Health Insurance in America

OK… In the series of my writings on Insurance and particular Health Insurance, I feel like dwelling more for the benefit of 6.00 Million Indian Americans residing in United States. Here it goes…

Amongst the expenses for Americans, Health cost could be easily adjusted as top 3 monthly expenses after Mortgage (Rent) and Food. For lucky ones who get the Health Cover from their employer, the cost may not exist, but for the Self Employed / Students or Retirees, the cost is un-bearable and growing year on year. I am sure, India is no different now, but still health cost is not as expensive as in America. It will not be an aberration to mention that falling sick without medical Insurance in United States is a sin, thus every resident as well as visitor to this country must ensure that he or she is adequately covered. The bad news is that over 40 million resident Americans are not even having a basic cover.

Even someone having a Health Card (Insurance), one may not really know what is covered or not, unless one has read the Policy fine prints on Inclusions or Exclusion. A simple common exclusion could be Ambulance charge. Thus the thumb rule is that any thing less than USD 500K Comprehensive Coverage for a family of 4 will fall short in case of medical emergencies. You are in better position, incase you are part of the Group Health Plan purchased by your company. Higher the members in your plan, better you are in terms of coverage and inclusions.

Individual or Family Health Insurance holder may not get the renewal, if the claims were high last year. To protect millions, Lawmakers in several American states are limiting insurers' ability to cancel health policies for consumers who buy their own coverage. It is been reported that over 18 million people have individual or family coverage in United States.

Unlike group health policies offered by employers, individual plan may require applicants to submit many years' worth of detailed medical information. The insurers use that information in deciding whether to offer coverage and how much to charge. Most states allow insurers to revoke an individual policy — generally within two years (called contestable period in Insurance parlance) of granting it — if they find an applicant lied or inadvertently omitted information on an application. Cancellation of a policy is retroactive. Patients must pay for all their past medical care, even if the insurer previously approved and paid for the care. There is little nationwide data on the extent of cancellations.

Prompted by numerous consumer complaints and lawsuits against insurers, state lawmakers are finally taking some action. Worth mentioning are :

• New Mexico : The Legislature this month passed bills requiring insurers to show that applicants deliberately gave incorrect information on an application. Current law allows cancellation if the error or omission was inadvertent.

• Connecticut : In October, a new law took effect requiring approval from the state insurance commissioner before an insurer can cancel an existing policy.

• California : Legislation introduced last week would require insurers who want to cancel a policy to first win approval from the state's Department of Managed Health Care. Last year, legislators adopted a law requiring insurers to pay for any medical treatment they approve, even if they later cancel the policy. California state regulators have announced cancellation-related fines against some insurers, including Blue Cross, Kaiser Permanente and Blue Shield of California.

• New York : The Governor Eliot Spitzer may come out with some limiting clause soon.

Insurance companies argue that only a small percentage of policies are cancelled vis-à-vis the live policies. They say the action is necessary to protect against fraud, such covering up medical conditions. "To the extent that applicants aren't honest and forthright about their health care status, that means costs are shifted to everyone else," says Karen Ignagni, president of the industry lobbying group America's Health Insurance Plans. I kind of agree with this argument. USA Today reports that Blue Cross of California has said it cancels less 1% of all new policies.
This debate will go on but fact of the matter is that Insurance in America is expensive. It is expensive because managing Health Care (Doctors / Medicines & Infrastructure) is really expensive out here.

Fortunately for Indians in America (Non Citizens only) or any where in the world, one can buy less expensive American Health Insurance from http://USA.InsuranceMall.in (Click Visitors Health). There is no medical test required and the Health Card could be printed On-line today. The (Visitor)Health Insurance Plan is created exclusively for non Americans and is cheaper vis-à-vis American Health Insurance for Americans. It could be a good Health Policy for you if you are H1 / L1 / F1 / J1 and Green Card Visa Holder in United States.

Cheers. Enjoy and Stay safe.

Manish Jaiswal
CEO – Bonsai America, Inc.
http://usa.insurancemall.in/


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http://www.newsandreviews.in/

Link - http://www.buynowindia.com/newsandreviews/index.php/Insurance/