Supplemental Medical Insurance – What Is Supplemental Health Insurance?

Group health insurance rates have been increasing year after year and employers have been forced to make some drastic changes in their employee benefit programs. Many employers have changed their health insurance to high deductible plans. Dental Insurance has been discontinued by some companies as well as vision care. Disability programs have been trimmed down as well as group life insurance. This has created gaps in coverage and employees have had to look for alternatives for coverage that has been omitted or decreased in their benefit package. The answer to this problem has come in the form of supplemental health insurance. Supplemental health insurance companies will enroll employees with these products and the premiums are paid through payroll deduction.
Supplemental health Insurance Products
1. Disability Insurance – Supplemental disability insurance is sold to employees to fill in gaps or replace lost benefits. Long term and short term disability insurance can be purchased with a variety of waiting periods and benefit periods.
2. Life Insurance – Supplemental life insurance includes a variety of permanent plans as well as term life insurance. There are non-medical life policies available for larger groups when a certain amount of employees participate in the plan.
3. Dental Insurance – This is one of the more popular supplemental health products because it usually the first discontinued by the employer.
4. Cancer Insurance – The cancer policy is a single need policy with relatively low premiums.
5. Accident Insurance – The accident policy covers accidental injury and death. There are accident disability riders on some accident policies.
6. Hospital Income – The hospital income policy pays a daily dollar rate to the insured while hospitalized. These policies can pay as low as $10 per day and as high as $200 for each day hospitalized.
The need for supplemental insurance is stronger than ever before. These policies can also be purchased on an individual basis with most companies.

How The Health Insurance Industry Fights the High Costs of Medical Care

For many families, finding affordable health insurance is a task akin to the search for the Holy Grail. Depending on where in the country you live, a family health insurance plan can cost as much as $800-$1000 per month. Even when you split that cost between employee and employer, that's a major chunk of nearly anyone's monthly budget. And while it's popular to swear under your breath at the greed of the health insurance industry, a look at the cost of medical care is an eye-opening shock for many people. The expenses associated with a broken arm, for instance, can easily mount into several thousands of dollars.
** The Health Insurance Industry has a stake in keeping people healthy.
The high cost of health insurance is the direct result of the high cost of medical care. It's a simple matter of economics. The more it costs to take care of each subscriber, the more the insurance companies have to charge all their subscribers. This cost/expense ratio is what has made most health insurance companies embrace the idea of providing preventive care to their subscribers. It's a simple matter of business sense - healthy people don't cost the insurance companies a lot of money.
Accidents may be the first type of medical need that springs to mind when people consider buying health insurance, the major insurance companies all agree that accidents aren't the major cost drain on medical resources. That place is reserved for chronic illnesses like diabetes, heart disease, cancer and high blood pressure. Because of this, it makes good business sense for health insurance companies to encourage their subscribers to adopt preventive health strategies. That pays off in special benefits for health conscious consumers.
** Preventive Health Benefits Help Keep Costs Low
Among the benefits that have become commonplace for major health insurance providers are routine physicals, medical screenings for all subscribers, discounts on health club and gym memberships, payment of dues for weight loss groups and lowered subscription fees for non-smokers.
Some health insurance companies and HMO's go even further in their preventive efforts. Because of the high risk of serious injury or fatality for infants in automobile accidents, Fallon Community Health Plan of Massachusetts has for years teamed with local organizations to provide free infant car seats to families with newborns. In the same spirit of prevention, many HMOs offer free stress management and stress reduction workshops to all subscribers because stress has been identified as a leading risk factor in nearly every major illness.
** Seeking a CureThe quest for affordable health care has also prompted health insurance companies and HMOs to help fun research and health initiatives all over the country. The health insurance industry underwrites millions of dollars of medical research annually in an effort to lower the costs of health care. Their dollars fund grants to enroll low income and other hard to insure populations, and to offer eye, dental and health care to inner city and poor rural populations. The industry estimates that routine preventive eye and dental care, as well as routine medical screenings and physicals can identify illnesses at early stages and prevent conditions and costs from escalating out of reach.
** Get the Most from Your Health InsuranceYou pay for it - you should certainly get the most possible benefit from your health insurance plan. Here are some suggestions for ways that you can make your health insurance plan work for you:

• - Join a gym. Check the benefits that your HMO or health insurance plan offers. Chances are good that one of them is a discount good on membership at a local gym or health club. Get fit - it saves THEM money... but it saves YOUR life.
• - Lose weight. Take advantage of nutritional counseling and memberships in weight loss support groups to get down to your ideal weight. Added bonus? Many health insurance plans offer a lower tier cost for subscribers who are at healthy weights.
• - Quit smoking. Non-smokers are another group that often enjoy lower health insurance premiums. Many HMOs and health insurance providers offer free smoking cessation programs to help you get smoke free and healthy.
• - Attend medical screenings and health fairs. Many health insurance providers sponsor 'wellness fairs' where you can have your blood pressure tested, get free medical screenings and learn about alternative medical techniques like massage therapy, acupuncture and yoga. Take advantage of special events to learn more and get healthy.

It may be popular to demonize the health insurance industry, but today more than ever, the health insurance industry has a stake in keeping you healthy. Find out what your health insurance company has to offer you by visiting their web site, or calling customer service.

Health Insurance And Insurance Brokers

If you are in the market to purchase your own health insurance coverage you can save yourself precious time and money by shopping and comparing policies right online. Sites dedicated to giving you quotes on various types of insurance make it very easy for you to get an idea of what your coverage and costs will be. However, please be forewarned that there are some pitfalls in using an insurance broker as I discovered within the past year.
As a self employed person, I carry my own health and life insurance for my family. When making the move from New Jersey to North Carolina in 2004 I knew two things about our health insurance:
1. I would have to shop for a health insurance provider covering North Carolina.
2. Rates would be cheaper than in New Jersey, with costs being about half of what I had been paying and with slight better coverage.
Several weeks before we moved I contacted a well known internet insurance broker and received quotes. We selected one company and received the paperwork from the broker about ten days before our move. Quite frankly, I wish I had started the process a little earlier as all of our free time was dedicated toward preparing and making the move. So, I ended up packing the paperwork with my personal stuff and was only able to fill it out and submit it one week after our arrival in North Carolina. Dealing with the online insurance broker was a simple task, but I soon discovered that they were an extra step in the application process, one that only slowed down our approval.
Once the paperwork was received by the broker, they acknowledged the same via email and mentioned that they would review our package before forwarding it to the health insurance company.
Over the next couple of weeks we received messages from the insurance broker stating the following:
1. We are in the process of reviewing your application.
2. We have sent your application off to the insurance company.
3. The insurance company has your application and will be reviewing it in about one week.
4. The insurance company expects a delay in reviewing your application due to the high volume of applications received.
5. Please do not contact the insurance company directly; we will keep you posted as to the status of your application. Yeah, right.
Originally, we were assured by the insurance broker that the health insurance company would review and approve our application within two weeks. Follow up phone calls by us to the broker along with several exchanges of emails revealed that this was not going to happen. In addition, when we contacted the health insurance company directly – at the encouragement of the broker – the health insurance company had difficulty finding our application. Within a few days the application was found sitting in another department; our contact at the health insurance company blamed the broker for sending the information to the wrong address.
As it turned out, the original insurance quote we received online was off by just over 20%. Once the health insurance company determined that certain pre existing conditions needed to be factored in our rates rose accordingly. Of course, when working with the internet broker we knew that the rate quoted wasn’t ‘absolute’ but the big jump was still a bitter pill to swallow.
Among our thoughts at that point in the process were:
1. Had we known ahead of time that our “final rate” would be so high, we would have shopped around some more.
2. Because of the delays and the passage of time, we needed to complete the application process as our coverage with the NJ health provider would need to be canceled, preferably by the end of the year.
By the middle of December, a full ten weeks after we submitted our paperwork, we received official notification that our application was approved and that we were covered. During the last couple of weeks of the lengthy application process we contacted the health insurance company directly several times to learn what the status of our application was. At no time during the process were we assured that we would receive approval; essentially we were told that coverage would begin pending approval.
In conclusion, I offer the following recommendations for shopping for health insurance:
1. Comparison shop online. Get quotes through the online brokers to get a general idea of what your costs will be. If you have pre-existing conditions, the prices quoted will not be reflected in your quote.
2. Narrow down the list of companies quoted to three and then contact them directly. Bypass the broker as they are an unnecessary additional step in what certainly is not a quick approval process.
3. If you need insurance by a particular date, apply well in advance to allow for delays, for misplaced paperwork, changes in your application, etc. Our insurance coverage was approved effective a specific date, but we were able to move it to another date to coincide with the dropping of our NJ health care provider.
In all, the experience was wearisome at times and a real eye opener. I know you see ads all the time for online insurance quotes. I am not saying to avoid the sites, but please consider what we went through before using an online broker exclusively.

Do I need Health Insurance?

If you think you do not need Health Insurance; then think again. The unpredictable nature of life is itself a valid reason to own a health insurance. Life is filled with risks. Wherever there is an element of risk, risk management is indispensable. Insurance is just a form of sensible risk management.

So, what is health insurance? To put it in simple terms, a health insurance policy is an agreement between an individual and an insurance company. The policy will include a host of benefits such as medical tests, medicinal drugs and other medical treatments. When an Insurance policy is issued by the company, then it implies the insurance company has agreed to cover the cost of a particular set of benefits listed in the policy, which are known as "covered services".

So, when a particular service is not covered by the insurance company and you have it performed anyway, the insurance company "denies the claim." In such a situation, the individual will be left with no other choice, but to pay for the service out of his own pocket. However, the policy holder has the right to challenge the insurance company’s denial, by following the appeal process mentioned in the plan handbook. But, it is advisable to do so after consulting the doctor in this regard.
It is also very important to read the terms and conditions of the insurance policy clearly, before signing up for one. This is to ensure that your hard-earned money is not invested in a policy that does not meet your needs. It is also important to bear in mind the fact that decisions pertaining to what will be and what will not be reimbursed are made by the company, and not by the doctor. So, even when a shadow of a doubt about the policy arises, it is advisable to call the insurance company for support.
In conclusion, when considering the purchase of health insurance it is important to consider all of its merits. One has to realize that the money that is involved in purchasing a medical insurance is very little, when compared to the cost incurred in undergoing some major medical services. Moreover, insurance policies may also be tax deductible, in which case you can be said to be paying for your policy with money you might have otherwise given to the tax man. These are some of the financial incentives of having an insurance policy. Excluding the protection to family and oneself, however, the greatest benefit is that possessing a health insurance policy would also ensure peace of mind to the policy holder, a significant psychological benefit. In light of all these advantages, it really wouldn’t be such a bad idea to own a health insurance policy.

Affordable Family Health Insurance Quote - Things To Know

Whether you are seeking health insurance through your employer or on your own you will be offered a variety of plans. In order to make the proper decision about which plan is right for you it is important to know the basic characteristics of the most popular types of health insurance. After this it is wise to get many quotes on health insurance and compare them. This is a free way to compare plans and prices.
Fee for service
For many years the fee for service plan was very popular and widely used type of health insurance. The insured pays a monthly fee. A deductible is applied to the cost of the services. Some services related to healthy living or emergency services may be exempted from the deductible. Once the deductible has been met the insured and the insurance company share the cost of services. For most companies the split may be 80/20 or 70/30. The company pays eighty or seventy percent, the insured pays twenty or thirty percent. There will be a cap on the total amount of money the insurance company will pay in a lifetime.
Health Maintenance Organization (HMO)
HMOs have become increasingly more common in the last decade. Again, the insured pays a premium which makes him/her a member of the HMO. As a member of the group the member is entitled to visit any of the doctors who are part of the group. These doctors may all work together in an HMO facility or may work in individual clinics as part of a group of doctors under contract to the HMO. Members may have to pay what is called co-pay when they visit the doctor. No paperwork is necessary to validate the claims of an HMO member; however, members may wait longer for non-emergency appointments than they would with a fee for service insurance program. An HMO generally requires its members to have a primary care physician who then refers the member to a specialist if needed.
Preferred Provide Organizations (PPO)
The PPO, a blend of the fee for service model and the HMO model, is a fast growing sector of health insurance. As with an HMO there is a network of doctors from which the insured chooses his/her physician. This physician is responsible for designating the need for specialized care. A co-payment will be required when an office or hospital visit is made. There will also be a deductible and medical expenses will be divided at an agreed upon scale between the insured and the insurance company operating the PPO. A person may choose to use a doctor who is outside of the network. Expenses incurred for medical care outside the network will make the patient’s share higher.
Please collect as many quotes as possible in order to compare services and rates. This is a free way to learn a lot about all of your options.