On The Hunt For Health Insurance: Finding Your Policy
Health insurance can be very complex and confusing. In order to figure it out, you need to be educated on all aspects of it and exactly what it does. Without the aforementioned knowledge, you might not make the correct decisions, and that could end up being costly for you and your family. The following article will give you numerous tips and advice on health insurance.
When considering a health care insurance plan from your employer, take a good look at your current plan and consider items that you might be able to change. You may be currently paying for more coverage than needed, or certain items that may now be obsolete. Take time to consider each option, what it means to you, and how much it is worth to have included in your plan.
As your children age into adults, their health insurance coverage will eventually run out. You need to begin talking to them early (say, in the last two years of college) about their insurance needs so that they understand how the transition will occur. Since many employers are cutting benefits, parents are keeping children on their policies longer and longer, but this gets expensive. Perhaps the best advice is to point out the advantages of full-time employment which will provide them with their own independent health coverage.
Check out your state's laws on private medical insurance. Some insurance companies like to take advantage of what consumers are unaware of, such as charging you extra for coverage the state mandates be free. Research these laws yourself, so that when a company tries to pull one over on you, you can kick them to the curb.
Never pay cash for a health insurance payment. You want to have explicit records of your payment methods, so that should the issue ever arise, you have proof that you have been keeping your payments regular. Paying with a check is the best method, since the bank can tell you who cashed the check, and when.
Your employer may offer you a health insurance plan but it may not be the plan that is going to be the best one for you and your family. Be sure to check the limitations of the plans before enrolling for it. Just because your employer has selected this policy to offer does not mean that it is best for you.
Before re-enrolling with your current health insurance company, check to see if their policies are changing. Some companies are increasing their rates, and if yours is, you will feel it read more when you re-enroll. Check around with other insurance companies to make sure you are still getting the best deal available.
If you are suffering from any disease or condition, make sure you find out what your health insurance company thinks of that! Companies differ on the way they treat issues, such as your weight, smoking, or pre-existing conditions. Researching is the best way to get your best possible rate.
For the greatest savings when using your health insurance policy, try to avoid using an Emergency Room unless absolutely necessary. Most health insurance policies charge the highest co-pay or deductible for an Emergency Room visit. Your out of pocket will be much lower if you can see your family physician, or even use an Urgent Care facility instead.
Online resources are very helpful to those seeking health insurance. Through careful contact with legitimate insurance agents who work online, insurance buyers can often sift through plans available that best meet their requirements. Calling a contact, whose name an insurance buyer might obtain from a website before beginning an online correspondence, is usually a good idea to maximize the benefits discussed above for online health insurance shopping.
Indian American doctors pitch in with free telehealth advice during India's Covid-19 crisis
As the coronavirus crisis in India spirals out of control and its health care system crumbles, the Indian diaspora in the US is pitching in to help. Sitting thousands of miles away, unable to be there physically to help and feeling the grief and desperation of their loved ones back home, Indian American doctors provided friends and family with medical advice over phone and video calls.
But as the avalanche of Covid-19 deaths and cases continues to cripple the health care system during the second wave, the doctors are going beyond helping just family and friends. Some of them are now staying up nights, when it is daytime in India, to advise other coronavirus patients and raise money for medical supplies.
"I didn't have to pay for my five years of medical school education in India, except for student union fees. So we all feel like we owe it to India. Some poor farmer must have paid taxes for us to go to medical school free. I have always felt I owe something back ... and I think most of them see it that way," said Dr. Kalpalatha Guntupalli of Baylor College of Medicine.
India has been recently reporting more than 400,000 Covid-19 cases daily and at least 4,000 deaths. And with oxygen, medical necessities and vaccines in short supply, the principal scientific adviser to the Indian government, K. VijayRaghavan, is warning that a third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic is "inevitable" in India.
"A phase three is inevitable, given the higher levels of circulating virus, but it is not clear on what time scale this phase three will occur," VijayRaghavan said at a news conference, asking authorities to be prepared for new waves.
CNN spoke to some doctors who are helping coronavirus patients in India from afar. Here are some of their stories.
https://edition.cnn.com/2021/05/09/us/india-covid-doctors-us-telehealth-help/index.html