How To Get Affordable Health Insurance In Indiana

Most people don’t give serious consideration to health insurance until they realize how much medical care actually does cost. Many young individuals, in particular, feel they can slide by without health insurance because presently they feel great. The problem with this line of thinking is that an illness can strike with little warning, and even though the likelihood of developing a serious disease increases as a person ages, there is still a chance that you can become ill while young. For this reason it’s important to start looking for affordable health insurance while you are still in your twenties or thirties.

In Indiana, if you are single and make under $1,149 a month, you will qualify for state assistance with your health care premiums. If you make more than that you’ll need to find affordable health insurance on your own. The best place to start this search is with your employer. Ask about any group plans that you may be eligible for now or in the future. Quite often these types of plans offer very extensive benefits at a cost that is fractional to what you’d pay in a private plan. Even if you feel that you don’t need all the coverage, with the low cost it comes at, you can certainly afford to have it.

When you are shopping for health insurance from a private company it may seem a bit overwhelming. There are many choices in health care plans and it’s important to pick one that offers the benefits you feel you need now. You can always adjust your coverage in the future if your health care needs change. This typically occurs after you marry or have children. Until then, pick a plan that offers the basics. This will ensure you have coverage when you need it at a price you can afford.

Defining Whole Life Insurance

Whole life insurance may be sometimes be branded as permanent or ordinary life insurance. Here is a closer look at this type of life insurance policy.

A definition of whole life insurance:

* It is a life insurance policy that offers death protection for the insured person’s whole lifetime.

* An insurance payout is made to the contract’s beneficiaries when the contract holder dies.

* It includes an investment part which may gather a cash value that the policyholder can borrow against.

* It presents a withdrawal clause which allows the contract holder to terminate her coverage and collect the cash surrender value.

* The policyholder typically pays a level premium which does not rise as the person ages.

* The earnings on the cash value of the policy gathers tax-deferred.

* The insured person may borrow money against the policy’s cash value in the form of a policy loan.

Different types of whole life insurance policy:

* Single premium whole life insurance.

A limited payment whole life insurance policy with one relatively large premium payment due at issue. The policy is fully paid up and no further premiums are required. Due to the single premium payment the policy will have an immediate cash and loan value.

* Indeterminate premium whole life insurance.

An indeterminate premium whole life policy is similar to ordinary whole life plan of insurance except that it provides for adjustable premiums.

* Level premium whole life insurance.

Level premium whole life insurance features premium payments that are level and are required to be paid as long as the insured is living.

* Limited payment whole life insurance.

If you want to pay premiums for a limited time, the limited payment whole life policy gives you lifetime protection but requires only a limited number of premium payments. Limited payment plans can provide for the payment of premiums for a set number of years.

* Non-Participating whole life insurance.

A non-participating whole life policy has a level premium and face amount during your entire life. Since the policy is non-participating it does not pay you any dividends.

* Participating Whole Life Insurance

A participating whole life policy pays dividends. Dividends may be paid out in cash.

* Child whole life insurance.

Parents or grandparents may consider buying child life insurance. Child life insurance premiums are substantially less expensive. Child life insurance guarantees your child life insurance protection for the rest of their lives. However, you may want to be careful about using whole life insurance to support a college tuition.

Wealthy people may sometimes use whole life insurance policies as an estate-planning medium. They may set up an insurance trust to apply the earnings of the policy to their estate taxes when they die. That may save their inheritors the sizeable cost of settling the estate.

That was a closer look at the definition of whole life insurance and the whole life insurance policy. You may still want to find more specific answers about life insurance. I suggest you to look for the answers to your questions either online or feel free to ask your local life insurance company lawyer.

This Week in Health Care Reform : EasyToInsureME Health Insurance

This Week in Health Reform

Republican Scott Brown’s victory over Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley (D) in the January 19 special election to fill the seat of the late Senator Edward Kennedy (D) might prove to be a game-changer for the health care reform debate. The loss of the 60th Democratic vote now robs Senate Democrats of a filibuster-proof majority. Last week, Democrats were rushing to wrap up a House/Senate agreement on the bill, likely due to reports that Coakley’s lead had diminished.

Congressional leaders are still aiming to have the controversial points in the health care reform bill settled as soon as possible, so they can send the compromised bill to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) for scoring. The CBO will then need 12 days to analyze the legislation.

In addition to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), lawmakers participating in the White House meetings include: House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD), House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-SC), House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA), House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charlie Rangel (D-NY), House Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller (D-CA), Assistant Senate Majority Leader Richard Durbin (D-IL), Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT), Senate HELP Committee Chairman Tom Harkin (D-IA), and Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd (D-CT).

A main point of contention between the two houses of Congress pertained to the
40 percent excise tax on high-cost health insurance plans passed by the Senate. Since many labor union members would be affected by the tax on high-cost health insurance plans, the House of Representatives was not supportive of this provision in the Senate bill. Union leaders have also been included in key negotiations on this provision, and on January 14, signaled that they are ready to support the merged legislation with the compromised provision.

The main revenue source for the Senate’s health care reform bill (H.R. 3590) would be from an excise tax – beginning in 2013 – on employer-provided, high-cost health insurance plans costing more than $8,500 for individuals and $23,000 for a family. The reported compromise on the legislation now makes the tax kick-in on policies costing $8,900 for individuals and $24,000 for families. The tax threshold would still rise at inflation plus one percentage point, as is currently written in the Senate bill. Additionally, dental and vision benefits would be removed from the calculation of threshold costs, and plans offered by state and local governments, as well as plans covered by collective bargaining agreements, would be exempted from the excise tax until 2018. This would allow current agreements to expire and allow for negotiation of new contracts.

In an effort to make up the lack of revenue from the modification of the excise tax provision, leadership will have to come up with new funding to finance the merged bill. Some reports have mentioned that the pharmaceutical industry has agreed to provide more money than the $80 billion they have already negotiated with the White House. Medical device companies could also face additional fees. Portions of the main revenue source in the House bill – a Medicare payroll tax on wealthy U.S. residents – could be added as well.

On January 14, Richard Trumpka, president of the AFL-CIO, said, “Union leaders approached negotiations with the White House and congressional leaders with one overriding goal in mind – getting a bill signed into law.” Gerald McEntee, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), said, “We do like the way it’s shaping up, but it’s still not finished. We’ve got to see a final product.”

There also has been significant discussion – but no resolution so far – about the question of whether to establish a single national health insurance exchange or allow each state to operate its own exchange. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas continues to support a state-based approach to exchanges.

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Health Insurance Reform Easytoinsureme February 5 2010

FEBRUARY 5, 2010

This Week in Health Care Reform EasyToInsureME FEBRUARY 5 2010   

Despite proclaiming to focus on other issues, such as the economy and jobs, President Barack Obama injected new energy into the health care reform debate this week.

On Monday, President Obama held a Q&A session via YouTube in which he responded to questions submitted during his State of the Union address. He commented that “it is my greatest hope” to have health care reform legislation “not just a year from now, but soon.” He also responded to criticisms regarding the lack of transparency around the reform negotiations.

On Tuesday, at a town-hall-style meeting in New Hampshire, President Obama rejected the notion that health care reform was dead, saying “we’ve got to punch it through.” Further, on Wednesday, he met with Senate Democrats reiterating his commitment to reform and encouraging lawmakers to press forward. He also suggested that Republicans play at least some role in negotiating a final bill.

Health Care Reform Negotiations

Democrats Look for Path Forward: Recent statements made by Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY) are the first concrete signs that Democrats have started working to revive comprehensive health care reform legislation. Rep. Rangel indicated to the media that lawmakers have begun writing a compromise bill based on the legislation passed by the Senate last December. The bill will incorporate changes agreed upon last month by White House negotiators and members of the House and Senate.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) did not commit to a timeline for reform, but hopes that Democrats can agree to a path forward by next week. So far, he has been unable to identify compromise language that will win the needed 51 Senate votes.

At the same time, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) indicated that the House would vote on a small piece of the overall health care reform package next week. The proposed bill would overturn the insurance industry’s exemption from federal antitrust laws. The Senate version of health care reform did not include this measure because Sen. Reid could not secure the 60 votes needed to include it; however, Sen. Reid indicated the Senate would reconsider the measure.

Additional Activities

President Obama’s Budget Assumes Health Care Reform: On Monday, White House officials released a proposed $3.8 trillion 2011 budget including several measures aimed at improving health care:

·        Hiring more fraud detectives to root out waste in Medicare and Medicaid

·        Providing $25.5 billion to help state Medicaid programs swelling with enrollment due to unemployment

·        Eliminating Congressional earmarks for building hospitals and other facilities, including $10 million for Alaska and $35 million for Mississippi

·        Initiating or increasing funds for the following research projects:

o       quality improvements for seniors with chronic conditions

o       effective medical treatments for the costliest conditions

o       expeditious ways to adopt electronic medical records

o       medical fields such as genetic medicine that may provide breakthrough treatments.

Further, the budget assumes that some form of health care reform legislation will pass Congress. It includes a “reserve fund for health care reform” totaling $634 billion as a “down payment” for the legislation and also assumes that the reform effort will generate $150 billion in savings over 10 years.

States Begin Initiatives to Expand Coverage: With the fate of national health care reform in question, state legislators are pushing their own bills to expand coverage. Last Thursday, California’s State Senate passed a measure to create a government-run health care system, ignoring a veto threat from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. The measure is now with the State Assembly. Missouri legislators have introduced a similar bill to create a government-run plan whereas lawmakers in other states, including Virginia and New Jersey, are working to tweak existing state programs to expand coverage. Tight budgets in all of those states may hinder these efforts.

Virginia Senate Says No to Individual Mandates: On Monday, Virginia’s Democratic-controlled State Senate passed measures that would make it illegal to enforce an individual health care mandate. This decision comes in direct conflict with the House and the Senate health care reform bills, both of which require all individuals to purchase health insurance.

Public Opinion

Majority of Americans Doubt Passage of Health Care Reform, but Growing Optimism: A survey released by the Pew Research Center on Wednesday shows growing optimism around the passage of health care reform. While the poll indicates that the majority of Americans (60 percent) do not believe health care reform legislation will pass this year, the figure is down from the 67 percent who said – just after a special Senate election was held last month in Massachusetts – that such legislation would not pass.

Poll Indicates Damage Done On Health Care Reform: A poll released Tuesday by Public Policy Polling shows that Republicans currently have the advantage over Democrats in the ballot races for Congress, regardless of the final outcome of health care reform. In general, the poll shows that 43 percent of voters surveyed would vote for a Republican, whereas 40 percent would vote for a Democrat. When asked about the implications of the health care overhaul.

* If health care reform passes, 45 percent would likely vote Republican and 40 percent would likely vote Democrat.
* If health care reform does not pass, 43 percent would likely vote Republican and 38 percent would likely vote Democrat.

The poll also shows that 36 percent of respondents support the President’s health care reform effort, while 51 percent oppose it.

Looking Ahead

Currently there is no timeline for the development of a comprehensive health care reform package. However, Speaker Pelosi is moving forward with smaller pieces of the bill, starting next week with the repeal of the antitrust exemption for insurance companies.