What You Should Expect When Buying Medical Coverage

Whatever the reason you lack healthinsurance, whether because you've recently completed college, lost your job orstarted your own company;  buyingindividual coverage for the first time can be a daunting experience. Here aresome of the most important things you'll need to know.

1.       THESTATE OF YOUR HEALTH INFLUENCES THE OUTCOME OF YOUR INSURANCE APPLICATION. HIPAA, the Health Insurance Portabilityand Accountability Act of 1996, requires insurers to write even the smallest ofemployer group plans on a "guaranteed issue" basis. This means thatthe insurer must accept any small employer group that applies for coverage,regardless of the group members' health status or claims history. All employeeshave to do is enroll when they first become eligible, or during the plan'sannual open enrollment period. Unfortunately, individual insurance worksdifferently. When you apply for individual coverage, the insurer underwritesyou based on your individual health conditions, if any.  If you have any pre-existing health conditions,your insurer can exclude coverage for it, charge extra or even refuse to issuea policy. So don’t necessarily be wowed by a low price you see in a quoteunless you have a clean health history. Low prices are usually preferred rates.Standard and smokers rates can be much higher. One more thing, n experiencedagent can review your health conditions and let you know in advance what thelikely outcome will be, thus saving you a lot of time and disappointment.

2.       YOU’RETIMING IS IMPORTANT. Ifyour existing group coverage (whether COBRA or a student health plan) endssoon, you will want to apply for new coverage within 63 days. Why 63 days?HIPAA allows an individual who has group coverage to obtain new coverage with areduced, or no, exclusion period for pre-existing conditions. This HIPAAprotection applies only to insurance applicants who have had continuous"creditable coverage" with no gaps greater than 63 days. HIPAA willallow you to obtain new group coverage, an individual "conversion"policy from the same insurer that provided your group coverage, or a special"group to individual portability" policy available in every state.

3.       YOU’REFLEXIBILITY MATTERS. Areyou willing to switch your health care providers if needed? Then you might beable to save some money with a preferred provider organization (PPO plan),which provides higher benefits and usually lower copayments when you use anin-network provider.

4.       YOU’RE ABILITY TO BUDGETIS IMPORTANT. Are you one of those people who spend every cent they make?Or can you budget and set money aside? The individual who doesn't like tobudget will likely feel more comfortable with a "rich" plan thatinvolves little out-of pocket expense. You'll want to look for a plan thatoffers low copayments for routine office visits and prescriptions. Of course,there is a tradeoff-you'll pay more for this type of health plan. Budget-consciousindividuals and families can pay less for their health insurance (and enjoyadditional tax benefits) with a high-deductible health plan linked to a healthsavings account. The high-deductible plan (HDHP) will protect you fromcatastrophic health care costs, provide some preventive care benefits, and costa lot less than a "rich" health plan. With the HDHP, you can then putaside money in an HSA (in 2008, up to $2,900 for self-only coverage; $5,800 forfamily coverage) to pay health care costs not covered by the HDHP.

5.      THE HDHP/HSA OPTION OFFERS THE FOLLOWINGADVANTAGES:

v     Youcan claim a tax deduction for contributions you (or someone other than youremployer) makes to your HSA, even if you do not itemize deductions on Form1040.

v     Contributionsremain in your account until you use them.

v     Interestor other earnings on your account balance accumulates tax-free.

v     Distributionsyou take from the account to pay qualified medical expenses are tax-free.

What’snext?

For help in navigating the world ofindividual health insurance, take advantage of the 25 years I have in thisfield. You can contact me toll-free at @ 888-834-4252. You are also welcome tovisit our website which is www.usquotehunter.com.If you prefer email then drop me a line at aferriulo@sbcglobal.net.

Sincerely

Al Ferriulo

Health Questionnaire

Name(First and Last)     ___________________DOB __/__/___ Ht___WT___

Spouse’sName               ___________________ DOB __/__/___ Ht___WT___

Child1 name                   ___________________ DOB __/__/___ Ht___WT___

Child1 name                   ___________________ DOB __/__/___ Ht___WT___

Child1 name                   ___________________ DOB __/__/___ Ht___WT___

Address_______________________________________________

Doesanyone smoke cigarettes or chew tobacco? yes__No__

Ifso, who? ____________________

PrescriptionDrugs Taken Currently for each family member:

 Patient

Drug

Medicine Dosage

Condition if Known.

  Anyone suffer from heart trouble; chest pain diabetes or cancer.

Does anyone suffer from any chronic diseases for which they are getting ongoing treatment from a doctor, If yes, please explain:

Current Insurance

Company_______________________________________________________

Deductible_____________________________

CoinsurancePercentage after Deductible_________________%

DrugCard Benefits Yes or No?  If yes, whatare your co pays for Generic $__

Brand$__ and Nonformulary Brand $ ___. Do you have a seperate deductible for drugs? Ifso what is it $_____

Doyou have a physician office co-pay Yes/No? If yes, what is it? Does the co-paycover everything including labs or is it just for the visit only? ____________

Doyou have a hospital or out-patient co-pay? _____________________________

Howmuch is your plan costing you per month? ___________________________

Mostimportant, of all the features of your current plan, what do you want tochange? What do you love, and what do you hate about it? __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________