you have some money in reserves, you may believe a larger deductible. Increasing your deductible from $100 to $2000 can actually lower your payments by half. Also purchase into record your health and the health of your family when deciding upon a deductible. There are a myriad of health care plans available. They can range from HMOs to fee-for-service plans. Each notion has its hold recent pros and cons. Be certain to do some research and find all of your questions answered before selecting a belief.

If you really need to assign money, it is possible to choose a health insurance conception that does not include doctor’s appointment, hospital visits or medical tests. This type of coverage is called catastrophic coverage. If you are a healthy person and rarely go to the doctor, you may be glad with health insurance that will only mask major accidents.

It is very difficult for an individual to negotiate coverage terms and cost with providers. One option is to join a group of other home business owners in order to have more leverage to ask for better rates. Research any trade or professional associations that you are edifying for. Many of these associations offer ways to join groups for health insurance coverage. College alumni associations are another resource when looking for group coverage. You can also contact the local Diminutive Business Development Center or similar organization for advice and relieve in finding groups to join for insurance coverage purposes.

You can also peek for health care plans that are geared toward dinky businesses. These plans are specifically tailors to meet diminutive business needs. You may be able to obtain plans that have special premiums and offers.

Although the cost may seem high and the process confusing, it is significant for a home business owner to think purchasing a health insurance opinion. Reflect cost, premiums, your health and the health of your family, and types of coverage before making this necessary decision.

The allege of health insurance can be a confusing and frustrating one for home business owners. It may seem like affording health insurance is an impossibility. However, health insurance is one expense that you really cannot afford to skip. If you are the significant source of income for your family, you must think the ramifications of not having health insurance. Your family is counting on you. One serious accident or illness can lead to the loss of your business and your family’s income.

For those who work from home and have no other employees, you can either recall individual health insurance or group health insurance. Many insurance companies now offer group plans for a single business owner. Prerequisites to purchasing group health insurance will differ for each provider. Individual insurance plans will consume your recent health and any preexisting medical conditions into narrative when deciding whether or not to give you coverage. However, a group thought cannot refuse coverage based on existing medical problems.

When considering which health insurance opinion to take, be positive to mediate about how mighty of a deductible you can afford. If you have some money in reserves, you may reflect a larger deductible. Increasing your deductible from $100 to $2000 can actually lower your payments by half. Also prefer into fable your health and the health of your family when deciding upon a deductible. There are a myriad of health care plans available. They can range from HMOs to fee-for-service plans. Each view has its absorb novel pros and cons. Be determined to do some research and pick up all of your questions answered before selecting a thought.

If you really need to place money, it is possible to remove a health insurance idea that does not include doctor’s appointment, hospital visits or medical tests. This type of coverage is called catastrophic coverage. If you are a healthy person and rarely go to the doctor, you may be gay with health insurance that will only conceal major accidents.

It is very difficult for an individual to negotiate coverage terms and cost with providers. One option is to join a group of other home business owners in order to have more leverage to ask for better rates. Research any trade or professional associations that you are ample for. Many of these associations offer ways to join groups for health insurance coverage. College alumni associations are another resource when looking for group coverage. You can also contact the local Puny Business Development Center or similar organization for advice and succor in finding groups to join for insurance coverage purposes.

You can also study for health care plans that are geared toward diminutive businesses. These plans are specifically tailors to meet slight business needs. You may be able to gain plans that have special premiums and offers.

Although the cost may seem high and the process confusing, it is primary for a home business owner to contemplate purchasing a health insurance idea. Contemplate cost, premiums, your health and the health of your family, and types of coverage before making this distinguished decision.

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I am not a doctor, nor do I play one on Associated Teach! However, I will fraction some home remedies that have been first-rate to me when I was without health insurance. After corporate downsizing hit our family, we have had some times between jobs without health insurance coverage. The company made the job part-time by cutting the hours, which took away benefits. Cobra benefits are supposed to allow you to preserve your insurance, and that sounds profitable on the surface. However, it’s almost amusing to reflect someone could afford the premiums!

Being without health insurance for periods of time is nothing modern in the United States during this economic climate. Unemployment is hitting double digit figures. Companies are cutting pay and benefits for those who have jobs, and many people are finding themselves having to rob jobs with small or no benefits when plants end. People who have never faced the state of not having adequate medical care are suddenly finding themselves seeking home remedies to prevent a costly doctor’s office visit.

Here are a few home remedies I have found satisfactory during periods without health insurance coverage.

1. When you are facing a frigid or throat snort, immediately acquire to the drug store and glean a product with zinc and echinacea. I always tried to procure Throat Eze or Chilly Eze. These products are around Five dollars, and more than once they have warded off a seemingly serious frigid or sore throat. If you add some Vitamin C lozenges, you will be amazed.

When my family is gloomy with a sinus infection, we go to the pharmacy and derive the Precise SUDAFED. This is the kind you have to effect for over the counter. It is a serious medication, but the best decongestant you can acquire with or without a prescription.

2. Dental issues are particularly scary when you have no insurance and money is tight! I had portion of a wait on tooth rupture off and leave an opening. Going to the dentist was absolutely impossible at the time. I bought a product for reapplying crowns temporarily at the drug store and basically filled it myself! You unbiased accomplish a runt ball and push it in there with the exiguous stick that comes with it. I had to reapply it a few times, and it took some getting old-fashioned to. But, it helped protect the tooth from hurt and further decay. The dentist was very impressed with how I had kept it from getting worse. When purchasing this product, you should check to ogle if it is dried up. If so, it will not work at all. This product runs around four dollars.

3. What about strains, sprains, aches, and difficulty? Heat is often the best thing you can do. You can acquire an used tube sock half burly of rice, tie a knot, and expend it for a microwaveable heating pad. Microwave it for a round 3 minutes, being careful for burns.

4. What about skin issues? Rashes, hives, burns, etc…? Benadryl capsules and aloe Vera gel were always on hand at our house. Often, honest a dose of benadryl would discontinuance a skin condition. Aloe Vera gel is so effective on so many skin problems, especially burns.

5. Stomach issues. Diarrhea is a spacious spot, sometimes, especially if you are under stress. Those miniature blue pills are the best thing. The store label is honest as fine as the Imodium. Priceless to have on hand when you need them.

6. Rubbing alcohol is big for so many things. Always have it on hand. It is so obliging if you have an infected scalp, or honest itchy scalp. It is also agreeable for athlete’s foot type foot itching.

7. Sore feet. I had suffered so badly with plantar fascitis when we were without medical care. If you have ever had it, and I had, you know what it is. It will form you bawl at night, particularly. If you have a mate who will rub your feet, the generous design is to push in on the heel, then running up the sole of the foot, like you are stretching out the muscles and ligaments. The best thing is to gain a water bottle 3/4 tubby of water and freeze it. While you are sitting watching television, roll the bottle with your foot, attend and forth. RELIEF!

8. Kidney infections and bladder problems. When you first peep this, originate drinking cranberry juice and lots of water. It also helps to sit in a shallow tub of vinegar water. It really does.

9. This one is sounds ridiculous, but it is endorsed by the American Pediatric Medical Association, If you are suffering with warts, you can beat them at home. Duct tape is the novel remedy suggested by doctors for removing warts. I have removed a plantar’s wart that I had had for literally years. I will include a link for an article with the documentation of this. http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1758184/get_rid_of_plantar_warts_and_other.html

10. Migraines are not something I have very often, but when I do, I have a plot formula to come by rid of them. Obviously, you need to be careful with what medications you pick and the amounts. I remove Tylenol, aspirin and Dr. Enuf. Dr. Enuf is a beverage made in Tennessee that has several vitamins and minerals, along with lots of caffeine. I drink two of the long necked Dr. Enuf with a combination of Tylenol and aspirin.

I hope these home remedies are reliable to you. Of course, you want to check with a doctor or pharmacist before you assume any medication. What works for me or my family, may be scandalous to you!

I am not a doctor, nor do I play one on Associated Exclaim! However, I will part some home remedies that have been favorable to me when I was without health insurance. After corporate downsizing hit our family, we have had some times between jobs without health insurance coverage. The company made the job part-time by cutting the hours, which took away benefits. Cobra benefits are supposed to allow you to withhold your insurance, and that sounds superior on the surface. However, it’s almost comical to judge someone could afford the premiums!

Being without health insurance for periods of time is nothing novel in the United States during this economic climate. Unemployment is hitting double digit figures. Companies are cutting pay and benefits for those who have jobs, and many people are finding themselves having to capture jobs with limited or no benefits when plants halt. People who have never faced the station of not having adequate medical care are suddenly finding themselves seeking home remedies to prevent a costly doctor’s office visit.

Here are a few home remedies I have found gracious during periods without health insurance coverage.

1. When you are facing a chilly or throat stutter, immediately bag to the drug store and salvage a product with zinc and echinacea. I always tried to gather Throat Eze or Frigid Eze. These products are around Five dollars, and more than once they have warded off a seemingly serious frigid or sore throat. If you add some Vitamin C lozenges, you will be amazed.

When my family is discouraged with a sinus infection, we go to the pharmacy and find the Right SUDAFED. This is the kind you have to effect for over the counter. It is a serious medication, but the best decongestant you can gain with or without a prescription.

2. Dental issues are particularly scary when you have no insurance and money is tight! I had portion of a succor tooth crash off and leave an opening. Going to the dentist was absolutely impossible at the time. I bought a product for reapplying crowns temporarily at the drug store and basically filled it myself! You unprejudiced acquire a dinky ball and push it in there with the minute stick that comes with it. I had to reapply it a few times, and it took some getting weak to. But, it helped protect the tooth from hurt and further decay. The dentist was very impressed with how I had kept it from getting worse. When purchasing this product, you should check to contemplate if it is dried up. If so, it will not work at all. This product runs around four dollars.

3. What about strains, sprains, aches, and trouble? Heat is often the best thing you can do. You can occupy an dilapidated tube sock half elephantine of rice, tie a knot, and utilize it for a microwaveable heating pad. Microwave it for a round 3 minutes, being careful for burns.

4. What about skin issues? Rashes, hives, burns, etc…? Benadryl capsules and aloe Vera gel were always on hand at our house. Often, honest a dose of benadryl would close a skin condition. Aloe Vera gel is so effective on so many skin problems, especially burns.

5. Stomach issues. Diarrhea is a substantial dilemma, sometimes, especially if you are under stress. Those miniature blue pills are the best thing. The store note is impartial as advantageous as the Imodium. Priceless to have on hand when you need them.

6. Rubbing alcohol is broad for so many things. Always have it on hand. It is so gracious if you have an infected scalp, or honest itchy scalp. It is also qualified for athlete’s foot type foot itching.

7. Sore feet. I had suffered so badly with plantar fascitis when we were without medical care. If you have ever had it, and I had, you know what it is. It will manufacture you scream at night, particularly. If you have a mate who will rub your feet, the ample procedure is to push in on the heel, then running up the sole of the foot, like you are stretching out the muscles and ligaments. The best thing is to absorb a water bottle 3/4 stout of water and freeze it. While you are sitting watching television, roll the bottle with your foot, encourage and forth. RELIEF!

8. Kidney infections and bladder problems. When you first gawk this, begin drinking cranberry juice and lots of water. It also helps to sit in a shallow tub of vinegar water. It really does.

9. This one is sounds ridiculous, but it is endorsed by the American Pediatric Medical Association, If you are suffering with warts, you can beat them at home. Duct tape is the fresh remedy suggested by doctors for removing warts. I have removed a plantar’s wart that I had had for literally years. I will include a link for an article with the documentation of this. http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1758184/get_rid_of_plantar_warts_and_other.html

10. Migraines are not something I have very often, but when I do, I have a situation formula to gather rid of them. Obviously, you need to be careful with what medications you steal and the amounts. I select Tylenol, aspirin and Dr. Enuf. Dr. Enuf is a beverage made in Tennessee that has several vitamins and minerals, along with lots of caffeine. I drink two of the long necked Dr. Enuf with a combination of Tylenol and aspirin.

I hope these home remedies are advantageous to you. Of course, you want to check with a doctor or pharmacist before you lift any medication. What works for me or my family, may be wicked to you!