45 millioin uninsured? THE FACTS

Ok, since my last blog a week or so ago, I had the time to do some research on the 45 Million uninsured Americans. The facts are stunning.

With the help of the US Census Bureau, I compiled the following information. I hope our government takes a look.

Of the UNINSURED...

17 million live in households earning more than $50,000. I am sure a great many of these qualify for insurance medically, but choose not to purchase. ( that is 38% of the American unisured)

9 million live in households earning over $75,000 ( that is 20% of the American uninsured)

18 million of the uninsured are in the age bracket of 18-34, the youngster who are healthy, I use the term "think they are bullet proof". If nothing else feel they are healthy and have no need for insurance. ( that is 40% of uninsured America)

There are about 15 million who are eligible for Medicaid and SCHIP ( State Comprehensive Insurance Programs). These are people who meet the level of income to qualify for assistance through the government.

My studies show that of the UNINSURED AMERICA, less than 15 million Americans do not medically qualify for insurance. This is the section the government should be concerned with insuring. That is where they should invest the money.

Just my thoughts of the week.

45 Million Unisured Americans?????

We keep hearing from our government that there are 45 million uninsured Americans. I guess that is true. What they are not saying in these figures is how many of them choose to be unisured and how many are uninsurable. I was reading a publication recently that said that number includes the illegal immigrants in the 45 million. Now I do not know if that is true or false, but for the moment let's as it is. Let's also say that is 10 million, so now we are down to 35 million. How many people out there think they do not need insurance, just do not want to pay for it. I again do not have the numbers, but I do speak with prospects every day, who tell me they cannot afford that. I spoke to a prospect today, who I have been working with for over two years. He has a painting company, I do not know if his wife works or not, they have no children. He is 38 years old his wife is 30. His painting business is up and down ( like most people's small business). I could get him a quality health plan for him and his wife for under $200 per month, about $25 per week per person. He says he cannot swing it. Ok, but he is in the 45 million unisured. If he had a corporate job, his benefits would probably cost at least that much, so would he have taken their benefits?? Probably not! I talk to prospects like this every day. To get back to the math of this, Let's say that half of the remaining uninsureds choose to be uninsured, a lot of recent college graduates, and some small business fall in this group. That might take care of another 17 million or so. Now we are only looking at 17 million who cannot get insurance. Now maybe the numbers are off, but if the amount of UNINSURABLE people is even 25 million, that is a big difference than the 45-47 million that we keep hearing we have to cover.

Again here is the answer....

Make it like your auto insurance as in most states it is required!! Now the 10-17 million who could have insurance as they are healthy, begin to purchase plans, that could offset the costs of the "uninsurables". If we did this, we could accomplish the goal of having everyone have health care.

In Massachusetts, they have instituted a policy similar to this. I have some friends who broker products up there, they sell a lot of very high deductible plans, sometimes as much as $10,000. That is higher than I would like to see, but I guess in car and home insurance terms maybe not so bad.

The point is, if you had to have it, there would be enough healthy people in the pool to pay for the sick.

We do not need government run health care, we need the government to pass a law making in mandatory. This also would help the hospitals who do not turn away someone who is uninsured. Hospitals have many cases where they do not get paid for their services. That is unfair to any business especially a one who is in the business of saving lives.

Eric Wilson is a health insurance broker living in the Chicago Area. He can be reached toll free at 888-448-5370 or online at http://www.isellhealth.net/.

Health Care Revamp- The Government is missing the Concept

Yes, we need to change the Health System in America. But the Government is going about it all wrong. The first problem we keep saying provide affordable health care for all. Are health insurance and health care the same?? As I define it, health care is the care we get when we go to doctors and hospitals, insurance is what helps us pay for it. So everyone says health insurance costs too much. Well if the HEALTH CARE costs less, so will the insurance.

The other phrase that I cannot get my head around is We keep reading that there are 46 million Americans that are uninsured. Now how many of them are Medically uninsured, and how many have chosen not to be insured? I would bet the number of "chosens" would be a very high number.

So here is the fix...

The first thing is we require everyone to have health insurance, kind of like your car insurance. The next thing is we take more of a "jiffy lube" approach to health insurance. What I mean by that is, your car insurance does not pay for oil changes or tire rotations or a new set of tires, but we expect our health insurance to pay for all of our doctor visits.

Let's eliminate that part of the plan. Have your insurance pay for ONE wellness visit per year, and the baby well visits. If you get the flu, you pay for it. This will keep people from abusing the system and running to the doctor for a "hang nail". It might also might give Americans more incentive to keep themselves healthier, knowing that going to the doctors monthly might get expensive.

If Everyone has to have insurance, Insurers would be able to insure everyone, perhaps with a higher premium for those with pre-existings, but if insurers are not paying for a lot of unneccessary tests, we might be able to reduce costs all the way around.

Thank you for reading.

Eric Wilson can be reached at 888-448-5370 or visit online at www.isellhealth.net. You can email him at isellhealth@gmail.com.

All Health Insurance Plans Are Not Created Equal

What is important to you when looking for your health insurance?? I work with almost every carrier, Blue Cross, Blue Shield of Illinos, American Community, Aetna, United Health Care and Guarantee Trust Life to name just a few.

I find it interesting while are are about the same, they all have their differences. When looking for a policy the price is only part of the equation. Some cover some pre-existing conditions, some exclude all pre-existings, some with exclude the pre-existing, but still pay for the medications. So if you have any pre-exisitings, these are things I can help my clients research.

American Community, will waive your deductible for an injury or an accident if treatment is taken care of within 30 days of the injury. United Health Care has an enhancement rider to cover some injuries.

Prescription coverage varies, not only from company to company, but plan to plan. Blue Cross,Blue Shield of Illinos, the coverage on prescriptions also varies by what deductible you choose. Some companies only cover generic drugs.

Some plans cover only catestrophic losses, while others cover doctor visits with a co-pay. Many only cover doctor visits after you pay the deductible. Often times there are limits to how much is covered at a doctor visit or a limit on number of visits to the doctors office.

There is a lot to know or to consider when searching for a health insurance plan for your family. My job is to assist you in finding the one that is right for you.

Eric Wilson is a health insurance broker, covering the midwest. He can be reached toll free at 888-448-5370. You can visit him online at www.isellhealth.net.

Tough economic times... Don't cancel your health insurance

So we are in the "R" word. That's right we are now officially in a recession. Many are out of work. What do you do about your health insurance. Many people try to go without insurance. You are entitled to COBRA, which allows you to keep your corporate benefits at your expense. Where people get confused on this is they are accostomed to their company paying for most of it. Now you assume the entire cost, plus a 4% administrative fee. Now this is an expensive option. If you have some pre-existing conditions it might be your best option. If you do not have and "pre-existings" you have several options.

1) Temporary Insurance- Temporary insurance is good if you are between jobs. They are normally catestrophic in nature so there are no doctor visits, but you are protected against the "big one". They are normally good for six months. They expire at that time so you then either need to look for a new one or some of them can be renewed for an additional six months.

2) Individual Health Plans- These are becoming more common. They were originally designed for the Self-Employed, but now with many companies cutting back on health insurance. More and more people are being attracted to them. Here is the great thing about these plans, you never have to worry about loosing your health insurance if you loose your job. You are not "married to your job" because of the benefits. Now you do have to medically qualify for most of these plans, but they can be taylored often times to meet your needs.

3) Guarantee issue plans. There are some of these out there, but be careful. There are a lot of "discount plans" out there. They are NOT INSURANCE, and are not sold by licensed insurance producers. There is very limited benefits in these types or plans. There are some very good Gurantee issue plans on the market. My favorite is from the American Medical and Life Insurance company (http://www.amlico.com/). They have a plan called AIM Health Plan. You can get details on that plan from my site at www.aimhealthplans.com/ericwilson. I have seen all of those plans, and it is probably the best one on the market.

For free quotes please visit my website at http://www.isellhealth.net/

Eric Wilson can be reached toll free at 888-448-5370

Types of Health Insurance

Before anyone should look for health insurance, we should be familiar with the various types of plans out there. Here are some basics...

1) HMO- Health Maintenence Organization- this type of plan is a form a managed care. It generally cost less, but only allows you to see certain doctors. If you need to see a specialist you need to get a referral from your "Primary Care Doctor". The biggest down side to this is your doctor can drop out of the network and then you need to find a new one.

2) PPO- Preferred Provider Organization- A network of doctors and hospitals that allow you to choose any doctor or hospital. There is the best price, which is in the network. If you choose to go outside the network, you take on a greater financial responsibility.

3) Schedule of Benefit plans- These are very common among the self-employed, the are normally a low cost plan. The downside is like everything else, you get what you pay for. A schedule plan often times covers a maximum of $50,000-$75,000 per claim. Now the majority of claims fall under that amount, but what if you need a transplant or brain surgery that could run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

4) Accident only plans- these plans only cover injury or accident. Very common among the younger people just out of college or people between jobs

5) Consumer driven health plans- These plans are becoming more common. These plans cover just about everythinge, but normally have a maxium that they will pay for each procedure. They give the consumer access to what these procedures cost. The consumer can then take an interest his or her own health care, knowing that if they choose a more expensive doctor they will incur more costs.

6) Health Savings Accounts-HSA's- These are normally high deductible health plans with a savings plan attached similar to your IRA. You have insurance and you fund your savings account the same way you would an IRA. Money goes in tax deferred, and goes out tax deferred for medical expenses.

Eric Wilson can be reached at 815-372-1363