Posts Tagged ‘affordable health insurance’

Viable Options

Tuesday, July 27th, 2010

Individuals who are suffering and living with serious pre-existing conditions, there are a few viable options in the realm of affordable health insurance. Of course, like with everything else in life there are always issues to consider. One of the more important issues is for you to decide what you are able to afford before you begin your search for an affordable health insurance policy.

There are a few choices that are out there for individuals who suffer and live with pre-existing conditions, but it depends on where you are at the moment that will decide what your options are.  This is really an unfortunate area that has been basically ignored by the health insurance providers and the medical health care community.

It is very difficult when you are aware the treatments, prescription medications, and medical health care help is at your fingertips. Yet, because you are unable to afford the additional costs for one reason or another, you fall back into the shadows. How sad when there are so many different health insurance providers and medical health care physicians close by, you fall through the cracks of society.

You are making too much money to receive any assistance from the state where you reside, yet you are not making enough money to be passed the basic necessities like food, rent, transportation, and utilities. Sadly, you are not alone, because there are thousands of other individuals in the same predicament as you.

Those individuals who do have some monetary funds there are a couple of viable options to research for health insurance coverage, but it will be a very expensive adventure. One of the viable solutions is a health savings account or HSA, which is mostly a type of health insurance that you keep in reserve for those times when you require hospitalization.

However, you could also try to set up a savings account along with your checking account and save up money towards your health care requirements without turning to the health savings account. All you would be doing is trying to put a set amount of money aside so that when you find it necessary you will have it to help defray some of the medical health care costs.

The other viable option for those individuals with pre-existing conditions is the high-risk pool, but again you must have the money before you can even enroll. This also applies to those individuals who have very rare diseases and rare pre-existing conditions of which there is no medical health care physician that truly understand what you have.

This is a health insurance plan that is very expensive because you will carry a very high deductible in order to pay the average monthly cost for health insurance. Okay, so what good is it to say you have a health insurance policy when you must continue to live as if you have no health insurance because of the high deductible?

This is almost equal to a catch twenty-two situation because now you finally have the option of medical health insurance coverage. However, because of the high deductible that you already know you are unable to afford it is the same, as having no health insurance coverage except you now must pay the average monthly cost for health insurance. How does this help you?

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Long-term Health Insurance

Thursday, June 17th, 2010

Long-term health insurance is great for some individuals, but is not meant for everyone because of the cost and the requirements that are involved. Most individuals and families do not even consider the possibilities of this type of health insurance until it is too late. By this, it means after the fact of a catastrophic accident or injury that is more costly than anyone anticipated. Long-term health insurance for the general public consumption is broken down into to main categories.

  1. Skilled care which required the assistant of a health care giver, medical health care professional or registered nurse
  2. Non-skilled care, which is a caregiver in the home or visiting the home during certain hours of the day to assist with dressing, eating, bathroom activities, and in general daily living

The problem with considering long-term health insurance is that you are never sure with life’s lottery if you will even require it during the course of your life. Some individuals do have an idea of the type of health insurance they will need in later life because of the known family history. How do those individuals without a family history know?

This is usually the type of health insurance provisions that come into play as one ages and requires assisted living or nursing home care. The health care providers usually have an idea of how their patients are progressing and are there to offer advice to other family members to ease them into the inevitable.

Other individuals will simply require moving in with a family member or relative to help. They sustain a respectable lifestyle as many are able to care for themselves and the health insurance industry is very aware of this type of alternative care. Family members in general, do save the health insurance industry and the medical health care professional valuable time and expense by taking in relatives.

A major issue for families to keep in mind is that when they do decided to purchase long-term health insurance they look to the reputable health insurance companies. Those health insurance companies who have long established a reputation because what happens when you purchase a long-term health insurance plan from a lesser known health insurance advocate you may wind up in trouble.

Having the peace of mind of knowing you have long-term health insurance to cover your unknown expenses as you age will leave you free to continue enjoying life and not having to worry about what is going to happen. This is a little talked about topic even with the health care physicians and yet every individual needs to understand what could happen, as they grow older.

There are so many unforeseen triggers that could cause a catastrophic event even for just the one individual that it becomes difficult to predict who will require assistance as they grow older and who will manage fine. Long-term health insurance is a good asset for all families to consider relieving the burden of who will take care of them years down the road.

Whether you will require a live in registered nurse around the clock or  something as simple as someone stopping by to prepare meals is unknown.  There is always a need for long-term health insurance coverage for the  necessary expenses that are not thought about before the time comes.

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America: A Nation on Antidepressants?

Tuesday, October 27th, 2009

Rising taxes, home foreclosures, job losses, divorces, bankruptcy, and the list goes on and on.  These are only some of the myriad of environmental factors that affect Americans today.  These factors and many more contribute to a medical diagnosis called depression, which is running rampant throughout the American health care system.  There are currently more than 10 million Americans, men, women, and children who suffer from one of the many forms of depression and the situation is not getting any better.

People who are depressed flock to doctors offices for antidepressants such as Prozac, Lexapro, Wellbutrin, Luvox, Celexa, Serzone, Effexor, Remeron, Paxil, and Zoloft. These medications are serotonin reuptake inhibitors.  What they do is regulate the chemical imbalance within the brain.  Serotonin as well as other neurotransmitters is responsible for mood balance.  These antidepressants are used to treat major depressive illness, which is a life crippling mental disorder.

Despite the food and drug administration’s warning that some antidepressants can produce thoughts of suicide and suicide attempts especially among teenagers, the use of antidepressants has doubled within the last 10 years.  Sadly, psychotherapy has dropped as a treatment for depression within the same period.  More and more Americans are looking for that magic pill, that quick fix.

Unfortunately, they are not attempting to battle the environment issues, which are key factors for major depression The only people who are happy about this state of health care and treatment in America are the big pharmaceutical companies who are making billions of dollars (over 9 billion) from the purchase of antidepressants. Yet, these antidepressants never seem to cure the disorder they just control it. Americans are becoming too reliant on pills and less confident in their own ability to overcome life’s challenges. The extra cost of medication is also having its effect on the health insurance industry.  By 2008, antidepressants were the most sought over drug in America, even surpassing blood pressure medication. When we talk about world standards, the antidepressants are the third best selling category of drugs, surpassed only by cholesterol and heartburn medication.

Though no one would disagree that certain people do have a chemical imbalance in the brain, doctors are over prescribing antidepressants as well, especially for patients who are suffering from mild to moderate depression. Some doctors are prescribing antidepressants without truly investigating if their patients really are clinically depressed.  Some doctors are simply doling out samples and telling their patients to “tell me how you do with on these.”  The other problem is that primary care physicians are handing out antidepressant subscriptions and most patients never get to see a psychiatrist for a proper evaluation.  Primary physicians particularly prescribe Prozac and Paxil because the big pharmaceutical companies have convinced them that these drugs are perfectly safe.  On the other hand some physicians are reluctant to prescribe antidepressants due to the potential suicide scare and this could be detrimental to the quality of health care Americans are receiving.

Major depression prevents people from living their lives to the fullest; depression is responsible for increased doctor visits, medical care, and the increased drug medication benefits doled out by the health insurance companies.

People with depression, lose interest in life, lose hope and lose faith in themselves and their abilities.    Depression can interfere with work, causing greater absenteeism among employees; it can lead to losing jobs and losing a happy family life through divorce.  Loss of income can further have dire consequences such as bankruptcy, and bad credit which would put a person further into depression.  Counseling and psychotherapy can help but they too are expensive and are limited on many health insurance policies; if covered at al all. This restriction and financial hardship has more and more Americans turning to antidepressants as their quick fix to a serious and far reaching mental illness.

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Posted in Health Insurance | 27 Comments »

Are Misguided Policies Contributing to the Shortage of Doctors in America?

Friday, September 25th, 2009

Just as there are major shortages of nurses in America, the shortage does not end there, doctors are also in short supply.  American citizens are getting older because of the abundant baby boomers generation and effects of health and aging, are taking its toll on the health insurance companies and the doctors who are trying to meet the demands.

 

Many reasons have contributed to the shortage of doctors over the decades.  Some of them could best be described as misguided polices. Doctors traditionally flock to large cities where the pay is better and the medical headhunters have the job of finding specialists for some towns and rural or remote areas.  This in turn places the added stress on Americans who need specialized care to have to travel to bigger cities and many of these Americans are elderly or too sick too make the trip.  Others do not have the financial means to do the traveling.  This too produces a domino effect as the general practitioner can become too stressed and overloaded with work that they retire or move away from these remote locations. 

 

Instead of meeting the demands for more doctors certain policies such as restricting qualified medical doctors from other foreign countries to practice in America has also added to the problem of doctor shortages and has contributed to the major health care crises facing America today. Furthermore, applications for medical schools have been frozen through the last decades as well.  How then do we have enough doctors to fill the demands of sick Americans when medical school enrollments are down and foreign doctors are barred.  The answer is we don’t fill the demands. Instead we make them more severe especially when doctors become overburdened with the workload, and there is no relief in sight.  Some retire as they are aging themselves and some quit the profession or move to other countries in hopes of obtaining a better practice and a better life style over all. However, instead of increasing the supply of medical doctors in rural and even inner city locations, the Association of American Medical Colleges blamed the high demand on health insurance companies who now made it easier for doctors to order as many tests as they wanted without limitation and therefore their argument has been the misuse of physician and doctor time and not the shortage of doctors in the first place.

 

The health insurance industry especially the large HMO’s have begun to limit unjustifiable testing and procedures and monitor the activities of the doctors they employ.  Some are no longer giving doctors carte blanche funding by putting them on a salary.  More effective means of health care management is being employed but still it is not enough. There is still a shortage of doctors to meet the high demand of medical care in America.   For people needing tests and operations are having to go on long waiting lists because there are not enough doctors and other medical personnel available to meet the demand. One study showed that 87 per cent of hospitals in America are actively seeking doctors in different specialities. As a result of cutting back on medical school enrollment and the ban on foreign doctors in the 1980’s, we are still suffering the consequences in America in 2009. 

 

In the example of Canada, Canadian medical programs are fully accredited and Canadian doctors are fully qualified to practice in the USA. Canadians were actively employed as doctors in the USA prior to 1976.  Afterwards it required a green card before the Canadian doctor could come over.  That meant that any facility willing to employ a Canadian doctor had to keep the job open for over a year so that the green card requirements were met.  This is totally ludicrous when you think about it, if you need a doctor how can you afford to keep the job open for a year?  Is it not more important to keep Americans healthy and have a good health care system that meets the needs of the American demand?

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Posted in Crisis Situation, Health Insurance | 1 Comment »

The Need for Legislation against PVC’s in Children School Supplies

Tuesday, September 8th, 2009

The most precious people in our lives are our children. Not only do they grace our lives, but also they are our future if the human race is to survive.  However, what kind of life will they have if we do not take care of their health care now?  Of course we take measures to insure their health and welfare safe, but do we do it fast enough?  Do our governments act as fast as they can once they realize that there is a health threat present?

No matter where we go, no matter what we do, we are exposed to phthalates; they are at home, at work, in the hospital – they are in our environment everywhere.  Phthalates is a chemical resembling vegetable oil and is has been used in plastic products for at least the last 50 years. It makes PVC’s (polyvinyl chloride) more soft and flexible which is important for many plastic found such as garden hoses and other products, which need a measurement of flexibility to be functional.  Our world is saturated with plastic products and until recently it was not discovered just how much our health care is suffering from it. From plastic garden/rubber hoses to plastic bags, there are PVC’s all around us.

Through various testing done on animals, we are now finding how ingestion of this chemical substance can be toxic both to animals and to humans as well. Governments are now restricting the use of PVC’s in canned foods and plastic materials.  Major manufacturers from the food industry to the children’s toy industry must be more vigilant about our health care and stop using PVC’s in the production of their products.

In 2008, the American government banned the use of PVC’s in the manufacturing of children’s toys.  Research on children health care with regards to products made with phthalates and PVC’s shows severe developmental issues interfering with the children’s hormones. But wait, that is not the only horrible consequence of children being exposed to PVC’s. Birth defects have been noted in baby boys resulting from the influence of phthalates, and there has also been reporting of testicular cancer, liver problems, and early onset puberty in girls, which is also a risk factor for breast cancer in latter years.

The government banned PVC’s in toys but neglected another area just as important. They neglected schools supplies. There are so many schools supplies such as backpacks, lunchboxes, binders, pens, pencil cases, thermos, crayon cases, and more that have PVC’s in them.  Children are inundated with PVC’s and it does not stop there.  There are other toxins such as cadmium, and/or organotins and lead that are a danger to children’s health care.

These toxic substances may be ingested, or seep out and distributed in the air where your children will breathe in the vapors.  It doesn’t matter how much or how little exposure a child gets to these substances, they are toxics and therefore dangerous. We need to put pressure on the government to ban the use of these toxins in school supplies as well.  Our kids are at risk and so is their future, not to mention the drain on the health care system for all the medical attention that will be needed to treat our children as these toxic substances destroy their young bodies.

You can detect PVC products by looking at the label, if it says vinyl it contains PVC’s. Some products will be labeled PVC or V, or number 3 and that can be found under the recycling symbol. Avoid these products, as well as shiny backpacks with plastic designs, modeling or Crayola Air-Dry clay, notebooks, which have plastic on them, or plastic spirals holding them together, and colored plastic paper clips.

Don’t be fooled by shoes and shoe brand knock offs. For example even though the brand names shoes like Crocs are PVC free the charms on them may not be.  Crocs knock off, Kamid Doodle are made with PVC’s.  However you may be happy to know that brand names shoes such as Nike, Puma and L. L. Bean are PVC free.  

Until the government is willing to take action and legislate against PVC’s in children’s products and until manufacturers of children products take their social responsibilities seriously and stop using PVC’s on their own, we as parents have no choice but to monitor everything that goes anywhere near our children.  We must boycott the products that have not conformed to standard and save our children from future damage to their health care and well being. We must avoid a catastrophe before it happens.

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Posted in Children, Health Insurance | 44 Comments »

The Need for Proper Health Care Coverage for Fibromyalgia Sufferers

Wednesday, July 8th, 2009

It goes without saying that healthcare coverage in the United States of America is extremely expensive, so much so that 47 million Americans are not covered at this time.  However, for people with chronic illnesses even with coverage, they may not have access to all the services afforded other Americans with complete coverage.  Times are hard and paying for insurance coverage or even having proper coverage is even harder.  Victims of chronic illnesses are under a lot stress stemming from their maladies and this pressure is also transferred onto an   already strained health care system.

People with chronic illnesses use the services more for doctor’s visits, medications, treatments and diagnostic testing.  However, not every illness is picked up by diagnostic testing at this time. This happens quite frequently in the case of chronic pain. Certain types of chronic pain will be seen on x-rays, blood testing or resonance imaging tools such as the MRI, and then there are others like fibromyalgia that do not leave telltale signs. The diagnosis for fibromyalgia is defined by widespread pain and 12 out of 18 trigger points (tender points) must be notated. Fibromyalgia is a disease of the central nervous system where the body detects pain yet there are no physical indicators as to why this pain occurs.

According to the American Pain Foundation, fibromyalgia is one of the leading chronic pain disorders facing Americans today.  They report that it affects 2-5% of Americans and that translates to 6,000, 0000 people. The onset of this disorder is between 20 and 55. Different studies have shown that sufferers of fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome not only use health care services more often than other pain sufferers they are also mostly unemployed due to their debilitating illnesses.

Furthermore, women are 9 times more likely to contract the disease than men are.  Women are already in a precarious position when it comes to health insurance. Generally speaking they have lower incomes, and less insurance.  Many women are not even insured at all.

People with fibromyalgia who have not been diagnosed are in a very precarious position.  They know they have pain, and the go from doctor to doctor trying to get a diagnosis so that they can qualify for medical benefits.  Since this illness is not readily detected on standard tests many doctors still scoff off the illness by arguing with the victims that they do not have pain, or it is a psychological disorder the proverbial, “it is all in your head,” or they are hypochondriacs.  This too will lead to more stress and illness. The figures of 6 million individuals may be understated at this time due to the reluctance of many doctors to recognize this type of chronic pain (48% of doctors surveyed according to the National Fibromyalgia Association findings in 2007).

The American Pain Foundation is sponsoring a petition, supporting the American Health Association’s efforts to combat restrictive health insurance practices for people who suffer from fibromyalgia and to make sure that they have access to all the medical benefits that they require.  This petition is being sent out to state insurance commissioners, attorney generals and other federal officials such as the secretary of health.  The aim is to get decent health insurance coverage for fibromyalgia patients and to standardize this coverage through developing a code of ethics for health insurance companies, which will provide regulations and guidelines for health insurance coverage and benefits, payment issues, and the surveillance of compliance by health insurers in this area.

Every American should have access to the FDA approved medication to relieve symptoms.  They should have access to any treatment options including physical therapy, cognitive therapy and more. Beside access to these medications and treatments they should be affordable.  Health insurance companies as well as large pharmaceuticals need to put profit aside and do the ethical thing.  In a country as big and as wealthy (in comparison to other countries of the world) as the United States, there is no reason why fibromyalgia sufferers should be singled out in this way.  Fibromyalgia is a real disease like any other.  It is not a figment of a hysterical woman’s imagination.

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