Health Insurance FAQs:Here are the most commonly asked questions about healthcare and health insurance quotes. Click on each question to see the answer. How do you buy health insurance?The quickest and easiest way to buy healthcare is to get health insurance quotes online. This will allow you to compare products and find the best pricing for the best coverage. If your employer offers group insurance, that may be your best option since it is usually cheaper than buying an individual policy. Individual insurance is generally for those who don't have coverage at work or for those who are self-employed. When you purchase health insurance you pay the premiums completely, so shop around for the best health insurance quotes and the best coverage. Finding health insurance quotes online is the quickest and easiest way to do that. Back to top Why do I need health insurance quotes?Medical care has come along way in a short time, and there are many treatment options that most of us would likely not be able afford unless we had health insurance. You buy health insurance to help pay for those costs. It will protect you and/or your family from financial ruin, should you become seriously ill or injured unexpectedly. It also ensures you'll be able to have medical treatment, even if you don't have the cash to pay for it. You are also much more likely to have regular treatments, which results in more preventative care, and you are much more likely to have an early diagnosis, should something arise. But healthcare is, for many, too expensive without an employer-sponsored plan. Finding the latest health insurance quotes can help you find this vital coverage at an affordable rate. Back to top How do I find health insurance quotes?Health insurance quotes and agents can be found in the Yellow Pages, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, and recommendations from your friends and family. Health insurance quotes can also be found on reliable online sites. Of these options, shopping online for health insurance quotes is often the simplest and most convenient way to find an affordable plan. Shopping online for health insurance quotes can take as few as five minutes and can even be done here on our website. You are only required to fill out a simple form on the site, including a little bit of information on yourself and your family. The form is immediately sent to several highly rated insurance companies who will usually contact you within the day to offer you the best health insurance quotes at their disposal. The agents know other companies are vying to make you their client; that means the health insurance quotes they offer you will be the lowest health insurance quotes they can afford to give for the best plan possible. Agents will contact you through phone or email with affordable health insurance quotes and personalized plans. It's that easy to save. Back to top What's the ultimate benefit for me to search for health insurance quotes and get coverage NOW?Security and protection is definitely the key benefit, but also try to appreciate that you may have just saved yourself lots of money. The complicated and extensive process of health care reform will not only take long, but it may also cause the private companies' health insurance quotes to skyrocket. You really can't afford to wait. And you also never know what tomorrow holds. Due to the quickly rising healthcare prices, finding health insurance quotes now instead of waiting may help you save lots of money and ensures your financial security in case of a medical emergency. Find out how to save on healthcare and get your free health insurance quotes comparison online. Back to top What is Medicare and how does it work?Medicare is the health insurance program ran by the U.S. government. It's available to individuals who are U.S. citizens and who are 65 or older. It is also available to those under 65 how have final stage renal disease or those with disabilities. Medicare requires you to pay a monthly premium. There are four parts to Medicare Part A, which provides hospital insurance. Part B provides doctor services, while Part D gives you prescription drug coverage. Part C gives you the option of receiving part A, B, and C through a private health care plan such as a PPO or HMO. Back to top What is a health savings account?A medical savings account allows you to save money to pay for both current and future medical expenses. The perk is that the money is tax free. The downside is that health saving accounts have high deductibles, and you cannot be a dependent on someone's tax return. Health service expenses including deductibles, co-payments and services that are not covered can be paid through your health savings account. You can make contributions throughout the year with pre-tax dollars, or your employer can make deposits into the account. Any money not used in the current year can be rolled over. Back to top What is an HMO?HMO stands for health maintenance organization. It is a type of health care that's affordable compared to other options. HMO contracts with heath care providers and hospitals, and you then obtain services from these providers. You must have a primary care physician, and that physician will refer you to a specialist, if you need to see one. Services outside your HMO network generally will not be covered. Back to top What is a PPO?PPO stands for preferred provider organization. This is a network of health care providers with whom your health insurer has negotiated contracts at discounted costs. It is very similar to an HMO, but you have more flexibility and your co-payments within your network are usually nominal. Back to top What is a POS?POS stands for point of service, which is one type of managed health insurance. It offers you a great deal of flexibility - much more than HMO's or PPO's. It is often called a hybrid plan. It recommends having a personal care physician, although it does not require it. You can use doctors from within a network of affiliated doctors, or you can go outside your service area and still have some coverage, although this will be significantly lower than that within your network. You will likely have a deductible and co-payments. Back to top If my health insurance company denies my claim, does the health care reform law make it easier to fight that decision? Yes, the law provides you with new rights not only to appeal denials within your plan but, if the plan won't budge, you can get an unbiased decision from an outside review organization. And that decision won't merely be advisory, as it has been in some states. If you win, your insurer will have to pay for the benefit it denied. Nearly everyone who has health insurance will be able to challenge an insurer's decision to deny a benefit, whether it is denied outright or reduced or terminated. For example, you can appeal if your insurer decides: - Your emergency room visit was not medically necessary.
- The treatment you received was experimental.
- The medical test you received isn't covered.
- The treatment you received was related to a preexisting health condition.
- Your coverage was canceled because you provided inaccurate information on your enrollment application.
Back to top Does the new health care reform law eliminate annual and lifetime limits on health care coverage in insurance policies? Yes. On Sept. 23, lifetime limits are effectively banned for all plans that begin or are renewed after that date. Insurance companies can no longer cut off policy holders when their medical expenses reach a lifetime limit. Annual limits on coverage will be phased out over the next few years, beginning this year. Currently, more than 100 million Americans have insurance that stops when medical claims exceed their policy’s lifetime limit. The new rule especially will help people with serious diseases that require expensive treatment. Back to top Will the new health care reform law force me to buy health insurance? What if I can’t afford it? The new law requires U.S. citizens and legal residents to have health insurance beginning in 2014. It makes that coverage more affordable by providing subsidies to people with modest incomes who buy their own insurance through new state-based insurance purchasing exchanges. Coverage will also be easier to buy in 2014 when new rules kick in prohibiting companies from charging higher premiums for sicker people or rejecting people with preexisting health problems. It also demands that premiums for older people are no more than three times what a younger person would pay. And the law extends Medicaid coverage to low-income single adults. Back to top If health reform is so important, why do we have to wait four years for it? You don't have to wait four years. Some provisions of the law are already in effect, and some kick in next year, while other more complex changes begin in 2014. It takes some time because Congress gave a long to-do list to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, other federal agencies and, in some cases, state governments. On the to-do list: - Set up state insurance purchasing exchanges to help consumers do comparison shopping for health coverage.
- Close the Medicare drug coverage gap.
- Require insurance companies to accept applicants with preexisting health problems.
- Require most people to have insurance and offer help with premiums to make insurance affordable.
- Provide tax credits to small businesses that offer employees health coverage.
- Set up a voluntary government long-term care insurance program that won't turn you down because of a preexisting health condition and places no limit on how long you can get benefits.
- Expand coverage to an estimated 32 million uninsured people.
Back to top I hear they are improving the federal health insurance plan for people with preexisting conditions and it'll be cheaper, too. Is that true? Yes. Next year three new options will replace the single Preexisting Conditions Insurance Plan the federal government runs in 23 states and the District of Columbia. And the government is lowering monthly premiums and cutting out-of-pocket costs for the insurance. The changes are designed to boost enrollment, which is way below expectations. Some 8,000 people were signed up by November, a very slow start compared with the 400,000 to 700,000 people federal officials predicted would join in the next three years. Required by the health reform law, the program was introduced over the summer for people who have been unable to get insurance for at least six months because of their ill health or medical history. Back to top We own a small business and can’t afford health insurance for our part-time employees. Will health care reform make things even tougher by making us pay for their health coverage? The law does not require businesses to provide health insurance (although large companies can be assessed a penalty if they don’t). But if you offer coverage, as a small company, you can receive tax credits worth up to 35 percent of the cost of that insurance for tax years 2010 to 2013, and up to 25 percent for nonprofit organizations. In 2014, the credit rises to 50 percent, and 35 percent for nonprofits. More than 4 million businesses and nonprofits offer employee health coverage and are eligible for the tax credit. Back to top | 
