Insurelane Insurance Blog

Saving On Life Insurance

The amount you have to pay for your life insurance varies from person to person. For those who smoke or have serious medical conditions or have picked up flying planes as a hobby, the chances of finding a cheap life insurance policy may be slim. But as reported by Smart Money, there are some ways most people can save.

For example, you may want to consider:

• Negotiation – If you think you’ve been given an unfair price, make sure you take it up with the company
• Find a company that specializes in covering your existing medical condition
• Carefully consider riders – some might duplicate coverage you already get from your other insurance policies

For more suggestions, view the entire article online.

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The vast majority of doctors get the same pay no matter whether they give their patients outstanding or inadequate care. In attempts to right the balance, some communities have taken the first tentative steps towards adopting pay for performance programs.

A pay for performance (P4P) program usually refers to giving doctors financial rewards when they meet goals such as patient satisfaction, cost containment and practicing preventative care.

The Center for Studying Health System Change (HSC) recently took a look at some communities that have P4P programs in place and found most of them to be off to a sluggish start.

"While there's been plenty of buzz about pay for performance as a way to improve health care quality, the reality is that these initiatives are off to a slow start in many communities," said Paul B. Ginsburg, Ph.D., president of HSC, a nonpartisan policy research organization funded principally by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

The HSC tracked 12 communities for the last 10 years and found only two of them, Orange County, California and Boston, have P4P programs of any significance.

In some of the communities studied, very few doctors have seen payments related to the quality of care they practice. The study found that these doctors regarded P4Ps anywhere from skeptically to openly hostile.

For more information, check out the full study.

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Whether you’re moving, going on a trip or just want to find a new dentist in your home town, sometimes you need a little help finding the right provider.

At the government-funded website, MedlinePlus, consumers can quickly search a wide range of databases to locate everything from hospitals and clinics to doctors, dentists and specialists.

MedLine even lets you search faster by limiting results by your home state. Plus, you can access information on over 700 different conditions, diseases and wellness topics.

Hop online to get started: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/directories.html

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New retirees have a lot of new decisions in front of them, one of which is whether or not to hang onto that life insurance policy.

According to Robert Powell, reporting in MarketWatch, there aren’t any easy solutions to the post-retirement life insurance dilemma. It’s up to the individual to sit down, crunch some numbers and reevaluate your goals for your life and after you’ve passed on.

Some suggestions Powell has for why you might consider keeping your policy:

• You’re still working off a big mortgage or other debt
• You still have dependents that would be financially stressed after your death
• You’re up against a weighty death tax when you or your spouse dies
• You’re interested in donating a large sum to a favorite charity when you die
• You think you may need long term care

Read the rest of Powell’s article.

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January Is National Blood Donor Month

Every day in the U.S., approximately 38,000 units of blood are required in hospitals and emergency treatment facilities for patients with cancer and other diseases, for organ transplant recipients, and to help save the lives of accident victims.

This January, consider donating to help ensure that blood is available to patients whenever and wherever it is needed.

If you are at least 17 years of age (some states permit younger people to donate with parental consent), weigh at least 110 pounds and meet other donor requirements, you may be eligible to donate blood.

Find out where you can donate blood.

Unless companies start doing a better job at providing information so people can compare costs and quality before seeking medical treatment, consumer-driven health plans (CDHPs) won’t deliver on their promises, reports Buisness Week Online.

According to a recent study, only 42% of people currently with a CDHP are satisfied with their coverage, below the 63% of people who are content with their traditional insurance.

Insurance companies have promised to begin providing web tools that will let consumers learn about cost-effective health care. Unfortunately the technology is a little lagging, and the health care and insurance industries remain reluctant to reveal real prices.

Yet CDHPs continue to be a fast-growing option in the country, and proponents contend that they do help consumers take an active role in their care and lowering their medical costs.

Get the full article.

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Insurance premiums are pricey, but Massachusetts residents are getting a little relief the Eagle Tribune recently reported. In the new year drivers will see their insurance rates go down about $95 dollars per vehicle or just about 8.7%. The decrease is the largest residents have seen in over 25 years.

Massachusetts drivers will save a projected $380 million in insurance costs.

The new rates may come at the expense of the ‘good driver discounts’ Massachusetts insurers typically granted drivers with better than average records.

While the news is good to some, others were hoping for a larger reduction, including Attorney General Thomas Reilly, who had publicly sought an 18% rate cut.

For the full story, visit the Eagle Tribune online.

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You might feel healthy – but how does the rest of your state shape up?

The United Health Foundation recently issued a report that ranked all 50 states individually for         overall healthiness. The report judged each state’s health using measures such as premature death rates; number of cardiovascular deaths; prevalence of obesity; low percentages of uninsured people, crime, infant mortality, motor vehicle deaths, adequate prenatal care and more.

2005’s Top Three Healthiest States

1. Minnesota (healthiest)
2. Vermont
3. New Hampshire

2005’s Top Three Unhealthiest States

1. Mississippi (unhealthiest)
2. Louisiana
3. Tennessee

To check out the full report, visit United Health Foundation online.

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Good news for life insurance shoppers: The Boston Herald recently reported that rates on life insurance premiums are expected to dip by 3% in 2006. The reasons cited for the decrease include longer life expectancies that lower the mortality charges and industry competition.

Interested in keeping your premiums even lower? Consider:

• Kicking the smoking habit – life insurance companies charge more for smokers.
• Exercising and maintaining a healthy diet – if you stay healthy you could fall into the “preferred risk” category, saving just about 50% on your monthly premiums.

Source: http://business.bostonherald.com/businessNews/view.bg?articleid=115384

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U.S. life expectancy has gone up to 77.6 years in 2003 from 77.3 in 2202, according to a new report released by the National Center for Health Statistics, and reported by the Kaiser Family Foundation.

That doesn’t mean we’re getting any healthier.

The report also revealed about half of U.S. residents ages 55 to 64 have high blood pressure, and two in five are obese. Since the last study in the early 1990s, baby boomers have entered the age group. Researchers found that while “42% of U.S. residents who were ages 55 to 64 in 1990s had high blood pressure, compared with 50% of baby boomers, and 31% of those in the 1990s group were obese, compared with 39% of baby boomers.

Says Amy Bernstein, lead author of the report, baby boomers are "a very large and fast-growing group whose situation now gives us a preview of what is to come. They are starting to develop major chronic disease health problems at the same time that employer-sponsored health care is retracting and the cost of care is increasing."

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People with traditional health plans are more likely to be happy with their coverage than those with consumer-directed health plans, a new study by Employee Benefits Research Institute reveals. In addition, those with consumer-directed plans (insurance that combines a high deductible plan with a savings account to be used for health expenses) are more likely to put off needed health care.

Here’s how it breaks down:

31% of people enrolled in consumer-directed plans spent 5% or more of their income on out of pocket medical bills and premiums, compared to 12% of people with traditional plans.

35% of people with consumer-directed plans have avoided or delayed health services, compared to 17% of those with traditional plans.

For a closer look at the study, visit the Kaiser Family Foundation online.

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Who likes driving in the winter? Outside of those who get a thrill doing donuts in snowy parking lots, there’s little to love about icy roads, poor visibility and streets the snowplow forgot.

And of course, the impaired conditions can lead to increased accidents that can cause your insurance premiums to rise.

Here’s a winter driving checklist, courtesy of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA):

• Get your car serviced now (if you haven’t already)
• Check your battery
• Check your cooling system
• Fill your washer reservoir
• Check your windshield wipers and defrosters
• Inspect your tires
• Know your car
• Plan your travel and route
• Stock your vehicle
• Learn what to do in a winter emergency

To download a .pdf version of this checklist, visit the NHTSA on the web at http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/.

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Women who average two cups of tea (or more) daily could reduce their risk of developing ovarian cancer by 46%, compared to women who don’t regularly drink tea.

While the evidence cited by the study is “far-from-conclusive”, it suggests that tea is linked to ovarian cancer prevention. In fact, the research showed that for each additional cup of tea drank per day, there was an 18% lower risk of ovarian cancer associated. The women participating in the study mainly drank black tea. Both black and green teas are believed to be sources of antioxidants that helps block cells’ cancerous mutations.

Early reactions to the study agree that while the findings are interesting and could be important, acceptance of this theory should be reserved until clear evidence that diet is linked to ovarian cancer is revealed.

To learn more, visit the Archives of Internal Medicine.

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Health insurance is expensive and being denied for a claim can be frustrating or frightening, depending on your budget. If you think your claim has been wrongly denied, your insurer does not have to have the final word. To help you deal with what can be an overwhelming situation, the Kaiser Family Foundation has prepared a special report, “A Consumer Guide to Handling Disputes with Your Employer or Private Health Plan.”

In this comprehensive report you’ll learn the steps you need to take, including preparing an informal appeal down to your state’s external review program. The guide does not cover disputes you may have with your Medicaid or Medicare insurance.

Remember, even if you don’t currently have a denied claim, it’s important to be familiar with your plan’s appeal process in case one does occur in the future.

To learn more, access the full report.

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Pull the health care system out of the technological dark ages and everyone benefits argues Senator Debbie Stabenow -Mich.) in a recent edition of weekly newspaper, The Hill.

According to Stabenow, healthcare providers are still communicating via handwritten messages and using typewriters to bill patients – indicative of a lack of technology that’s known to increase error and at the same time decrease the quality of healthcare.

The solution? Invest in electronic health records (ehealth records) that will reduce the chance of error and save almost 30% in healthcare spending each year.

Stabenow, along with Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), have introduced the bipartisan Health Information Technology Act to the Senate in the hope of lowering costs and improving quality through nationwide technological improvements to the health care system.

To learn more about this issue, view the full article.

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