Trying To Choose A Good Health Insurance Plan?
Many American citizens and residents are unable to afford health care, or at least that is what they believe. This can be one of the most important decisions of your life, so it is incredibly important that you are able to find the health insurance you want. The tips in this article should help you get started.
Because Obamacare hasn't officially become law yet due to it being tied up in the Supreme Courts here's a quick health insurance idea. Most employer supplemented policies cost around one hundred dollars a month. This equates to nearly $1200 a year. Are you going to spending that much on health care in one year out of pocket? Are you usually very healthy? If this is the case, it may be better to have no insurance and pay out of pocket the one or two expenses that actually come up and save several hundred dollars.
When considering a health care insurance plan from your employer, be sure to check out any possible perks that they may provide. Many times, you may get a discount for being a non-smoker, discounts off of exercise equipment, or discounts for local gyms and recreation centers. You may even qualify for a discount simply by answering a provided questionnaire regarding your health habits.
When purchasing auto insurance, you can keep costs down by naming your spouse, if you have one, as a driver on the policy. Many insurance companies will first offer a discount for a combined policy rather than holding two separate policies for the same household. Plus, marriage is seen as a stabilizing effect that reduces your risk.
When you are looking into purchasing your own health insurance, you should sit down and make a list of things that are important to you. You need to consider whether or not your current doctor will be in the network. When you have made a list, it will be easier to start your research, especially if you know what their customer service is like or how much of a premium you can afford.
When looking for a personal care physician, make sure to check with your insurance company for a doctor in your insurance network. Your insurance co-pays will be higher with an out-of-network provider, or you may find your visits won't be covered at all. Your insurance company should provide an online directory of physicians from which you can choose.
When it comes time for re-enrollment with your health care plan, make sure to check and see what if anything has changed. Insurance companies change premiums, co-pays, and covered services on a frequent basis. Make sure you know exactly what has changed so you aren't caught off guard.
Before any major procedures, confirm if you need to get pre-authorization from your insurance company and make sure they check on every aspect of your procedure. Stories about of people receiving large bills because the anesthesiologist was out of network, or that you needed to try a different medical option before going for a surgery. Save yourself the headache and get everything in writing before heading in to the hospital.
It is important to consider the cost of health insurance before you sign with a particular company. Some walk in clinic near me companies require you to pay a certain amount of money before your coverage will kick in. This is something that is important to know in the event of an accident or injury. You should ask your insurance agent about the beginning date for your coverage.
Use the resources available to you. There are several websites online that allow you to privately input your family's information, and use it to compare health insurance policies and prices. This can be extremely beneficial to those who may not have the time to shop around for this information on their own.
To save money on your health insurance deductible, opt for generic prescriptions. This is especially helpful if your plan does not cover any medications. Generic drugs have the same active ingredients as name brand, but they only cost up to pennies on the dollar in comparison. Stop overpaying for your prescription medications.
If you are self-employed, you can deduct what you pay for health insurance from your taxes. Keep this in mind when you are comparing quotes. You are going to pay money towards you taxes anyway, so why not subscribe to an expensive plan that could benefit you in case of medical problems?
If you want to be sure that you know what you are going for as you begin shopping for health insurance, you will want to get a few good tips in your head. It may not be the right time or the time could not be better, so be sure that you are using this advice to get the right policy at the right time.
The Real Costs of Seeking Care for COVID-19 Vary Across and Within Major U.S. Cities
Castlight Health's COVID-19 Cost Analysis Finds Outpatient Evaluation Costs Vary Widely Depending on Severity of Symptoms, Geography, and Provider Type"While the test for COVID-19 may be made available at no cost, individuals seeking care for suspected COVID-19 may be faced with other significant out-of-pocket costs for that care. Sadly, those bills may be coming right as many Americans are losing their paychecks, creating real affordability of care issues," said Maeve O'Meara, CEO of Castlight Health. "Costs vary widely across cities in the U.S., within cities, and depending on the site of care. During this public health emergency, it is more important than ever that people have the tools they need to find high quality care in a timely and affordable manner."
Although the coronavirus relief measures signed by the President in the Families First Coronavirus Response Act have directed private health plans to waive the cost of the specific coronavirus test and visit associated with it, people who are symptomatic and seek care may be responsible for other costs required for an evaluation for COVID-19. These could include influenza testing, chest x-rays, and bacterial, viral, or blood culture tests. These costs can add up quickly, particularly for the 27.5 million people with no insurance or those who have high-deductible health plans and will pay for services out-of-pocket.
The severity of COVID-19 varies widely, from mild cough and fever, to chest pains and shortness of breath, which can drastically affect the necessary treatment, need for hospitalization, and associated costs.
Most notably, the analysis found that:
Within a given U.S. city, average prices vary greatly for patients exhibiting standard COVID-19 symptoms including fever, cough, and shortness of breath:
In Los Angeles, the cost for a primary care visit and standard lab testing ranges from $304 to $4447—roughly a 14-fold difference.
In Dallas, the cost for the same services ranges from $193 to $4308—a 22-fold difference.
Similarly, in Miami, these services range in cost from $354 to $5729—a 16-fold difference.
Costs also vary widely depending on the provider type or site of care:
Even without symptoms severe enough to warrant further imaging or lab testing, a visit to evaluate respiratory symptoms can cost someone living in the New York metro area an average of $79 for a telehealth visit, $235 for a primary care visit, $352 for an urgent care visit, and $2,321 for an ER visit.
In Miami, patients can expect costs for evaluating symptoms to average $79 for using telehealth as their entry point, $189 for visits through a primary care provider, $483 for visits through an urgent care provider, and $1,524 if they enter the system through the ER.
"During this incredibly stressful pandemic outbreak, it is critical that people have a clear understanding of the care they need, and how much that care is likely to cost," said Dena Bravata, MD, MS, Castlight Advisor and former Senior Scholar at the Stanford Center for Primary Care and Outcomes Research. "Castlight's COVID-19 Cost Analysis sheds light on the vastly different costs patients seeking care associated with COVID-19 will see depending on where they live, and where they choose to receive care."
Methodology
The primary source of data used for this analysis is a subset of 2.5 billion de-identified medical claims for primary care, urgent care, emergency room, lab tests, and x-ray supplemented with:
Provider directory data (e.g., which doctors provide which type of care).
Provider rate sheets.
Publicly available data.
The costs provided are for a member in their deductible phase seeing in-network providers. The ranges provided are for the 5th to the 95th percentile of costs in that metropolitan region.
The components of an evaluation for a patient seeking care associated with COVID-19 depend on their symptom severity and site of care. The procedures and services we included are:
Site of care: telehealth visit, primary care visit, urgent care visit, ER visit.
Care for moderate COVID-19 symptoms: initial cost of a provider visit, influenza test, sputum culture and sensitivity, blood culture and sensitivity, complete blood count, and comprehensive metabolic panel.
Care for severe COVID-19 symptoms: initial cost of a provider visit, all lab tests listed above, and a chest x-ray.
Click here to download the full report.
About Castlight Health
Castlight is on a mission to make it as easy as humanly possible for its users to navigate the healthcare system and live happier, healthier, more productive lives. Our health navigation platform connects hundreds of health vendors, benefits resources, and plan designs into one comprehensive health and wellbeing experience. We guide individuals—based on their unique profile—to the best resources available to them, whether they are healthy, chronically ill, or actively seeking medical care. Castlight transforms the employee benefit experience into a deeply personalized, yet simple, guided one, empowering better-informed patient decisions to unlock better healthcare outcomes and maximizing return on healthcare investments.
For more information visit www.castlighthealth.com. Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn and Like us on Facebook.
https://edition.cnn.com/business/newsfeeds/prnewswire/202003200600PR_NEWS_USPR_____SF57329.html
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1epF3asROLV-VbQsc3q4D-KoTPNFSY6wW-ygZRY4xrAo/edit#slide=id.gb305dd1d5e_0_6