Grandfathered in

If you hurry and purchase your own individual health insurance plan you can be grandfathered in.  meaning all of the new Obama healthcare changes that the insurance companies will be required to cover and all the pre-existing conditions that must be accepted.  That will expect the premiums to go through the rough.  To meet the criteria of being accepted into the Obama Individual health insurance program you have to go without other coverage for 6 months.  How many sick people can afford to go without health insurance for 6 months.  Those with children cannot expect to go those 6 months without health insurance coverage.  Colds and flu season as well as emergency room visits will not allow you to be uninsured.  Do you think Obama stays awake at night thinking about how many people this health plan change is going to effect?  NO
Health insurance agencies are downsizing due to the expected cuts in the commissions and loss of groups being covered.  Health insurance exchange call centers are being opened and staffed.   If you think that you are going to be able to call a local agent that has been in business for years and help your company buy your company or your family individual insurance you are mistaken.  You will be calling government employees that will be selling you the plan you chosse being offered by the few carriers deciding to stay in business.  The health insurance industry may become the new government automotive like takeover.  So even if the health insurance carrier loses money it really does not matter as it is owned by the government and they have access to your tax dollars.

  

Guaranteed Individual Health Insurance under Obama

It sounds bizarre for me to even type this heading as it has NEVER been true.  Even under the Cover Florida plan there was always some crack or loop hole to keep people from getting coverage by the carriers, set by the state of Florida.  Not to mention it was never a fully comprehensive health insurance plan to begin with.  United Healthcare and Blue Cross & Blue Shield dived in to take on most of the risk knowing that there is very little risk in a LIMITED BENEFIT plan.  Even the name tells you there are limits to what will be paid and/or how much will be paid.  The actuaries or the wizards of ROI for the insurance companies, calculate the amount of a procedure or service and how many people of a demographic utilize that service.  They then set their pricing to account for that potential cost plus, plus, to include worst case scenario and still make a profit.  Presto you have under a slick name the Cover Florida plan, a common side of the road cheap insurance plan pushed out to the public through political advertising for the good of the uninsured.  The people that are truly uninsured this plan would not help them stay out of debt or bankruptcy on major claims.
BUT........
As of 2011 Obama is pressuring the individual health insurance carriers to take ALL people that have not had insurance for the last 6 months.  Regardless of what you have or are being treated for. That is fantastic but then you think well they will just charge those particular people outragious premiums so they can't afford to buy it, protecting the insurance carrier from high dollar claims.  Under the New Obama healthcare law they CANNOT do that.  The health insurance carriers have to stay within certain parameters on their entire book of insurance business premiums.  Any spikes are not allowed.  So then we can expect the health insurance carriers to file for huge rate increases in 2011.  Since that is when they know this law will truly impact their chances of getting high dollar claims coming through the door.  Obama once again has shut this down.  The health insurance carrier have to submit for a rate increase to the state of Florida with data supporting why they would need this increase.    Even thought these are individual companies they are governed by the state to regulate pricing.  So if the state of Florida decides to deny or partially approve a percentage of a rate increase to premiums.  There is nothing the health insurance company can do.  So then what?

1.  Health Insurance Company pulls out of the state of Florida with a 12 month run-off to existing clients to allow them to find other coverage.  Not accepting any new policies to be sold.
2.  Health Insurance Company stays in Florida and rides out the price denial hoping to get price increases through the year or be subsidized by the government, which has not been mentioned.

Or the 3rd and scariest of them all. 
3.  The insurance companies place a freeze on selling new policies until pricing can suit the cost of doing business for the companies. 

In the Obama health legislation it is stated in fancy words that carriers will be required to spend 80% of a $1.00 in premium on medical expenses versus the current 40-50%.  That means that most avenues of purchasing insurance through agents earning commissions will need to be removed if not eliminated.  Leaving individuals to shop online without direction or personal contact.  These may be part of the new national health insurance program.  Where health insurance agents who currently work for themselves are forced to now work for the state, city or county to offer assistance in buying insurance.

Take a moment and think when we said computers could never do my job.  The government could never run a national health insurance program.  Never say never.

No Coupons needed for saving money here

More and more people are unemployed for one reason or another and are looking for ways to save money.  Many are cutting back on spending, starbucks coffee is not so important everyday.  Reducing the amount of cellular plans or cable television packages.  Calling your carriers can help to save you money by just asking.  Verizon cellular gives a 10% discount on your bill for upto 6 months.  Some are choosing to drive less if it is an option and hold meetings online.  The most popular thing is cutting coupons from stores you use or from manufacturers directly.  Some stores like Target give you an extra 10% if you use their card linked to your own bank account, like a target only debt card.  USing large wholesale stores like Sam's and BJ's is popular too.  BJ's will take coupons and give people their own store coupons as well.  For large families this is the best of both worlds, buying in bulk to save money and multiple coupons can be used. 

The last thing you can review is your health insurance.  If you are paying $100-$150+ a month you may want to shop for an individual health insurance plan versus a company plan.  Many group plans look the same for individuals to buy for much less because they can be selective at the moment and take healthy low cost people to insure.  When the new health national health regulations are imposed which is coming, sooner rather than later, all pre-existing conditions will have to be accepted.  You can expect prices will increase but those in the system will more than likely protected from large increases, grandfathering you in.  GoldenRule, also known as United HealthOne, is United Healthcare that is sold to companies for individuals.  Florida has been one their top selling states for several years becuase of the amount of plans they offer, network available and of course PRICE!  If you are not covered by them or have not checked the pricing in awhile you should do so.  Blue Cross & Blue Shield is very popular too but many complain of large rate increases once they have signed up.  So check for yourself,
http://www.coverfloridaplus.com/
and save your family a little more cash.

If you do have some additional money by cutting back take time to check out the theme parks in Florida.  Many like Walt Disney, Epcot, Sea World, and Busch Gardens are offering packages that are the lowest we have seen in awhile for Florida Residents.  Many of the parks are pushing annual passes for a few extra dollars since park attendance is down.

Supporting the Military men & women, Letters from Home

We live in America as a free country.  We all should be very proud and count our blessings.  If ever you think that our freedom to be bored or busy, act smart or stupid comes without someone else sacrificing their life.  Watch this.

http://www.tangle.com/view_video.php?viewkey=665ce8623e36bd4e3c7c&sp=1

Mark Schultz   Letters from Home ......video.

grab a tissue. you will need it.

Allow me access to healthcare

This agency has sought to assist people that could navigate the Internet on their own and purchase medical insurance for themselves. "IF ONLY THEY COULD!"


"NOW YOU CAN!" It is required that a licensed health insurance agent be put into the process. That is where we are involved but only at that level. Most of the clients we have never needed our assistance and could read the benefits and the language for themselves. We supplied the site and the license to allow them to by the plan or their choice at the price they could afford. It is just that easy. Cheap medical individual polices are not what we offer. We offer you the choice to pick what fits your families needs as well as budget.   www.coverfloridaplus.com
 
Third party true story-
Husband loses job and cannot afford the cobra payments.  His wife and himself go without coverage for several months.  He finally obtains a job and is able to purchase an individual policy for his spouse while he is in the companies probationary period.  They cannot afford the couples premiums.  The husband while waiting to get insurance has a kidney stone that the physicians say needs surgery.  The surgery is postponed time and time again, though he is in excruciating pain.  He cannot miss work as he has just started the job and is afraid to lose it, not to mention they need the money.  He then is scheduled to get the surgery and is not postponed.  Coincidentally that is when his insurance went into effect.
 
Moral of this true story maybe it is better to have crappy insurance to get you in the door rather then being postponed until you can get it.  According to Obama there will be a 6 month waiting period where you cannot be insured prior to obtaining the national plan.
 
If you have insurance you can sleep well, or can you, knowing others cannot.
 
www.coverfloridaplus.com

What happens when Charlie Crist is gone?

The program that was started under the direction of Charlie Crist "Cover Florida" was supposed to help insure all those Floridians that did not have coverage.  The program were supposed to cover the people with Pre-existing conditions.  Here we are with less than 1% of Floridian's on the program much less aware of what it is.  It was not paid for by the tax payers but by the insured themselves.  The plans covered very little but made the carriers that offered them profits.  The main carrier driving this was, the not for profit, Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Florida.   That is the same carrier that assisted the state run plan in Massachusetts.  Funny how that has turned out to be the one of the most expensive premiums of all the states because everyone is required to be insured. 

So Charlie Crist is leaving his "Cover Florida" program without any changes or expected hype.  I feel that we will see this turn into the national Obama plan in the future.  Since there is already an outlet or should I say an organized path to release this to the public, it will allow for easy penetration to the insurance carriers and agents.

Good Luck to us all since less than 1%  of all Floridians enjoyed this "Cover Florida" program I can only how fabulous this will be for our nation.  I support the efforts but the product is not everything it should be.

www.coverfloridaplus.com

take control of your life.