There are 3 important terms you should be aware of when purchasing insurance: premiums, deductibles, and co-pays. In this video, Lori-Ann defines and clears up the common misconceptions surrounding these terms so you are able to make a more informed decision when it comes to choosing your health insurance plan.
Tag Archives: patients
Helpful Health Care Links: January 23, 2015
Our helpful health care links focus primarily on a variety of topics– Government healthcare website sharing personal data and an update of where Michigan falls with health insurance sign-ups. We also include an article from The Washington Post about The House of Representatives approving two bills revising healthcare legislation for small businesses. All are worth your time. And, as always, if you ever come across a healthcare story that you think merits more attention, please send it our way!
Healthcare Is Headed Down A New Road With New Rules In 2015
Here is the trend of the top ten trends shaping healthcare for 2015.
Government Health Care Website Quietly Sharing Personal Data
The government’s health insurance website is quietly sending consumers’ personal data to private companies that specialize in advertising and analyzing Internet data for performance and marketing.
House Approves Two Obamacare Tweaks Intended To Help Small Businesses
The House of Representatives has already approving two bills that would revise some of the legislation’s most controversial rules for business owners.
Michigan Health Insurance Sign-Ups Near 300,000
Nearly 300,000 Michiganians have signed up for health insurance through the federal government with just over three weeks remaining to enroll.
Hospitals’ Medicare Quality Bonuses Get Wiped Out By Penalties
What Medicare gives with one hand, it’s taking away with another. Most government quality bonuses to hospitals this year are being wiped out by penalties issued for other shortcomings.
I’m Healthy: I Don’t Need Health Insurance
It’s the call you never want to get. “Honey, there has been an accident….”
This is what my friend Kelley heard on the other end of the line when, Matt, her husband (boyfriend at the time), called to tell her he was in a motorcycle accident.
In the summer of 2011, Matt was interning at Chrysler and about to start his senior year at Michigan State. Earlier that year, Matt was taken off his parent’s health insurance plan. Because he was still in school and only working part-time, he decided to not sign up for health insurance. Paying for rent and tuition was on his mind more than healthcare.
One day, he went out for an innocent motorcycle ride with a friend and in a split second everything changed. A car pulled out in front of him and clipped the front of his bike throwing him into the median. Matt managed to avoid any broken bones or head trauma. Road rash and a totaled bike were the extent of his injuries. The ambulance came and he was rushed to the hospital.
Once he was treated by a physician, he called Kelley to let her know he was okay. The first thing that came to Kelley’s mind was the fact he did not have health insurance and how would he pay for the medical bills he was likely to incur.
In the state of Michigan, an accident between a motorcycle and another vehicle, auto-insurance of the “party at fault” foots the bill. However, if there is an accident between two motorcycles, auto-insurance does not cover the claim.
In Matt’s case, he “got lucky.” Not only could the accident have been a lot worse, he may have been left with a pile of medical bills with no way of paying them.
I often get a lot of questions from friends and family asking “How do I know what plan is right for me?” or “I’m healthy, do I need to have health insurance?” I can easily list all the reasons why they need healthcare, but at the end of the day, I cannot make the decision for them. We have to think about what our needs are currently and think about where they might be throughout the next year.
Kelley and Matt’s story is a perfect example. You have to be thinking about the “What if’s.”