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Carla Stern
Insurance Broker
Five years from now, there's an excellent chance you won't have the same health insurance you have (or don't have) right now. You've heard a lot about health care reform, and you'll be hearing even more in the months to come. It is true, health insurance is expensive, but not having any can cost even more.
The law will immediately clamp down on the insurance industry habit known as "rescission" -- dropping policyholders when they get sick -- but the major reforms will not happen until 2014. Beginning in 2014 consumers will be able to choose an insurance policy from among several available on an "exchange." There will be caps on out-of-pocket costs and subsidies depending on income. At that time, insurance companies will no longer be able to deny coverage based on pre-existing conditions. The new federal law will also mandate all Americans hold health insurance beginning in 2014, or be subject to a penalty.
Finding a health insurance premium that has a very low premium isnt always the best value for your dollar. Compare plans, as even good coverage can have missing pieces. Check out the network of providers and facilities to ensure you have access to your current providers and facilities that are convenient to you.
When comparing different individual health plans, you should start with what features are most important to you and your family. If maintaining, or choosing your own doctor is important to you, then you probably don't want a HMO. Once you've determined which type of plan will suit you best, you can begin to look at similar plans side by side. Don't just look at the premium price, because there are other important factors such as co-pays, prescription drug costs, deductibles, co-insurance and annual out-of-pocket maximums.
Our commitment to you is to assist you in finding the right plan at an affordable premium that covers those features that are most important to you and your family.
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AFFORDABLE HEALTH INSURANCE
You may already know how difficult it is to find affordable health insurance, especially in the midst of record-setting rate increases. It is becoming increasingly critical for you to find the most affordable health insurance, and we are here to help you find it!
Contact Carla Stern
for your personalized consultation and quote
"Other things may change us, but we start and end with family."
There are many options with coverage, depending on your situation. And there are three main categories of life insurance: term life, universal life, and whole life insurance.
TERM LIFE INSURANCE
Term Life Insurance is the simplest and least expensive type of policy. It's pure insurance with no cash value account. A term life policy has only one function: to pay a specific lump sum to whoever you've designated, upon a specific event - - your death. You select the number of years you would like to be covered in the event of your death. A 20 year term policy means that if you die within that 20 year period, your loved ones would receive a pre-selected amount of money. If the 20 years pass and you are still alive, the policy expires and has no value. The younger and healthier you are, the less expensive the monthly premiums will be. This is an excellent and reasonably priced policy
WHOLE LIFE INSURANCE
Whole Life Insurance is available in a variety of options. The most important questions when deciding which option is best are how do you want the money invested and the length of the policy. Whole life insurance is considered a more traditional type as it locks in a fixed premium rate. It also involves investments of your money that may or may not be returned to the policy holder in the form of a dividend. If the market rises, your dividends will be higher. Your expenses will be fixed.
UNIVERSAL LIFE INSURANCE
With Universal Life Insurance instead of flat premiums, you get to choose how much money you put into the investment arm of that policy. Although the carrier still determines when and how to invest the moneys, you can expect higher yield options to pay more in a bull market. Many such policies also include a provision that lets you apply your accumulated cash account against your annual premiums a plus if you want your money to start working for you.
For your personalized consultation and quote
Original Medicare allows you to see a greater number of doctors and medical facilities and is pretty black and white about what they will cover and what they won't cover for Medicare supplements. You might look at Medicare supplements at being easier to use in that you have a much wider choice of doctors and medical facilities and typically are not surprised by claim decisions. You can look at Medicare Advantage plans at being lower cost plans that can provide additional benefits above and beyond what Original Medicare will provide but that will have a smaller doctor's network that is frequently changing. You may be surprised with medical claims denials due to the insurance company's decision that a particular procedure or treatment was deemed unnecessary.
The Medicare Supplement Plan F is currently the most popular plan on the market. This is probably because plan F covers all of the deductible, coinsurance, co-pay, and excess charge gaps in Medicare. The great thing about the standardization of the Medicare Supplement plans is that once you decide which plan you want, you can then price shop pretty comfortably. The standardization of these Medicare supplement plans includes:
•Benefits - a plan letter F from one Medicare supplement insurance company will work identically to a plan F from any other Medicare supplement insurance company in regards to what it will cover.
•Claims processing - claims will be processed electronically from all companies. This is mandatory per Medicare. So, you don't have to worry if it's easier to work with one company's coverage versus another.
•Claims decisions - the Medicare supplement insurance companies cannot make decisions on claims. Medicare makes the decision on claims. So, unlike under 65 health insurance coverage you don't have to worry about how one company handles claims versus another.
•Doctor's Network - any doctor that takes Medicare will take any company's Medicare supplement insurance. So, you don't have to worry about whether one Medicare supplement insurance company allows you to see more doctors or would be better received by doctor's than another.
Medicare Advantage plans typically have a more restrictive physicians and medical facilities network and, although they have outlines of coverage, they will sometimes make decisions on medical bills based on whether they feel a particular treatment was necessary. Medicare Advantage can also include some "bells & whistles" including your Part D drug plan and sometimes dental, vision, or even gym memberships.
Your Best Insurance is Your Broker
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