When looking into health insurance of any kind the rules, regulations and stipulations often make it so that every word on the policy seems foreign and a bit sketchy. The policy is never laid on it terms that one without industry knowledge would completely understand. Words such as co-payment, deductible, family allowance, preventative vs. routine care often times add confusion in really understanding what is being offered. Health Insurance in...more
Some people in politics want everything to be black and white. "Big government bad, small government good" and similar slogans have become rallying cries during town hall meetings and elections. Sound bites are convenient ways of getting a message across, but unhelpful when it comes to more complicated issues. On the face of it, we seem on the cusp of slipping back into recession. To try avoid this double dip, the Fed has announced plans to buy...more
The total number of uninsured people in the US grew from 43.0 million in 2005 to 49.9 million in 2010 at a 5 year CAGR of 3.0%. The private insurance coverage is mainly employer sponsored. This negative change in the employment status led to decreased earnings and resulted into a decline in the number of people under the employer insurance coverage.Premium prices have more than doubled over the period. The cost of an employer-based family coverage plan increased from 12% to 22% of family income over the decade. The health insurance premium surged as a percentage of private sector employee compensation from ~% in 1999 to ~% in 2009 thus cutting down the wages of the workers. Small businesses were considerably hit with the proportion of small employers providing health insurance reducing from ~% to ~% between 1999 and 2009.UnitedHealth Group is the leading health insurance provider in the US with a market share of ~% and direct premium written worth USD ~ billion in 2010. The company conducts its operations through two businesses, United Healthcare and Optum. WellPoint is the second largest health insurance provider in the US with total premium written USD ~billion.The report titled...more
Regardless of the time of year, the dead of winter or the heights of summer, our immune system has to work constantly to fight off all manner of diseases. Whether from the cold and flu viruses of winter to various illnesses and viruses of summer, the immune system is under constant attack and has to have all the help it can get. Preserving family...more
As the economy continues to fluctuate and many people find that affording even basic things such as health insurance becomes more difficult to do, more people are tightening up their budgets in order to survive. It is important to budget appropriately so that important things such as health care, home mortgages, car notes, and utilities get paid....more
There are almost 35 million people are in the young adult age group. The number of young adults without health insurance is decreasing significantly in this age group. The latest survey, released yesterday, finds that during the second quarter of this year, adults between the ages of 18 and 25 without health insurance has dropped from 28 percent to 24 percent. This 4 percent drop is a major improvement for this age group. This means that one million more young adults today have health insurance.The new health care law that was enacted by President Barack Obama last fall, enabled adult children to remain active on their parent's plan until they turned 26, but unfortunately this law's provisions didn't get implemented by the workforce health plans. It wasn't until January 1st 2011 that this law was finally followed even though it was already months old. This law change it is believed is the prime reason for the sudden increase in young adults enjoying health insurance coverage.The difficulty of young adults getting jobs in the economy of today makes the availability of health care even more important to this age group. This age group is also representative of the only group that is...more
HMOs, or Health Management Organizations, had their heyday in recent decades, after President Richard Nixon signed into effect the HMO Act in 1973. This act legally permitted health insurance companies and organizations to offer services in the form...more
Many people understand the fact that health insurance is prohibitively expensive for the vast majority of people out there. Unfortunately, the government has been slow to respond to this growing problem, and the end result is that people are taking...more
Whether you are an individual seeking a health plan for yourself and your family, a woman looking for maternity or preventive care cover, or self-employed and looking to manage health risks, being aware and prepared is important. A lot is happening...more
There cannot be a more painful emotion in the world than watching someone you love suffer through an illness. Long term health problems within our family could make us feel ineffective because we can't really help them. Getting power over our...more
For the people people who seek some insurance company that can support their medical needs, group medical health insurance plans are the most useful thing they may have. Group health insurance enters two forms, the managed care or traditional....more
Health insurance options for young adults are nearly the most affordable plans available to people. Obtaining health insurance in your early twenties typically means you have obtained insurance while you are in reasonably good health and live a...more