As in everything that involves money, it is important

to keep good records of your medical expenses for many

reasons.

Keeping track of deductibles, especially for a family,

can be time consuming, but is an important task. Every

policy has different deductibles for lab work,

hospital emergency room visits, hospital stays, doctor

visits and x-rays, and it is often difficult to track.

Keeping track of your out-of-pocket expenses becomes

very important when it comes time to complete your

taxes. It also comes in handy to know what your

expenses are for medical care when choosing to change

companies or policies.

A file folder that includes a copy of the policy,

copies of your medical bills and copies of what your

insurance company has paid on those bills is usually

all you will need.

When a bill comes for a provider, you will usually

receive a statement from your insurance company

showing what portion of the bill they paid, and many

times providers write off the remainder, if it is not

a large sum.

If you visit several doctors, you may want to have a

file folder for each doctor or provider.

Insurance companies do occasionally make mistakes, but

they are usually on top of their game. Having a copy

of the policy handy makes it easy to check deductible

levels and whether a particular service is covered or

not.

It also serves as a ready resource for telephone

numbers, website information and your contact at the

The key to getting the most benefit from your health

insurance policy is knowing your policy coverage.

Many people don’t actually read the policy for the

policy plan book; they may not be aware that the

policy may pay 100% of certain procedures, like annual

physicals, mammograms, flu shots or certain labs

tests.

The policy plan book will outline for you what

procedures are not subject to the deductible or co-pay

(your out-of-pocket expense).

Some insurance companies have shifted their emphasis

from health insurance to health improvement and

maintenance and will pay for the cost of gym

membership, nutritional counseling or plans to stop

smoking.

If you were trying to lose weight and knew that you

could get these services at no cost, wouldn’t you take

advantage of them?

If you wanted to quit smoking, wouldn’t it be

beneficial to know that you could get the patch for

free?

It is very wise to know what services are available to

you through your insurance company, and you will only

know if you take the time to read through your policy.

Health insurance is an expensive item; take advantage

of every aspect of it that you can, not only for

yourself but for the members of your family.

By taking full advantage of the free benefits of your

health insurance policy, you will be healthier and

possibly require fewer visits to your doctor.

Some health insurance policies do not provide for

prescription coverage and a separate policy must be

purchased for prescription medications.

This is an area where it pays to do some homework and

research and find the best policy for you.

Prescription coverage insurance is not a necessity;

like health insurance coverage, it is a calculated

risk, although the risk is not as high.

Usually you can buy prescription insurance at any

time, so if the doctor determines that you need an

expensive maintenance drug, you may opt in at that

time.

It is important to know that if you presently have

prescription insurance you can usually only change it

at a specific time of the year, although you can add

new prescriptions, you can’t change plans.

The person who seldom takes prescription medications

probably does not need prescription insurance;

however, a person who takes maintenance drugs for high

blood pressure, diabetes, depression, heart disease or

immune disorders most likely needs insurance against

the high costs of drugs.

Prescription insurance policies usually have “tiers”,

which usually means that a generic drug is at a low or

no co-pay, a tier 2 level may be the brand name

genuine, and a tier 3 may be a brand new expensive

drug that the co-pay could be a set high-percentage of

the cost.

In choosing prescription insurance, you should first

list the prescriptions that you take and the retail

amount of them. If you chose not to purchase

insurance, this would be your monthly cost.

Find out from the provider what the monthly premium

for you would be, then what the prescription co-pay

amount would be and add these two figures together.

Which is the less expensive alternative?

Health insurance, in this modern world of cancer,

heart disease, AIDS, diabetes, asthma, ageing and

other diseases and afflictions, it is essential to

have some sort of health insurance.

There are many levels of health insurance coverage

available; unfortunately, like most things in life,

you get what you pay for, and good coverage can be

very expensive.

The two most common terms in referring to health

insurance are premium, which is the amount paid for

the insurance, and deductible, which is your

out-of-pocket expense before the insurance pays your

provider.

For instance, you might pay $300 premium per month for

family coverage, and your deductible might be $250 per

person, which means if you fell and broke your ankle

and went to the hospital emergency room, you would be

required to pay the first $250 of the bill.

You can purchase very basic catastrophic coverage,

which would carry a very high deductible and the

premium would be less than comprehensive coverage

which would have a higher premium and lower

deductible.

It pays to invest the time to investigate various

insurance options, taking into consideration your age,

your general health and the health of your family

members.

Your employer may offer group health insurance, which

is most likely the least expensive option for you, and

usually the premium is deducted from your paycheck.

Health insurance is a calculated risk; can you afford

the premiums or are you willing to risk that you would

pay less out of pocket for medical expenses in a year

than the premiums would cost? Consider carefully.

The tuition arrangements are set up; the dorm room is

assigned and your son or daughter is headed off to

college in the fall. In all of the confusion of the

paperwork, deadlines and financial arrangements did

you remember to check on their health insurance?

Many, but not all, insurance companies provide for

health insurance for college students under a family

policy; do you know for sure that yours does?

With some insurance companies, coverage depends on

whether or not the student is a full time student.

Review your policy or ask your insurance

administrator; if you have an HMO plan, will your

student be covered if they go to the student

healthcare facility away from home?

Check the age limit as well; you may find that once

your son or daughter reaches a certain age they are

dropped from the policy no matter what.

Ask your insurance company to provide an extra

insurance card for your son or daughter to carry with

them; if there is an additional card for prescription

medications; make sure they have that too.

This preventative step will help eliminate confusion

when they suddenly have to see a doctor.

There are student health care plans that are available

through most colleges that are a reasonably priced

alternative if your policy excludes your child.

Isn’t college confusing enough without having to worry

about whether your child is covered should he or she

need to seek medical attention? Take the time to look

into health insurance before they head off to college

Disability insurance policies are designed to pay part

of your wages should you be injured in an accident or

are unable to work because of illness. Here are two

types of policies available: long-term disability and

short-term disability.

Short term disability pays a portion of your wages

should you be out of work due to injury for up to one

year. Some employers pay for this benefit for their

employees, some offer it for employees to purchase.

If you have a pre-existing medical condition, the time

to enroll is during the initial enrollment period when

a medical exam is not required.

Replacement of wages is only partial; insurance

underwriters, as well as your employer, want you back

at work as soon as possible. Usually there is a

waiting period of 14 days in which you will not

receive payment.

Long term disability policies are purchased to replace

what your potential earnings would be from the time

you become disabled until age 65 when Medicare would

be available.

For instance, if you are 55 and make $40,000 per year,

you should purchase a policy for $400,000.

You cannot get a long term disability policy if

(1) you are or are soon to be pregnant,

(2) make less than $18,000 per year,

(3) are unemployed, or

(4) you are required to carry a weapon for your job.

Typically, the waiting period for long-term insurance

to kick is at least 60 days and as much as a year.

Disability insurance is an important aspect of your

overall insurance coverage plan, and if your employer

offers it as a benefit you should definitely consider

it as a wise investment.

Health insurance considerations weigh heavily on the

minds of people wanting to retire before Medicare

coverage kicks in at age 65. Many people put off

retirement simply because the cost of an individual

health insurance policy is too great on a limited

income.

What options for health insurance do you have if you

choose to retire before age 65? Although they are not

required to, you may be able to get COBRA-like

coverage from your employer.

As an added retirement benefit, your employer may

allow you to pick up the premium on your policy;

although paying 100% of your premium may initially

appear to be an expensive option, purchasing an

individual policy apart from a group may be even more

costly and not provide you with the level of coverage

you previously had.

Some companies are offering basic high-deductible

insurance reasonably in the hopes that they will be

able to enroll you in Medicare Part C (supplemental

insurance) when you retire.

Another option is to budget and save money to cover

your anticipated medical costs for the time period

between retirement and age 65. If you are in very good

health, this may be a viable alternative for you.

Pre-planning for retirement is an important issue; the

earlier you start planning, the better. Realizing the

Medicare does not pay all of your medical expenses,

you should budget money for medical expenses even

The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act

(COBRA), a law created in 1986, gives workers (and

members of their family) who lose their health

insurance benefits the right continue their group

health insurance for a limited period of time under

circumstances such as voluntary or involuntary job

loss, reduction in hours, transition between jobs,

divorce, adoption and death.

Generally, the employee pays up to 102% of the premium

cost for the same policy; this is still usually less

expensive than buying an individual insurance policy.

There are three basic aspects for qualifying for

COBRA: the qualifying event, the insurance plan

coverage and the qualified person.

Each aspect is taken into consideration when applying

for COBRA and you must elect to either apply for COBRA

or waive your rights to COBRA within 14 days after a

qualifying event.

You must also have been in the group insurance plan

during your employment to be eligible. Although there

are exceptions, generally you may continue to pay your

own premiums to keep COBRA coverage intact for up to

18 months.

Companies who have fewer than 20 employees, State or

Federal employers or employee organizations may not

offer COBRA coverage.

Check with your health insurance administrator to see

if you may qualify. You may also have this information

readily available in your group health insurance

policy or in your company handbook.

Although it may be expensive, the cost of being able

to keep your group insurance coverage rate may be well

Medicare is a governmental program which provides

medical insurance coverage for retired persons over

age 65 or for others who meet certain medical

conditions, such as having a disability.

Medicare was signed into legislation in 1965 as an

amendment to the Social Security program and is

administered by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid

Services (CMS) under the Department of Human Services.

Medicare provides medical insurance coverage for over

43 million Americans, many of whom would have no

medical insurance. While not perfect, the Medicare

program offers these millions of people relatively low

cost basic insurance, but not much in the way of

preventative care. For instance, Medicare does not pay

for an annual physical, vision care or dental care.

Medicare is paid for through payroll tax deductions

(FICA) equal to 2.9% of wages; the employee pays half

and the employer pays half.

There are four “parts” to Medicare: Part A is hospital

coverage, Part B is medical insurance, Part C is

supplemental coverage and Part D is prescription

insurance. Parts C and D are at an added cost and are

not required. Neither Part A nor B pays 100% of

medical costs; there is usually a premium, co-pay and

a deductible. Some low-income people quality for

Medicaid, which assists in paying part of or all of

the out-of-pocket costs.

Because more people are retiring and become eligible

for Medicare at a faster rate than people are paying

into the system, it has been predicted that the system

will run out of money by 2018. Health care costs have

risen dramatically, which adds to the financial woes

of Medicare and the system has bee plagued by fraud

over the years.

No one seems to have a viable solution to save this

system that saves many people throughout the country.

One of the best ways to get health insurance cheaply is by getting it through your employer. If you are in regular employment then you should find out whether or not your employer will offer you a health insurance plan at a subsidised rate. Certainly, this is the most affordable way of getting health insurance if you have this opportunity.

If you are not employed or your employer does not offer any type of plan, you will certainly need to consider your other options. If you are on low income then you may want to look at the Medicaid program that has been setup for people such as yourself to get cheaper health insurance premiums.

You should also search for ways of finding cheaper policies, and one way of doing this would be by going down to your local clinic and finding out about the options that you have there. You should also find out from your local social services department whether they can help you, and should generally gather as much advice as possible in how to proceed.

The Internet is certainly a resource that you should take advantage of as well. You should make sure that you look for cheap health insurance companies online that will be able to offer you more affordable policies and rates.

At the same time, you should be looking to compare as many rates as possible. You should gather quotes both on the Internet and over the phone and compare them in order to find the most affordable rates that will still offer you the required coverage that you need. The more quotes you gather, the more likely it will be for you to identify an affordable rate.

All in all, whatever your situation you should be able to find some help in getting cheaper health insurance as long as you spend enough time searching.

The Internet is a great place to get life insurance quotes that won’t overtax your budget. Finding cheap health insurance is possible if you take time to do the research.