Individual and Group Health Insurance - What Are the Main Differences?

Health insurance is becoming more and more popular nowadays as people are more health conscious and medical cost is getting higher and higher. Although many people have started to subscribe to this particular insurance, in fact, they are not really familiar with their policies. In general, many people don't know the main differences between individual and group insurance. Let's learn about it.

Individual Insurance is a policy that you purchase from an insurance company on your own and not through an employer to cover your health. You can choose coverage either for your own or including your family. Even you have pre-existing conditions, some insurance companies still provide coverage to you. Since this policy is covering you alone or just including your family members, the premium is usually higher and more expensive compared with the group plan.

On the other hand, Group Healthcare is one type of health insurance that covers all eligible people in a group regardless of their age or physical condition. In United States, group health insurance is generally purchased by the employers to cover their employees. Different from individual plan, this insurance can be offered by other organizations such as professional and trade associations, unions, social or civil groups and local governments. Basically, the premium is relatively lower than individual policy because it is based on a group of people who have the similar job base.

The group healthcare policy is basically using the employer based concept. Even the law requires the insurance companies to cover everyone who works for the employers that subscribe the policies; it is not in favor to employees who have pre-existing conditions. In other words, although you have been covered under a group plan, your pre-existing conditions are not covered. Besides, there is also no assurance that the employees are covered by the policy once they are retrenched by the employers or they have resigned from the company.

When someone is switching from group health insurance to individual one, the most obvious difference is the increment of the premium. As a result, It is important for you to understand the differences between both policies before making your decision in choosing either group or individual plan to enjoy better coverage for a more secured future.

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Childcare Plan - 2009 Children's Health Insurance Program

On 4th February, 2009, President Obama has signed a new bill into law and makes an additional four millions of children and teenagers under 18 years old in United States to be eligible for receiving health insurance and directly obtaining medical assistance. The act will be effective until 2013. For those kids and teens who are not covered by any health insurance for certain reasons previously, they are now eligible for it after the reauthorization of the act.

In fact, Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) has been introduced for quite a long time ago since 1997 but it was only limited for those who are from lower income families or those who are unable to obtain individual health insurance plan due to medical underwriting. This program has been providing health coverage to seven millions children. Initially it was designed to assist children as well as pregnant women in families that earn too much to qualify for Medicaid, but too little to afford a private health insurance plan.

Basically, this program is jointly financed by the federal and state governments. Yet it is a state administered program. Each state in US has its own eligibility rules and conditions for providing health coverage to uninsured children. This year, the program has been enhanced with more benefits given to the children of the nation.

In general, it is practiced in most of the states that every child from the families of four with the household income of USD36, 200 annually, is eligible for free or low cost health insurance plan. This newly revised plan covers the fee for visiting doctors, immunizations, medicines, hospitalization, emergencies and other medical related expenses. Moreover, coverage for dental and mental health care is guaranteed too. However, this program is not opened to undocumented immigrants.

In between year 2009 and 2013, the government will be increasing its spending on this matter by around USD30 billion. The increased funding will be covered by the cigarette tax increment. Under this plan, more children from the unaffordable families will be obtaining better quality of medical assistance and their health condition will be well taken care of by the state government.

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Government's Effort in Health Insurance to Assist Unemployed

Health is very important for everyone. Maintaining good health is essential even during economy downturn. One of the hard efforts taken by the Federal Government to overcome the effects of financial crisis is to help the citizens, either adults or children, with health insurance coverage and quality medical facilities. Here comes the amendment for Consolidated Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 1986 (COBRA) and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP).

The increasing unemployment rate among the nations has caused the loss of valuable health insurance coverage for many people who were previously covered by the group healthcare plan. In response, the Federal Government has enacted new legislation to help the unemployed with COBRA coverage, where the unemployed is able to continue on their employer's group insurance plan for up to 18 months after losing the job.

For a person to be qualified for this program, he or she must have lost his or her job between 1st September 2008 and 31st December 2009. The annual household income must be less than USD 125,000 for an individual and less than USD 250,000 for a family. Under the reauthorized act, the qualified citizens pay 35% of the premium and the government pays the remaining 65%. This assistance could continue for a maximum duration of nine months.

Besides COBRA, another important measure the Federal Government has taken recently is the reauthorization of State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). This customized program enables children and teenagers under the age of 18 as well as pregnant women to be eligible for receiving health insurance and directly obtaining medical assistance. Under the new law, families can earn up to 300% of the poverty level and they are still qualified for SCHIP. This program is a state administered program. As a result, the eligibility criteria and the benefits for this program may vary from state to state.

The two recent government measures mentioned above are basically meant for citizens who are out of job and out of health insurance coverage. The government assistance is given to support both jobless citizens and their families to overcome their health problems during hard times. If you have been retrenched at the moment, get more detailed information about these measures and apply for it!

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Knowing the Average Health Insurance Premium For Better Decision

Our health insurance market place is actually quite complex. It is not easy to breakdown the average health insurance cost into a simple figure. There are many factors that affect the health insurance premium. Let's take a look at some of the main factors in order to guide you to make better decision on selecting the best insurance cost.

Firstly, the type of health insurance affects the premium most. In the market, there are a wide range of choices of health insurance, which includes general health, job based coverage, government funded plan, individual and group policies, lady's care plan, etc. The premium costs associated with these policies differ greatly, depends on the requirements of the policy holders.

Secondly, the age of the policy holders is a key factor too. In general, the older the policy holders, the higher the insurance cost they need to bear as the assumptions made is there are certain health risks faced by certain age groups. Moreover, this factor is very closely related to the health status of the policy holders. For instance, the insurance companies normally charge higher premium for individual coverage if the policy applicants have preexisting medical conditions.

Thirdly, the rules and regulations set by different states government have a significant effect on the premium rates too. This is because most of the individual health policies and job based plans are regulated at the state level. As a result, the cost of the insurance would definitely vary from one state to another as each state has its own rules governing the premiums.

The next key factor is the coverage / benefits. The premium naturally depends on the coverage provided by the insurance providers. In general, people have a range of choices about what types of benefits they would like in their insurance plan. Some may prefer high deductible plans, some may prefer prescription drug plans, some may even prefer other comprehensive plans, etc. As a result, the cost varies from one policy to another based on the types of coverage and benefits offered.

To sum up, before getting yourself a health insurance coverage, it is very crucial for you to know how much the average premium is and what type of coverage you need to suit your requirements. Make sure you make the right choice where the benefits you are going to get is worthwhile and value for money, i.e. value for the premium you have contributed.

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Things to Ask Before You Get a Federal Health Insurance Plans?

As our times advance, more and more people are looking for quality insurance plans to save themselves from the burden of costly doctor bills and hospitalization fees. A federal health insurance plan is given to all federal employees who are considered as regular employees working as full time civilians. However, before putting your complete trust into this given offer, it would be wise to ask all your queries to ensure that all the benefits and policies match your needs.

First, find out if the employee is required to pay for the Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance premium. If it's a must, ask how much as well. Then, if you are an active employee, you may want to check with your employing agency who is your designated beneficiary for this Life insurance. This is very important as if you're not happy with the beneficiary, you can look elsewhere for an insurance package deal.

Besides that, find out how the reimbursements of the health care coverage take place. It can be through an indemnity or a reimbursement straight to the health care provider itself or even through your employee who would have settled all the bills under the company's name.

Also, you may want to find out if your spouse or children get to benefit from your insurance policy as well. Ask if they can enroll for the same health insurance plan and if you are allowed to differ the names under the plan to others in occasion of death and such.

Furthermore, don't hesitate to ask if there is a high deductible health insurance plan offered by the employer, for the employees to enjoy the tax-exempted savings for health care cost, by encouraging participation in the employee's health saving account. It is your right to know all the details, so get all your questions answered and don't let any queries bother you anymore.

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What to Ask Before You Get a High Deductible Health Insurance Plan?

With the many different types of insurance plans available in our market today, a high deductible health insurance plan is one of the latest packages offered. This plan allows you to have a little bit of savings so that you don't feel the financial burden. It has a high deductible amount that you must meet before the insurance start paying for coverage fees. Once you meet the required amount which is the deductible, only then would the insurance kick in with full coverage.

To know if you qualify to get this type of insurance plan, you would need to ask a few of these questions to clarify your eligibility. First, are you healthy and rarely make trips to the doctor's office? You should be in good health and have no history of hereditary diseases like diabetes and such. Besides that, do you need prescribed drugs to lead a happy life? If you're on medication to soothe depression, hypertension or any other mental or emotional condition, you may not be able to get this health plan. Also, do you have any pre-existing conditions? You need to be clear from ailments like cancer, heart conditions, asthma and even pregnancy.

In addition to that, are you financially able to pocket out the high expense of this health plan? As this insurance falls into the top ranked list, it comes with a pricey cost as well. Furthermore, if you're a woman, ask yourself if you plan on getting pregnant within the next 12 months. Pregnancy is considered as a pre-existing condition and could affect the policy of your insurance plan. So carefully sort out your insurance paperwork before starting on family planning.

Moreover, plan allows you to take full responsibility for covering any minor or routine health care expenses until the deductible amount is met for that year. It has got a deductible that is higher than most insurance plans but with a minimum cost on the premium. So think wisely and compare all options before making your final decision when purchasing a high deductible health insurance plan.

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How Do I Get a Cheaper Pet Health Insurance Plan?

Nowadays, people tend to treat their household pets as a member of their families. Be it a dog, cat, rabbit, hedgehog or monkey, animals are still very precious to us even more to pet loves. A new trend within the market at the moment is health insurance for pets, although it isn't very common, it does help with your financial planning especially if your pet has medical conditions which could burden us as they can get pretty pricey.

The point of purchasing your pet a health insurance plan is to insurance is to be able to provide quality treatment and health care services for your pets from time to time. Most of the pet health insurance policies cover all basic services such as annual physical exam, spaying and neutering, de-worming and de-fleeing, leukemia testing, heartworm testing, treatment and medication for illness, injuries and annual vaccinations.

To find a plan that is both affordable and beneficial, first, identify the kind of plan you would be looking for. To do this, evaluate the needs of your pet and look up the different packages offered in the market. If your pet is always out on the roads, go for accidental coverage which strictly covers accidents only. If you think your pet needs constant care and treatment, opt for an all rounded package to cover vet bills and treatments as well. With more needs, you would be facing a higher premium as well.

In order to get the best out of all services, consult your vet as they would know your pet better. Get their opinions about your pets needs and allow them to recommend you with the best package. Besides that, go online and check out all available pet insurances and pick the one that suits your budget best. Don't forget to compare all the packages available and make a wise decision. As the saying goes, a dog is a man's best friend, so give them the right of insurance as well.

For more information about pet health insurance plan and health insurance plan, visit CommonHealthInsuranceFacts.com