For anyone between 50 and 65 years who will be looking for some health cover or is already looking, you could be in need of a lot of help. This age is crucial in that many of the body’s systems are just about ready to start failing plunging you into serious health challenges. Using statistics (a tool used extensively to create the product structures) insurance companies know that the expenditure on health for the 20 to 45 year-old group will be a lot less than for the 50 to 65 year-old group. Therefore, the premiums for older persons are higher.
Do not despair, as we are smart we will be sure to find a way. Let us look at some options available.
For those who are still working and may be looking at starting a business or going to retire, there are a few areas worthy of your investigating. Does the company you work for allow you to buy insurance through their plan? For early retirement, if the company allows, they may be able to subsidize a portion of the premiums. If there is no subsidy, you may still be entitled to group rates which are less than for individuals. If you spouse will remain in employment seriously look at joining their plan if this is possible.
Another option is COBRA or Consolidate Omnibus Budget Reconciliation ACT, for those still in employment that gives health insurance cover. Former employees and their families can continue the cover for up to a year and a half. COBRA is also guaranteed. You can not be turned down even for chronic illnesses. The downside is the cost. During your employment the employer normally meets 70% of the premium. Own your own you will cover the full premium and administration costs on top. A 1997 survey showed that on average a retired employee would pay $1,008 for family cover and $373 for the individual health cover.
Even if you are not in employment, there are some options open for you. For those with pre-existing conditions like high blood pressure or diabetes who fail to get insurance, coverage is still available through the states’ high-risk program especially set up to help this group of people. Like COBRA, the premiums are quite high.
You should also check professional organizations that you could join or already a member of or are affiliated to see if the membership offers health insurance cover. As this is a group cover, your premiums will be low.
Lastly, the health insurance scheme for individuals. There are now very good offerings in this area as providers believe the 50-65 age group has potential for growth. These individuals also have a fair income and are in good health. Companies believe that even when the oldies become eligible for Medicare, they will still opt for supplemental cover. Some of these options have monthly premiums as low as $200 for individuals in fair health, but carry high deductibles. Some advisors recommend combining opening health savings accounts (HSA) when taking out a cover with high deductibles. HSA contributions are not taxed, nor are any withdrawals made towards qualified medical expenses and the balance at year end can be rolled over to the next year.
By: Jack Adams
Posts Tagged ‘Pre Existing Conditions’
Health Insurance For People Over 50
February 6th, 2010Pre-Existing Conditions in Florida Health Insurance
January 13th, 2010
Pre-existing conditions in Florida health insurance is an area of health insurance that seems to suffer from a murky cloud of confusion. What is a pre-existing condition? How are pre-existing conditions handled in Florida? Are there differences in how pre-existing conditions are handled depending on whether it is a Florida group health insurance plan or a Florida individual health insurance plan? All of these are valid questions concerning pre-existing conditions and their effect on obtaining health insurance coverage in the state of Florida.
The obvious first question is, “What is considered a pre-existing condition in Florida?” Typically, most health insurance companies in Florida will look at an applicant’s health history going back as far as 10 years to determine an applicant’s health status (in the case of an application for individual health insurance; group health insurance in Florida will not levy quite as much scrutiny towards a pre-existing condition). Therefore, in the strictest type of scenario; any adverse medical conditions or medical issues within the 10 years prior to the application being submitted is considered a pre-existing condition. (This is not the case for all areas of pre-existing conditions as in the case of certain conditions the health insurance company is only concerned with say high cholesterol [just an example] or nicotine use [just an example] in the past 5 years or 2 years rather than the full 10 years). Generally speaking, any type of medical condition or issue that happened further back than 10 years ago does not exist for the sake of the Florida health insurance application.
The obvious follow up question is, “How are these pre-existing conditions handled by the health insurance company that one is applying with?” The classic attorney answer happens to fit in this instance, “That depends.” The way that a specific pre-existing condition is handled in an application for individual health insurance in the state of Florida is solely at the discretion of the underwriting department of the health insurance company. Of course, common sense would tell us that a pre-existing condition of cancer will be treated much differently than a pre-existing condition of the tendency to develop a cold: just as Diabetes will be treated much differently from hay fever.
There are probably 3 main general groupings of pre-existing conditions in the state of Florida when it comes to individual health insurance. There are the pre-existing conditions that will signal an automatic decline by the health insurance company such as diabetes, cancer, extreme obesity, and rheumatoid arthritis (only a few examples), those that will prompt the insurance company to either not cover the particular pre-existing condition (exclude that specific condition but cover everything else – a “rider”) or charge an additional premium (“rate – up” or rate increase) such as asthma/allergies, back disorders, and high cholesterol (only a few examples), and then there are those pre-existing conditions that present a risk so minor that the health insurance company will cover everything and not charge an additional premium (such as infections, disorders, or surgeries where there has been a Doctor certified 100% recovery, common cold, common childhood ailments, etc) (again, only a few possible examples).
The important thing to do if you have a serious pre-existing condition and have health insurance is to NOT cancel your health insurance coverage! There may still be other options available to you such as a HIPAA guaranteed issue plan (cannot be declined due to pre-existing conditions) or a group health insurance plan. There are a number of criteria that you must meet in order to be eligible under HIPAA. Consult with a knowledgeable Florida independent health insurance agent that will be able to assist you in finding appropriate Florida health insurance coverage.
By: Joel Ohman
What Is Health Insurance?
November 5th, 2009
Private health insurance in the UK is designed to cover the costs of private treatment for what are commonly known as acute conditions. Most insurers in the UK define an acute condition as a disease, illness or injury that is likely to respond quickly to treatment which aims to return you to the state of health you were in immediately before suffering the disease, illness or injury, or which leads to your full recovery.
Most people buy this type of insurance to gain the reassurance of knowing that treatment is available promptly, if they become ill or are injured. As a private patient you can choose when treatment will take place, the specialist who treats you and the hospital. You will usually have the privacy of an en-suite room complete with TV and other home comforts. Some illnesses and treatments will not be covered and these are common to most policies. Examples of these are conditions you had before taking out the insurance (commonly known as pre-existing conditions), GP services, cover for long term illnesses that cannot be cured (chronic conditions) and accident and emergency admission. It is important to note that private health insurance is not designed to replace all the services of the NHS. Some such as accident and emergency, are beyond the scope of private hospitals.
The type of policies and level of cover you can receive normally come in 3 phases:
Budget
With this type of policy normally only inpatient treatment is covered, this means that diagnostic tests, Consultant’s fees and outpatient treatments are not covered. This type of policy best suits those who can afford to pay their own outpatient tests and consultants fees from savings leaving the policy to pay for the most expensive treatments such as operations. Some insurers will include diagnostic tests and consultants fees if this later results in an inpatient hospital stay. Inpatient radiotherapy and chemotherapy is covered by most insurers on budget polices. Inpatient treatment is covered in full.
Standard
This type of policy covers full inpatient treatment such as operations and a range of outpatient treatments. Specialist consultations and diagnostic procedures, including pathology, radiology computerised tomography, MRI Scans, radiotherapy and chemotherapy up to a limit of anything between £500 – £2000 depending on the insurer. Normally Therapies such as treatment by registered Osteopaths, Chiropractors, Physiotherapists, Homeopaths and Acupuncturists will also be covered again up to specified limits that vary between insurers.
Comprehensive
Comprehensive policies are very much top-of-the-range healthcare solutions. They typically include full inpatient cover, unlimited outpatient cover as described above, MRI, and CT scans and other benefits such as psychiatric cover, travel cover, dental cover, home nursing costs, chiropody, recuperative care and incidental hospital expenses (telephone calls, newspapers etc). For complete peace of mind this is the type of policy you should choose.
However modular flexible type policies are increasingly becoming more popular as this allows the customer to tailor the cover to their exact needs and suit their budget.
By: Gareth Owen