Universal life care insurance is a globally accepted system to provide quality health care to citizens from all walks of life. It is a system by which basic health care expenses of a person are shared either completely by the government or partially by the government through a financial system of public-private partnership. In simple terms, when a person joins universal life care insurance, he or she will be provided free treatment either in hospitals run by the government or in certain hospitals stipulated by the government or the insurance scheme. Such a system is running efficiently in almost all developed countries in the world, especially in Europe and Asia. One notable exception from this group is United States.
Authorities dealing with health care insurance in United States maintain that there are a number of private companies in United States that provide a variety of health insurance. As a well-known apostle of free market and free economy, the US must provide an unregulated market environment for these companies to engage in a healthy competition so that the consumers will get maximum benefit. They insist that in the health care insurance system in the US, the consumer have a choice in selecting the insurance scheme.
The consumers can compare various insurance schemes and choose the best one according to their view. But many experts feel that the stance of the health care authorities does not take into consideration the situation prevailing at ground level. They argue that for a majority of people health insurance scheme is not their choice. For example, for employees of a private company, the company selects a particular health care insurance scheme and deducts the insurance premium from the salary of the employee. A fresh recruit to the company has no option but to select the insurance scheme of choice of that particular company. So the supposed advantage of insurance schemes of United States starkly reminds people of what Henry Ford, a great icon of capitalism, once said: “The customer can have any color as long as it is black.”
Another advantage of universal health care system is that every citizen of the country will come under a single scheme which will reduce the administrative costs significantly. A prominent health agency in United States, Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, pointed out several hidden costs in the present health insurance schemes, which ultimately decrease the quality of the health care and create further problems. Therefore, the institute has demanded for a universal health care insurance scheme in United States by 2010. In the present scenario, a person may not avail health care for certain health conditions because the insurance scheme he or she can afford does not support that kind of medical treatment. But every citizen of the country would benefit if a universal health care insurance scheme is put in place.
By: Ian Pennington
Posts Tagged ‘Insurance Premium’
How To Find Affordable Health Insurance
March 28th, 2010
Health insurance is a very important thing to consider. While not most people think of health insurance as some sort of preventive measure, health insurance is necessary regardless of age, social standing, sex, etc. There are many kinds of health insurances available and some may suit other people better than the other plans so it is really important that one should browse through different kinds of health insurances and compare.
First of all, if one is thinking of finding affordable health insurance, consider first the other kinds of health insurance, like the premium kind which offers to pay for a lot more medical bills than the other insurances. But if you really just want a little precautionary measure, then choosing an affordable health insurance will be a breeze especially now that there is the internet.
It is important to know that browsing through the internet first will give you a better perspective regarding health insurances. Comparing fees and all that would be easier to do if one looks for affordable health insurance on the internet.
However, the moment you spot some health insurances that you think are affordable and will give you the best value for your money, don’t forget to note down all the good points and all of your questions too. It is best that you question a few things first and never be afraid to ask. Knowing how to shop around for the right health insurance will really be helpful in the long run. This way, you can definitely choose an affordable health insurance that will suit you, your situation and your needs.
By: Joe H
How to Get Affordable Health Insurance in Maryland
March 15th, 2010
The cost of health insurance is going up faster than the cost of almost anything else in this country. Over the past few years the cost of health insurance has surpassed the cost of inflation by several percentage points.
It has gotten so bad that right now almost 17% of all Maryland residents are without health insurance coverage of any kind, and with more and more businesses phasing out health insurance or requiring a larger contribution from their employees, the number of uninsured people in Maryland is likely to grow before it shrinks.
If you can get health insurance through your employer you will almost certainly save over trying to buy health insurance individually on your own. But if you are self employed or if your employer does not offer group health insurance then you may need to be a little creative in finding ways to lower the cost of your monthly health insurance premium.
Look at plans that have a higher co-pay for things like doctor’s visits. The co-pay is the amount that you pay from your own pocket each time you visit a doctor; the more you can pay for each visit (and so the less your insurance company needs to pay) the lower your monthly premiums will be.
Many people may have to take even more drastic steps in their quest to get affordable health insurance in Maryland. Many people may have to completely rethink their entire concept about health care coverage.
In the past health insurance has been looked on as something that pays (or helps to pay) for all of your health care needs – each doctor’s visit, each clinic visit, each hospital or ER visit, in short, you expected your health insurance to pay for most, if not all, of virtually all of your health care costs.
Today many people are finding that kind of health care beyond their means – yet they know that one accident or one catastrophic illness can easily wipe out a lifetime of savings and even take their home, all in the blink of an eye.
The answer for many is to buy health insurance that has an extremely high deductible. As high as $2,000 or even $3,000. You buy such a policy with the expectation that you will pay for all of your routine health care needs – you will pay 100% of every doctor’s office visit, every clinic visit and every ER visit.
The purpose of a high-deductible health insurance policy is to act as a safety net in case you should suffer a catastrophic illness or need long-term hospitalization due to accident or illness. In such cases your high-deductible insurance would insure that your savings and your assets were left intact.
Once you’ve decided on the basic type of policy that you and your family need, your final step is to get online and find several of the sites that permit you to make quick and easy side-by-side comparisons of health insurance policies and their prices from different insurance companies. Even though it means taking extra time, you are much better off filling out all of the forms on at least 3 different websites – it is only in this way that you can be assured that you will actually be comparing all of the health insurance companies offering policies in Maryland.
Thanks to the internet everyone can now make simple comparisons and know that they have gotten the most affordable health care possible in Maryland.
By: Larry Nez
