medical-billing

Health Care Administrators Benefit By Attending Medical Billing Schools

2008-11-07T03:19:00.000-08:00

The health care industry is always on the lookout for well-trained administrators who have attended medical billing schools. People who are formally trained to provide professional medical billing services are especially prized by hospitals, clinics and private practices; and practically anyone can learn this specialized skill.

Physicians, patients, hospital administrators, and insurance companies all rely on billing specialists to keep accurate records of medical procedures and charges. So, what does it take to learn medical billing? Of course, it can be helpful to have a background in office administration, accounting, health care, or other related field; but there are no firm prerequisites to learning to be a medical billing specialist. If you are a high school graduate, you already have one foot in the door.

You might choose to take a short course to become certified in a matter of weeks. You will learn about various medical terminology and procedures, and how to interpret the specific numeric codes assigned to everything that occurs during the patient's visit. You will develop skills in communication to help discuss claims with HMOs and insurance companies, as well as to understand patient and physician requests for your assistance.

Although billing and coding are focused on just one area of medical office administration, you can definitely expect to broaden your employment horizon with a certificate in the field. However, if you really want to open the doors to a better future, you might want to delve further into the field by seeking a degree in medical office administration. Not only will you learn about medical billing and coding, you can become a valuable part of a health care team by learning to run an efficient practice and how to take the administrative burden off busy doctors, nurses, technicians and surgeons.

With the call for extended medical care increasing each day, there is also a growing need for experts in office administration, and you can quickly get in on the trend. Learning medical billing might be the beginning of a whole new career for you! Why not find a good class and start today?

DISCLAIMER: Above is a GENERAL OVERVIEW and may or may not reflect specific practices, courses and/or services associated with ANY ONE particular school(s) that is or is not advertised on SchoolsGalore.com.

Copyright 2008 - All rights reserved by Media Positive Communications, Inc.

Notice: Publishers are free to use this article on an ezine or website, provided the article is reprinted in its entirety, including copyright and disclaimer, and ALL links remain intact and active.

We invite you to visit SchoolsGalore.com where you can find good medical billing schools in your area today.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michael_Bustamante

Details Needed For Medical Billing

2008-11-07T03:18:00.000-08:00

Who handles the medical billing process in any health care environment? Well, it may be handled either directly by the doctor or by his staff or by a third party professional medical billing company if it is for a bigger clinic or hospital. Medical billing is a specialized profession today and billing could be a team work process that can involve the following people.

* Office manager
* Nurse
* Receptionist
* Medical assistant
* Insurance clerk
* Medical coders

The medical claim process begins with proper identification and medical coding as all medical procedures and diagnoses have been assigned with codes. The Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) was developed in the year 1966 by (AMA) American Medical Association and it lists medical procedures and corresponding codes. Each medical procedure has a unique code that is listed in a CPT manual. What are the types of details that are required during the medical billing process? They include,

* Name, address, telephone number, and ID number of provider
* Name of insurance company / group
* ID number of insurance holder
* Patient's name, date of birth/address/phone no
* Insured person's name, date of birth/address/phone
* Relationship between patient and insured person
* Details of provider name, address, telephone number, and ID number
* Details of other health insurances
* Patient's medical history /condition
* Details whether the medical condition is related to accident etc

A document called the explanation of benefits (EOB) often may accompany the payment that is received from the insurance or managed care company. This document describes all the details of services covered and not covered. It also mentions all the bills that have been sent to the service provider and the patient. One can also know if the patient has missed out on his annual payments/deductibles to the insurance company making him ineligible for total claim.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ricci_Mathew

Medical Billing Rules

2008-11-04T00:54:00.000-08:00

What is the main purpose of medical billing? Well it is just to make sure that the service provider receives a fair payment for services provided and also so that the payment is received in time. The medical billing procedures are governed by certain laws. What are the main laws that govern medical billing? They include the following 3 laws;
# Fair debt Collection Act
# The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act
# The Privacy Rule

The Fair debt collection Act is a federal law that dictates how and when a debt is to be collected.
This act is for the protection of all the patients and other consumers from unlawful threats.

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, better known as the HIPAA, was enacted by the U.S. Congress in 1996. It has two titles.

Title I of HIPAA regulates the availability, breadth of group and individual health insurance plans. It amends both the Employee Retirement Income Security Act and the Public Health Service Act. This act also prohibits any group health plan from creating eligibility rules or deciding of insurance premiums for individuals in the plan based on health status, medical history, genetic information, or disability. Thus Title I also protects health insurance of workers and their families if they have to change jobs.

The second title of HIPAA contains a portion that increases the efficiency of data exchange for healthcare financial transactions and protects the privacy of electronic data transmission and the confidentiality of patient records. All medical providers are asked to send their claims electronically in compliance with the act to receive their payment. This includes electronic transmission of major financial and administrative dealings, including billing, electronic claims processing and reimbursement advice. Various offenses relating to health care are set and criminal penalties imposed. Besides creating several programs to control fraud and abuse within the health care system it imposes penalties when rules are violated.

The privacy rule regulates the use and disclosure of Protected Health Information (PHI). PHI is any information about health status, provision of health care, or payment for health care that can be linked to an individual. Any person who believes that the Privacy Rule is not being upheld can file a complaint with the Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ricci_Mathew

Medical Billing And The PPO Plan

2008-11-04T00:53:00.000-08:00

Medical billing is the process of collecting fees for medical services. A medical bill is also called as a claim that has to be collected from the insurance company. There are different types of insurance plans. What is the PPO plan? PPO is a term used in health insurance that stands for Preferred Provider Organizations. It is a managed care organization of medical doctors, hospitals, and other health care providers who are associated with an insurer agent/administrator's clients to provide health care at reduced rates. It is today one of the most preferred kind of health care plan in the country. A preferred provider organization is sometimes also referred to as a participating provider organization.

More than 50% of the insured population in the US have chosen to go for the PPO plan. Its popularity is mainly because of the fact that in this system, doctors / hospitals have made an agreement with the insurance companies to offer discounted fees to the company's members.

The primary advantages of going for the PPO insurance plan are,
# Its not mandatory to maintain a primary care physician
# Can directly see a specialist without referral
# Freedom to choose own doctor / hospital

The main advantage of going for a PPO plan is that one can choose a health service provider from outside the provider list Another less popular system is called an (EPO) exclusive provider organization (EPO), wherein if you seek care from a non-preferred provider there is no coverage at all. One must remember that with freedom to choose will always mean more expensive medical bills.

There are many types of PPO plans and the actual benefits depend on different factors like,
# Monthly premium amount
# The amount of coinsurance obliged to pay,
# Whether treatment from the network/ outside
# Annual deductible amount

What are the other features of a preferred provider organization? They generally include services of review of the patient records by the company representatives to ensure that there is no foul play. In the case of non-emergency admissions, an approval is taken from the insurer in advance.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ricci_Mathew

Texas Medical Billing - Use The Clean Claim Law

2008-10-31T05:46:00.000-07:00

Texas has one of the most helpful and powerful clean claim laws in the United States. The penalties for a clean claim violation can go all the way up to the payer being required to pay billed charges; that's right billed charges. The basic idea of the law is that a payer has to respond to a clean claim within 30 days (45 days if it is not submitted electronically). In order to utilize the clean claim law effectively you must have a tracking system built into your medical billing process that flags:

1. Which payers are subject to the clean a claim law (not all are),
2. When a claim was submitted,
3. When a request fro information was received from the payer (if you receive one then it stops the 30 day clock until you respond),
4. When your office responded to the information request (this starts the 30 day clock again), and
5. When you received a payment or denial.

The design and implementation of the system and reporting can challenging, but it will pay huge dividends in terms of the penalties from payers and in the way in which you will make payers take notice of your claims next time. At ClaimCare Medical Billing Services we have used our clean claim tracking system extensively and have seen significant rewards for our clients. We have actually received calls from managers at some of our payers that have assured us they would process our claims quickly and asked if we would please stop submitting complaints.

A quick way to get started with using the clean claim law is to pick a specific payer that you believe habitually delays claims beyond 30 days. Find a handful of claims that have gone past 30 days and then test the water with those claims. This will allow you to learn the basics of using the on-line tool provided for submitting complaints and see the impact of your initial complaints.

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3 Benefits Of Web-based Electronic Medical Billing Software

2008-10-31T05:45:00.000-07:00

When you decide to opt for Web-based medical billing software you will find many great benefits. These include but are not limited to, reduced install and maintenance costs, security from natural disasters, anytime access.

Anytime Access
A major benefit of a Web-based medical billing solution is that you can access the information anytime. Whether you are at home, or in the office, you only need an Internet connection and you will be able to access all the information you need. Late at night or early in the morning or during the day you will be able to access the information for your practice.

Reduced Install and Maintenance costs
Another benefit of the software being Web-based is that there are much lower installation costs. You will see this benefit right up front as it will be the first step that you go through. Another benefit is the reduced maintenance cost. Many server based technologies need to be upgraded and constantly monitored. This can sometimes lead to unexpected costs to help maintain your current system. With Web-based technologies these maintenance costs are much, much, much lower.

Accidents unfortunately happen
As much as we like to think that accidents never happen to us, there is a chance that they just may. Many people use insurance to cover them incase of these major accidents. But many people do not think about what is going to happen to their information in an accident. With Web-based electronic medical billing software there is greater satisfaction in knowing that if an accident where to go through a horrific accident, you would be not lose all of your records. If there were a fire, earthquake, flood and your servers were hit, you would lose all of your client information. But if you had a Web-based software solution, even though your office may be damaged, your records wouldn’t be. You would be able to be up and running in almost no time.

So when deciding between Web-based and server side software remember these major benefits of Web-based medical billing software.

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Medical Billing And Coding Online Schools

2008-10-31T05:44:00.000-07:00

Online Medical Billing and Coding Specialist Schools teach courses that focus on the administration of Medical Billing and Coding for purposes of proper categorization of medical procedures and accurate billing processes. Students of Medical Billing and Coding will be prepared with those skills essential for Medical Billing and Coding processes and for Certified Medical Coding and Billing Specialist examinations for certification.

Online Medical Billing and Coding Specialist Schools train students specifically in the universal language that was developed for the purpose of streamlining medical insurance claims that ensure correct reimbursement from insurance companies for services rendered. Every symptom, diagnosis, procedure, and treatment has been assigned a numeric code that informs the insurance company which services were administered in a hospital, a doctor's office, a clinic, or other medical facility. This numeric language is used by Medical Billing and Coding Specialists to establish the exact services provided. The Medical Billing and Coding Specialist determines these codes and makes a selection based on information provided by the care provider, then processes the claim.

Online Medical Billing and Coding students can expect to study medical terminology, anatomy and physiology, reimbursement methods, law and ethics that apply to medicine, information management, and practices of various office environments.

Additionally, courses in Medical Billing and Coding will prepare students with professional skills that will allow for management of records, preparation of insurance forms, correct filing of claims, and for billing insurance companies for services rendered.

Responsibilities of a Medical Billing and Coding Specialist involve the accurate completion of billing and medical claim forms, appropriate billing, and good understanding of individual insurance company policies and procedures. Medical Billing and Coding Specialists can expect to work for hospitals, medical practitioners, medical clinics, and physical therapists, where efficient and well-prepared Medical Billing and Coding Specialists will manage billing and coding processes.

If you are interested in learning more about Online Medical Billing and Coding Schools please search our site for more in-depth information and resources.

DISCLAIMER: Above is a GENERAL OVERVIEW and may or may not reflect specific practices, courses and/or services associated with ANY ONE particular school(s) that is or is not advertised on our website.

Copyright 2007 - All Rights Reserved in association with Media Positive Communications, Inc.

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Got Stomach Flab? Quickly Remove Stomach Flab With This Powerful Dieting Solution

2008-10-21T05:54:00.000-07:00

Alright guys, today in this article, we're going to talk about how you can quickly remove stomach flab with the following powerful dieting solution. I hope you're ready....because this is going to knock your socks off!

Okay, first things first. Let's talk about the basic core principles. Let me tell you, if you don't comprehend, implement, and practice the basic core principles of a healthy lifestyle, ladies and gentleman....results will be minimal to none....it's just as simple as that.

What are those principles? Proper nutrition (complex carbs, healthy fats, fiber, protein, and foods rich in vitamins and minerals), drink plenty of water daily ( I recommend for you to drink 1/2 to 1 gallon of water daily for optimal results), get plenty of sleep every night (7-8 hours of sleep every night is ideal), cardio exercise (if you want to remove stomach flab fast, do yourself a favor and do high intensity cardio exercise guys), and weight training exercise (building lean muscle is absolutely essential for fat loss and weight loss).

Now let's get down to business! Are you ready? Are you prepared to receive this breakthrough dieting solution to quickly remove stomach flab? Ladies and gentleman....drum roll please.....the 2008 dieting solution of the year to remove stomach flab is... consistency.

"What the"?! "I thought it was going to be some super secret!" Was that one of your responses? If so, don't feel bad, that's usually the response everyone gives.

Why is consistency so shocking to people as being the best dieting solution? It's because people are so brain washed into thinking that there are miracles, potions, and secrets to fat loss.....and it just isn't. Guys, it comes down to the basics of a healthy lifestyles, and STAYING CONSISTENT with it all to quickly remove stubborn stomach flab. The more consistent you are with a diet, the faster the results....it's just that simple!

Looking for a way to "remove stomach flab" fast? I highly recommend for you to check out the brand new breakthrough diet of the decade....The Everloss Diet. With The Everloss Diet, you'll get a complete diet plan that covers every aspect of healthy living and weight loss from food and diet, to activities, to supplements, recipes, fat burning techniques, and an inside view of how your body type works at your age.

Find out more extensive information about how to lose weight and get faster fat loss now at http://Ever-Loss-Diet.info

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Avy_Barnes

Find Out How to Blast Your Metabolism to the Moon and Lose 5 Pounds in 1 Week!

2008-10-21T05:53:00.000-07:00

Just 1 week....safely! Ready for lift off Captain in 5, 4, 3, 2..,

*Attention mission control*.... We have brief problem we need to address first: Do you know and understand the basic core principles of a healthy lifestyle? Without understanding, and implementing these principles, results will be minimal to none.

The basic core principles of a healthy lifestyle are proper nutrition (protein, complex carbs, fiber, healthy fats, and foods rich in vitamins and minerals), drink plenty of water daily (I recommend 1/2 to 1 gallon of water daily for optimal results), get plenty of sleep every night (7-8 hours is ideal), cardio exercise (high intensity cardio works best), and weight training exercise.

*Attention mission control*....Commence with lift off!

Metabolism Booster #1 - Eat more! That's right! One of the easiest ways to boost your metabolism fast is by eating more frequently through out the day. Start with breakfast and have a small healthy meal every 2-3 hours after. Eating more frequently will keep your digestive system active, which will cause a significant boost in your metabolism.

Metabolism Booster #2 - Intense workouts! Getting more intense with your workouts will boost your metabolism and the rate at which you'll burn off fat. Some of my favorite high intensity workouts would be incline treadmill and sprinting!

Metabolism Booster #3 - Ice Cold Water! Don't just drink regular water....get your water ICE COLD! If you drink ice cold water, you will send your body into thermogenesis (the act of your body warming up fluids to body temperature). That whole process burns off calories!

*Attention mission*.....We have landed our metabolism on the moon! Mission complete and 5 pounds lost in 1 week....woohoo!!

Looking for a way to "lose belly fat" fast? I highly recommend for you to check out the brand new breakthrough diet of the decade....The Everloss Diet. With The Everloss Diet, you'll get a complete diet plan that covers every aspect of healthy living and weight loss from food and diet, to activities, to supplements, recipes, fat burning techniques, and an inside view of how your body type works at your age.

Find out more extensive information about how to lose weight and get faster fat loss now at http://Ever-Loss-Diet.info

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Avy_Barnes

Spend Less Time on Your Medical Billing

2008-10-17T03:27:00.000-07:00

A busy medical practice can be challenging because of much-needed organization. The schedule can be difficult to work with and the patients must be seen and cared for. Because of all of the details, sometimes billing will be put on hold for tomorrow. The billing portion of the busy office is the portion of running a busy office, which cannot be allowed to slide. The office needs to collect the money for the office to be able to pay their obligations.

You will need to organize your office in order to save time, which will also help cut down your costs of running the office. In a physician's office information is extremely important. You cannot afford to lose any information. By organizing your office you will have a better chance of know where everything is. Then you will want to make sure all the other employees in the office know where everything is suppose to be to eliminate the chance of any information being misplaced.

A good time saver is the implementation of a web based medical billing software. The web based medical billing software is intended to eliminate or reduce paperwork in your office. It will assist with the billing and keep information organized. The recovery of records, information and past due billing information is simple and easy. Processing claims with the insurance companies will reduce delays and non-payments. The web based medical billing software has been incorporated with the diagnosis and procedure codes to reduce or eliminate errors, which can be the cause of delays, or denied claims. The information, which is stored by the server of the software, is backed up in a secure online server and not your computer's hard drive. Most of these companies with the software will provide training for the use of the software. If the software is created to work with Windows or Microsoft Office, you might receive a video and materials for your and all of your staff on the operating procedure of the software.

The Electronic Medical Records are included in many of the web based medical billing software. This feature will allow you to file medical histories of your patients into the software. You can also scan the information and in some cases you will be able to dictate information, which a transcriber will access from another computer and input into the software. This feature of your web based medical billing software will make it simple to contract someone to transcribe dictation for you or even do the medical billing for you.

If it is easier and less expensive for you, you may want to relinquish your medical billing to a medical billing service. The companies doing this type of work will have training and software in order to get the job done, which can relieve your office to do what it does best. That is taking care of patients. The service will keep all of your information organized, so you will be able to get any information from the service quickly.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Evan_Lagasse

Take Your Medical Billing Business to the Next Level

2008-10-17T03:26:00.000-07:00

Do you have your own Medical Billing Business? Is it doing as well as you would like it to be? Do you want to grow but not sure how to get started? Maybe you've been cruising along now at the same place for a while and you're ready for a change. Whatever your situation is, if you are ready to Take Your Medical Billing Business to the Next Level then you will need a plan.

Many people want to grow their business but they just sit and wait for it to happen on its own. If you want your business to grow then you need to act first. Don't sit around waiting and wondering when. If you do that you will have no control over how fast you grow and what direction you grow in. You need a plan.

First, sit down and figure out exactly what it is you want. How much do you want to grow? Do you want to just pick up a few more clients? Do you want to double? Are you ready to hire an employee or two? Maybe you are ready to quit your full time job and work at your medical billing business full time. After you figure out how much you want to grow you need to figure out what it will take to get you there.

Your plan for getting there will involve many things. You will need to plan a marketing strategy. You will need to consider many new things if you need to hire and train an employee. Your work space must be taken into consideration. You will need to consider the costs of expansion. And you will need to learn to put many systems in place.

After you decide how much you want to grow you need to give yourself a time frame and a set of steps to reach your goal. A goal without a deadline is just a dream. Set specific dates that you want to reach certain parts of your goal. They can be flexible. If you don't reach a goal by the set date, you can move it a little. It doesn't mean you have to give up. A time frame makes sure you are keeping on track to reach your goal. If you don't meet a deadline maybe you need to rethink how you are trying to get there and make some changes.

The important thing is that you take control of your business. If you want growth, prepare for it, decide what you want, and when you want to be there. Then go for it! Good luck.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michele_Redmond

Basics of Medical Billing

2008-10-17T03:25:00.000-07:00

Whether you are planning on starting a medical billing business, already own a medical billing business, work for a billing service or in a medical office, it is crucial that you completely understand the entire billing process. From the time a patient schedules an appointment to the time that full payment is received, everyone who interacts with either the patient or the billing process can affect the payment.

Billing is such an important part of a medical office. The money brought in from the billing is what keeps the office running. It pays everyone's salary, including the doctor. It always amazes me that so many providers do not make sure that their billing is being done properly and that their office staff isn't all working together to make sure all is being done that needs to be.

When a patient calls to schedule an appointment it is important that the person doing the scheduling not only gets all of the necessary information from the patient but also that they understand how insurance works so they can tell if anything needs to be done prior to the patient's appointment. Having someone who understands medical billing can reduce visits that end up not being covered by insurance.

The person responsible for actually submitting the insurance claims needs to know the different requirements by each carrier and understand how to handle all aspects of billing. Following up on unpaid insurance claims is an area that most offices lose a ton of money. If you don't have a very good follow up system then you are definitely losing money.

Many medical providers think that only the billing person needs to understand medical billing. Actually it is important that all staff have some knowledge of insurance billing in order for things to run smoothly. The more that the staff understands, the less money you throw out the door. Providers deserve to be paid for all the patients they treat.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michele_Redmond

Cheaper Medical Insurance - Ideas To Help You Cut Down Costs

2008-10-14T04:45:00.000-07:00

Cheaper medical Contrary to what you might have thought, it's quite easy to get a lower rate. The only things that stand between you and attracting a more affordable rate now are relevant information and a motivation to make use of the recommendations you get. Let's look at a few sure-fire ways to get better rates...

1. Ensure a healthy life style and you will get lower rates with time. If you can stop eating junk food you'll pay less over time. Removing fats, cholesterol and high carb from your diet will make it easier for you to retain the right weight, live a healthier life and, as a result, attract cheaper rates.

You will also help your health and rate by going on regular exercise.

2. For folks who have a longtime ailment that makes it hard or too expensive for them to enjoy private personal health insurance, the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (COBRA) insurance could offer a more affordable option.

3. Some persons are not poor enough to qualify for plans for low-income earner and also have financial challenges that make regular health insurance hard to pay for. In case this defines you, then you can reduce your budget for health care by going for a discount medical card. So what are they?

With these cards you are given medical attention from a network of health care professionals who have agreed to render services to card carriers at reduced rates. Such cards are not issued by insurance companies.

You can fall back to this option if you have a medical history that has made health insurance providers either reject you or give you a rate that is too high. One advantage of a discount medical card is that everybody can use it. Just make your monthly payments and you'll have access to a network of health care providers who will bill you lower for their services.

4. Your premiums may be tax-deductible if you're self employed. You may also be entitled to a tax break if your employer offers a flexible spending account. You can get details on this from your tax professional. This will help you know for sure what will entitle you to a tax break and what won't.

5. Don't become carried away by the lowest quote as you shop for low cost health insurance. You want a cheap rate that also offers you much value. If the cheapest price has all that is important to you, then go for it. But in situations where you don't find the right value in the cheapest rate, you'll be making the right choice if you pay more to ensure you truly have the quality of coverage that you really need.

Take note of this because a number of low quotes are that low because they don't offer much. A health insurance plan that compromises you does not make sense even if it's 500% less than the quote that offers you sufficient coverage.

6. You will save much if you only have between 25-30 minutes. Visit, obtain and compare health insurance quotes from selected quotes sites. The cheapest offer should be your choice easily. However, you have to look beyond just the lowest quote to the best price to value ratio. The cheapest may not be the best price/value for you as an individual.

Here are great pages for health insurance quotes...

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Chimezirim_Chinecherem_Odimba

Medical Insurance Savings - These Tips Will Help You A Lot

2008-10-14T04:44:00.000-07:00

With the right advice you'll get more affordable rates for sufficient coverage. It is also necessary that I point out that there are recommendations that might put you at risk even if they help you make savings at the moment. I will, nevertheless, only make suggestions that will save you much while you still keep enjoying adequate coverage...

1. Even though most individuals know that smoking adds to their rates, they may not know that this also applies if they use other tobacco products. Those who snuff or chew tobacco will also get higher rates than those who don't. Staying away from all tobacco products will attract less expense in health insurance.

2. A group plan is less expensive than an individual plan. Don't miss it if you're in a position that gives you the opportunity of using a group plan as it generally implies that you'll pay lower rates. This statement becomes even more so if you're overweight, a smoker or an older person.

A group plan will help you make considerable savings if you have a pre-existing condition that makes individual health insurance either too costly or almost impossible to come by. A group plan is an easy way to lower your cost without reducing the quality of coverage you will enjoy.

3. You will spend less in health insurance if you if you get the right tips. Individuals who know more about health care and insurance get better deals. Moreover, you will find it easier to get every benefit that you are eligible for if you always have the right information.

There are toll-free numbers you can call if you need help on health matters. One of such numbers is that of the National Health Information Center: 1-800-336-4797

4. Buying your prescriptions on the internet is a proven way to bring down your health care spend. Buying by telephone might as well give you affordable prices. The internet reduces the cost of doing business and pharmaceutical companies or groups who sell their drugs online do so at cheaper rates. But if you've chosen to buy online try to find out a little about whom you are buying from because there are wolves online. Just go to BBB online and you will know if you should buy from an exact company.

Always remember that while we want to reduce costs we also want to avoid risks.

5. Electronic Funds Transfer, known as EFT is an easy way to reduce your premium. By doing this you authorize your insurance provider to automatically withdraw your payments from your account when due. This eliminates administrative overheads like those involved in sending payment notices. Your premium is therefore lowered in line with the cheaper cost of giving you insurance.

6. Visit a minimum of five quotes sites. Using a minimum of five quotes sites raise the chances that you'd receive cheaper health insurance quotes. This is because insurance companies not covered by one site will be represented by the other. Moreover, you know that because your chances of getting lower health insurance quotes has to do with the number of quotes you obtain, the more companies you obtain quotes from, the higher your chances will be. Requesting for your health insurance quotes online will help you save a bundle if you take out around 25 minutes to obtain quotes from at least five sites.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Chimezirim_Chinecherem_Odimba

CMS 1500 Form - Completing it Correctly

2008-10-12T05:04:00.000-07:00

CMS 1500 forms are the universal claim forms used by medical providers to submit claims for their services to the insurance carriers. They are pre-printed red and white forms designed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. They were formally known as HCFA 1500 forms but they were redesigned to allow for the reporting of the NPI, or National Provider Identifier.

It is very important that the CMS 1500 forms are completed properly to ensure that correct payment is made. If the form is not completed properly, the claim may be denied by the insurance carrier. Many providers have practice management software that completes the forms for them, but the information must still be loaded into the practice management software program properly in order for it to be printed out in the right format.

Many of the insurance carriers have different requirements for what information goes in each box on the CMS 1500 form. For example, if you are billing an insurance carrier that requires authorization for the services being billed and they assign an authorization number, they may require that the authorization number be in box 23. Other carriers do not require that anything be in box 23. It is important to know the different requirements for each of the insurance carriers that you bill to.

If you do not have all of the necessary boxes completed, or if they are not completed properly, the claim may be denied. For example, if you do not put the patient's date of birth on the CMS 1500 form, then the claim will most likely be denied out. Most insurance carriers scan the CMS forms and if all the required fields are not completed the claim is automatically denied without a human even touching it. Another thing that could cause an immediate denial is if the date of birth on the claim doesn't match what's on file with the insurance carrier. When the claim is scanned, it will deny out stating they can't identify the patient.

Many claims do not get paid on the first submission and in many cases it is due to the CMS form not being completed properly. In order to cut down on denials, make sure you are completing the forms completely and correctly. This will make a big difference in your bottom line.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michele_Redmond

Securing An Adequate Cheap Insurance Medical Policy

2008-10-12T05:03:00.001-07:00

No matter how healthy your lifestyle, how wisely you plan your diet or how much you exercise in an effort to take care of your body, unexpected situations may arise. You may land in the hospital with bills that could potentially wipe out everything you own. Thus it is extremely important to acquire an adequate insurance medical policy that will take care of your expenses in case of just such an emergency.

Everyone needs at least some form of health insurance. Some people are concerned about qualifying for an insurance plan especially if they have health issues. There are so many options available and although some are not easy to find, they can be quite simple to qualify for.

Before signing up for a plan, consider your family's medical needs and budget requirements. There are basically two types of plans to consider, a private plan and a government plan.

Types of Coverage

The private plan is commonly obtained through employment. Most employers will offer some form of insurance for their full time employees. In some states employers are required to provide insurance if the employee exceeds a certain level of hours worked during the course of a week. Often times the employer will offer some sort of group health plan for their employees which decreases the monthly premium costs. Normally this type of plan will cover your spouse and family. Many people may not be able to participate in group plans. There are many individual plans are offered although they may be a bit more expensive in relation to group plans.

If you are going to sign on with a private plan learn all you can about the coverage in the contract. Read all the inclusions and exclusions and avoid signing up with a plan that has a long list of exclusions. Also make sure you obtain a copy of all the paperwork you sign.

Health insurance offered by the government is generally on a state or national level. One example would be Medicare which is a national plan. Medicare is available for those people over 65 years of age and also is available to disabled people. Some other types of government assisted health care plans include Medicaid which is based on income level, health and care for veterans and children's health programs.

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Medical Billing Audit, Clean Claims Metrics, And the Payer-Provider Conflict

2008-10-12T05:03:00.000-07:00

Dr. Noah Payne shook his head in disbelief: the practice reimbursements shrank instead of climbing in response to the recent hiring of Dr. Inna Ternist. The new doctor clearly added to the total number of patients seen yet overall payments did not reflect the added charges. Perhaps the new claims were not created, submitted, or paid? Dr. Noah remembered noticing the growing pile of rejected and denied claims accumulating dust on his desk - he never had the time to review them...How many of these claims are clean? How many of them require manual review and correction?

Dr. Noah looked at his Vericle screen and began analyzing the numbers. The system showed 58 percent clean claims (PCC). In other words, almost every second claim required manual correction. Who could be causing such a high level of problems: the practice, the billing service, or the payer? Dr. Noah's instinctively felt that perhaps the billing service was negligent about data entry process and kept introducing massive data errors. But the service manager was quick to explain a rigorous quality assurance process for data entry. What else could be causing such a high level of manual work in a seemingly streamlined process?

A quick review shows that PCC varies along several dimensions:

1. 19 and 70 percent for financial class
2. 37 and 66 percent for month of service
3. 55 and 59 percent for physician
4. 29 and 70 percent for various CPT codes

Trying to discover a pattern, Dr. Noah looked for a root cause dimension. He drilled into 99213 - the single largest frequency CPT code for his practice. Vericle showed 3,135 claims and the above average 62 PCC carrying charges and payments for 99213 code.

Having isolated the single most frequent CPT code, Dr. Noah was thinking about other dimensions that influence PCC. He hypothesized that if all doctors in his practice had the same coding skills, and assuming uniform distribution of errors, he should observe no PCC variance across the doctors. Yet, a quick click on a Vericle screen yielded a spread, confirming his suspicion that different doctors maintained slightly different coding skills:

1. Dr. Ted 1,554 claims and PCC = 63%
2. Dr. Lori 865 claims and PCC = 62%
3. Dr. Inna 194 claims and PCC = 61%
4. Dr. Noah 516 claims and PCC = 60%

Next, Dr. Noah switched his attention to distribution of PCC across the financial classes. Again, he hypothesized that if all payers used the same rules to deny claims then there should be no difference in the average PCC for different payers, subject to a uniform distribution of errors over a large sample of submitted and paid claims. Yet the numbers showed a significant (30 percent) variation of PCC for the same CPT code: UHC - 82, Blue Cross Blue Shield - 73, Oxford - 64, Aetna - 59, Medicare - 59, and Cigna - 51, confirming his conclusion that various payers used various rules to deny and underpay claims.

Dr. Noah recalled reading an article about PacifiCare, a Californian insurance company being fined upon an audit. The joint Department of Managed Health Care and Insurance Department recently analyzed 1.1 million paid claims from June 2005 to May 2007 that covered about 190,000 members in PacifiCare's HMO plans and PPO coverage [Gilbert Chan , "PacifiCare fined record $3.5 million," www.sacbee.com , January 30, 2008]. They discovered 30 percent of the HMO claims wrongly denied and 29 percent of the disputes with doctors were handled incorrectly. PacifiCare paid out over $1 million and was fined additional $3.5 million. Dr. Noah's findings roughly matched PacifiCare audit - the insurance companies were failing anywhere between twenty to fifty percent of his claims and each insurance company showed a different failure rate, depending on a system used to fail submitted claims.

Finally, Dr. Noah thought of the billing service operation. Is his billing service systematically working to discover failed claims and improve its response to such discoveries? Is there a pattern of an occasional drop of PCC reflecting its deterioration in response to various payer's initiatives? Conversely, is there any evidence for a systematic improvement effort? A chart of the distribution of a single CPT-code clean claim percentage over the entire year must answer his question. In his mind, PCC should iterate between drops and climbs, hopefully each time at a higher level. Vericle confirmed his expectations, showing an overall improvement of PCC over the year (46% 1-07, 39% 2-07, 52% 3-07, 55% 4-07, 63% 5-07, 67% 6-07, 72% 7-07, 69% 8-07, 72% 9-07, 68% 10-07, 74% 11-07, 73% 12-07)

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Medical Billing and the Discrepancy Paradox of the Rising Healthcare Costs

2008-10-07T06:35:00.000-07:00

Health care spending continues to rise at the fastest rate in our history. In 2005, total national health costs rose 6.9 percent -- twice the rate of inflation - reaching $2 trillion, or $6,700 per person [Catlin, Cowan, Heffler, et al, 2006]. Currently, total health care spending represents 16 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP). In the next decade, U.S. health care spending is expected to increase at similar levels, reaching $4 trillion in 2015 [Borger et al, 2006].

While some experts maintain that our health care system is costly because it is riddled with inefficiencies, excessive administrative expenses, inflated prices, poor management, waste, inappropriate care, and fraud [Health Insurance Cost, National Coalition on Health Care, 2008], at least three remaining key factors, namely, aging population, expensive medical innovation, and defensive care, contribute substantially, to the overall cost picture.

1. Aging population

In the United States, the proportion of the population aged >65 years is projected to increase from 12.4% in 2000 to 19.6% in 2030. The number of persons aged >65 years is expected to increase from approximately 35 million in 2000 to an estimated 71 million in 2030, and the number of persons aged >80 years is expected to increase from 9.3 million in 2000 to 19.5 million in 2030 [Public Health and Aging: Trends in Aging --- United States and Worldwide, 2008; Kaiser Family Foundation, 2006].
"The growing number of older adults increases demands on the public health system and on medical and social services. Chronic diseases, which affect older adults disproportionately, contribute to disability, diminish quality of life, and increased health- and long-term--care costs." [UN, 2002] 125 million Americans have one or more chronic conditions (e.g. congestive heart failure, diabetes.) Chronic diseases account for 75% of all health care expenditures. Source: Burrill & Company, 2006

2. Expensive innovation

* The American biotechnology industry has surpassed pharmaceutical companies for the third straight year as the primary source of new medicines, and biotech revenue jumped nearly 16 percent to a record $50.7 billion in 2005. Source: Ernst & Young LLP, 2006

* The USA is the world's largest and wealthiest pharmaceutical market, accounting for around 48% of the world total. Per capita expenditure on drugs is US $1,069 in 2006, nearly double the level found in the rest of the world. Source: Espicom Business Intelligence, 2006
* ...an estimated 30% of new products under development are "combo products" - involving medical devices embedded with pharmaceutical or biologics components. [Combination Products- Navigating Two FDA Quality Systems, Microtest White Paper, 2007]. The combination products market is estimated at $5.9B in 2004, and will continue to grow at a compound annual rate of 10% through 2009. By 2009, the market is expected to reach approximately $9.5B worldwide with a majority of these revenues from drug-eluting stents and steroid-eluting electrodes. Source: Navigant Consulting, Inc. In 2004, the US held approximately 65% of the drug-device combination product market. By 2010, the US is projected to hold 57%. Source: Business Communications Inc.

3. "Defensive" Medicine

"One of the major cost drivers in the delivery of health care are these junk and frivolous lawsuits. The risk of frivolous litigation drives doctors -- and hear me out on this -- they drive doctors to prescribe drugs and procedures that may not be necessary, just to avoid lawsuits. That's called the defensive practice of medicine.. . . . See, lawsuits not only drive up premiums, which drives up the cost to the patient or the employer of the patient, but lawsuits cause docs to practice medicine in an expensive way in order to protect themselves in the courthouse. The defensive practice of medicine affects the federal budget. The direct cost of liability insurance and the indirect cost from unnecessary medical procedures raise the federal government's health care costs by at least $28 billion a year." [US President George Bush, Arkansas, January 26, 2004]

Now let us observe the paradox:

1. On one hand, the participants of every ancillary industry to health care, including insurance companies, hi-tech and pharmaceutical engineers and scientists, as well as lawyers, have increased their profits in step with the rising costs of health care at ever accelerating pace.

2. On the other hand, the medical and chiropractic office owners - the actual health care providers - have not only failed to keep up with raising costs but have lost a significant part of their income. In fact, between 1995 and 1999, at a time when most wages and salaries in the United States rose 3.5 percent after adjusting for inflation, average physician net income from the practice of medicine, adjusted for inflation, dropped 5 percent [Reed and Ginsburg, 2003]. In 2006, the median compensation for specialty and primary physicians grew only 1.7 ($322,259) and 2 ($171,519) percent respectively, slower than consumer price index of 3.2 percent [MGMA Physician Compensation and Production Survey: 2007 Report]. In comparison, health care costs beat the inflation by 3.5% reaching the annual growth rate of 6.7 [Health Care Spending, 2008]

Diverting our focus away from trying to find solutions to the problem of rising health care costs, we ask a different question: How such a paradoxical situation is possible without a deliberate and systematic strategy against health care providers?

References:

1. Catlin, A, C. Cowan, S. Heffler, et al, "National Health Spending in 2005." Health Affairs 26:1 (2006): 142-153.
2. Borger, C., et al., "Health Spending Projections Through 2015: Changes on the Horizon," Health Affairs Web Exclusive W61: 22 February 2006.
3. Health Insurance Cost, National Coalition on Health Care as of January 4, 2008
4. Public Health and Aging: Trends in Aging --- United States and Worldwide, as of January 4, 2008
5. United Nations. Report of the Second World Assembly on Aging. Madrid, Spain: United Nations, April 8--12, 2002.
6. Kinsella K, Velkoff V. U.S. Census Bureau. An Aging World: 2001. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 2001; series P95/01-1.
7. U.S. Census Bureau. International database. Table 094. Midyear population, by age and sex. 2008
8. The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Employee Health Benefits: 2006 Annual Survey. 26 September 2006.
9. President Bush Calls for Medical Liability Reform, Baptist Health Medical Center, Little Rock, Arkansas, January 26, 2004 http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/01/20040126-3.html as of January 4, 2008
10. Marie C. Reed, Paul B. Ginsburg, Behind the Times: Physician Income, 1995-99, Data Bulletin No. 24, March 2003
11. Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) Physician Compensation and Production Survey: 2007 Report
12. MEDICARE SPENDING - United States Government Accountability Office (GAO), Testimony Before the Subcommittee on Health, Committee on Energy and Commerce, House of Representatives, March 6, 2007, Healthcare Costs 101
13. Health Care Spending http://www.cms.hhs.gov/NationalHealthExpendData/01_Overview.asp as downloaded on January 15, 2008

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Medical Billing Audit - Why Should Providers Audit Payers?

2008-10-07T06:34:00.000-07:00

A Sacramento-area surgeon couldn't schedule surgeries for more than six months because his contract was not loaded in the insurer's computer system. More than 200 of Dr. Watson's patients received letters indicating incorrectly that he was no longer participating in the network. Watson lost about 25 percent of these patients and was not paid for about eight months. Another insured spent eleven months trying to get claims paid for his family, including an autistic child. The insurer never specified what information was needed to make the denied claims eligible for payment.

Are these three isolated incidents or are they three symptoms of a growing problem with the entire provider's reimbursement system? The owners of health care practices easily recognize these painfully familiar symptoms. The better questions are: how are they related to the rising healthcare costs and what can a provider do to help?

In 2005, national healthcare costs rose 6.9 percent - twice the rate of inflation, reaching $2 trillion. National healthcare costs are predicted to double to $4 trillion by 2015. While key health care cost factors include aging US population, the arrival of new and expensive drugs and bio-tech devices, and the defensive medicine, the insurance costs alone stand out as a key contributor to rising healthcare costs. Exorbitant executive compensation became a hallmark of healthcare insurance industry, where William McGuire, CEO of UnitedHealth Group, has reportedly received over $500 million since 1992, more than $1 billion worth of options, a lump sum payout of $6.4 million upon leaving the company, and an annual pension of $5.1 million. But such compensation can be easily justified on Wall Street, when comparing it to outstanding insurance industry profits, such as 38 percent growth in earnings in the 3rd quarter of 2006.

The problem for any successful insurance company is how to make such growth sustainable? This question is difficult because the premium growth (68.4 percent) has disproportionally outpaced both inflation (16.4 percent) and workers earnings (18.2 percent) during the same period (2001-2006), making it impossible to continue to rise the premiums without losing major segments of insured population.

Without the ability to attract new clients or to further raise insurance premiums, cost reduction becomes the next most important approach to enhance profitability. Such cost reduction can be done in a variety of ways, which we conveniently divide into strategic and tactical or opportunistic approaches.

Strategic insurer's arsenal

The creation of an oligopsony through consolidation is the main weapon in the strategic arsenal of insurance companies. Oligopsony exists when providers significantly outnumber buyers, enabling them to dictate prices. Take for example, the PacifiCare's $9.2 billion merger with United Health Group Inc. in late 2005, which created a vast network of HMO and PPO plans covering more than 3 million Californians. Today, three plans alone (UnitedHealthcare, WellPoint and Aetna) cover 77.7 million insured lives. Oligopsony allows the systematic and continuous cost reduction without extra investment, e.g., annual cut of allowed rates (such as the average reimbursement for E&M allowable dropped 10 percent in 2006 and another 6.5 percent in 2007), payment suspension for specific procedures (such as EKG tests for routine physicals), offering "all or none" participation alternatives, or the creation of "tiered networks" that profile providers and incentivize patients to see lower cost providers.

Tactical insurer's weapons

Increasing billing process complexity and inventing new denial reasons through arcane terminology, disparate data formats, and modifications of CPT/ICD codes and medical necessity rules - these are all examples of tactical methods designed to increase providers costs for both billing and follow up and reduce the payments at the expense of practice owners. These methods need continuous investment in personnel training, better process management, and improved technology to keep them effective as the providers begin building more sophisticated systems to scrub and analyze claims and discover payment discrepancies and irregularities.

Provider's Response

Returning to the three incidents mentioned at the outset of this article, the joint Department of Managed Health Care and Insurance Department determined that these are not isolated cases. It analyzed 1.1 million paid claims from June 2005 to May 2007 that covered about 190,000 members in PacifiCare's HMO plans and PPO coverage [Gilbert Chan , "PacifiCare fined record $3.5 million," www.sacbee.com , January 30, 2008] and discovered 30 percent of the HMO claims wrongly denied and 29 percent of the disputes with doctors were handled incorrectly. PacifiCare paid out over $1 million and was fined additional $3.5 million.

In summary, providers need new and effective approaches to mobilize both legal and organizational talent to reverse their revenue decline. Legal methods battle market conditions like oligopsony while large-scale medical billing networks aggregate claim volumes and create resulting economies of scale to enable analytical discovery of under-payments.

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Selecting Medical Billing Services Using Smart Reference Checks

2008-10-04T02:37:00.000-07:00

The path from deciding to outsource medical billing to selecting your medical billing company requires a well planned selection strategy. A cornerstone of this strategy is well thought out and executed reference checks.

Reference checking is certainly not the only element that must be properly executed in your medical billing company selection. It is, however, one of the more critical and it has several sub-steps that must be properly considered.

Although today's write-up is geared towards creating an effective interview guide, this is far from the only ingredient of a successful medical billing services company selection. Other critical ingredients include outlining the minimum requirements of an acceptable reference (e.g., does it need to be in your state, what specialties are acceptable, etc), deciding if you want to speak with a former client, outlining the roles of the people with whom your wish to speak (e.g., lead partner, practice administrator, day-to-day billing contact, etc), creating the interview guide, call the references, and making the final go/no-go decision.

Your interview guide will allow you and not the references to determine what topics are addressed in the reference calls. If you do not drive the calls, you may well end the process still unsure about your final decision. To kick-off the interview guide creation think about the worst things and the best things that could happen as a result of medical billing outsourcing. Keeping your mind on these best and worst cases develop questions that will help you determine where between these two extremes your potential medical billing company operates.

It is critical to ensure that your questions are specific enough that you can come away with real facts from the reference calls. You do not want to ask broad questions like "Are you happy with this company's performance?" Such questions are open to much interpretation and are driven by the individual's previous experiences.

Given this issue, your next task is to make the question more geared towards gathering objective facts. For instance, you might change the question above to say, ?How many hours per week did you spend before outsourcing on reviewing billing performance reports, reviewing EOBs, and reconciling your bank deposits with your billing system reports? How many hours per week do you spend on this now??

Once you complete the list of questions and make them specific enough to gather objective data type them out in a logical manner and leave the space required to jot down the answer right on the interview guide. Before the first call sit down and look at the questions one final time. Make sure that the answers to these questions will give you the comfort you need to make a final decision. Start making the reference calls once you are confident your interview guide is ready.

It is your job to make sure you get specific answers to all of all your questions. Think of yourself as a reporter and do not let the call end until you have all of your questions specifically answered. You will need to practice good time management to make sure this happens in the period the person is allowing for the reference call. If you do not get all of your questions answered, then ask to schedule a second call.

You may find that one of your references brings up a point you had not considered. If they do, add the relevant question to the end of your interview guide and call back any individuals with whom you have already spoken to get this additional information.

With your well planned and structured reference checks complete you will be in a position to make an informed medical billing service decision.

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Texas Medical Billing Services

2008-10-04T02:35:00.000-07:00

Medical billing is a rapidly expanding field in the healthcare sector, and the demand for skilled medical billing specialists is on the rise. There are many companies now offering medical billing services in Texas in an effective and prompt manner. These companies assist with the tedious tasks of billing and follow-up functions, thus allowing you to concentrate more on your core business.

The process of medical billing involves preparing, submitting as well as following up on insurance claims. The procedures involved in medical billing applications and insurance claims are highly complex. Since most medical office personnel do not have much time to process claims with the insurance companies, they outsource their medical billing assignments to other locations.

Most of the medical billing companies in Texas provide medical billing services to all types of practices and organizations, including physicians’ groups, clinics, hospitals, large healthcare facilities and insurance companies. The companies appoint well trained and highly qualified billing specialists to carry out all the medical billing procedures in an efficient way. They also take care of your insurance details and medical coding processes as part of their services.

Mentioned below are some of the medical billing services provided by medical billing companies:

o Demographic and insurance information
o Insurance verification procedures
o Authorization
o Cash posting
o Charge entry
o Accounts receivable follow up and collections
o Insurance collection

You can enjoy a number of benefits by using the services of a well established medical billing company:

o Electronic processing
o HIPAA compliance
o Complete medical billing management
o Improve your cash flow and collections
o Reduce billing costs
o Reduce payer denials
o Eliminate billing headaches

Before relying on a medical billing firm in Texas, it is better to perform considerable research in terms of rates, services, and other associated factors. As many of the medical billing companies offer free trial version for service quality evaluation, it is an excellent idea to take advantage of those free trial packages.

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Outsource Medical Billing - Deciding If It Is Right For You

2008-10-04T02:34:00.000-07:00

Over the next several articles I plan to discuss a framework for thinking through whether outsourced medical billing is the right decision for you. The decision is a critical one, so it is imperative that it be based in facts and not in urban legends and myths. Although I am focusing on medical insurance billing services, the basic concepts apply to any outsourcing decision. Today I will outline the main benefits to consider when making the decision about medical insurance billing outsourcing and the most typical concerns and risks associated with the decision to outsource medical billing. Over the following days I will discuss each element in more detail.
The fundamental principal behind outsourcing is the focus on core competencies. The idea is that you and your practice are geared towards treating patients, not fighting insurance companies and pursuing personal balances. On the other hand, medical insurance billing services focus on billing and should have the scale, focus and employees to do a better job than most medical practices or medical facilities. The primary benefits that a medical practice should see from the right medical billing service are:

1. They have more scale to purchase and deploy the technologies required to properly submit claims, battle with insurance companies and collect personal balances.
2. They are able to attract a higher caliber of billing specialists and retain these individuals.
3. They have a deeper bench of employees and this provides a layer of protection for your practice by decoupling you from the risk associated with losing a key (if not the key) billing employee.
4. They are better positioned to properly utilize the technology they have.
5. They have a broader scope than any single medical practice or facility. This allows them to see patterns across practices, specialties, states and payers that can add money to your medical practice's bottom line.

The typical concerns that physicians and practice managers have when deciding whether they want to outsource medical billing are:

1. Will billing services fight as hard for me with insurance companies as my own employees?
2. Can outsourced billing companies handle the unique elements of my practice?
3. Will I lose control and visibility into how my accounts are being worked?
4. Will an outsourced billing company alienate my patients through heavy handed collection practices?
5. Will medical insurance billing services only go after the low hanging fruit, and leave the more difficult money uncollected?

Over the upcoming articles I will go into more depth on each of the benefits and concerns outlined above. I will go ahead and give you a peek at the final chapter. The trick is finding the right insurance billing company. Once you have a company with a proven track record you will be able to see substantial improvements in your practice's revenues have a more attractive bottom line and have more time and energy for your patients, growing your practice and - heaven forbid - a life outside the office.

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Medical Claims Processing - Billing Software, Home Business

2008-09-30T05:28:00.000-07:00

Health care facilities around the country see numerous patients every day. An important part of their operation is the health care providers that they choose to employ. Some hire better doctors, nurses, and technicians. Therefore, they are frequented by more patients. Many people do not realize that an important part of a health care facility's operation is it's medical claims processing abilities.

To ensure timely payments by insurance companies, medical claims must be processed in a timely manner and submitted to the appropriate insurance companies for consideration.

Some facilities employ medical billers and coders. Other facilities employ individuals who handle both aspects of the claim process simultaneously. A medical biller and coder will generally earn more than a medical biller or coder does. That is because he or she is performing double duties and eliminating the need for the health care facility to hire two different people.

Medical coders provide the diagnostic codes and procedure codes that apply to the patient's visit. If the codes do not match, a claim may be denied. The insurance company will more than likely say that the treatment was not medically necessary. That is why it is so important for a medical coder to be precise.

A medical biller obtains the correct codes from the medical coder. He or she uses the codes to fill out a claim form. The claim is submitted to the insurance company, generally in the form of an electronic claim. It is important that the medical biller comply with the requirements of each insurance company. Many have specific guidelines that must be followed. The claim could be delayed or denied, if the claim form is not filled out properly and according to the insurance company's regulations.

Medical billing software is often used in medical claims processing. The software saves time and eliminates common mistakes. Medical billing software allows medical coders to look up diagnostic codes and procedure codes via the software rather than in a manual. The software also checks databases to ensure that the diagnostic codes and procedure codes match up, eliminating the denial of claims based on discrepancies.

Medical claims processing is a job that can be done from home. Many people have started their own home businesses in medical claims processing. It is a great way for stay at home mothers to earn an extra income and remain at home with their children. Source: Accrmedicalbillingtraining dot

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Investigating Health Care Fraud

2008-09-30T05:27:00.001-07:00

Investigations relating to health care fraud activity are reportedly at an all time high, and will continue to flourish with the advent of new working groups, task forces and other fraud-fighting activity that existence depends on the development and investigation of health care fraud cases. Simply put, the investigation of health care fraud consists of proving that the provider engaged in an intentional deception or misrepresentation (of material fact) that resulted, or could have resulted, in an unauthorized payment. Some key facts related to health care fraud investigations:

Complaint Driven: Private, local, state and/or federal agencies are actively involved in the identification and investigation of health care fraud and abuse, which, for the most part, are initiated by complaints received from patients, insurers and others on a health care provider or entity.

Complaint Evaluation: The investigative process starts by the investigator evaluating the information in the complaint to determine if it represents actual misconduct, and then to identify what specific laws, rules, and/or regulations may have been violated. Critical areas to be addressed may include:

oDOCUMENTATION-was the services documented as medically necessary, and completely and accurately documented in the patient's health care record?

oREGULATORY LAWS & RULES-were the services rendered consistent with the administrative law for the State, including scope of practice, training, supervision and delegation? Additionally, were the services, or the manner in which they were rendered, in violation of prohibited conduct?

oTHIRD PARTY PAYER RULES-were the services rendered consistent with the rules set by the involved third party payer, including those relevant to limitation of services rendered, and those limiting the service provider?

oCODING-were the proper ICD-9 and CPT-4 codes used to identify the condition (s) being treated and the services rendered when seeking reimbursement?

Investigative Plan: The investigator will identify potential witnesses to interview, other needed information, such as patient and insurance claim files that may possess evidence of the misconduct. The successful investigation will result in the collection identify and collect all relevant evidence that would indicate the laws, rules and/or regulations governing health care have been violated, and to identify storytellers who will be able to testify on matters relevant to the identified misconduct. The patient file is the crime scene when investigating health care fraud & abuse.

MAJOR TRENDS IN HEALTH CARE FRAUD

Problem (Multidiscipline Practices): Some multidiscipline practices of medical doctors, chiropractors, and other providers working together in one practice entity are formed by some chiropractors as a means to circumvent managed care and other third party payer limitations on reimbursement of chiropractic services. At times, when necessary, multiple corporations are created to allow the chiropractor to employ medical doctors and to maintain control over all revenues of the multidiscipline practice. The services rendered by the chiropractor in cases where there is little or no chiropractic coverage are billed to the third party payer under the license and name of the medical doctor, purportedly following "Incident-to" billing principles after the medical doctor evaluated the patient and referred them for care with the chiropractor. Is the chiropractor billing for their services rendered under the license of a medical doctor?

Problem (Mobile Labs): Some external companies, or mobile labs, market their electro-diagnostic testing services extensively to health care providers as a means to increase patient retention and increase revenues. The mobile lab provides on-site electro-diagnostic testing on the provider's patients with their equipment and by their technician. The provider pays the lab a rental fee for the equipment and technician, and agrees to provide a minimum number of patients for testing during one day. The lab bills the third party payer for only the reading of the tests, or the professional component, and the provider bills for administering the tests, or the technical component, because they rented the equipment/technician and supervised its administration. Further, the lab will provide the provider with the CPT codes and amounts that should be reported and billed for the technical portion of the test. The provider, claiming to have supervised the administration of the diagnostic test, may not have the requisite training and skill on the test. Often, the total amount billed (both professional and technical) for the tests will far exceed the RVU (Relative Value Unit) set for these tests. The client provider usually will have no actual knowledge on what the labs will bill to the third party payer. What service did the provider perform to bill for the technical portion?

Problem (Rehab): Some providers implement (active) rehabilitation care into their health care practices by having their unlicensed staff administer therapeutic procedures to patients that are defined as one-on-one with the patient by a licensed provider, and are reported in 15-minute increments. Documentation of medical necessity of therapeutic procedures may not be properly established in the patient's clinical record as part of a treatment plan. Documentation of procedures in file, even when directly provided by licensed provider, may not be properly documented to account for the time component of the service, i.e., Start & End time, which includes pre-intra-post service time. Is the provider's unlicensed staff rendering the rehab services to the patients of the practice? What does the patient's health care record show? Do they support the need and accuracy of the billings?

Problem (Billing): Various insurance companies have limitations on what health care conditions and services they will reimburse providers for. Some providers provide their patients with health care services that are not reimbursable by the involved managed care organization or third party payer, but report and bill for these services via use of ICD-9 and CPT-4 codes that are reimbursable. Some providers provide their patients with various health care services based solely on the premise that the involved managed care organization or third party payer will reimburse for those services.

Problem (Solicitation): A number of providers market "free" services, such as consults, exams and x-rays to attract new patients that may not be established as medically necessary, or will later be billed to a third party payer. A number of providers' market "free" services, such as therapeutic massage, as a means to attract new patients to the health care practice, which later may become a part of the patient's billed care. A number of providers inform marketed individuals when converting them to patients that they will not be responsible for what the insurance company does not pay. For the health care provider what is a consult? Isn't it a history? Was the promised free service, or a portion of it, later billed? Is it possible to give away a therapeutic massage without first examining the patient to establish need?

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Daniel_J_Osborne

Therapeutic Procedures - Explode Your Practice

2008-09-30T05:27:00.000-07:00

One of the more potentially volatile risk areas for health care practitioners today is the delegation of therapeutic procedures to unlicensed assistants, and billing for those procedures as though the practitioner personally provided the procedures. This practice activity is particularly prevalent and ever-growing in chiropractic!

Some practice consultants - with promises of increased income, coach chiropractors to integrate low-tech rehab and protocols into their practices. Chiropractors are advised that it is legally permissible for unlicensed assistants (e.g., chiropractic assistants) to perform the therapeutic procedures on patients that are billed (per "incident-to") as if personally performed by the chiropractor, who at the same time, is providing services to other patients who are billed for the chiropractor's services during the same time frames as the therapeutic procedures.

Does the regulatory board allow for delegation of therapeutic procedures to unlicensed staff?
Individual state health care regulatory boards establish their own state's administrative practice standards for licensees for the purpose of protecting the public from conduct that does not conform to their state's accepted standards of conduct. Such administrative regulations almost always include standards relating to the delegation of services to persons other than the licensed provider. In many states, chiropractic boards do not allow their licensees to delegate therapeutic procedures to unlicensed staff, and, as such it would be inappropriate in any and all circumstances for the licensees to engage in this conduct!

However, some boards opine that licensees (e.g., chiropractors) can delegate therapeutic procedures to qualified and properly trained unlicensed staff (e.g., chiropractic assistants) acting under a licensee's supervision consistent with the health and welfare of a patient so as to encourage the more effective use of the skills of licensees. It would appear prudent for chiropractors to gain clarification from respective regulatory agencies regarding the following:

What are the standards that must be met by chiropractors to ensure their unlicensed staff are "qualified and properly trained"?

What level of supervision (general, direct or personnel) is required of the chiropractor relative to unlicensed staff directing therapeutic procedures?

What is meant by "consistent with the health and welfare of a patient so as to encourage the more effective use of the skills of licensees"?

How should the therapeutic procedures (supervised) by unlicensed staff be documented in the patient's clinical record?

How should the therapeutic procedures be reported to payers - especially those following Medicare standards, to avoid potential allegations of misconduct?

Is reporting therapeutic procedure codes for supervised procedures consistent with CPT?

Therapeutic procedure codes (97110-97546) identify the application of clinical skills and/or services that attempt to improve function that requires the physician or therapist to have direct (one-on-one) contact with the patient. These procedure codes do not indicate "supervised" services and to report them to payers in such a manner could result in allegations of misconduct. Consequently, it is imperative for the practitioner (e.g., chiropractor) to obtain prior approval for this billing practice from ALL involved payers notwithstanding the fact that this type of practice activity has previously been found to be consistent with state regulatory standards on delegation. The purpose of seeking the payer's approval is not to enable the payer to make determinations on what practices are legal and what practices are not; rather, it is to protect the individual provider from a payer's unilateral referral of the provider billing practices to law enforcement authorities who may have a differing interpretation of the acceptable standards of delegation that the provider's state regulatory board.

Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) is a listing of (a) descriptive terms and (b) identifying codes. The foregoing is used to report medical services and procedures, as well as to provide a uniform language that accurately describes medical, surgical, and diagnostic services. The use of CPT provides an effective means of reliable nationwide communication among providers, patients, and payers.

The listing of a service or procedure and its code number in a specific section is not restricted to any specific specialty group. Any procedure or service in any section may be used to designate services rendered by any qualified physician or other qualified health care professional. CPT indicates that the terms -"Physician or Therapist" and "Provider" as identified in CPT are interchangeable to refer to someone licensed to perform health care services.

Select the name of the procedure or service that accurately identifies the service performed that is adequately documented in the medical record. Do not select a CPT code that merely approximates the service provided, and that if no such procedure or service exists then report the service using the appropriate unlisted procedure or service.

Suggestions concerning introduction of new procedures, or the coding, deleting, or revising of procedures contained in CPT should be made by contacting the CPT Editorial Research & Development.

The Final Rule for transactions and code sets as part of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) identifies CPT codes and modifiers as the national standard for health care plans and providers to electronically transmit: Physician services; physical and occupational therapy services; radiological procedures; clinical laboratory tests; other medical diagnostic procedures; hearing and vision services; and transportation services including ambulance.

Does the involved payer reimburse for supervised therapeutic procedures?

Payers often set their own standards for reimbursement of health care services and determine what will be paid, who will be paid, and how much will be paid. Standards may vary from payer to payer, and may differ from those standards established by the provider's own regulatory licensing board. Accordingly, it is the responsibility of all practitioners (e.g., chiropractors) to be familiar with both the payer's billing/coding and their state board's standards and seek to abide by those standards that impose the stricter requirements when seeking reimbursement! By adopting a policy of compliance with the stricter standard the provider will always ensure that he/she is protected from claims of improper billing practices.

Medicare, and other payers following Medicare standards, indicates that therapeutic procedures supervised by (unqualified) unlicensed staff are not reimbursable! Payers with such standards do not pay for provider services, at provider rates, when such services are administered by non-providers. Further, these payers do not maintain that practitioners can not delegate therapeutic procedures to unlicensed assistants but are asserting that such services are not covered and, therefore, they are not reimbursable - BILL THE PATIENT! Medicare Benefits Policy Manual, Chapter 15, Sections 220 and 230 specifies:

Therapeutic procedures are medically necessary only when they require the professional skills of a qualified practitioner, are designed to address specific needs of the patient, and are part of an active treatment plan intended to achieve a specific goal.

Medicare pays only for skilled, medically necessary services delivered by qualified individuals, including therapists or appropriately supervised therapy assistants. Supervising patients who are exercising independently is not a skilled service.

Providers can not bill and seek payment for one-on-one codes (e.g., therapeutic procedures) administered at the same time as other procedures were rendered to the patient, or to other patients.

A physician may not delegate physical therapy services (e.g., therapeutic procedures) to unlicensed persons and report them as "incident-to" services unless that person has the education and clinical experience equivalent to a physical therapist.

Incident-to a physician's professional services are defined (Benefits Policy Manual, Chapter 15, Section 60) as services or supplies furnished by auxiliary personnel as an integral, although incidental, part of the physician's personal professional services in the course of diagnosis or treatment of an injury or illness that are billed to Part B by the physician as if they personally provided them.

Some within chiropractic have differing opinions as to the appropriateness of the delegation and billing of therapeutic procedures. Illustrative of this is the following written opinion of a chiropractor to whom a colleague was referred subsequent to requesting assistance from a State Chiropractic Association regarding the issue discussed herein:

The auditor is confused, to say the least. As a doctor, you can delegate to whomever you wish to perform those [therapeutic procedure] services. You simply must be in the building at the time services are rendered to supervise [sic]. You do not have to perform the treatment yourself, nor do you have to stand over them and watch. This auditor may be confused with what some insurance companies are pushing for and have proposed, i.e., they require the doctor to do it. However, as far as I know, no insurance company has any policy in place to prohibit you from delegating to staff. As far as statute goes in Xx, if an insurance company did write that into their policy, we would have to go to the Xx with complaint. The P.T.'s would love to have those rules in place as well. Short answer is the auditor is wrong. Maybe some other state he/she is familiar with has that as a rule. Not here though.

The bottom-line is that due-care and good judgment must be exercised by chiropractors in this risk area, as missteps could result in administrative, civil and/or criminal exposure. A few years ago chiropractors, similarly instructed on use of "incident-to" to increase income, billed for their rendered services under the license of an associated medical doctor in MD/DC practices so as to avoid limited chiropractic (insurance) coverage. Several of these doctors, including a highly prominent chiropractic consultant who advised them on the use of "incident to" billing, are now serving federal prison sentences. Many chiropractors have learned the hard way that "incident-to" does not allow for the misrepresentation of the actual service provider to facilitate reimbursement for services that would otherwise be non-covered.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Daniel_J_Osborne

Hatch is pushing medication bill

2008-09-28T05:53:00.001-07:00

WASHINGTON -- Dietary supplement and over-the-counter medications would have a new mandatory reporting system for any illnesses, death or other problems associated with their products, based on a bill introduced Wednesday by Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill.

The new bill builds on the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act that Hatch sponsored and Congress supported in 1994. Right now, the Food and Drug Administration regulates these two types of products, but there is only a voluntary system for companies to report any problems.

Under the bill, manufacturers, packers or distributors of over- the-counter drugs or dietary supplements would need to file a report to the FDA within 15 days of any reported incident of an adverse health effect specified in the bill such as death, inpatient hospitalization, birth defects and several others. They would also have to keep records for six years of any reported health problem, even if it is not under a "serious" one listed in the legislation.

"This is an important public health initiative, which at the same time safeguards access to dietary supplements and over-the-counter drugs," Hatch said.

The Utah Natural Products Association, National Nutritional Foods Association, the Center for Science in the Public Interest and the Council for Responsible Nutrition all support the bill.

Durbin said the "strange bedfellows" coming together to support the legislation -- he and Hatch do not always see eye to eye -- demonstrates the quality of the bill.

"Those who are selling dangerous products will have to face the music," Durbin said.

Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, also a co-sponsor of the bill, said that filing a report is not evidence of anything and does not automatically mean a product is unsafe but it could lead the government to discover where there might be a problem. Harkin said if this was in place problems associated with ephedra would not have happened.

"This is another example of how good legislation can come out of a serious situation," Harkin said.

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee will take up the bill next week, and Hatch hopes it will be passed this year. There is no identical bill in the House yet.

Hatch did not know an exact cost of the reporting procedures and other protocol laid out in the bill but estimates say about $2 million for over-the-counter-drugs and $2 million for supplements.

Medical practice bill not voted on

2008-09-28T05:53:00.000-07:00

A bill excluding Kansas physicians and other health professionals from the state's consumer protection law may become a legislative fatality.

The Senate Judiciary Committee passed Thursday on an opportunity to vote on a House bill drafted after the Kansas Supreme Court ruled deceptive acts and practices of medical professionals fell under the Kansas Consumer Protection Act.

Physicians, nurses, veterinarians, anesthesiologists, pharmacists and radiologists had reacted to the Supreme Court's decision by insisting the Legislature approve a statute nullifying it .

Opposition for the House bill had surfaced from the Kansas Trial Lawyers Association, Attorney General Paul Morrison and AARP of Kansas.

"We ran out of time," said Sen. John Vratil, R-Leawood, and chairman of the Judiciary Committee.

His committee met Thursday for the final time in the 2007 session, but the health industry exemption could be amended to other legislation before adjournment in April.

Another option, Vratil said, would be to refer the issue to an interim legislative committee. That panel's report would be due before the start of the 2008 session in January.

Jerry Slaughter, executive director of the Kansas Medical Society, said legislators need to declare the exemption clearly in state law.

Otherwise, he said, plaintiffs will file consumer protection claims in addition to medical malpractice lawsuits.

"It will raise the cost of defense and interject a new element into an already difficult situation," he said.

The Supreme Court ruling stems from the case of a Parker woman who sued an orthopedic surgeon in 1999. Two surgeries on Tracy Williamson by Dr. Jacob Amrani, formerly of Wichita, were supposed to relieve her back pain. Amrani told her the procedure was highly likely to succeed when it actually hadn't worked in a majority of cases in which he had performed the procedure. Her medical condition deteriorated after the operations.

The Supreme Court found Williamson could bring a claim under the Kansas Consumer Protection Act related to Amrani's conduct in providing treatment.

Callie Hartle, spokeswoman for the Kansas Trial Lawyers Association, said the House bill was flawed because it "would create the broadest exemption to a consumer protection act of any state in the nation with regard to the health care industry."

Passage of the bill will trigger a landslide of pleas from other professions or industries for an exemption, she said.

"We'll have a consumer protection act that is Swiss cheese," she said.

MPMsoft chosen by Empower as patient scheduling and medical billing software

2008-09-28T05:52:00.000-07:00

Empower Technologies Inc, a provider of speciality specific electronic medical record software systems, has chosen MPMsoft, a provider of electronic billing software solutions for the healthcare industry, as its front-office patient scheduling and back-office electronic medical billing software solution.

Empower's SonoSoft is an EMR (electronic medical record), designed for phlebology and venous surgery. SonoSoft's Vein Specialist module produces reports of every procedure, including a complete initial workup, endovenous ablation procedures (laser or radiofrequency) and follow-up visits for sclerotherapy, and can automatically generate a CEAP classification.

The company said it believes the partnership with MPMsoft will give it a combined product that meets the specialised needs of vein surgery practices, providing a seamless operation between the two programs.

No financial details were disclosed.

Medical Billing and the Discrepancy Paradox of the Rising Healthcare Costs

2008-09-26T02:19:00.001-07:00

Travel With Holiday Medical Insurance And Roam Free

2008-09-26T02:19:00.000-07:00

While you are traveling many of the health insurance companies will offer you a limited coverage mainly if you have abroad trip. You may require a holiday medical insurance if your health insurance is covering from specific providers only care of your immediate area. Such policies may cover hospital stays, medical care, and also to a perfect medical facility or a transportation home.

How Do I know If I Need Holiday Medical Insurance?

Several reasons are there to have a holiday medical insurance very important for you. While traveling abroad you will definitely require to have an insurance for yourself against the potential health problems specially if you belong from a country, which gives managed health care and that too within the country only. In the same way if you are having the private health insurance, which only has coverage to specific regional facilities then the holiday medical insurance can be a must for you to save yourself from the grave medical problems.

An extra insurance may help you to have better care with a guarantee to be able to have immediate care if you already have a medical condition like diabetes or asthma that may likely act up while you are traveling.

The holiday medical insurance can be a very good investment if you are planning to travel such an area in the world that normally has overall poor medical care. For the regional medical care even if you manage to get the coverage but still your health insurance company might not cover the transportation or the evacuation to the medical facility will no way near you.

Where Can I Purchase Holiday Medical Insurance?

You can buy holiday medical insurance from various independent insurance agents as well as companies. Buying the insurance from a tour company or a travel agent is not a good idea always because some where else you may often get better coverage and rates. To find a good rate shop around and surely read every detail given on your policy so that everything that you will need is covered by your policy. The small print often will include the crucial exceptions as well as exclusions.

What Should I Look For In a Holiday Medical Insurance Policy?

The policy that you are purchasing must cover all your existing health conditions, transportation to and from the medical facilities and also the major medical expenditures. Make sure that your policy covers the transportation while you are traveling abroad mainly to an impoverished area.

Medical Billing Audit - Why Should Providers Audit Payers?

2008-09-26T02:18:00.000-07:00

Home Business Medical Plans - Find Affordable Small Business Health Insurance

2008-09-24T22:37:00.000-07:00

The only small and home business owners who are not worried about health insurance, usually have some other form of coverage. Some are covered through a spouse's group health plan, and some already have a retirement plan from earlier employment or military service. However many small business owners have made their career out of what they do now, and so they must rely on themselves to provide a medical plan for themselves, and their family.

If you do not have employees, you need to look at individual coverage. If you have a couple of employees then you have a choice to make. A small business group plan is a great benefit, and it tends to attract and retain qualify people. However, premiums for small groups are expensive and risky. Since their is only a small pool of people to spread the risk, and since federal law mandates that insurance companies have to accept everybody, expect to pay for a policy!

Now you will be able to deduct some of this expense from your business taxes. You can also expect your employees to share some of the cost. Also, remember that employees do like group health insurance as a workplace benefit. So consider this option, but keep in mind, that costs and extra paperwork can be daunting.

On the other hand, individual health insurers get to underwrite everybody they accept. Younger and/or healthier people will get a cheaper rate. Older people, or especially those with health conditions, will either get charged more, or they may not be able to get a plan to accept them at all! Of course, every state has some sort of high risk plan for people who cannot obtain their own plan, but expect to pay for this.

Employees must pay for the premium themselves, but some companies will let you pay a list bill. You withdraw the amount from each worker's paycheck. Because you will not have the burden of carrying the plan yourself, maybe you can afford to pay your employees a bit more to make up for it. The advantage for the employees is that their policy is portable, and so they can take it with them even if they leave your company. Another advantage for healthy employees, is that the premium should be lower. However, less healthy employees, may have a hard time, and you should probably consult with an experienced agent for options.

Now, if you do not have any employees at all, or if you only employ your spouse, then you must get a family plan. If premiums seem to high, I suggest looking at very high deductible major medical with Health Savings Accounts (HSA). You can offset the deductible with the money in the HSA, and those contributions have tax advantages. Plus, if you retire and join Medicare with any money left in your account, you can add it to your retirement savings without a penalty!

I cannot tell you how to find cheap medical coverage, but I can tell you how to protect yourself from the risk of huge bills or having trouble finding the right care while saving some money on your monthly bill.

Tips for Choosing a Group Medical and Dental Insurance Broker in Oklahoma

2008-09-24T22:36:00.000-07:00

You may have worked with an employee benefits broker when setting up and reviewing your company's employee benefits program. This is the person that markets plans, usually from a number of different insurance companies, and assists the employer in selecting an insurer and plan design that best suits the company's needs.

But what if you're not happy with your broker or your plan? How do you go about finding a new one, or making sure your company's group insurance is in the best hands? Here are a few things to consider when you're choosing a group health and dental insurance broker.

Is the broker focused on the employee benefits marketplace?

If the broker is an insurance agent that discusses your benefits plan, and then wants to talk about your personal life insurance or property and casualty insurance, this might be a bad sign. There are thousands of different kinds of insurance out there, each with its own set of laws and policies. You don't want a jack-of-all-trades here. You want a specialist.

A broker that focuses on employee benefits will be more likely to be familiar with the increasingly complex benefits market. He should also be able to not only help you put a new plan in place, but be there after the initial sale is made to assist in the everyday servicing of the benefits plan.

Can you get referrals?

Don't be shy about asking the broker for names and phone numbers for at least 15 of his current, local business clients that his firm has served for at least five years. Referrals are absolutely your best way to distinguish between a slick talker and the broker that offers good, long-term value to his clients.

When you call these referrals, ask them questions such as "What happens when you have a claims or billing problem? Does your broker's office work with your employees on these issues, or do they have to call the insurance company? How satisfied have you been with the long-term service that your broker's office gives you?"

What kind of customer service does the broker offer?

Customer service really is the most vital factor. As the client, you do not pay directly for the broker's services. All brokers are paid an ongoing commission by the insurance company. So, it really costs you no more to work with a good, service-oriented broker than one that sells you a plan and disappears.

Are you familiar with the insurance companies being marketed?

The group medical insurance industry has greatly consolidated over the last decade or so. A market that once offered endless choices for health insurance has been reduced to less than 10 credible choices in most parts of the country. Most good brokers will show you the same array of leading insurance plans, simply because the choice is limited.

Beware of a broker that tries to market an off-brand plan, one that you are not familiar with, or that has low financial ratings. Often these kinds of programs offer low initial premiums to the buyer and high commissions to the broker, but do not perform well over time.

Because most good brokers will offer the same plan choices, the buying decision comes down to this: Which broker demonstrates the best service capability to your company? Which broker offers a long list of referrals of current, long-term clients without being asked for it?

Most employees and job seekers consider a company's benefit package nearly as important as salary when deciding whether to stay at a job or which job offer to accept. A good benefits broker should be like a human resources director for your company: helping you hire and retain the caliber of employees that makes your business successful.

How to Choose a Group Medical Insurance Plan - The Forgotten Factor

2008-09-24T22:35:00.000-07:00

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Yupptv.comYou've met with three or four insurance brokers, and all have given you spreadsheets presenting proposals from a number of insurance carriers vying for your company's business. Most of these spreadsheets, from all the brokers you met with, show basically the same selection of programs.

You go through each plan to understand it as best you can. You even run it by some other employees to get their input. Finally, you make a decision, call the broker to give him the good news, and away you go. The broker? Well, since all the brokers showed basically the same plans, you call the broker that also sold you the property and casualty insurance to your firm.

What have you forgotten?

It's a problem.

Your new group medical insurance plan has been in force for some time now. Employees come to you at least several times a week with claims problems, benefit questions and complaints.

Your job is NOT to be an insurance expert, so you call the broker that sold you the plan, looking for help. When he calls you back a couple of days after you left him a voice mail, he says he will check into your various questions and get back with you.

The broker calls you back a week later, with some garbled answers that really don't address the issues. You end up having your assistant call the insurance company's toll-free number, where she gets passed around to three different extensions, still not getting answers.

The forgotten factor

Go back to the beginning. You spent a lot of time trying to choose the right group insurance plan. But you really didn't put much consideration into which broker to write the program with. Broker selection was the forgotten factor.

Choosing a good broker is at least as important as which plan of insurance you select.

What should an employee benefits broker provide to you?

The broker will talk to your employees.

Your employees should be able to call your broker's office with claims problems and benefit questions, and talk to someone who is knowledgeable and will not leave them hanging. Your broker's office should be a dependable resource to you and your employees.

The broker will talk to the insurance company.

Your broker should do most or all of the communicating with the insurance company for all claims and billing issues. Again, you and your employees are NOT insurance experts. Your broker's office should be.

The broker will become a trusted advisor.

A good broker will become an extension of the human resources efforts of your company. His office will, by keeping your benefits program efficient and well-serviced, help you hire and keep the best employees. Even more than your accountant and attorney, he and his support staff will become trusted advisors.

How can you choose a good broker?

Make sure that your broker is a specialist in employee benefits. This will not be the broker that handles your property insurance or personal financial planning.

Ask for a list of at least 15 of his local business clients that have used his firm for at least five years, and call these referrals asking what type of job the broker's office has done for them. If the broker balks at this, or only can give you a few referrals, move on.

Make sure the broker has a knowledgeable and experienced staff. The broker is only one person, and he will often be out of the office. You should ask to talk to the person in the broker's office who will be handling the day-to-day servicing of your plan. Talk to that person on the telephone and make sure he or she seems competent and will be comfortable to work with.

The broker is often the forgotten factor. And don't you forget it.

Rehab Billing Service Outsourcing - Zero-Sum Argument and Cost-Benefit Analysis

2008-09-22T23:13:00.001-07:00

Over 17 percent of accounts receivable for an average physical therapy practice are beyond 120 days since the date of service. Although this may not seem to be a problem, as it would be expected that the money will come eventually, in fact an unpaid claim that is 180 days overdue has less than 1% chance of ever being paid. In other words, the average rehab practice delivers almost one fifth of its services for free. Would billing outsourcing be an appropriate solution for this problem?

Extra Time and Reduced Cost Benefits

Traditionally, advocates of outsourced physical therapy billing bring up extra time and cost gains as two main arguments in their favor. The rehab practice owner uses the extra time for patient care, family, or practice development. Cost gains are typically measured in terms of salaries and benefits of reduced billing personnel. However, the first argument (extra time) is often irrelevant to therapists satisfied with their schedules and practice sizes, and the second argument too often turns into a wash in light of commission-based fees typically charged by the billing services.

Zero-Sum Argument Against Outsourcing

Opponents of outsourced rehab billing often use the deficient denial follow up argument, which is a variation of a "zero-sum argument." It is based on an assumption that physical therapy billing service has a limited capacity for follow up and physical therapists receive selective follow up based on arbitrary criteria, such as unpaid balance. A win in terms of follow up effort for one physical therapist is a loss for another. The rehab billing service provider may skip follow up entirely, collecting the fee only on claims that were paid without any manual intervention and causing the payments to each physical therapist to shrink because of forfeited erroneous or delayed claims. But the rehab practice owner with in-house billing operation has all of its follow up capacity focused on a single practice and so, the argument goes, the in-house billing service must deliver better results than the outsourced service.

Measuring physical therapy billing quality, i.e., the percent of accounts receivable beyond one hundred and twenty days, exposes the fallacy of this argument. Note that ten percent improvement in overall billing quality means ten times more to the bottom line than one percent reduction in billing costs. Therefore, an outsourced physical therapy billing service provider charging a percentage of total collections has a larger incentive to improve overall payment performance and maintain better client loyalty than to sell a deficient service to another physical therapist.

In conclusion, rehab practice owners must establish objective performance and compliance criteria and use them systematically and within individual practice context when deciding about billing service outsourcing. Note that billing quality is a key component of the billing cost computation and the decision to outsource the billing service is based on a multi-fold improvement in billing quality. The rule of thumb is that the new combined percentage of fees and uncollected revenue outperforms in-house costs and A/R, and such performance improvement can be verified independently and continuously.

How The Billing for Your Medical Services Works

2008-09-22T23:13:00.000-07:00

If you've been to a doctor, you know how crazy things can get with the billing even if you have insurance. In this article, we seek to explain how this maze of red tape works.

Simply put, medical billing involves a series of communications between a doctor's office and a medical insurer. What is medical billing used for? As you sit atop that cold steel table awaiting your prognosis, your doctor's office is engaging in a dialogue with your current insurance company. The topic of conversation? You, of course. As your doctor checks for all your vital signs, various medical codes are placed next to your personal medical information contained within your file.

Once your doctor leaves the examination room, your file then goes into the hands of a medical secretary, and it is sent electronically to your insurance provider using the codes mentioned above. Once your insurer has your medical information, they then begin to check your policy in order to make sure that your claim is valid. If you are covered insurance wise, your insurer will then pay the claim. If not, your medical request will be rejected.

As a matter of fact, medical claims are rejected nearly 50% of the time. In most cases, a lack of adequate communication between your doctor's staff and the insurance company is to blame. Most of the time, a medical provider will have to contact an insurance company more than once in order to make a claim. Codes can become crossed, and medical diagnoses may be overly complicated causing a bit of a problem. What is medical billing used for when it comes to government medical programs?

Whether you have a private or governmental insurance provider, the billing remains the same. No matter what sort of coverage you currently have, there must be some form of consultation between an insurance provider and a medical facility. It is interesting to note just how many claims are filed every day within the United States (millions), and how many people actually know what a medical claim consists of (hundreds).

Now that you are able to answer the original question (what is medical billing?), you have a better understanding of how insurance companies work. The next time that you visit your doctor's office, think about all the different types of interactions that are occurring at that very moment. It may not be the most intriguing subject, but it does effect nearly every person that's ever made a doctor's appointment.

If You Consider That Medical Insurance is Too Expensive, Then Think Again

2008-09-22T23:12:00.000-07:00

An amazing twenty percent of adult Americans say that they are not able to afford satisfactory health care according to the latest figures released by the CDC (Centers for Disease Control). So, are you amongst the more than 40 million individuals who cannot sleep soundly for fear of not being able to meet the cost of medical treatment in the event of accident or illness? More importantly, do you have to be among the 40 million?

The CDC report which was published in 2007 and explored health across the United States looked in some detail at several aspects of health care and found that:

1. Ten percent of people are currently unable to meet the cost of prescription medicines.

2. Ten percent of people put off seeking medical treatment as a result of the price.

3. As many as nearly 1 in 3 young people between the ages of 18 and 24 do not have a usual source of medical treatment or health insurance.

4. Ten percent of people between the ages of 45 and 64 do not have a usual source of medical treatment and approximately 50 percent of these adults are suffering from hypertension, a major heart condition or diabetes.

5. One out of every 5 people under 65 years of age are not insured for at least part of every year, with the majority of these being uninsured throughout the year.

A lot of people are fortunate enough to get cover for themselves and their families through schemes run by their employer, however escalating costs are forcing many employers to reduce their employee health insurance plans or to drop them altogether. There are however also millions of people who cannot get cover through their employment and who need to make arrangements for themselves. It is this second group which often considers that health insurance is simply too costly.

But should you dismiss the idea of getting medical insurance out of hand simply because you consider that it is too expensive? Health insurance comes in various shapes and sizes and, although a traditional indemnity plan can be very expensive, there are a lot of affordable options.

Put simply, health insurance falls into two broad categories comprising disability plans and medical expense plans. The first provides compensation for your loss of income when you are no longer able to work because of disability while the latter provides cover for medical bills arising out of injury or accident.

Each of these types of health insurance can be written as a single plan or separately and separate plans can again be broken down to cover particular areas such as accident coverage, major medical expenses, basic medical expenses, hospital care and a great deal more.

Further, cover can now be provided by not just traditional insurers, but also by a variety of group organizations, companies such as Blue Cross and Blue Shield, health maintenance organizations and preferred provider organizations, each of which can provide a wide range of plans with payment options that suit practically every pocket book.

If you are frightened by the thought that you cannot afford health insurance then think again. You might not be in a position to purchase a comprehensive plan covering all eventualities but it is a sure bet that you will be able to discover a plan which will give you at least sufficient coverage to provide you with some peace of mind.

Where to Get Cheap Emergency Medical Insurance

2008-09-20T03:15:00.000-07:00

When you're planning the trip of a lifetime, the last thing you want to think about is getting injured or ill while on your trip. However, accidents and injuries happen, and you need emergency medical insurance to help you get the best care possible while far away from home.

But Won't My Health Insurance Cover Me?

If you have health insurance, you should definitely check your policy to see what coverage is available when you're away from your home country. You will likely find that your regular health insurance offers no coverage or only 50% coverage for medical expenses. It likely will also not cover you if you need to be evacuated back home.

What Does Emergency Medical Insurance Cover?

It covers travel-related medical emergencies, whether you are a student studying abroad for several months, a businessperson, or a vacationer traveling for just a few days. In fact, you can purchase insurance for the exact number of days you'll be gone.

When you purchase your emergency insurance, be sure to check that the policy:

* Covers any preexisting conditions you have

* Includes an emergency assistance phone number you can call to help you find a doctor or hospital if necessary

* Includes emergency medical evacuation

You can also choose whether you want the policy to include additional coverages for baggage insurance, trip cancellation insurance, and trip interruption insurance.

Finding a Cheap Policy

Fortunately, emergency travel insurance doesn't cost a lot, often just a dollar or two a day. To get a cheap rate, go to an insurance comparison website. You can enter your travel information and insurance needs and you will then receive quotes from multiple A-rated insurance companies.

Catastrophic Health Insurance Plus Supplemental Medical Equals Great, Affordable Health Coverage

2008-09-20T03:14:00.001-07:00

If you are self employed or do not get health insurance through your job, then it is something you are probably concerned about. Many people have been financially ruined because they got sick or had an accident when they did not have coverage, and many studies show that people with health insurance get better care! Even if you decided to budget for a health plan, you may have been declined for coverage because of a pre existing health condition. It can be very tough to find an adequate medical plan these days for lots of reasons!

However, maybe you haven't considered the combination of a high deductible, or catastrophic, health insurance plan with a supplement. The medical plan may have a deductible of $5,000, $10,000, or even $20,000! That sounds like a lot, but it will pale in comparison with the medical costs a person can incur because of a major accident or injury. Because the deductible is high, the premiums will be much lower. These types of plans also do not suffer as many rate increases, and insurance companies usually relax their underwriting standards too!

Of course, $5,000 to $20,000 is still a lot of money to have to pay, but it is also amount you could probably borrow or pay off. Think of this size of a deductible as a car payment. However, if you ran up a $100,000 or $1,000,000 bill because of a terrible accident or illness, it would be almost impossible for most you to find that much money from a lender. That would be like paying off a home mortgage, or maybe even the mortgage on a mansion! It would be much easier to handle the car payment, now wouldn't it?

But we are not done yet. Remember I mentioned supplemental plans. You can find cash supplements to cover unexpected accidents or sickness in the amount of $5,000, $10,000 or $20,000. Because these policies only cover this low amount, they are affordable and easy to qualify for! Now you have taken care of that unexpected bill.

You can also find a high deductible medical plan that qualifies as an HSA (Health Savings Account) plan. You can set up a savings account that actually pays interest. Contributions are tax deductible, within specified limits. And you can use the money in this account for many medical costs that health insurance plans do not usually cover.

So consider what you have now. You are paying $300 to $500 less for your catastrophic health plan every month if you are like many families Take some of that money and contribute to your tax deductible savings account, and then take a little more and pay for a supplement. You have a way to pay for doctor's visits and prescriptions, and you have coverage in case of a major illness! You will probably even have a little money left over to spend on other items in your family's budget. Also consider that, no only is the HSA account deductible, the premiums may also be deductible. I cannot help you find really cheap health insurance, but I can help you save some money!

High Deductible Major Medical Insurance - Where to Get the Best Rates

2008-09-20T03:14:00.000-07:00

Looking to lower your monthly premium on your health insurance? High Deductible Major Medical Health Insurance may be the answer you've been looking for. Here's what it is and where you can get it cheap.

What is High Deductible Major Medical Health Insurance?

This type of insurance covers you only for serious injuries or illnesses. You select the deductible you want, which will usually be from $500 to $10,000 per year. You pay all your medical expenses up to this deductible, after which the company pays 100% of any additional medical expenses.

If My Deductible is so High, How Am I Saving Money?

You are saving money because, while your deductible is high, your monthly premiums are low. Consider this: your monthly premiums can be half of what you would pay for a traditional health insurance program. In addition, these types of health plans are often coupled with "insurance savings accounts."

What's an insurance savings account? You can think of it as a medical 401-K, in which you regularly deposit money-on a pre-tax basis-to cover your medical expenses until you meet your deductible. So if your deductible is $2,000, you would want to deposit $2,000 in your insurance savings account each year to pay for that deductible. When you have a medical expense, you draw money out of the savings plan to pay for it.

Sounds Great - Where Can I Find a Cheap Plan?

You can find free quotes for cheap high deductible health insurance plans quickly and easily by going online to an insurance comparison website. On such a site, you can shop for a plan any time by just filling out a simple form with information about yourself and your health insurance needs. You then receive quotes from multiple A-rated companies, which you can look over on your own time and choose the best plan for your situation.

And if you have any questions, the best comparison websites have insurance professionals on-hand who will answer your questions and provide information on how to lower your premium even further (see link below).

Cheap Medical Insurance Companies Online in Arizona

2008-09-18T01:48:00.001-07:00

Mention the idea of cheap medical insurance and most Arizona residents will laugh in your face. The very idea that medical coverage could still be cheap in this day and age is ludicrous - right? Well, until relatively recently that may have been true, but now there is a new form of medical coverage that could turn many people's healthcare world up-side-down and save them a ton of cash in the process.

The new form of coverage is a Health Savings Account, also known as an HSA. These are special savings accounts that are funded with cheap tax-free dollars. You use these cheap dollars to pay for all of your medical bills each year, and since you are paying for your own doctor's office visits, and paying for your own outpatient needs, and paying for your own specialists and paying for your own prescriptions, there is no one to tell you which doctors or what pharmacy you have to use. You are in full control of your own health care.

And since you are paying for everything with tax-free money you are saving the equivalent of approximately 25% on all of your costs.

Also, since you save money by needing medical treatment less, you have a tremendous incentive to stay healthy. You have an added reason to stop smoking or using chew and you have a great reason for skipping as many fast food meals as you can and watching your weight.

Another tremendous advantage to a Health Savings Account is that any cash left in the account at the end of a year can be rolled over into the next year. This means that over time you could build up a nice tax-free retirement nest egg - especially if you keep yourself healthy.

Obviously there are some things none of us have any control over - such as a totally unexpected catastrophic accident or illness. Such an event could wipe out our life savings or even force us to sell our home in virtually the blink of an eye.

Your Health Savings Account has you covered there, as well. You will be required to purchase a cheap super-high-deductible health insurance policy which will protect your assets if you should suffer a catastrophic event.

Getting Medical Insurance Plans For Students

2008-09-18T01:48:00.000-07:00

When you head off to college, your mind is usually filled with hanging out and partying. You tend to think the rules don't apply to you and freedom is at your fingertips. You'll never again be told what to do. Well some students seem to have that illusion, but most are really stressed about their grades and having to face life without their parents whom, up until this moment, have taken care of all their expenses. The last thing you need is something else to worry about with all this reality setting in. You still need to keep yourself prepared for the worst even though you are young and healthy. This is the reason medical insurance for student is something important.

When some students go off to college, they don't have health or dental insurance coverage. Due to the fact that this was previously taken cared of by their parents before. Had they taken some time and do some research, which could most likely be found at the school's website, you'd find that health insurance plans are mandatory for full time students.

If you are attending a University or a community college and have no health insurance, make sure to look into medical insurance for students. You can never be too sure when you may be in need of it. Most college students don't have thousands of dollars set aside to take care of their medical expenses in case they get sick or are hospitalized for a while. Dental insurance may not be necessary, but you should definitely look into the medical plans that your school provide. Don't wait until it's too late if you happen to be a full time student. Look into a medical insurance plan that fits your needs and budget.

Affordable High Risk Medical Insurance Online in Arizona

2008-09-15T05:44:00.001-07:00

Ask almost any Arizona resident how they feel about medical insurance and you're sure to hear the same thing from each and every one of them - medical coverage is just too darn expensive. It's gotten so expensive, in fact, that fully 16% of all Arizona residents can't afford any coverage at all. Or at least they think they can't afford any coverage. The fact is, there's a new type of medical coverage that's radically different and potentially less expensive that could be the answer millions of Arizona residents have been hoping for.

But before we look at this new form of medical protection let's talk about your overall health since this new form of coverage works best for people who are generally healthy and don't need to see their doctor very often in a normal year.

There are two primary things that most Americans can do to improve their health and lower the cost of their health care. If they smoke or use chew they can stop, and if they are overweight they can shed a few pounds. Neither of these things is very appealing to most people, but the fact of the matter is you can save a ton of money every year if you can quit smoking and drop a few pounds.

Quitting smoking is more a matter of finally deciding on a gut level that you want to quit than it is based on any kind of patch or other gimmick. Either you sincerely want to quit or you don't - and if you don't really feel the NEED to quit smoking then it's very likely that any attempt to quit will fail.

Losing weight is also a matter of not just wanting to lose but of NEEDING to lose. One thing many Arizona residents can do to lose weight is to drive right on past their favorite fast food joint every day. If you have a real craving for a burger and fries then DON'T stop. A burger and fries can have more than 1,000 calories and enough fat and cholesterol to swim in.

Just how sincere are you about saving money on your health care?

The new type of health policy that can save you a ton of money is known as a Health Savings Account, or an HSA. This is a very special savings account that you put cheap tax-free dollars into. You then pay for ALL of your health needs every year with your own tax-free dollars.

Since you are using your own money to pay for your health needs you are in total control. You pick your own doctor, your own specialist, and decide about your own prescriptions.

As part of your Health Savings Account you will be required to buy a very cheap super-high-deductible health insurance policy. This high-deductible policy won't pay a penny toward your normal doctor's office visits, or your prescriptions (that's what you use your tax-free savings account for). What this cheap medical coverage does do is it protects your life savings and even your home from the possibility of a catastrophic accident or illness that could cost you tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars and wipe out all of your assets overnight.

But regardless of what kind of health coverage you're looking for, one thing will always save you big bucks, and that is buying your policy online. Buying online health insurance will save you 20 to 30% each and every month. In fact, it simply doesn't make sense to buy your health coverage anywhere but online these days.

Cheap Medical Insurance Online in Arizona

2008-09-15T05:44:00.000-07:00

Cheap medical insurance is an idea that has thousands of Arizona residents almost salivating. For most Arizona residents it has been so long since they have been able to get cheap medical coverage that they have given up all hope of ever seeing a low-cost policy again. Take heart, because all hope is not lost. There is a relative new and almost unknown form of health coverage that can save virtually everyone thousands of dollars a year while still providing them with full medical protection.

This new form of coverage is called a Health Savings Account, or HSA. An HSA is a very special savings account that you put cheap tax-free dollars into. You then use your tax-free savings to pay for all of your own medical needs during the year.

Since you are paying for your own doctor's visits and your own specialists and your own prescriptions you can pick and choose any doctors you want and any pharmacy you want with no interference whatsoever from anyone. You are in total control. And since you are paying for everything with tax-free money it's equivalent to a savings of approximately 25%.

Another huge benefit of a Health Savings Account is that any money remaining in the account at the end of a year is rolled over into the next year - tax free! That means over time it is possible that you could build up a nice tax-free nest egg that you can spend as soon as you start using Medicare.

Obviously this type of plan works best for people who are generally healthy. In fact, the majority of healthy young individuals and families could do quite well investing in this type of health plan. This type of medical coverage encourages individuals to quite smoking or using any tobacco products and it encourages people to lose weight - because the healthier you are the more you save!

Of course the surest way to save money on ANY health plan is to buy your policy online. As everyone knows, online insurance sellers have almost no overhead plus they have a lot of competition - two things which add up to incredible savings for you.

In fact, buying your medical policy online is equivalent to buying it at wholesale - and wouldn't you rather buy wholesale than pay retail?

Cheap High Risk Medical Insurance Online in Arizona

2008-09-12T05:28:00.000-07:00

The incredibly high cost of medical insurance has sent hundreds of Arizona residents scrambling to find a cheaper high risk form of coverage. Up until relatively recently there really wasn't any alternative to high-priced medical coverage, but now everyone has a choice in their medical coverage and for thousands of people there is a new form of medical "insurance" that makes a lot more sense - and which saves them hundreds or even thousands of dollars each and every year.

This new type of health coverage is a Health Savings Account, or HSA. If you've never heard of it before you're not alone. HSAs have not been well publicized. An HSA is a very special savings account that you can put tax-free dollars into. That's right. The money you put into your HSA is not taxed. You use these cheap tax-free dollars to pay for your medical needs each year.

Paying for your doctor visits and your prescriptions with tax-free dollars is equivalent to getting your medical coverage at a discount of around 25%. And because you are spending your own tax-free money on your doctor and hospital and prescriptions there are no restrictions whatsoever on which doctors or specialists you see. You call the shots.

Not only that, but since any funds left in your account at the end of a year are rolled over into the next year, it is quite possible that a fairly health individual could, over time, build up quite a nice tax-free nest egg which they will have access to once they begin collecting social security and taking advantage of Medicare.

To protect your life savings and even your home from the possibility of a catastrophic accident or illness which would otherwise wipe them out, you will be required to purchase a very low-cost super high deductible health insurance policy at the same time that you open your Health Savings Account.

This super-high-deductible policy won't pay for your doctor's visits or your prescriptions during a normal year - that's what you use your tax-free savings account for. Your cheap health policy is only designed to protect your assets in the event of some major accident or illness.

There is something else you can do that will save you more money on your health coverage than you ever thought possible - and it's so simple. Buy your policy online. There are dozens of online health insurance sellers, each vying for your business and each one ready to offer you health coverage at what amounts to wholesale prices!

Don't pass up the opportunity to get your medical coverage at a savings of anywhere from 20 to 30%. Get online right now and see for yourself exactly how much you can save.

Affordable High Risk Medical Insurance in Arizona

2008-09-12T05:27:00.001-07:00

Just over 50% of all Arizona families who have medical insurance report that the high cost of their monthly premium makes keeping their coverage a severe financial burden, and just over 16% of all Arizona residents report that they can no longer afford any medical coverage at all. And the problem is getting worse with each passing year. The good news is, there is a new type of "policy" available that just may be the prescription that many - including you - are looking for.

Before we talk about this new type of cheap insurance it's essential that we mention how important it is to do whatever you can to keep yourself healthy. This includes such things as not smoking or using chew, not eating at fast food restaurants, and getting some exercise every week. I know you've heard all of those things before, but maybe it's time for you to take them just as seriously as you take finding affordable health coverage.

The new type of medical coverage, which is proving to be extremely affordable for many people, especially people who are generally healthy, is called a Health Savings Account, or HSA. This is a special savings account that you can put tax-free dollars into. The catch is, you can only use those cheap tax-free dollars to pay for medical expenses during the year.

Because you do not pay taxes on the money you spend for your health needs, it is equivalent to saving at least 25% on the cost of your care. This is one reason why eating right, getting some exercise, quitting smoking and staying away from fast food restaurants is so important - the less you see your doctor the more you save.

As part of your Health Savings Account you will be required to purchase a cheap super-high-deductible health insurance policy. This policy will have a deductible of well over $1,000, which means that it won't pay anything toward any of your normal doctor's visits or pay for any of your prescriptions during a normal year.

The purpose of the cheap high deductible policy is to protect your savings account and even your home from the possibility that you will be hit with a catastrophic illness or accident which will end up costing you tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical bills.

Another way for you to save a boatload of money is to buy your health insurance online. The savings you will find online can be truly staggering.

If you really want to find the cheapest online medical coverage possible then compare prices on more than one website - then all you need to do is to pick the cheapest price you find and you can be certain that you are getting the most savings possible on your health insurance each and every month.

Health Insurance Helps Protect You From High Medical Costs

2008-09-12T05:27:00.000-07:00

Health insurance helps protect you from high medical care costs. It is designed to cover treatment for curable, short-term illness or injury ( commonly known as acute conditions).

Health

Health insurance is also not cheap and it can't be because doctor bills are so high. It is so expensive nowadays because for one, there have been big gains on medical science over the past few years. Health policy is protection against the possible health problems that could happen in the future, and you have absolutely no way of knowing what those might be.

The accident, to be covered, must have occurred while the beneficiary was covered under this exact same health insurance contract. Many people in the United States get a health insurance policy through their employers. These plans contract with health care providers and medical facilities to provide care for members at reduced costs. You can also purchase health insurance on your own. People who meet certain requirements can qualify for government insurance, such as Medicare and Medicaid. You can count on your policy to cover you for a hospital stay. Most policies cover doctor visits, but benefits for mental health, prescription drugs and dental care are strictly optional. A growing number of public and private sources compile information on the track records of individual doctors, hospitals, and health plans. State and federal regulations protect you from losing your health coverage in the event you lose your job. If you and your spouse both get health insurance at work, you must sort out whether it makes more sense to have two policies or for one of you to cover the other. The health care system is changing and so is health care within the United States which has resulted in more families participating in heath insurance.

Policy

Even if you do receive coverage through an employer-sponsored health plan, you should consider the cost-saving benefits of switching to a family health insurance policy or moving some of your family members off of your group policy into a family plan. Since small business health insurance offers guaranteed coverage to all employees in a given company, it can be difficult and time consuming for a small business owner to find the best policy. Each health insurer will give you a policy summary or "key facts" document and a full policy document either before or immediately after you sign the contract of insurance. The summary or "key facts" document will set out any significant and unusual limits of your policy. Health care reform is a top priority for voters, and the presidential candidates continue to present an array of policy initiatives that could transform the nation's health care system. Before choosing the health insurance policy, it is advised that the customer compares the health insurance quotes of different companies. When choosing, the customer has to check it up and make sure that the policy does not come with an indemnity style policy of has calendar year limits. The cheapest policy is too expensive if it leaves you exposed. The difference is that a whole life insurance policy builds equity and a term life insurance policy is mainly used to take care of debts for your family and for your self if you perish prematurely. Make sure that your medical care policy is doing the business you set it out to do. All you need to do is compare coverage and pick which policy is the best for you.

Cheap Medical Insurance Online In Alabama

2008-09-10T05:49:00.001-07:00

Everyone in Alabama, it seems, is desperate for cheap medical insurance. And it's no wonder. Of the people who have coverage just over 50% report that the cost of their monthly premium is a severe drain on their budget. And even worse, approximately 16% of all Alabama residents can't afford any health insurance coverage at all. There is some good news, however. There are several ways that YOU can get your health policy at a cheaper rate than you are probably paying for it today.

Let's start with one of the most important ways that you can save money on your coverage - and that's to buy it online. There is no doubt whatsoever that for the vast majority of people who are looking to purchase a health policy their best bet - by far - is to buy their insurance online.

Even if you buy online there are still ways for you to save even MORE.

Don't smoke and don't use chew or any other tobacco product. You've heard that before, of course, but continuing to smoke or to use chew will cost you a LOT of money in higher premium costs. Is it really worth it to you?

There is a rather new form of cheap health coverage that may be of interest to you. It's called a Health Savings Account, or HSA. This is a unique savings account that you fund with cheap tax-free dollars. The money in your HSA account can only be used to pay for medical expenses.

As part of your HSA account you will be required to buy a cheap super-high-deductible medical insurance policy. The deductible on this policy will be so high that the policy will pay absolutely nothing toward your health care in a normal year.

The purpose of this insurance is to act as a safety net should you suffer some type of catastrophic illness or extremely serious accident that might otherwise deplete your life savings or even force you to sell your home or to declare bankruptcy.

But remember, no matter what kind of health plan is right for you the cheapest place you're going to find it is online.

Cheap Medical Insurance Companies in Arizona

2008-09-10T05:49:00.000-07:00

For many people the very idea of finding cheap medical insurance companies seems ridiculous. And it's no wonder. The cost of health coverage has gotten so high that almost no one can afford to buy individual insurance and even group coverage is now so expensive that more than 50% of all Arizona residents who are part of a group plan admit that the cost of their monthly premium is a severe strain on their family's budget. However, there is one place where you can still find cheap companies.

Before we talk about getting cheap health coverage it's important that you understand that you need to do your part as best you can by getting and staying healthy. The healthier you are and the fewer times you need to see your doctor each year the more you are going to save.

Do you know just how much you can save on your health care costs if you don't smoke and don't use chew or any other tobacco product? In some cases the savings can be as high as 20% or even more! There are a lot of reasons for you to quite smoking - and now saving a bundle on your health insurance is one of them. One of the questions you have to ask yourself is: Just how serious are you about finding cheap medical coverage? Are you serious enough to quit smoking?

Diet and exercise also play a part in getting cheap premiums. If you aren't serious enough about your health to stop eating at fast food restaurants, stop eating French fries and other fried foods, and giving up super-high-calorie hamburgers, then you aren't really serious about finding cheap medical coverage.

You also need to get serious about exercise. You don't need a gym membership and you don't need to buy the latest and greatest gizmo from an infomercial. What you do need to do is to get up off that couch and walk around the block three or more times every week. You need to ride your bike to do some of your errands, or you need to join a group that walks around the mall in the mornings. You need to move your body.

Increasing your co-payment from 25% to 50% can save you as much as 10% on the cost of your premium, and setting your yearly deductible at the highest level you can afford will also save you money every month.

But the real trick to finding the cheapest medical insurance companies in Arizona is to simply buy your policy online. Online health insurance sellers discount their policies by as much as 30% in many cases. There is now no reason whatsoever for paying outrageously high prices for medical insurance when you can get such great deals online.

In order to get the cheapest prices online you'll need to make your price comparisons on more than one site, but once you've finished making all of your comparisons and you have all of the prices laid out before you, your only "job" then will be to pick the cheapest price and then sleep easy night after night, knowing you are saving the most money on your medical insurance that you possibly can.

Cheap High Risk Medical Insurance in Arizona

2008-09-10T05:48:00.000-07:00

The high cost of medical insurance here in Arizona is driving thousands of individuals and families to scramble frantically for cheap high risk medical insurance. If you are among those frantically searching for it that you can afford there is some good news. There are there specific actions you can take to reduce the cost of your traditional medical insurance, often by 25% or even more!

Let's start with some simple steps you can take. Paying your premium automatically from your savings or checking account every month saves the insurance company the cost of sending you a bill and they are happy to pass a good portion of that savings on to you.

You can also save a lot (and feel better) if you eat right and get some exercise. If you're really serious about saving money on it then get serious about dropping fast food restaurants and getting some exercise. You know that eating high calorie, high fat hamburgers and French fries isn't good for you. You know that they contribute to weight problems, high blood pressure, diabetes and a whole host of other ills. So stop eating at places like that. The healthier you are the less you're going to need medical care and the less you are going to pay for your health insurance.

And get a little exercise. Just walking around the block a few times each week, or riding a bike to do a few errands, or joining a group that walks around the mall in the mornings... ANYTHING that will get you on your feet and moving will be a help.

If you don't see your doctor often why not increase your co-payment from 25% to 50%? Doing that will save you quite a bit on the cost of your health insurance premium.

Similarly, if you can afford to increase your yearly deductible you can save a lot on the monthly cost of your health insurance.

And one of the surest ways of saving money and finding the cheapest health insurance is to buy your insurance online. It's true. Online sellers have a huge advantage over their brick and mortar cousins because they have almost no overhead and so they are able to pass tremendous savings on to you. In fact, you can sometimes save as much as 25% simply by buying it online.

Cheap Medical Insurance Companies Online In Alabama

2008-09-08T03:42:00.000-07:00

If you are looking for cheap medical insurance companies here in Alabama there's really only one place for you to look, and that's online. Online sellers of insurance have almost no overhead and so they can pass truly remarkable savings along to you. The super good news is that there are simple ways for you to save even MORE!

One thing you can do is to pay your monthly premium automatically each month out of your savings or checking account. If your insurance company doesn't have to send you a costly bill every month they can afford to reduce the cost of your medical insurance.

If you don't see your doctor often then it can really pay for you to increase your co-payment from 25% to 50%.

Likewise, you can save money on your medical insurance instantly if you increase your deductible. Just be careful that you don't increase your deductible past the point at which you can afford to pay it.

And speaking of high deductibles, one of the newest forms of cheap medical insurance is called a Health Savings Account, or an HSA. This is a special savings account that you fill with cheap tax-free dollars. You use those tax-free dollars to pay for all of your medical costs.

You also use those tax-free dollars to pay for a cheap super-high-deductible medical insurance policy. This cheap policy will have a deductible so high that in a typical year it won't pay even a penny toward any of your medical bills - that's what you use the tax-free savings account for.

Where these policies come in handy is if you should suffer a catastrophic illness or accident that runs up medical bills into the tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars - something that can happen in the blink of an eye.

Without one of these cheap medical policies you would be forced to wipe out your life savings, you might have to sell your home and you might even be driven into bankruptcy.

So check out all of your alternatives - but when it comes time to buy your medical insurance you really NEED to buy it online. You'll save even more money when you buy your insurance online if you take the time to review prices from a number of medical insurance price comparison websites and not rely on the results from just one site.

So happy hunting - and remember, if you take the time to look carefully online you really and truly CAN fine health insurance at prices you probably never dreamed possible.

Cheap High Risk Medical Insurance Online In Alabama

2008-09-08T03:41:00.001-07:00

For most people medical insurance here in Alabama seems extremely expensive. In fact, medical insurance is now so expensive that fully 16% of all Alabama residents can't afford any medical coverage at all. The good news is there are several simple things you can do that will make YOUR cost of health insurance much more affordable.

One thing you can do is to pay your monthly premium automatically from your checking or savings account. If your insurance company doesn't have to send you an expensive bill every month they are going to pass that savings along to you.

Don't smoke or use chew - or any other tobacco product for that matter. It should come as no surprise this late in the game that if you smoke or use chew you'll never qualify for the cheapest high risk medical insurance available. If you're serious about saving money on your medical insurance then you're going to have to be equally as serious when it comes to quitting all tobacco products.

If you don't see a doctor on a regular basis then it will probably pay off handsomely for you if you increase your co-payment from 25% to 50%.

Increasing your deductible to the highest level you can afford to pay each year will also decrease your monthly cost of health insurance. Obviously care must be taken that you don't agree to pay a higher deductible than you can actually afford.

If you're after the absolutely cheapest high risk health insurance you may want to consider a Health Savings Account, or HSA. This is a special savings account that you can only use to pay for your medical expenses using non-taxed dollars, which saves you at least 25% off the cost of your medical care.

These accounts come with a very low-cost super-high-deductible health insurance policy. These policies have deductibles of at least $1,200 to $2,400 so these policies are not going to pay for any of your health care needs during a typical year. These policies are only used if you should suffer some sort of catastrophic accident or major illness that costs you tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical bills. Then your low-cost high-deductible policy will save your life savings and even save you from being forced to sell your home.

You can also save a lot of money on your health insurance if you buy it online. Online health insurance sellers have virtually no overhead and so they are able to pass tremendous savings along to you.
In order to get the very best price possible online you'll need to see as many comparison health insurance prices as possible from as many different insurance companies as possible. The way you do that is you must make your price comparisons on several different sites and not rely on the results from just one site.

But do check out the prices online because that is where you are always going to find your best deals.

Affordable High Risk Medical Insurance Online In Alabama

2008-09-08T03:41:00.000-07:00

If you want to find affordable high risk medical insurance here in Alabama you really only have one choice: you need to look online. Online health insurance sellers have almost no overhead and so they are able to pass that rather substantial savings directly to you. However, if you really want to save as much money as possible there are a few simple things you can do that will save you even MORE.

One of the simplest things you can do is to pay your monthly premium automatically each month out of your savings or checking account. This saves the insurance company the cost of sending you an expensive bill every month - and so they pass along the savings along to you.

Don't participate in dangerous or extreme sports or hobbies. If you are going to go out of your way to put your health at risk you certainly can't expect an insurance company to offer you cheap health insurance.

Likewise, if you smoke or use chew you can't think in your wildest dreams that you are ever going to get affordable health insurance. If you want affordable health insurance one cost you are going to have to pay is to quit smoking or using chew.

For many people the most affordable high risk medical insurance is one of the relatively new Health Savings Accounts - also known as an HSA account. These are special savings accounts which you fund with cheap tax-free dollars. You can only use these accounts to pay for medical expenses.

Any tax-free money left in your account at the end of the year can be rolled over into the next year, allowing you to potentially build up a rather nice tax-free nest egg over time.

These accounts come with a very low-cost and super-high-deductible health insurance policy. These policies have such a high deductible that they almost never pay for any of your medical needs in a normal year - that's what the tax-free savings account is for. What these low-cost policies do is they protect your life savings and they protect you from the possibility of being forced to sell your home in the event that you suffer some sort of cataclysmic event, such as a serious illness or a catastrophic accident that runs up medical bills in the tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars overnight.

But whether you decide on an HSA account or you decide to go with a more traditional health insurance policy, one thing remains constant - you are going to get the very lowest rates if you buy your health insurance online.

Don't rely on the results you get from just one of the many health insurance price comparison websites out there. Each site only shows you the prices from a small handful of insurance companies. If you want to see the widest range of available prices open to you then you'll have to run your price comparisons on at least 3 different sites.

As soon as you've done that, however, then your job is virtually done. All that's left is for you to choose the most affordable high risk medical insurance you've found - and know that you are now saving as much money every single month as you possibly can!

To Par or Not to Par - Medical Billing Dilemma in Anticipation of Proposed Medicare Cuts

2008-09-05T04:37:00.001-07:00

As the year-end approaches, the providers again face the participation-non-participation dilemma because status change notifications are accepted until January 1 only. The doctor must choose between higher reimbursements and patient collections or lower reimbursement and direct deposit. The choice is complicated because the Congress has not yet completed the debates about an upcoming 10.1% Medicare cut to physicians. The Congress delay and the unprecedented cut size dramatize the possibility of being locked for another year under a newly reduced fee schedule and raise the urgency and importance of this decision.

"Unless Congress takes immediate action ... Medicare will begin across-the-board cuts on January 1," said AMA President Ron Davis, MD. "Congressional action is not guaranteed, so physicians interested in changing their Medicare participation status for 2008 should review the information now, fill out the forms and prepare to mail them prior to December 31," (http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2007/12/24/gvl11224.htm).

The physician has three options about participating in Medicare, namely, participation (PAR), non-participation (non-PAR), and private contracting:

1. Participation: The physician participating in Medicare (PAR) agrees to standard--and possibly reduced in 2008--Medicare fees for every submitted claim. The participating doctor gives up the right to "balance-bill" patients for the difference between the standard Medicare fee and doctor's "reasonable and customary" fee. But payment timing predictability and the convenience of direct deposit using electronic file transfer (EFT) are major participation decision factors: first, Medicare typically pays the "clean" claims submitted electronically within 14 days since claim submission, and second, Medicare pays the physician directly.
2. Non-Participation: The non-participating physicians (non-PAR) can decide on a per-patient basis to accept the reduced fee (accept "assignment") or balance-bill patients up to 15% more. Therefore, the non-PAR physician that balance-bills every patient, may receive up to 9.25% more than a PAR doctor for the same services. The downside of non-PAR is that Medicare reimburses the patient directly and the physician must invoice the patient for the full amount: the payment, co-payment and balance-billing charge. If the physician postpones invoicing the patient until the patient receives reimbursement from the insurance, the doctor risks collection problems with financially irresponsible patients.
3. Private contracting: Private contracting means that physicians opt out of Medicare completely for at least two years. During these two years, neither the opted-out physicians nor their patients can bill Medicare for any services.

Other par-non-par decision considerations:

1. Collections work-around: The number of collection problems from patients may be negligent or it can be completely eliminated the physician who collects the entire fee at the time of visit.
2. Saving grace: Financing out-of-pocket fees for more needy patients with higher fees collected from balance-billed patients might be the saving grace alternative to turning away patients.
3. Patient perception: Patients who are used to all of their medical costs covered by a system of primary, secondary (and perhaps tertiary) insurance companies, might protest higher out of pocket fees.

Note also that "participation dilemma" is not exclusive to Medicare. While some insurance companies, e.g., Oxford (United Healthcare) and Cigna still send checks to non-PAR doctors, others, like Horizon BCBS, penalize non-PAR doctors by paying directly to patients.

An AMA document (www.ama-assn.org/ama1/pub/upload/mm/399/medicarepayment08.pdf) outlines participation options and status change procedures."With a 10% cut about to be imposed, many physicians may consider balance billing an extra 9% as one means of helping close the gap between 2007 and 2008 payment amounts," the document says. "When considering whether to be non-PAR, however, physicians should consider whether their total revenues from Medicare, including amounts the program pays, patient co-pays and balance billing, would exceed their total revenues as PAR physicians, particularly in light of collection costs, bad debts and claims for which they do accept assignment."

How to Get Cheap High Deductible Major Medical Insurance

2008-09-05T04:37:00.000-07:00

A high deductible major medical insurance plan is a relatively new kind of plan that can save you money every month on your premium. If you're in the market for health care coverage, you should investigate whether a high deductible major medical plan is right for you.

What is high deductible major medical insurance?

These are plans that offer low-cost coverage for serious injuries or illnesses. With these plans you select the level of deductible you want, usually ranging from $500 to $10,000. You pay all your medical expenses until you reach the deductible. After that, your insurer pays your medical expenses, often up to 100%.

These plans are often coupled with a medical savings account, in which you regularly deposit funds to help cover your medical expenses until you meet your deductible.

Why choose a high deductible major medical plan?

The major reason for choosing this plan is that it can save you money on your monthly premiums. In fact, your monthly premiums can be half of what you would pay for a traditional health care plans.

If you do choose one of these plans, you need to be sure that you can afford to pay the full deductible should you have an accident or serious illness.

Medical Billing Network Effect in Chiropractic Coaching - The Metcalfe's Law

2008-09-05T04:36:00.000-07:00

The pressures and the steep learning curve required of the newly graduated chiropractic doctor are nothing short of monumental because of the mounting complexities of the business in an increasingly hostile billing environment defined by insurance companies bent on minimizing payouts to doctors. The coach has become a critical element of the chiropractor's team - a consultant with experience and leadership in the field - who mentors the new chiropractor through this minefield of potential revenue-chewing issues. The enlightened coach uses automated systems that collect and segregate data among all client practices, allowing them to more easily identify and address problem areas.

This is the third article in the series of three articles focused on automated coach assistants. The first article presented an overview of the issue, touching on automated coaching assistance need, features and networking. The second article focused on specific practice issues and data collected, and how this helps the coach identify problems. The last article in this series focuses on the networking effect (Metcalfe's law).

Automated coach assistance systems (CoachMate) address every aspect of chiropractic office workflow management. CoachMate stores information for each client in a coach's database within a central repository, providing a single point of contact via the Internet to both aggregate and individual patient information. The coach can then take a universal perspective when evaluating trainee performance in the aggregate, flagging deviations and isolating the trainee who is most in need of coaching advice promptly, meaningfully, and efficiently.

CoachMate's value to the coach and to each of the student doctors grows in step with the number of chiropractors that subscribe to the coach's service, creating the "network effect." The network effect, according to Wikipedia, "causes a good or service to have a value to a potential customer which depends on the number of other customers who own the good or are users of the service." For example, by purchasing a telephone, a person makes other telephones more useful - and therefore more valuable to their users - by virtue of expanding the network. A telephone without a network of other telephones is worthless, nothing more than plastic and silicone. In other words, the more players on the team, the more value to each player. Thus, a consequence of a network effect is that the purchase of a service by one individual indirectly benefits others who use the same service. This bandwagon effect is an example of a positive feedback loop, an essential aspect of the network effect.

The network effect (also known as Metcalfe's Law) says that while the system's costs are proportional to the number of submitted claims, the value is far greater than the sum of the participants - proportional, in fact, to the square of the number of practice owners using it. For example, when you multiply the number of users by ten, the coach's system-wide cost goes up by a factor of ten while the value goes up a hundredfold. The hundredfold increase in true value represents the possible number of relationships between one piece of data to another - with ten users, there are 100 possible relationships among them. In other words, Metcalfe's law - as applied to CoachMate - says that the value to the individual practice owner and the coach using it is proportional to the number of other practice owners (N) sharing the same knowledge base and processes. The more participants, the greater the value to the extent that the number of possible value-providing relationships has been raised significantly, to a factor of N-squared.

In the early 1980s, when Robert Metcalfe discovered his law, he was vague about the notion of value. In those days, it had something to do with sharing expensive resources like fax machines and printers, exchanging electronic mail, and accessing communications technologies, such as the internet. But value is not remotely vague when considering what an automated system does for the chiropractic business and the coaches who apply it to their base of active trainees. For the chiropractic coach, CoachMate shatters any perceived limits on capacity and growth. Its users receive value in four primary ways: improved collections, lower audit risk, efficient practice management, and added revenue sources. And, according to Metcalfe's law, this value continues to grow long after the coach began using such a system, in proportion to each new practice that joins the service of the coach using the system.

Cheap Medical Insurance Online

2008-09-01T04:12:00.001-07:00

More than half of all families with medical insurance in this country report that the cost of their monthly premium is a severe financial hardship each month, and fully 16% of all Americans can't afford health insurance in any form. So is it any wonder that almost every person in the country is looking for cheap medical insurance online?

The good news is that almost everyone can save money on their health insurance if they purchase it online. However, in order to find the very best price possible for your insurance it will be necessary for you to fill out the forms on the price comparisons websites in the right way so as to create the perfect low-cost policy to begin with.

Let's start with something simple. Did you know that you can save money on your insurance if you pay your premium automatically each month from your bank account? If your insurance company doesn't have the cost of billing you every month they pass that savings on to you. Keeping your credit clean will also save you money. All insurance companies base your monthly premium, at least in some small part, on your credit score - so be careful with those plastic cards!

If you really and truly want to find this then you can't smoke and you can't use chew. This should come as no surprise - so if you're genuinely serious about getting the best possible price for your medical insurance then you're going to have to give up smoking.

You'll also have to watch your weight. If you are overweight it should also come as no great surprise that you are not going to get the best possible price on your health insurance. Insurance companies look at your Body Mass Index (BMI) when determining your monthly premium cost, so the lower you can get that BMI the lower your cost of insurance is going to be.

Driving a fast sports car and taking part in extreme or dangerous sports or hobbies will also increase the cost of your insurance.

If you can find group health insurance you'll pay considerably less than if you attempt to buy it. Most people buy group health insurance through their place of employment, but if your workplace doesn't offer affordable group health then see if any clubs or organizations or associations that you belong to offer it to their members. You just might be surprised at the number of groups that do.

If you don't see your doctor very often and you're generally in good health then it might very well pay you to increase your co-payment to 50%. Increasing your co-pay will save you money every single month.

Similarly, increasing your deductible will also save you a bundle on the cost of your health premium every month. Just don't go overboard and increase your deductible past the point that you can actually afford to pay for it.

Ultimately if you want really cheap medical insurance you'll have to look online. In order to get the very best deal online you will have to find at least 3 different websites that encourage you to compare the prices of policies between different insurance companies. Because each of these websites only compares the prices from a small number of insurance companies you will need to look at prices from a minimum of 3 sites in order for you to see prices from the majority of companies so that you can feel confident you've found the lowest price possible.

But once you've seen the prices from at least 3 price comparison sites then you'll know for sure where the best price can be found and you can feel confident that you have bought the cheapest insurance available online and that you have saved the most money you possibly could.

Cheap Medical Insurance Companies Online

2008-09-01T04:12:00.000-07:00

If you are looking for cheap medical insurance companies then your best bet is going to be looking for them online. However, the answer to finding the best possible price for your health insurance isn't just blindly looking online, but rather having at your fingertips just the right answers to the questions you will be asked so that you can create the best possible policy that will save you the most money right from the beginning. Then any additional that you save by purchasing your insurance online will be pure gravy.

Let's start with something extremely simple. Pay your premium each month automatically from your bank account. In this way your insurance company won't spend money billing you and they pass that savings on to you. Don't participate in extreme sports or dangerous hobbies. Don't drive a fancy sports car or a fast muscle car. If you intentionally put your health at risk you certainly can't expect an insurance company to reward you with a low rate, can you?

Believe it or not, your credit record also affects how much you pay for your medical insurance. When you apply for this your company will look at your credit score and the better your credit the better your rate will be for your insurance.

Don't smoke or use chew or any other tobacco product. If you are serious about finding the cheapest medical insurance online then you are going to have to be serious about breaking the smoking habit. You may have to lose weight as well. Losing weight can be even harder than quitting smoking for most people, but the fact remains that insurance companies look at your BMI (Body Mass Index) when setting your premium rate and the higher your BMI the higher your rate.

The good news is that often losing even a few pounds can make all the difference in the world and will allow you to slip down a rung on the insurance company's BMI chart - and if that happens you can save money month after month. In other words, every pound counts. If you seldom see your doctor then you really need to increase your co-payment to 50%. This will save you a considerable amount of money every month.

How large of a deductible can you afford? Increasing your deductible will lower your monthly health costs immediately. Just be sure you don't increase your deductible so much that you can't afford to pay it!

Buying your health insurance online is the best way by far to find this in companies in your state. You'll want to check with more than one of the price comparison websites if you are really serious about finding low rates, but as soon as you've check with 3 or more sites your job is done. Just grab the lowest-priced policy you found and feel confident that you have found the cheapest medical insurance in your state.

Affordable High Risk Medical Insurance Online

2008-09-01T04:08:00.000-07:00

The cost of medical insurance is enough to make anyone sick and because of that many people are now in the market for affordable high risk medical insurance online. While almost anyone can save money simply by purchasing their medical insurance online, a little extra effort spent in answering a few of the questions you'll be ask on the online price comparison websites could save you even more.

For example, setting up an automatic payment system for making your premium payments will save you money. If you are truly serious about finding affordable medical insurance then you can't smoke or use chew or any other tobacco products. If you currently smoke you will have to stop - or accept the fact that you will always pay more for your health insurance.

Unfortunately the same goes for being overweight. If you are overweight and you seriously want to save money on your insurance then you're going to have to try to shed at least a few pounds. The good news is that losing even a few pounds might move you down a rung on the insurance company's Body Mass Index - and if you're lucky enough for that to happen you could save quite a bit over the course of a year.

Group health insurance will save you money over individual insurance. If you can't get affordable group health at your place of work try asking at any clubs, associations or organizations that you belong to. You would be surprised at the number of groups and organizations which provide this to their members.

Do not participate in dangerous sports or take part in extreme games or other dangerous activities on a regular basis. Intentionally putting your health in jeopardy will result in your paying more for your health insurance. Driving a fast and flashy sports car or a head-turning muscle car can also increase the amount you pay for yours.

And did you know that your credit rating can affect how much you pay for your health insurance? It's true. Most insurance companies check your credit rating and the better your score the less you'll pay for your insurance.

If you don't see your doctor on a regular basis and are generally healthy you should definitely consider increasing your co-payment to 50%. Increasing your co-pay will reduce your monthly cost of insurance considerably.

Eating right, getting some exercise and just generally improving your health will also save you money on it as well as on your overall health care costs. Cut out all fried food, cut way back on the stops at fast food restaurants, eat more fresh fruits and vegetables and get as much exercise as possible.

Exercise, by the way, can be something as simple as walking around the block a few times a week or biking with your kids to school or biking around town to run errands. If you like company when you exercise why not join a mall-walking club? Increasing your deductible is a sure-fire way to lower your insurance cost as long as you don't go overboard and increase your deductible to the point that you can no longer afford it.

And that brings us to our final way of saving money on your health insurance - buying your policy online. If you truly want to save the most money possible don't stop after looking at the prices for competing policies provided by just one site. Instead, check out competing prices on at least 3 different websites.

Also, try to answer the questions on each of the websites in the same way each time. This will insure that you are comparing the same policy each time - and that is one of the keys to saving money.

But as soon as you've gotten the prices from at least 3 different sites your job is done - just pick the lowest price you've found and you can feel confident that you have found the most affordable high risk medical insurance online.

Cheap Medical Insurance Companies Online In Alabama

2008-08-30T00:20:00.001-07:00

Cheap High Risk Medical Insurance in Arizona

2008-08-30T00:20:00.000-07:00

Affordable High Risk Medical Insurance Online In Alabama

2008-08-30T00:19:00.000-07:00

Cheap High Risk Medical Insurance Online In Alabama

2008-08-30T00:18:00.000-07:00

How to Get Cheap High Deductible Major Medical Insurance

2008-08-29T04:01:00.000-07:00

To Par or Not to Par - Medical Billing Dilemma in Anticipation of Proposed Medicare Cuts

2008-08-29T04:00:00.000-07:00

"Unless Congress takes immediate action ... Medicare will begin across-the-board cuts on January 1," said AMA President Ron Davis, MD. "Congressional action is not guaranteed, so physicians interested in changing their Medicare participation status for 2008 should review the information now, fill out the forms and prepare to mail them prior to December 31," (http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2007/12/24/gvl11224.htm).

The physician has three options about participating in Medicare, namely, participation (PAR), non-participation (non-PAR), and private contracting:

Participation: The physician participating in Medicare (PAR) agrees to standard--and possibly reduced in 2008--Medicare fees for every submitted claim. The participating doctor gives up the right to "balance-bill" patients for the difference between the standard Medicare fee and doctor's "reasonable and customary" fee. But payment timing predictability and the convenience of direct deposit using electronic file transfer (EFT) are major participation decision factors: first, Medicare typically pays the "clean" claims submitted electronically within 14 days since claim submission, and second, Medicare pays the physician directly.
Non-Participation: The non-participating physicians (non-PAR) can decide on a per-patient basis to accept the reduced fee (accept "assignment") or balance-bill patients up to 15% more. Therefore, the non-PAR physician that balance-bills every patient, may receive up to 9.25% more than a PAR doctor for the same services. The downside of non-PAR is that Medicare reimburses the patient directly and the physician must invoice the patient for the full amount: the payment, co-payment and balance-billing charge. If the physician postpones invoicing the patient until the patient receives reimbursement from the insurance, the doctor risks collection problems with financially irresponsible patients.
Private contracting: Private contracting means that physicians opt out of Medicare completely for at least two years. During these two years, neither the opted-out physicians nor their patients can bill Medicare for any services.

Other par-non-par decision considerations:

Collections work-around: The number of collection problems from patients may be negligent or it can be completely eliminated the physician who collects the entire fee at the time of visit.
Saving grace: Financing out-of-pocket fees for more needy patients with higher fees collected from balance-billed patients might be the saving grace alternative to turning away patients.
Patient perception: Patients who are used to all of their medical costs covered by a system of primary, secondary (and perhaps tertiary) insurance companies, might protest higher out of pocket fees.

Note also that "participation dilemma" is not exclusive to Medicare. While some insurance companies, e.g., Oxford (United Healthcare) and Cigna still send checks to non-PAR doctors, others, like Horizon BCBS, penalize non-PAR doctors by paying directly to patients.

An AMA document (www.ama-assn.org/ama1/pub/upload/mm/399/medicarepayment08.pdf) outlines participation options and status change procedures."With a 10% cut about to be imposed, many physicians may consider balance billing an extra 9% as one means of helping close the gap between 2007 and 2008 payment amounts," the document says. "When considering whether to be non-PAR, however, physicians should consider whether their total revenues from Medicare, including amounts the program pays, patient co-pays and balance billing, would exceed their total revenues as PAR physicians, particularly in light of collection costs, bad debts and claims for which they do accept assignment."

Cheap Medical Insurance Companies Online

2008-08-26T23:59:00.001-07:00

Medical Billing Network Effect in Chiropractic Coaching - The Metcalfe's Law

2008-08-26T23:59:00.000-07:00

Cheap Medical Insurance Online

2008-08-25T04:11:00.000-07:00

Cheap High Risk Medical Insurance Online

2008-08-25T04:10:00.001-07:00

Over half of all people who have medical insurance report that the cost of their premium is causing a severe hardship on their family's monthly budget. In fact, the cost of health insurance has gotten so high that over 40 million Americans are now without it of any kind.

Once answer is to look for cheap high risk health insurance online. This means different things to different people, but most people can agree that this is vital. One way to save money on it is to exclude certain diseases from your coverage.

Obviously this can become risky (in the event you come down with the disease unexpectedly) but it is one high-risk way to lower the cost of your insurance.

Increasing the percentage of your co-payment to 50% can save you a lot of money if you don't see your doctor very often each year, and you can always be guaranteed of saving money any time you increase your deductible. Just be careful to make sure that you can pay the deductible that you have agreed to each year.

Another way to lower the cost of your monthly insurance payments is to start a Health Savings Account - also known as an HSA. This is a special tax-free savings plan. The catch is that you can ONLY use the money from this tax-free account to pay for medical expenses. But because the money is tax-free you are getting a break on the cost of your medical bills.

In addition to a tax-free savings account you will also be required to buy a low-cost super-high-deductible health insurance policy. These policies have a minimum deductible for an individual of $1,200 and a minimum deductible for a family of $2,400.

With deductibles that high there is little chance that your health insurance will pay for any of your medical bills during a normal year. That's what the tax-free savings account is for. The advantage of the high-deductible insurance is that it acts as a safety-net in the event that you should suffer an unexpected catastrophic accident or illness that ends up costing you tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars - your life savings, your home and your other assets will be protected by the insurance policy.

Another advantage of the HSA is that any money left in your tax-free savings account at the end of the year is rolled over into the next year, allowing you to potentially build up a tax-free nest egg over time. Your employer or any insurance agent or bank or savings and loan or credit union can supply you with additional details.

If you decide to look for cheap high risk medical insurance online be certain that you take the time to fill out the forms on at least 3 different sites rather than relying on the price comparisons from just one site. By looking at the prices on 3 different sites you will be able to compare the prices from many more insurance companies so you stand a much better chance of finding the truly rock-bottom price for your health insurance.

Affordable High Risk Medical Insurance Online

2008-08-25T04:10:00.000-07:00

Cheap Medical Insurance Companies In Alabama

2008-08-25T04:09:00.000-07:00

Finding cheap medical insurance companies in Alabama is becoming harder and harder to do. It seems that no medical insurance is cheap any longer. In fact, the cost of medical insurance has gotten so high that more than 16% of all families in Alabama are currently without health insurance of any kind. Fortunately if you find yourself in that position, or close to it, there are a number of things you can do today that can lower the cost of your health insurance as quickly as tomorrow.

If you haven't already set up the automatic payment of your monthly premium directly from your bank account then do so today. This isn't a huge savings, but every little bit adds up.

If you don't see your doctor very often in a normal year then increase your co-payment from 25% to 50%. This can save you several hundreds of dollars over the course of a year.

If you can possibly afford it, increasing your deductible will decrease your monthly premium almost instantly. Just be sure that you have the resources to pay for the additional deductible each year before your insurance takes over.

If you smoke or use chew you simply must quit if you want any chance of finding the cheapest medical insurance you can. If you're serious about saving money then you've got to get serious about quitting smoking.

You've also got to get serious about improving your health in general. Stop eating at fast food restaurants - or at least cut back the number of days you do considerably. Do not super-size meals and do not buy french-fries or other fried items. Changing your eating habits is not as difficult as you might think.

Getting a little exercise will improve your health and help you lose weight. Walk around the block a few times each week. Ride your bike to do errands or ride your bike to school each morning with your kids. Join a group that walks around the mall each morning. Get up, get out and move around!

There's only one place for you to find the cheapest medical insurance companies in Alabama and that's online. It's not hard to find several websites that allow you to make comparisons of health insurance prices from different insurance companies. Just make sure that you check out the prices from a number of different sites rather than relying on just one site.

But after you've taken the time to make comparisons on 3 or more websites you should have sufficient choices to pick the very best rate for health insurance that you are likely to find.

Cheap Medical Insurance In Alabama

2008-08-25T04:07:00.000-07:00

It's hard to even think in terms of cheap medical insurance any longer. Medical insurance here in Alabama has gotten so expensive that more than 16% of all the residents of Alabama can't afford any medical coverage at all. Fortunately there is a radical new way for many people who can no longer afford health insurance to get coverage.

This new idea in cheap medical insurance in Alabama is called a Health Savings Account, or an HSA. An HSA is a self-directed tax-free medical savings account. Tax-free money is deposited into your special savings account which can only be used to pay for your medical needs throughout the year. Any money left in your tax-free account at the end of the year is rolled over into the next year, potentially allowing you to build up a nice tax-free nest egg over time.

Attached to this tax-free savings account is a low-cost super high deductible health insurance policy. These policies have deductibles of more than $1,200 for an individual and more than $2,400 for a family.

Because these policies have such high deductibles their monthly premium is extremely low, low enough for most individuals and families to afford. However, during a normal year these high deductible policies will not pay one penny toward any of your health care costs. Instead, you pay for all of these costs yourself out of your special tax-free savings account. In other words, you have to pay for your own health needs but you get to pay for it with non-taxed dollars, saving you at least 25% .

What is the purpose of the high-deductible insurance policy, then? The policy is a safety net in the (hopefully) unlikely event that you suffer some sort of catastrophic accident or that you become very ill and require long-term hospitalization or round-the-clock care. Such a catastrophic event could easily wipe out your life savings or even force the sale of your home - but with the high-deductible insurance policy your savings and your home will be safe.

You can learn more about these Health Savings Accounts where you work, or at your bank, savings and loan, credit union or at any insurance company.

But whether you are looking into an HSA plan or a more traditional health plan the first place you want to look if you want the very best price possible is online. There are literally dozens of websites that encourage you to compare the prices of health insurance policies at various insurance companies here in Alabama.

Check out the prices on at least 3 different websites if you want to be certain that you'll find the rock-bottom price for health insurance.

An Introduction to Medical Malpractice Insurance

2008-08-23T02:01:00.000-07:00

It's common knowledge that litigation has exploded over the past few years. This is particularly true with respect to malpractice suits against licensed professionals. This category of risk generally applies to: ·
Doctors Nurses Other medical practitioners Hospitals
What Is Medical Malpractice?
Medical malpractice occurs where a medical practitioner acts in a negligent manner when treating a medical condition. Malpractice can occur from an action taken by the medical practitioner, or by the failure to take a medically appropriate action. Examples of medical malpractice include:
Failure to diagnose, or misdiagnosis of a disease or medical condition; Failure to provide appropriate treatment for a medical condition; Unreasonable delay in treating a diagnosed medical condition; Failure due to faulty equipments, negligence in maintenance of the hospital facility or non-conformance to standards also result in medical malpractice.
To prove a medical malpractice claim, the patient must prove the health care provider did not comply with an acceptable and reasonable standard of medical care in their specialty, and that this failure was the cause of the patient's harm.
When a medical malpractice claim is placed, there need to be four basic elements for a successful claim and compensation. The patient needs to show that a duty was owed when the hospital took on the patient. Next, they must show that the duty was performed incorrectly and there were obvious errors. They should show that this breach in duty caused an injury and damages (which can be emotional) for which the hospital, physician or practice must pay financial compensation. The majority of medical malpractice claims are due to medical error and 73% of these settle for compensation
How to Choose Medical Malpractice Insurance
Medical malpractice insurance falls into three categories: claims-made, occurrence and claims-paid coverage. The most common type of policy is claims-made coverage.
Claims-Made Coverage
Claims-made policies cover policyholders for alleged acts of malpractice that take place and are reported to the carrier during the policy period. Claims-made policy premiums are relatively low for the first few years due to the fact that there is often a significant lag between when a treatment is administered and the filing of a claim resulting from that treatment. Because of this, claims-made premiums are structured to increase each year
that the coverage is in continuous force until the risk presented approximates a "mature" risk. This is usually in years 5, 6, or 7 for individual physicians.
As a result, one advantage of claims-made coverage is that premiums are based on actual past and current experience. Policyholders therefore do not pay premiums for future liability that is difficult to project.
Another advantage of claims-made coverage is that it enables physicians to increase liability limits when necessary. For example, the limits of liability in effect at a policy's inception may not be enough to cover a settlement incurred today. In this case, the physician may wish to increase his or her limits of liability. Claims-made policies only cover claims reported, and arising from, incidents that occurred while that policy is in effect, policyholders must be wary when switching carriers or otherwise terminating coverage.
For Example, assume you purchase a claims-made policy with an effective date of 7/1/2003. Assume you hold this policy with no interruption in coverage for 10 years. In 2013, you submit a claim for an event that occurred in 2004. The policy in force in 2013 will respond, meaning that you will be covered up to the full limits of the 2013 policy.
Occurrence Coverage
An occurrence policy insures for any incident that occurs while the policy is in effect, regardless of when a claim is filed. Under an occurrence policy, insureds pay premiums that take into account not current experience, but future projections as well. Such claims are called "incurred but not reported" (IBNR). Occurrence insurance rates can vary significantly because of the difficulty in projecting future claims expenses. Under an occurrence policy, the limits of liability are those in effect when the incident occurred.
The advantage of an occurrence policy is that neither retroactive (prior acts) nor tail coverage is needed when terminating coverage.
Tail Coverage
Tail coverage is offered when the physician is terminated from the current policy due to retirement, change in employment, disability, etc. Every physician has a retroactive date within the policy. The retroactive date indicates the physician's entry date in the policy. Claims will be entertained for any losses that occur during the retroactive date and end date of the policy that is active as of the reporting date of claim. Tail coverage ensures that the reporting period of the policy continues even after the expiry of the policy or termination of the physician from the policy. Tail coverage is also known as Reporting Endorsement Coverage.
Every Physician has separate limits within the policy. If the physician is covered for their individual limit and opts to get covered for Tail coverage, then either the physician continues with the same limits or opts for lower limits. If the physician opts for lower limits there would be a discount that the physician can benefit on the tail premium. Any claim registered hence forth on the policy will only be valid for the reduced limits. Physician can opt for tail coverage within 30 days from the expiry of the policy or the termination date of the physician.
Premiums for tail coverage are determined by a doctor's specialty, territory, limits of liability and length of continuous claims-made coverage. Tail coverage gets more expensive the further back in time it must provide coverage since the liability assumed by the carrier becomes greater. It is usually a percentage of the insured's prior years premium.
Prior Acts ("Nose") Coverage
Prior acts coverage provides similar protection as reporting endorsement coverage. However, unlike a "tail," nose coverage is purchased through the new insurer.
Claims-Paid Coverage
Claims-paid coverage is often used by Trusts. Under a claims-paid policy, premiums are based only on claims settled during the previous year and projected for the current year. Claims-paid policies are generally assessable for a number of years after the policy has been terminated. In addition, claims-paid policies usually have restrictive claims "triggers," under which a claim is not considered formally made until a "Summons and Complaint" is received. As a result, policyholders changing from claims-paid coverage to claims-made coverage might find it difficult to obtain retroactive (prior acts) coverage from the new carrier. Physicians leaving a claims-paid carrier will most likely have to purchase expensive tail coverage from that claims-paid carrier.
Common Exclusions
o Contractual Liability
o Clinical Trials however Research Projects may be covered, the insurer will require information on these.
o Genetic damage or manipulation
o IVF treatment
o Dishonest, Fraudulent, Malicious or Illegal acts or omissions.
Risk Management & Assessment
Implementing a risk management program can help improve patient care, prevent malpractice claims and reduce costs. Physician-led research shows "risk appears related to patients' dissatisfaction with their physicians' ability to establish rapport, provide access, administer care and treatment consistent with expectations, and communicate effectively."
Insurance Company offers risk management courses to its insured. Similarly they also conducts risk management seminars periodically. By attending these seminars the physicians are eligible for risk management credits in the renewal. A Risk Assessment can be requested by the Underwriting or Risk Management Departments, Claims Committee or an insured.

Travel With Holiday Medical Insurance And Roam Free

2008-08-23T02:00:00.000-07:00

While you are traveling many of the health insurance companies will offer you a limited coverage mainly if you have abroad trip. You may require a holiday medical insurance if your health insurance is covering from specific providers only care of your immediate area. Such policies may cover hospital stays, medical care, and also to a perfect medical facility or a transportation home.
How Do I know If I Need Holiday Medical Insurance?
Several reasons are there to have a holiday medical insurance very important for you. While traveling abroad you will definitely require to have an insurance for yourself against the potential health problems specially if you belong from a country, which gives managed health care and that too within the country only. In the same way if you are having the private health insurance, which only has coverage to specific regional facilities then the holiday medical insurance can be a must for you to save yourself from the grave medical problems.
An extra insurance may help you to have better care with a guarantee to be able to have immediate care if you already have a medical condition like diabetes or asthma that may likely act up while you are traveling.
The holiday medical insurance can be a very good investment if you are planning to travel such an area in the world that normally has overall poor medical care. For the regional medical care even if you manage to get the coverage but still your health insurance company might not cover the transportation or the evacuation to the medical facility will no way near you.
Where Can I Purchase Holiday Medical Insurance?
You can buy holiday medical insurance from various independent insurance agents as well as companies. Buying the insurance from a tour company or a travel agent is not a good idea always because some where else you may often get better coverage and rates. To find a good rate shop around and surely read every detail given on your policy so that everything that you will need is covered by your policy. The small print often will include the crucial exceptions as well as exclusions.
What Should I Look For In a Holiday Medical Insurance Policy?
The policy that you are purchasing must cover all your existing health conditions, transportation to and from the medical facilities and also the major medical expenditures. Make sure that your policy covers the transportation while you are traveling abroad mainly to an impoverished area.

Medical Billing and the Discrepancy Paradox of the Rising Healthcare Costs

2008-08-23T01:59:00.000-07:00

Health care spending continues to rise at the fastest rate in our history. In 2005, total national health costs rose 6.9 percent -- twice the rate of inflation - reaching $2 trillion, or $6,700 per person [Catlin, Cowan, Heffler, et al, 2006]. Currently, total health care spending represents 16 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP). In the next decade, U.S. health care spending is expected to increase at similar levels, reaching $4 trillion in 2015 [Borger et al, 2006].
While some experts maintain that our health care system is costly because it is riddled with inefficiencies, excessive administrative expenses, inflated prices, poor management, waste, inappropriate care, and fraud [Health Insurance Cost, National Coalition on Health Care, 2008], at least three remaining key factors, namely, aging population, expensive medical innovation, and defensive care, contribute substantially, to the overall cost picture.

Aging populationIn the United States, the proportion of the population aged >65 years is projected to increase from 12.4% in 2000 to 19.6% in 2030. The number of persons aged >65 years is expected to increase from approximately 35 million in 2000 to an estimated 71 million in 2030, and the number of persons aged >80 years is expected to increase from 9.3 million in 2000 to 19.5 million in 2030 [Public Health and Aging: Trends in Aging --- United States and Worldwide, 2008; Kaiser Family Foundation, 2006].
"The growing number of older adults increases demands on the public health system and on medical and social services. Chronic diseases, which affect older adults disproportionately, contribute to disability, diminish quality of life, and increased health- and long-term--care costs." [UN, 2002] 125 million Americans have one or more chronic conditions (e.g. congestive heart failure, diabetes.) Chronic diseases account for 75% of all health care expenditures. Source: Burrill & Company, 2006
Expensive innovation
The American biotechnology industry has surpassed pharmaceutical companies for the third straight year as the primary source of new medicines, and biotech revenue jumped nearly 16 percent to a record $50.7 billion in 2005. Source: Ernst & Young LLP, 2006
The USA is the world's largest and wealthiest pharmaceutical market, accounting for around 48% of the world total. Per capita expenditure on drugs is US $1,069 in 2006, nearly double the level found in the rest of the world. Source: Espicom Business Intelligence, 2006
...an estimated 30% of new products under development are "combo products" - involving medical devices embedded with pharmaceutical or biologics components. [Combination Products- Navigating Two FDA Quality Systems, Microtest White Paper, 2007]. The combination products market is estimated at $5.9B in 2004, and will continue to grow at a compound annual rate of 10% through 2009. By 2009, the market is expected to reach approximately $9.5B worldwide with a majority of these revenues from drug-eluting stents and steroid-eluting electrodes. Source: Navigant Consulting, Inc. In 2004, the US held approximately 65% of the drug-device combination product market. By 2010, the US is projected to hold 57%. Source: Business Communications Inc.

"Defensive" Medicine"One of the major cost drivers in the delivery of health care are these junk and frivolous lawsuits. The risk of frivolous litigation drives doctors -- and hear me out on this -- they drive doctors to prescribe drugs and procedures that may not be necessary, just to avoid lawsuits. That's called the defensive practice of medicine.. . . . See, lawsuits not only drive up premiums, which drives up the cost to the patient or the employer of the patient, but lawsuits cause docs to practice medicine in an expensive way in order to protect themselves in the courthouse. The defensive practice of medicine affects the federal budget. The direct cost of liability insurance and the indirect cost from unnecessary medical procedures raise the federal government's health care costs by at least $28 billion a year." [US President George Bush, Arkansas, January 26, 2004]

Now let us observe the paradox:

On one hand, the participants of every ancillary industry to health care, including insurance companies, hi-tech and pharmaceutical engineers and scientists, as well as lawyers, have increased their profits in step with the rising costs of health care at ever accelerating pace.
On the other hand, the medical and chiropractic office owners - the actual health care providers - have not only failed to keep up with raising costs but have lost a significant part of their income. In fact, between 1995 and 1999, at a time when most wages and salaries in the United States rose 3.5 percent after adjusting for inflation, average physician net income from the practice of medicine, adjusted for inflation, dropped 5 percent [Reed and Ginsburg, 2003]. In 2006, the median compensation for specialty and primary physicians grew only 1.7 ($322,259) and 2 ($171,519) percent respectively, slower than consumer price index of 3.2 percent [MGMA Physician Compensation and Production Survey: 2007 Report]. In comparison, health care costs beat the inflation by 3.5% reaching the annual growth rate of 6.7 [Health Care Spending, 2008]
Diverting our focus away from trying to find solutions to the problem of rising health care costs, we ask a different question: How such a paradoxical situation is possible without a deliberate and systematic strategy against health care providers?

Medical Billing Audit - Why Should Providers Audit Payers?

2008-08-21T06:05:00.000-07:00

Home Business Medical Plans - Find Affordable Small Business Health Insurance

2008-08-21T06:04:00.000-07:00

How to Choose a Group Medical Insurance Plan - The Forgotten Factor

2008-08-19T05:18:00.001-07:00

You've met with three or four insurance brokers, and all have given you spreadsheets presenting proposals from a number of insurance carriers vying for your company's business. Most of these spreadsheets, from all the brokers you met with, show basically the same selection of programs.

You go through each plan to understand it as best you can. You even run it by some other employees to get their input. Finally, you make a decision, call the broker to give him the good news, and away you go. The broker? Well, since all the brokers showed basically the same plans, you call the broker that also sold you the property and casualty insurance to your firm.

What have you forgotten?

It's a problem.

Your new group medical insurance plan has been in force for some time now. Employees come to you at least several times a week with claims problems, benefit questions and complaints.

Your job is NOT to be an insurance expert, so you call the broker that sold you the plan, looking for help. When he calls you back a couple of days after you left him a voice mail, he says he will check into your various questions and get back with you.

The broker calls you back a week later, with some garbled answers that really don't address the issues. You end up having your assistant call the insurance company's toll-free number, where she gets passed around to three different extensions, still not getting answers.

The forgotten factor

Go back to the beginning. You spent a lot of time trying to choose the right group insurance plan. But you really didn't put much consideration into which broker to write the program with. Broker selection was the forgotten factor.

Choosing a good broker is at least as important as which plan of insurance you select.

What should an employee benefits broker provide to you?

The broker will talk to your employees.

Your employees should be able to call your broker's office with claims problems and benefit questions, and talk to someone who is knowledgeable and will not leave them hanging. Your broker's office should be a dependable resource to you and your employees.

The broker will talk to the insurance company.

Your broker should do most or all of the communicating with the insurance company for all claims and billing issues. Again, you and your employees are NOT insurance experts. Your broker's office should be.

The broker will become a trusted advisor.

A good broker will become an extension of the human resources efforts of your company. His office will, by keeping your benefits program efficient and well-serviced, help you hire and keep the best employees. Even more than your accountant and attorney, he and his support staff will become trusted advisors.

How can you choose a good broker?

Make sure that your broker is a specialist in employee benefits. This will not be the broker that handles your property insurance or personal financial planning.

Ask for a list of at least 15 of his local business clients that have used his firm for at least five years, and call these referrals asking what type of job the broker's office has done for them. If the broker balks at this, or only can give you a few referrals, move on.

Make sure the broker has a knowledgeable and experienced staff. The broker is only one person, and he will often be out of the office. You should ask to talk to the person in the broker's office who will be handling the day-to-day servicing of your plan. Talk to that person on the telephone and make sure he or she seems competent and will be comfortable to work with.

The broker is often the forgotten factor. And don't you forget it.

Tips for Choosing a Group Medical and Dental Insurance Broker in Oklahoma

2008-08-19T05:18:00.000-07:00

How The Billing for Your Medical Services Works

2008-08-19T05:17:00.000-07:00

Rehab Billing Service Outsourcing - Zero-Sum Argument and Cost-Benefit Analysis

2008-08-16T05:11:00.000-07:00

Where to Get Cheap Emergency Medical Insurance

2008-08-14T03:39:00.000-07:00

High Deductible Major Medical Insurance - Where to Get the Best Rates

2008-08-14T03:38:00.000-07:00

Catastrophic Health Insurance Plus Supplemental Medical Equals Great, Affordable Health Coverage

2008-08-14T03:34:00.000-07:00

Affordable High Risk Medical Insurance Online

2008-08-13T06:03:00.001-07:00

Cheap Medical Insurance Online

2008-08-13T06:03:00.000-07:00

Cheap High Risk Medical Insurance Online

2008-08-13T06:02:00.000-07:00

Cheap Medical Insurance Companies In Alabama

2008-08-12T05:33:00.000-07:00

Finding cheap medical insurance companies in Alabama is becoming harder and harder to do. It seems that no medical insurance is cheap any longer. In fact, the cost of medical insurance has gotten so high that more than 16% of all families in Alabama are currently without health insurance of any kind. Fortunately if you find yourself in that position, or close to it, there are a number of things you can do today that can lower the cost of your health insurance as quickly as tomorrow.
If you haven't already set up the automatic payment of your monthly premium directly from your bank account then do so today. This isn't a huge savings, but every little bit adds up.
If you don't see your doctor very often in a normal year then increase your co-payment from 25% to 50%. This can save you several hundreds of dollars over the course of a year.
If you can possibly afford it, increasing your deductible will decrease your monthly premium almost instantly. Just be sure that you have the resources to pay for the additional deductible each year before your insurance takes over.
If you smoke or use chew you simply must quit if you want any chance of finding the cheapest medical insurance you can. If you're serious about saving money then you've got to get serious about quitting smoking.
You've also got to get serious about improving your health in general. Stop eating at fast food restaurants - or at least cut back the number of days you do considerably. Do not super-size meals and do not buy french-fries or other fried items. Changing your eating habits is not as difficult as you might think.
Getting a little exercise will improve your health and help you lose weight. Walk around the block a few times each week. Ride your bike to do errands or ride your bike to school each morning with your kids. Join a group that walks around the mall each morning. Get up, get out and move around!
There's only one place for you to find the cheapest medical insurance companies in Alabama and that's online. It's not hard to find several websites that allow you to make comparisons of health insurance prices from different insurance companies. Just make sure that you check out the prices from a number of different sites rather than relying on just one site.
But after you've taken the time to make comparisons on 3 or more websites you should have sufficient choices to pick the very best rate for health insurance that you are likely to find.

Cheap Medical Insurance In Alabama

2008-08-12T05:32:00.000-07:00

It's hard to even think in terms of cheap medical insurance any longer. Medical insurance here in Alabama has gotten so expensive that more than 16% of all the residents of Alabama can't afford any medical coverage at all. Fortunately there is a radical new way for many people who can no longer afford health insurance to get coverage.
This new idea in cheap medical insurance in Alabama is called a Health Savings Account, or an HSA. An HSA is a self-directed tax-free medical savings account. Tax-free money is deposited into your special savings account which can only be used to pay for your medical needs throughout the year. Any money left in your tax-free account at the end of the year is rolled over into the next year, potentially allowing you to build up a nice tax-free nest egg over time.
Attached to this tax-free savings account is a low-cost super high deductible health insurance policy. These policies have deductibles of more than $1,200 for an individual and more than $2,400 for a family.
Because these policies have such high deductibles their monthly premium is extremely low, low enough for most individuals and families to afford. However, during a normal year these high deductible policies will not pay one penny toward any of your health care costs. Instead, you pay for all of these costs yourself out of your special tax-free savings account. In other words, you have to pay for your own health needs but you get to pay for it with non-taxed dollars, saving you at least 25% .
What is the purpose of the high-deductible insurance policy, then? The policy is a safety net in the (hopefully) unlikely event that you suffer some sort of catastrophic accident or that you become very ill and require long-term hospitalization or round-the-clock care. Such a catastrophic event could easily wipe out your life savings or even force the sale of your home - but with the high-deductible insurance policy your savings and your home will be safe.
You can learn more about these Health Savings Accounts where you work, or at your bank, savings and loan, credit union or at any insurance company.
But whether you are looking into an HSA plan or a more traditional health plan the first place you want to look if you want the very best price possible is online. There are literally dozens of websites that encourage you to compare the prices of health insurance policies at various insurance companies here in Alabama.
Check out the prices on at least 3 different websites if you want to be certain that you'll find the rock-bottom price for health insurance.

Cheap High Risk Medical Insurance In Alabama

2008-08-08T05:43:00.000-07:00

The cost of health insurance in Alabama is so high that more than 50% of all Alabama residents who have health insurance admit that the cost of their premiums is a severe financial burden every month. And with the cost of health care constantly rising, the situation only promises to get worse. Before it does, I hope you will take a moment to consider several simple ways for you to cut the cost of your health insurance.

You can get a better price on your health insurance if you simply pay your monthly premium automatically every month out of your bank account. If your insurance company doesn't have to send you a costly bill every month they will gladly charge you less for your insurance.

Don't participate in dangerous or extreme sports or hobbies. If you insist on putting your health in extra peril you can't expect your health insurance company to reward you by lowering your rate.
You will also get a cheaper price on your health insurance if you don't smoke and if you don't use chew or any other tobacco product.

Get some exercise and cut out most fast foods. Many people would rather die than exercise, but the truth is that simply walking around the block a few times each week will do wonders for your health. If you enjoy exercising in a group why not join a walking group that walks the mall?

If you are really serious about finding the least expensive health care there is, perhaps you need to look into a Health Saving Account, or HSA. This is a special saving plan that is tax free. The catch is that you can only use the money in your tax free account to pay for medical needs.

As part of your HSA account you will be required to purchase a very low-cost super high deductible health insurance policy. This policy will have a deductible of at least $1,200 if you are single and at least $2,400 if you are buying a family package.

Obviously with deductibles this high these policies will not help pay for any of your medical costs in a normal year. The idea behind these policies is that should you suffer a catastrophic illness or accident - the kind of illness or accident that could cost you tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollar - then these policies will spring to life, protecting your life savings and even protecting you from the forced sale of your home.

The best place to find cheap medical insurance in Alabama is online. The secret to finding the very best price online is to look at as many prices as you can. The way to do that is to run your price comparisons on several different comparison sites.

Once you've run your comparisons on at least 3 different sites then you can feel confident that the lowest price you've found will be the lowest price you can get and you will be saving money month after month, year after year.

Medical Health Insurance - How To Get The Cheapest Policy

2008-08-08T05:42:00.000-07:00

One of the largest expenses in today's modern society is the cost of health insurance. Over the last hundred years, the population has increased so dramatically that any country would have difficulty providing universal health care, especially with all of the modern advances that we have today and the large sums of money that most medical doctors and hospitals make. Here are a few tips on how to get the cheapest medical health insurance policy available today without racking your brain too much.

Before you go on a long winded tour of the Internet or your local Yellow Pages in order to find out where in the world you're going to get medical health insurance coverage, there are few things that you ought to run by your frontal lobe in order to determine exactly what pathway you wish to take when searching for this inevitable necessity that all adults and children must or should have in our ever-changing society. Health insurance is very important and you won't really understand how important until you are in a situation where you are with out it and end up in the hospital and receive a bill for 50 or even $100,000 that you have to pay out of your own pocket because you did not decide to get any coverage at all.

One of the first things you must consider is how many people are in your family. If you are a single person then your premium each month will be very small in comparison to what it would be for a family of say 10 people. If you are single then you have many other choices available to you that most people do not. However, if you are a family person and you need to have coverage for your many loved ones, then there are a few more considerations that you need to take into account.

Most families are not consistent of one age group but multiple age groups with multiple variations of problems that may occur. For instance, if you have many infants, then you must take into account how many different problems come when raising a child from the years of one to two years of age. If you have children in elementary school, those problems will be different than those of your teen children and so on.

Once you have taking into account how many people you will need to put on your policy, then you need to consider what kind of a policy that you should have. There are many policies that have and exceptional amount of coverage that costs a lot of money. If you do go to the doctor regularly, then this medical health insurance will be very beneficial because you will be saving money in the long run. However, if you do not go to the doctor very frequently and are typically a healthy person and the members of your household are also healthy, then you may be better off with a premium that is lower that offers fewer benefits because you will not need them on a regular basis.

The next thing to consider is the premium itself. If you're lucky enough to find a company that will give you a medical health insurance policy that is affordable and gives you almost if not full coverage for all of your medical, dental, and even vision care needs, then you should pay a premium that you can afford that will give you these kinds of benefits. However, most companies are not out there to give you the best policy for less and therefore you must pick and choose between what they have to offer and what you can afford. When doing so, always take into account what you think your family will need or if you are an individual than take into account how many times you think you will be going to the doctor and choose your policy accordingly.

The last thing to consider is why you need a policy. If you are relatively healthy all of the time, then you should go ahead and get a policy that is a bottom level policy in price and in benefits. At least then you would have coverage. If you have more people to consider, I would consider getting the middle ground policy which will cost a marginal amount yet cover everyone in the family. If your family is habitually going to the doctor or the dentist, and it is probably your best bet to choose a higher and policy with the most benefits in order to save your family money in the long run as they make those frequent trips to the doctor. It is up to you to make a good decision and you will do so after reading this when choosing your next medical health insurance policy.

The Outsourced Medical Billing Network Effect And The CNS For The Chiropractic Office

2008-08-08T05:36:00.001-07:00

Dr. John looked at the computer screen and felt nauseated: only half of the claims that he submitted for payment three months ago were paid. At two AM, Dr. John sat wide awake worried about what went wrong with his billing and about the future of his chiropractic office. Yesterday Pat, his billing assistant, seemed especially upset. Dr. John tried to remember her smile. She knew everything there is to know about billing when she arrived at his office doorstep three years ago. He caught himself thinking that Pat's moods were even less predictable than his wife's.

Was he wise to open an office? Why is he unable to get paid in full for his work? His revenues have not changed in the past two years, yet it looks like he will finish this year lower than last year. That's assuming he doesn't get audited. Though Dr. John couldn't recall any of the audit statistics recited by the speaker at the Association's presentation, he clearly remembered that the trend looked ominous; the likelihood of being audited seemed to match the likelihood of being involved in a car accident. Yet no insurance company covers audit risk...Is it because you always end up paying back when audited?

Dr. John thought again about the striking similarities of the information processing mechanisms between the chiropractic office and the human organism. Both the human body and the chiropractic office are complex information systems, where the flow of information must be uninhibited in order to have them growing at a healthy pace. The office, just like the human body, must perform its vital functions optimally to grow and to avoid risks.

In the "human body-chiropractic office" analogy, the CNS is not just the software that facilitates such functions or the office staff that performs these functions using the software, and it's not just the procedures that the office staff follows when performing these functions using the software. The CNS concept unites all three components of information flow management, including procedures, technology, and staff who follow the procedures and use the technology that results in the desired behavior. The CNS is:

* Comprehensive - The CNS covers every aspect of a physician's practice, starting with patient scheduling, registration, documentation, and billing.
* Timely - The CNS responds in real time: collections are updated as they arrive, coding advice is dispatched at the time of SOAP note entry, the patient is questioned about outstanding balance at the time of appointment registration, the compliance with care plan is reviewed at the time of the doctor's appointment, and questions between billing and front office personnel are resolved online.
* Intelligent - The CNS synthesizes new information from available data to make suggestions to the physician about potential audit exposure due to over-coding or about potential applicability of a treatment or a vitamin because another patient with similar history used it and received positive results.
* Self-Improving - The CNS shares practice management and billing knowledge across all the providers on the entire network. Every new chiropractor that joins the network, benefits from all others that already joined before. So the value that the office receives from being a part of the network keeps growing with each additional office. Such an expanding community-driven effect has been documented by amazon.com, yahoo, and flickr and it's called "network effect."
* Accountable - The CNS has built-in "memory" that keeps tabs of every claim and of every action on it so that the entire billing process is tracked: form coding to claim submission, payment posting to follow-up.
* Transparent - The CNS has a built-in continuous measurement process, collecting and communicating information about patients waiting, payments paid, etc.
* Proactive - The CNS generates symptoms and directions automatically and independently of the staff. It discovers underpayments and delays or patients that left the office without billing and alerts the front-office staff about problems.
* Intuitive - The CNS generates simple and easy to understand signals that require simple decisions, such as "correct the ICD-9," or "call the insurance company," or "request patient demographics."
* HIPAA-compliant - The CNS delivers the information on the "need to know" basis only.
* Universal - The CNS provides every participant in the billing process, including patient, provider, payer, and biller, with access to every aspect of the billing process.
* Continuous - The CNS makes process detail available continuously on a 24 x 7 basis.
* Ubiquitous - The CNS provides access to billing process over a secure standard Internet browser that requires no special hardware or software and is available everywhere.
* Scalable - The CNS makes both the big picture and minute detail available for scrutiny universally and continuously. The big picture consists of total cash flow in a given time period, current submitted and failed claims, and billing quality metric. It must contain a comprehensive summary of patient visits and unpaid balances. The minute detail pertains to individual claims making up the big picture, including a complete history from the moment of creating the claim, testing its validity and eligibility, making corrections, performing submissions, reconciling payer messages and explanations of benefits (EOB) with original claims, until payment. Both perspectives must allow for an arbitrary aggregation of claims and drill in detail to enable effective follow-up.

Health Insurance - Coming Up Short On Medical Care

2008-08-08T05:36:00.000-07:00

With prices in every industry rising throughout the decade, there
is no doubt that insurance rates of all kinds are reaching
frightening heights as well. However, the increased rate of
health insurance doesn't mean you should not agree to have it
anymore.

When it comes to the coverage of checkups, illnesses,
emergencies, or prescriptions, the costs your health insurance
covers saves you lots of money in the end.

As good and as important it is to have health insurance for
yourself and your family, there are always the exceptions. No
matter what plan you have and how much it covers, there may be a
time in your life when you go through treatment or have a medical
condition in which your health insurance policy will not take
care of. Usually these exceptions to your insurance deal with
plastic surgery, however, a different situation may arise.

When you have your insurance plan, whether you took notice of it
in the beginning or not, there are "excluded treatments"
outlined. When seeking a treatment that your insurance company
says they cannot cover, the first thing you should do is read
over your policy.

If what you want or need done is not listed in the "excluded
treatments," you should contact the company your insurance is
with and ask them about their reasoning behind it. Not all of
the time, but in some scenarios, talking to the insurance company
and your physician will help you get consent to go on with your
treatment or surgery.

When things do not work out how you wanted and you do not get
approval for your treatment or surgery, there isn't much you can
do. If you decide to still go on with your treatment you will be
compelled to pay for everything yourself. Not everyone has the
money for expensive treatments or surgeries these days, and if
you do not want to give up the fight, you can continue to appeal
your insurance company's decision.

In order to follow through with an appeal, you must do all the
steps correctly. Most companies are dealing with tons of
consumers, and would rather make an exception for your need
rather than take the time to handle the appealing process.

If all fails, there are only a few options to offer before you
decide to have nothing taken care of, or decide to pay the full
price. When all is said and done and you are out of hope, try
asking your doctor to lower the payment or if you could work out
a plan so you do not have to pay it all at once. If there is no
hope there either, take some time to look up other doctors and
see if you can negotiate a lower price with someone different.

Lastly, this does not apply to all, but you can check to see if
you are able to get free treatment at a public clinic. For some
unfortunate ones, none of these options could work. However, if
you feel you have the time and venture, you should be able to get
what you want or need done at a reasonable price.

How to Get Inexpensive Medical and Dental Insurance

2008-08-08T05:35:00.000-07:00

Contrary to popular belief, inexpensive medical and dental insurance is not a thing of the past. You can get it now, if you know where to look and what to get.

Comprehensive Medical Insurance Plans

Comprehensive insurance plans cover your ongoing health care needs and are the most expensive plans. They include:

* Indemnity Plans. These are the traditional insurance plans that cover your doctor visits, hospital fees, and prescription drugs. These plans let you use your own doctor and hospital, and are the most expensive of the comprehensive insurance plans.

* Managed health care plans (HMOs, PPOs, POSs). These plans assign you to a health care group - doctors, hospitals, and specialists - that you use for your health care needs. Some of these plans let you use your own doctor and hospital for an additional fee. They are the least expensive comprehensive insurance plans.

* Medical saving accounts. These plans combine a tax-sheltered savings account with a high-deductible health insurance plan. The savings account is used to pay for minor medical expenses and the insurance pays for more expensive medical expenses.

Specialized Health Insurance Plans

Specialized health insurance plans cover only specific health care needs. They are the least expensive insurance plans. They include:

* Major medical insurance plans. These plans are high deductible health insurance plans that provide coverage for major illnesses such as heart attacks and cancer.

* Hospital and surgery plans. These plans provide coverage for hospital stays and surgical services only. They cover doctor fees, room and board, lab tests, and X-rays.

* Hospital confinement plans. These plans pay a set amount for each day you spend in the hospital.

* Short term plans. These are comprehensive health insurance plans with coverage that lasts for a specified amount of time.

* Accident only plans. These plans pay for doctor visits and hospital fees when you have an accident. They do not cover illnesses or diseases.

Cheap High Risk Medical Insurance

2008-08-08T05:34:00.000-07:00

Finding cheap medical insurance has become a national mania. It seems that everyone needs to cut the cost of their medical insurance. Fortunately there are several things that almost everyone can do to lower the cost of their traditional medical insurance - and then there is a fairly new, cheap, high risk medical insurance plan that you may want to consider.

First, a few things you can do to lower the cost of your traditional medical insurance.

Don't buy individual medical insurance if you can avoid it. Group medical insurance is much less expensive. If your place of employment doesn't offer group health insurance ask around at any clubs or fraternities or groups or associations that you belong to. Many organizations that have absolutely nothing to do with insurance offer their members a low-cost group health plan. If you don't belong to any clubs that offer their members group health, see if any of your friends or family do. If so - join!

Don't smoke. Don't use chew. How many times have you been told how bad for your health tobacco products are? Now here's where smoking or using chew is going to cost you extra - a lot extra. If you're serious about saving money on your health insurance then you'll have to get serious about quitting tobacco products.

Weight is another factor in how much you are going to pay for your health insurance. Your Body Mass Index (BMI) will help determine how much you pay every month for your insurance. Losing weight is really tough, but if you can drop even a few pounds there is the possibility that you will drop down one rung on the insurance company's BMI scale and if that happens it's just possible that you could save hundreds of dollars each and every year on your health insurance.

Don't participate regularly in extreme or dangerous sports. Also, if you drive a sports car or any other high-performance vehicle you may very well end up paying more for your health insurance.

Upping your co-payment to 50% will also save you money. This is an especially good idea for people who do not see their doctor on a regular basis.

Increasing your deductible will save you money almost instantly. If you can afford a larger deductible you'll save money month after month.

For people who still can't afford health insurance there is one other alternative - sign up for an HSA account. HSA stands for Health Savings Account. This is a tax-free savings account that can only be used to pay for medical related expenses. As part of your HSA you will be required to purchase a low-cost super-high-deductible health insurance policy. This policy will have a deductible of at least $1,100 if you are an individual or $2,200 if you are insuring a family.

Obviously these insurance policies will not pay anything toward your medical bills in a normal year - that's what your tax-free savings account is for. Where these policies shine is if you are suddenly faced with a catastrophic event which results in tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical bills. Your high-deductible policy will then protect your home and other assets and pay your bills.

You can lean more about HSA accounts from your bank or credit union, any health insurance company and even from your employer.

If you are interested in sticking with more traditional health insurance, but you need to save money on it, then use the information you have learned from this article to help you fill out the forms on at least 3 different websites that permit you to compare the prices of health insurance from different companies head-to-head.

Remember to take the extra time and make your comparisons on 3 sites and also make sure that you answer the questions on all 3 sites the same way. This way you will be comparing the same health policy on every site.

As soon as you have all the results simply compare the prices and choose the lowest price you find. That's all there is to it. You are now an expert at finding cheap high risk medical insurance in your state.

Affordable High Risk Medical Insurance

2008-08-08T05:33:00.000-07:00

Finding affordable high risk medical insurance is almost as difficult these days as finding a needle in a proverbial haystack. However, whether you are looking for affordable traditional medical insurance or you're thinking about opening a Health Savings Account (HSA), there are steps you can take that will lower your monthly premium.

Paying your premiums automatically from your bank account will save you money.

Not smoking or using chew will save you a lot of money. You know as well as anyone that you can't be serious about wanting to save money on health insurance if you are going to continue smoking or using chew.

Unfortunately the same thing applies to being overweight. Insurance companies use your Body Mass Index (BMI) to help determine how much to charge you every month for your insurance. The higher your BMI the more you're going to pay. Losing even a little weight can make a difference in how much you pay every month. Remember, every pound counts!

If you regularly participate in an extreme sport or if you have a dangerous hobby you can count on paying more for your health insurance. Similarly, if you drive a fast sports car or a muscle car you may find yourself paying more for your health insurance.

If you are willing to increase your co-payment to 50% you can save money on your premium every month. Depending on how often you see your doctor in a normal year this could turn out to be a big savings.

On a similar note, increasing your deductible will also decrease your monthly premium.

Increasing your deductible to the max is what the most affordable - but potentially most high risk - medical insurance is all about. It's called a Health Savings Account, or HSA.

An HSA is a tax-free savings account with the special feature that you can only use it to pay medical expenses. Attached to the account is a low-cost super-high-deductible health insurance policy. The policy will have a deductible for an individual of around $1,100 and a deductible of approximately $2,200 for a family.

These affordable policies are not designed to pay for your routine medical needs during the year (you pay for those out of your tax-free savings account). What these policies are is a safety-net in the event that you suffer a catastrophic medical event or accident that creates humongous medical bills.

You can get more information about HSAs through your local bank or credit union, insurance companies and even from your employer.

For those who are interested in simply finding the best rate for a traditional medical insurance policy, your best bet - by far - is to look online. You will find no end to the number of websites that are designed to let you compare prices for health insurance from several different insurance companies. The only thing you need to be aware of is that no one site compares all insurance companies.

Therefore, if you are deadly serious about finding the very lowest price for your health insurance then you must take the extra time to fill out the form on a minimum of 3 different price comparison sites.

But that's all you really need to do. Just use the information you learned in this article and fill out the form on 3 different price comparison websites. Make certain that you answer the questions the same way on all three forms so you are comparing the same policy - then simply pick the very best price you find.

Cheap Medical Insurance Companies

2008-08-08T05:13:00.000-07:00

I don't know one person who wouldn't like to find cheap medical insurance companies, but it seems that inexpensive medical insurance is a thing of the past.

Even though it is getting harder and harder to find cheap medical insurance there are things that you can do that will help to keep the cost of your medical insurance as low as possible. One thing you can do is to buy your medical insurance online. This will almost always save you money - but before you start trying to find the lowest-priced medical insurance online there are a few things that you should keep in mind if you really want to get your medical insurance at the lowest price possible.

Start with a healthy lifestyle. This means cutting way back on fast food and junk food. It's not as hard as you think if you set your mind to it. Cut out all fried foods.

Get some exercise. Walk around the block a few times each week. Bicycle to school with your kids in the morning rather than walk or put them on a bus. Join a group that walks around the mall every morning. Do something. Get up off the couch and move your body.

Don't smoke. You know as well as anyone that you're not going to find cheap medical insurance if you smoke.

Weight is another issue. All insurance companies base your monthly health insurance premium in part on your Body Mass Index - also known as your BMI. No matter how many times you've tried to lose weight in the past you've got to shed a few pounds if you really want to get the lowest price for your health insurance. Remember, even a few pounds could change your BMI enough to qualify you for a lower rate - so every single pound counts!

Don't participate in extreme sports and give up dangerous hobbies. If you drive a fast and flashy sports car you won't be offered the lowest possible price on your health insurance.

Increasing your co-payment to 50% can save you a lot of money every month on your health premium. If you don't see your doctor very often each year then this can be a good choice.

Your deductible makes a huge difference in how much you pay for your medical insurance. The higher your deductible the lower your monthly health insurance premium will be. Caution needs to be exercised, however, as you must be careful not to promise to pay more than you can actually afford.

Even with these concessions the cost of health insurance can still be too much. Another idea is to start a Heath Saving Account, or an HSA. An HSA is a special tax-free savings account that you can only use to pay your medical expenses from.

As part of your HSA you will be required to purchase very low-cost super-high-deductible health insurance. This insurance will have a deductible of at least $1,200 if you are single and double that if you are buying a family policy. This insurance won't pay for your day-to-day medical expenses. Instead, it is designed to save your home or other assets if you should suffer a catastrophic incident that creates massive medical bills.

Now you have some idea of how to fill out the form on the online websites that let you compare prices for health insurance from a variety of companies, so it is time for you to get online and find the cheapest medical insurance company available in your state.

Just be sure that you take the time to fill out the form on a minimum of 3 different sites rather than relying on the results from just one website. In this way you will see the prices from a wider range of insurance companies.

Also be sure that you answer the questions in exactly the same way on all 3 of the sites you use. That way you will be comparing the same policy all across the board and you will be more likely to find the lowest priced insurance.

Now simply choose the best price you have found and you're done! You've now found the cheapest health insurance that you can possibly get in your state.

Who Needs Medical Insurance?

2008-08-08T05:12:00.001-07:00

The use of private medical insurance has risen dramatically over the last 30 years as the only way to pay for the rising costs of healthcare in hospitals, clinics and private practices. As you probably know all to well, the cost of healthcare and health insurance premiums continue to increase at levels substantially above the general rate of inflation. So as the cost of medical treatment continues to rise, finding cheap medical insurance is becoming increasingly difficult.

Some individuals are fortunate enough to have their health insurance arranged through their employer who contributes a large percentage of the cost himself. Although the rising cost of medical insurance is one reason that employers are finding it an increasingly difficult benefit to give their workers. Unfortunately though, for a growing minority of workers with high health care costs, health insurance is the main attraction, rather than the job or the overall pay. Not everyone is fortunate enough to have a health plan provided by their employer and finding cheap health insurance is the only realistic option.

While many people today are still able to obtain some type of health insurance through their place of employment or privately, many others, the low paid, self-employed and the unemployed simply don't know where to find good quality coverage at a fair price. Whilst a little research is required to make sensible comparisons, carrying out searches for low cost health insurance schemes on the internet has proved very helpful for many as you are able to compare benefits of a large number of providers using online comparison tables. But choosing the right health insurance is something that cannot be rushed if you have a family.

The good news is that people are learning that they have to be more selective and look carefully at every aspect of their potential health insurance plans to obtain the best possible premiums. Many national and local organizations of self-employed workers are now banding together to form cooperatives and combine their buying power to get affordable health insurance premiums through group policies. If you have a chance at a group health insurance, whether through a job or an association you're a member of, it will usually be much more affordable than buying individual health insurance on your own.

Be careful to read the health insurance policy well and especially the areas that are not covered by the healthcare plan. One thing to check with the health insurance is the definition of an emergency and whether this can be treated by primary care doctor. So it is clear that there are many things to check before you make a decision on what health insurance provider you intend to use. There is little disagreement that the growing number of people without health insurance is going to cause problems in the future. Worth considering is the statistic that shows that the fatality rate a person who does not have health insurance is twenty five percent higher than that of a person who has a health care plan.

Cheap Medical Insurance

2008-08-08T05:12:00.000-07:00

It's hard to imagine anyone who would not be interested in finding cheap medical insurance. Unfortunately it is getting harder and harder to find medical insurance that is affordable. In fact, fully 16% of all Americans today cannot afford any health care at all.

Obviously group health care is going to be less expensive than individual health care. If your place of employment doesn't have group health insurance then try asking around at any organizations, groups or associations that you belong to. Many are now offering their members low-cost group health.
Increasing your co-payment can lower the amount you pay every month. Obviously this is not as good of an option for people who see their doctor on a regular basis, but if you can afford to increase your co-pay to 50% then you will save money month after month.

Increasing your deductible will also reduce your monthly premium. Again, you have to weigh the cost and the benefits to know if paying more for your own health care each year before your insurance kicks in makes economic sense for you.

Don't smoke. You know as well as anyone that you are not going to get the best rate on your health insurance if you smoke or if you use chew or any other tobacco product. If you're serious about saving money on your health insurance then you're going to have to get serious about quitting the use of all tobacco products.

Your weight is also an issue when it comes to how much you pay for your health insurance. Part of your monthly premium is based on your Body Mass Index, or BMI. If you can shed even a few pounds then it is possible that you could slip down a rung on the insurance company's BMI chart. If that happens you could save quite a bit each and every year on your health insurance. It's certainly worth a try.

Getting exercise and eating better can also reduce how much you pay for your health insurance and how much you pay for your medical costs overall. Cut way back on the fast foods - and stop eating fried foods at all.

Exercise doesn't mean buying some fancy and expensive machine. Just walk. Or ride a bike to do your errands a few times each week. Did you know that there are groups you can join who walk the malls in the mornings? Exercise can be fun.

If all else fails how about setting up a Health Savings Account, or HSA? An HSA is a tax-free savings account that you can only use to pay for your medical needs. As part of your account you will purchase a low-cost super-high-deductible health insurance policy.

This policy will have a deductible of at least $1,200 for an individual or $2,200 for a family. These policies pay nothing toward your health costs in a normal year - you pay for all of your own health needs out of your tax-free savings account.

What these low-cost super-high-deductible policies do is they protect your home and other valuable assets in the event that you suffer a catastrophic illness or accident which results in medical bills in the tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Talk with your banker, or your employer or an insurance agent for details on how you can set up an HSA account.

If you purchase a tradition health policy you will save money if you purchase it online. You will find no end to the number of websites that will let you compare the prices of health insurance policies from one company to another. The trick is to not rely on the results from just one website as each website only compares prices from a small number of companies.

Instead, make price comparisons on at least 3 different websites. In this way you will see the prices from a lot more companies and you will have a better chance of finding the rock-bottom price for your health insurance needs.