Tag Archives: Brian Stevens

Personal Health Insurance Plan – How to Get the Best Rate

One size doesn’t necessarily fit all when it comes to health insurance. But if you have a group insurance plan, such as through your employer, you have to accept the coverages and deductibles they offer. A personal health insurance plan, on the other hand, lets you pick the coverages that are right for your health needs and that fit your budget.

What Is Personal Health Insurance?

A personal health insurance plan can be anything you need it to be:

* A comprehensive insurance policy to cover you and your entire family long-term.

* A short-term insurance policy to cover you when you are between jobs.

* A supplement to cover gaps in your existing health insurance policy.

Saving on Personal Health Insurance

Personal health insurance plans may be more costly than group plans because you are not sharing the cost with your employee. To help you get the best rate on your personal health insurance plan, follow these tips:

* See if your auto and home insurance company also offers health insurance and if so, whether you can get a discount.

* If you have any bad health habits, such as smoking or obesity, work to break these habits and improve your health.

* Set your deductible as high as you can afford.

Buying Personal Health Insurance

Ready to investigate how personal health insurance can help you? Begin by visiting an insurance comparison website, where you can

* Get quotes for your personal health insurance plan. * Chat with insurance professionals and get answers to all your questions about personal health insurance. (See link below).

To get your quotes, you complete a form with information about yourself and your insurance needs. You then receive quotes from multiple A-rated health insurance companies and can choose the plan that’s best for you.

With a little time spent comparison shopping, you can find the best rate possible for your personal health insurance plan.

Visit or click on the following link to get personal health insurance plan rates from top-rated companies and see how much you can save. You can also get more insurance tips there.

The authors, Brian Stevens and Stacey Schifferdecker, have spent 30 years in the insurance and finance industries, and have written a number of articles on personal health insurance plans.

Where to Get Affordable Retirement Health Insurance

If retirement is in your near future, you need to make a lot of plans for your financial future, including figuring out what you’re going to do for retirement health insurance.

Even if you’re in good health, chances are you’ll experience some health problems as you age. Plus you’ll want to have routine checkups and preventive care.

Having a good health insurance policy is key to a peaceful retirement.

Closing the Gap

Part of the retirement health insurance problem is that Medicare coverage doesn’t begin until age 65 but many people want to retire before then. If you retire early, you need to fill an insurance gap between when you retire and when Medicare coverage begins. Some options available to you include:

* Continuing coverage through your employee. Some large companies continue to provide insurance coverage for retired employees. Even if they don’t, you may be eligible for coverage through COBRA for up to 18 months

* Obtaining coverage through your spouse’s employer, if your spouse is still working

* Looking for a cheap private medical policy

Finding an Affordable Policy

If you do decide you need to get a private policy, be prepared for sticker shock! These policies are not cheap.

However, you can save money by going to an insurance comparison website to find your policy. These websites make it easy to comparison shop for insurance, which is very important because rates for the same coverage can vary by hundreds of dollars from one company to another.

Just be sure you choose a website that offers an online chat service with insurance experts in case you have any questions you need answered (see link below).

Planning for the Future

Even when Medicare begins, you may still choose to buy a Medigap policy to cover your deductible, co-payments, and other out-of-pocket expenses. Insurance comparison websites give you access to these kinds of policies as well.

Where to Get Affordable Insurance

Visit or click on the following link to get affordable retirement health insurance quotes from top-rated companies and see how much you can save. You can get more tips and advice in their Articles section, and get answers to your questions from an insurance expert by using their online chat service.

The authors, Brian Stevens and Stacey Schifferdecker, have spent 30 years in the insurance and finance industries, and have written numerous articles on affordable retirement health insurance.

How to Get Low Cost Maternity Health Insurance

Fifteen percent of American women do not have maternity health insurance and face overwhelming medical bills, especially if there are medical complications. Here’s how to get low cost maternity health insurance that could save you from financial disaster.

What is maternity health insurance?

Maternity health insurance is a health insurance plan that includes maternity coverage. As of this writing there are no stand-alone maternity health insurance plans.

You can purchase one of the following types of plans to get maternity coverage:

* An indemnity plan which lets you choose your own doctor and hospital, but is the most expensive type of plan.

* A managed health care plan (HMO, PPO, POS) that assigns you to a network of doctors and hospitals that you use for your medical care. These are the cheapest types of plans.

What does maternity health insurance cover?

Standard maternity health insurance policies cover your doctors expenses, your hospital fees, and your prescriptions drugs – basically all your maternity medical expenses.

Can I get maternity health insurance if I’m already pregnant?

Private insurance companies will not insure you if you’re already pregnant, but some states offer Medicaid health insurance, or plans such as California’s Medi-Cal, to low income families. To see if your your state has a low income maternity health insurance program, visit your state’s department of insurance website.

If you’re pregnant and don’t qualify for state sponsored maternity health insurance, the best thing you can do is call the hospitals in your area and see if you can negotiate a cheaper than normal rate. Most hospitals will give you a discount if you pay cash.

Where can I get cheap maternity health insurance?

The best way to get cheap maternity health insurance is to go to an insurance comparison website where you can get rate quotes from multiple insurance companies.

Visit or click on the following link to get maternity health insurance rate quotes from top-rated companies and see how much you can save. You can get more insurance tips in their Articles section, and get answers to your questions from an insurance expert by using their online chat service.

The author, Brian Stevens, is a former insurance agent and financial consultant who has written a number of articles on how to get low cost maternity health insurance.

How to Get an Affordable Health Insurance Quote if You’re Self Employed

Getting an affordable health quote if you’re self employed can be a real hassle. However you can find affordable rates if you know where to look and how to structure your insurance. Here’s how …

An Affordable Health Insurance Plan

The first thing you need to do is figure out what type of plan will best suit your needs. There are four basic plans to consider:

1. FFS (Fee-For-Service) plans, also known as indemnity plans, are the most expensive health insurance plans and involve the most paperwork. With these plans you can choose your own doctor and your own hospital. Deductibles average $500 to $1,000 and you’ll be responsible for 20% of the bill.

2. HMO (Health Maintenance Organization) plans are the least expensive and the least flexible health insurance plans. HMOs provide you with a network of doctors which you must see. You’ll be required to pay a small copayment, usually $5 to $15 for each doctor visit, and you need permission from your plan’s primary care physician to see an in-network specialist.

3. PPO (Preferred Provider Organization) plans cost slightly more than HMOs but are more flexible. Copayments are about the same as an HMO’s, and you’re allowed to see a network specialist without your primary physician’s permission. If you see a non-network specialist you may have to pay the entire bill, pay the difference between network charges and what the specialist charges, or pay a deductible.

4. POS (Point-Of-Service) plans cost more than PPOs and less than FFSs, and are a combination of the two plans. These plans provide you with a network of physicians who will treat you. Your copayment is about the same as that of a PPO, but you can see a non-network physician and the plan will reimburse him or her.

Getting an Affordable Quote

In the good ol’ days, prior to the Internet, you could spend half your life visiting local insurance companies or calling insurance agents on the phone to get health insurance quotes. Now, thanks to the Internet, getting quotes is a piece of cake.

You can go to an insurance comparison website, fill out a single questionnaire, and get quotes from different companies. Some of the better sites even have an insurance expert who will answer all your health insurance questions online. (See link below,)

Visit or click on the following link to get affordable health insurance quotes from top-rated companies in your area and see how much you can save. You can get more health insurance tips by checking out their “Articles” section.

The author, Brian Stevens, is a former insurance agent and financial consultant who has written numerous articles on affordable health insurance for the self-employed.

How to Get Low Cost Individual Health Insurance

Millions of Americans don’t have health insurance, many because they are unemployed or their employer doesn’t offer health insurance. If you don’t have health insurance, you need to look for a low cost individual health insurance policy to protect yourself from possible financial disaster. Otherwise, even a minor accident or illness requiring test or a trip to the hospital could wipe you out financially.

What to Look For in Individual Health Insurance

Individual health insurance plans offer more choices than employee-sponsored insurance plans, but at a higher cost. As you investigate individual health insurance plans, look for one that offers these features:

* Coverage that cannot be cancelled and is automatically renewed as long as you pay your premiums. Otherwise, your insurance can be canceled if you get sick and have too many claims.

* Time after paying the premium to change your mind. Most insurance companies give you 10 days to examine the policy and decide whether you want it. If you decide you don’t, you get your money back.

* Coverage you need. Make sure you understand what’s covered, what’s not covered, and when the coverage begins. If you have any pre-existing conditions, make sure they’re covered.

* Portability. If there is any chance you will be moving, make sure your policy can move with you and that you will not be subject to a waiting period before coverage resumes.

Where to Look for Low Cost Individual Health Insurance

An insurance comparison website is the best place to look for a low cost individual health insurance plan. You’ll complete one simple form in order to get multiple quotes. Then you can compare those quotes and choose the lowest cost individual health insurance plan.

The better comparison sites only work with A-rated companies so you know you’re claims will be paid. The best of these sites even let you talk with insurance professionals so you can ask questions and make sure you choose the health insurance plan that best meets your needs (see link below).

Visit or click on the following link to get individual health insurance quotes from top-rated companies and see how much you can save. You can also get more insurance tips there.

The authors, Brian Stevens and Stacey Schifferdecker, have spent 30 years in the insurance and finance industries, and have written a number of articles on individual health insurance coverage.