Should you Shop for Health Insurance if You are Self-employed?

No matter where you live in the United States, if you work for yourself you are going to need health insurance. You might justify not having health insurance because of the cost; however, what is the cost going to be if you don’t carry personal, or self-employed health insurance? God forbid if anything were to happen, but as we know accidents happen, our children get sick, new generations come into existence, and a myriad of other medical necessities could happen. Thank goodness we can’t be thrown in jail if we can’t pay our health care costs due to not being insured. About the worst that would happen is that your credit score would drop in the toilet and you might get sued by your creditors.

It’s a no-brainer; the premiums for health insurance go up in direct proportion to the cost of health care going up. Health insurance companies are not run by the government in the United States, but they are regulated at the federal and state levels. If health insurance companies were not regulated, we might be forced to pay even higher premiums than we do.

How do we find the best buy in health insurance when we are self-employed? The best thing you can do is educate yourself on insurance before you sign on the dotted line. You should know just what your policy covers, and what it doesn’t cover. You need to put on your high powered reading glasses and read that fine print. The print is tiny for a reason. Most people, (including me) have glossed over the fine print, and then when you feel you have a claim, there might be some loophole that you weren’t aware of. I had this happen to me with my insurance on my mobile home. It burned down, but because I wasn’t living in it at the time (my mom and dad were) the insurance didn’t have to pay, and they didn’t. Be sure to read the fine print!

What type of health insurance policy should you purchase when you are self employed? Take your pick. You can purchase a personal plan, group plan, short term health insurance, and you can even self-insure with a health savings plan. To get a ball park figure of what you can afford, go online to get a health insurance quote. You just plug in the information the calculator asks for, and you will be given a list of insurance companies with offers. You will see very low prices on some insurance packages, while there are very high prices on others. What’s the difference? The difference is the deductible that you will be responsible for.

What type of health insurance should you purchase? That’s up to you. What do you need? Do you have a family? Do you have anyone with special needs in your family? Is everyone fairly healthy? You need to ask yourself all kinds of questions to decide what type of health insurance you should sign up for.

Let’s just assume that you and your family (if you have one) are healthy. You go for your yearly checkups. You don’t have any young children that will need frequent doctor visits. You might be able to do well with a low premium policy with a higher deductible. You can also open up a health savings account and put money in it for the deductible, should the need arise. Let the money work for you until you need it. There is no sense in paying out the nose for insurance premiums, especially if you never get to use the insurance enough to justify the cost. You can put that extra money (you would have paid for a lower deductible policy) into your health savings account. Then when the need arises you can use the saved money for your higher deductible.

Now let’s assume you just had a new baby, and you have 2 more children under the age of 10. Chances are, these children will need well baby and well children visits to their pediatrician. It would not be advisable in this instance to opt for a high deductible to save on insurance premiums. It might be to your advantage to buy a personal policy, a group policy for the self-employed. It is also a good idea, if you have a spouse that still punches a clock, you may be able to get health insurance coverage through your spouse’s policy.

No matter what your situation is, there is a health insurance plan that can be designed to fit your needs. When you go online for a quote, the next step is to talk to an agent. You can buy online without ever speaking face to face with someone, but experience has shown me that sitting down face to face with an agent from a local insurance provider can be the best way to decide on the amount and type of health insurance coverage that you need.
No matter where you live in the United States, if you work for yourself you are going to need health insurance. You might justify not having health insurance because of the cost; however, what is the cost going to be if you don’t carry personal, or self-employed health insurance? God forbid if anything were to happen, but as we know accidents happen, our children get sick, new generations come into existence, and a myriad of other medical necessities could happen. Thank goodness we can’t be thrown in jail if we can’t pay our health care costs due to not being insured. About the worst that would happen is that your credit score would drop in the toilet and you might get sued by your creditors.

It’s a no-brainer; the premiums for health insurance go up in direct proportion to the cost of health care going up. Health insurance companies are not run by the government in the United States, but they are regulated at the federal and state levels. If health insurance companies were not regulated, we might be forced to pay even higher premiums than we do.

How do we find the best buy in health insurance when we are self-employed? The best thing you can do is educate yourself on insurance before you sign on the dotted line. You should know just what your policy covers, and what it doesn’t cover. You need to put on your high powered reading glasses and read that fine print. The print is tiny for a reason. Most people, (including me) have glossed over the fine print, and then when you feel you have a claim, there might be some loophole that you weren’t aware of. I had this happen to me with my insurance on my mobile home. It burned down, but because I wasn’t living in it at the time (my mom and dad were) the insurance didn’t have to pay, and they didn’t. Be sure to read the fine print!

What type of health insurance policy should you purchase when you are self employed? Take your pick. You can purchase a personal plan, group plan, short term health insurance, and you can even self-insure with a health savings plan. To get a ball park figure of what you can afford, go online to get a health insurance quote. You just plug in the information the calculator asks for, and you will be given a list of insurance companies with offers. You will see very low prices on some insurance packages, while there are very high prices on others. What’s the difference? The difference is the deductible that you will be responsible for.

What type of health insurance should you purchase? That’s up to you. What do you need? Do you have a family? Do you have anyone with special needs in your family? Is everyone fairly healthy? You need to ask yourself all kinds of questions to decide what type of health insurance you should sign up for.

Let’s just assume that you and your family (if you have one) are healthy. You go for your yearly checkups. You don’t have any young children that will need frequent doctor visits. You might be able to do well with a low premium policy with a higher deductible. You can also open up a health savings account and put money in it for the deductible, should the need arise. Let the money work for you until you need it. There is no sense in paying out the nose for insurance premiums, especially if you never get to use the insurance enough to justify the cost. You can put that extra money (you would have paid for a lower deductible policy) into your health savings account. Then when the need arises you can use the saved money for your higher deductible.

Now let’s assume you just had a new baby, and you have 2 more children under the age of 10. Chances are, these children will need well baby and well children visits to their pediatrician. It would not be advisable in this instance to opt for a high deductible to save on insurance premiums. It might be to your advantage to buy a personal policy, a group policy for the self-employed. It is also a good idea, if you have a spouse that still punches a clock, you may be able to get health insurance coverage through your spouse’s policy.

No matter what your situation is, there is a health insurance plan that can be designed to fit your needs. When you go online for a quote, the next step is to talk to an agent. You can buy online without ever speaking face to face with someone, but experience has shown me that sitting down face to face with an agent from a local insurance provider can be the best way to decide on the amount and type of health insurance coverage that you need.

Written by CharleneCollins

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Sports gives good Health, and what impact this has on the mental health and quality of life?

What is health? 
The definition of health is not just absence of disease and suffering, but perfect physical, mental and social well-being. We all have physical, mental and social conditions that we are more or less happy with. Many believe that this definition of health is unattainable since thousands are dying of malaria, AIDS, and hunger every day. 

Good health means to experience the peace of mind, meaning and value in life and cope with the challenges we face. The values of the good life is far more difficult to measure accurately the numbers. There is no correlation between the extent of disease and extent of the good life. It turns out that people who experience a high quality of life, have stronger immune system, are sick less often and have shorter illness by disease than people who do not experience life as good and meaningful. 

Health model tells where we must invest if we are to work to improve health in the population. For those who are often sick, it is important to prevent illness and injury and to reduce the risk of disease. The development of tourist trails for exercise and campaigns against smoking and alcohol may be two measures. For people who are so often ill, it is important to focus on strengthening those aspects of the individual’s life situation and the society that makes our life worth living, prosperity and security in everyday life, good, social networks, good local environment and experience of community and belonging. 

When we think of health, emphasis is placed on the person unable to perform the tasks in the community that it has received, and that humans thrive in the tasks it has been, and are able to adapt and enjoy their space and are able to adapt to the norms and rules. This has an impact on common sense, and has an intrinsic value in itself.

A traditional understanding that includes both positive and negative factors, see good health as a state of homeostasis, which is equilibrium and harmony between the different parts of the human body and between humans and the environment. In the ancient Greek physician Hippocrates argued that good health was based on a balance between building blocks in the body, which he believed to be four different body bags. Later on health been understood as being functional. A healthy person is able to solve the many tasks and challenges a person faces in their normal environment. 

An understanding of health as equilibrium seems reasonable. Nevertheless, the incomplete. First, sick people may also experience balance. The healthy man in the modern world is dynamic. Health is linked to development. It is also good health to be in growth and development at all levels, physical, mentally and socially. A healthy person has the ability to combine caring for your health in the medical sense to seek new experiences, learn new skills, meet new people, move into new environments, and expand their horizons. Temporary pain and suffering may be part of a healthy life if it gives different values in the longer term. 

Being able to participate in a sport is a right every human being has. It is also of importance for the development of children and young people, because sports characterize and build children’s mental and physical health. They also help children to make valuable social ties to the world around us. Sport gives children more opportunities to express themselves, whether through play. This plays an important role for children who live in countries that are characterized by poverty and war. Sport is also an option to prevent drug abuse and youth crime, by providing children and young people to continue with an activity in their spare time. 

It is also proven that the sport has a correlation with academic achievement. If you are physically active have a greater capacity and ability to learn and retain information, this can at best lead to better grades. 

Sport may even be helping to promote equality between women and men, girls and boys. This is because the girls in many countries have less opportunities to make friends and provide a social circle because they must care for and organize the home. Sport can also help to build bridges between countries and societies that are full of problems. 

Physical activity has an impact on health, it improves quality of life. It seems healthy, mentally and physically, and also helps with personal challenges, shared experiences and social meeting places in safe and good growing environment. 

Provides sporting good health? 
Many will answer yes. Physical Activity and Sport has been associated with good health for many centuries. The body is designed for versatile use of the muscles. There is a clear connection between being physical inactivity and disease and death. Inactive is particularly prone to cardiovascular disease, for diabetes, some cancers, osteoporosis, and depression. 

If we stop with the training to clear the positive effects on your health pretty quickly. Some positive effects are: 
- Increased work capacity 
- Greater profits and more job satisfaction 
- Strengthened immune system 
- Stronger bone, cartilage, tendons and strips 
- Natural drainage of stress reactions 

This was just a few examples. 
At the same time limits on how much exercise and activity your body can withstand. The effect of physical activity on health depends on how often and how hard we train. The effect levels off after that we increase the training volume. The effect of very large amounts of exercise can actually be in negative health sense. Everyone has heard of overload. We subjected us to great physical strain without receiving enuf rest and recovery. The body will never have time to recover. But everyone should carry a form of activity. Most people should exercise a half hour 3 times a week, with moderate intensity.

Health is such a broad concept, it has an impact on what we do in the course of a week, appearance, training, and job. Few of us are directly dependent on being in good shape to perform our work. But the healthy, strong, young body has a different meaning. It has become a social symbol that we are successful and have control over ourselves and our lives. When we stand up as veltrimmede and slender bodies, we send out signals to the surroundings. We have the will, ability and resources to develop ourselves. A body that looks healthy and fresh, is actually become a status symbol. 

This leads to a few consequences. It has been proven through studies that people with a look that is close to body ideals, the easier work, better work, and milder punishment in the criminal justice system, and they are considered more pleasant, more intelligent and more social than people without the same degree satisfies the body ideals. Many will do anything to get closer and to be compared with body ideals, and this is not always a positive effect. Radical demands to be thin for eating disorders. 

A desire for ever larger muscles can lead to drug abuse. Top sports, but also sport, is criticized for promoting dangerous body ideals. But while the sport may serve to soften one-sided ideals. Most sports do not focus on how your body looks, but on how it works. The negative effects have a major impact on the health of an athlete, or just doing regular excercise. But they have a positive impact as well. By training only half an hour 3 days a week, with moderate intensity, reduces Mon sick leave at work, and Perceiving, therefore more money. Mon also reduces the risk of high blood pressure, and the state reduces the amount of drugs, and can therefore spend the money on other things, such as better sports facilities. Sport is also a social. More join the sports clubs because they want to meet new people and make new friends, and this has a positive effect on health. Inactivity can cause obesity. We have a less physically active lifestyles. Both work and school days containing less activity than before, and it has become common to use means of transport to and from work, leisure activities and school that does not involve physical activity. Sitting for leisure activities have become stronger competitors to the physical activities. Increased physical activity in the form of exercise or training can only compensate for the reduced daily activity. The sum is that physical activity declines, with the health challenges this entails. 
Increasing obesity in the population is a big challenge so. “In the last 15 years, men on average have gone up approx. 5 kg and females 5.8 kg in weight. 

If each of us improve the health, the community as a whole more healthy. It means we can work and produce more, and have fewer sick days. How can sports, fitness and exercise provide significant socio-economic gains. 

In 1999, it formed a new state agency under the Health and Social Affairs to promote physical activity in the population. The former state ernæringsråd was to the State Council for Nutrition was the government’s advice for nutrition and physical activity. The new Council operates significant activity in the form of to initiate research and carry extensive consulting work when it comes to nutrition, physical activity and health in the population and the Council distinguishes himself clearly in the public debate. 

Also sports organizations sports health effects as one of its strongest arguments to gain support from the public. In fact, the health of one of the most important values in the NOC’s mission statement “All athletic activity should be based on fundamental values such as sporting joy, community, health and honesty.” 

It is true that the moderate sports activity can provide health gain and hence socio-economic gain. But sport also requires resources. It costs lots of money. It allocated a lot of money from the profits from gaming funds for construction of sports facilities. Many just doing regular excercise and trimmers are more or less injuries, which uses the coating on hospital resources and leads to the absence of work. Several researchers have calculated how much the sports injuries costs, and they have reached 1.5 billion a year. Nor do any kind of sport is as healthy. Sports injuries account for about 17% of all injuries in Norway. Eating disorders constitute a part of the 17%. Eating disorders are found among women and men. 

Sports and mental health 
WHO parts into their health definition in two parts: what we call physical health and mental health. We will focus on the mental health and explain how it affects the sport. 

A very large portion, which includes approximately 1 / 3 of Norway’s population are not involved with any kind of form of regular exercise or organized training. They are regarded as inactive, and that one third of the population are also those who are suffering with the most and great mental distress. Studies have also shown that if an inactive person select and start training, it is not certain that the person gets rid of their ailments or disorders. This may be the research by recruiting inactive people with mental health and mental disorders, to engage with training and exercise. 

The reason that the inactivation is considered to have the most problems, is that those already involved in regular exercise and training is much less likely to develop mental disorders in the first place. Nevertheless, research for sports and mental health found that training and active exercise can reduce scrolling. stress, depression, anxiety, headache, fatigue and muscle pain. Exercise can also have an opposite effect. If there are high demands for performance that is seen as a threat to the example. Running on a team, this may contribute to increased stress and poor mental health. It is important that you feel in a safe in the environment Mon driver activity and that it is motivating to those who participate, not ends. 

Among children and youth sports, this is a problem that’s growing larger and larger, but also among adults, with many stops or falls off. Among the previously inactive adults who start exercising, stop on average after 6 months. It is therefore important to find the right balance between pleasure, mastery and challenge. Proper sports and physical activity also provides psychological well-being and profit, and helps to strengthen self-esteem especially to children and adolescents, and adults. 

Mental health is the largest trade association for users, relatives and other interested mental health services in Norway. 

Sports and quality of life 
As individuals, we have self-responsibility for our own health and quality of life. Humans have always been looking for to find the key to the good life. Sport and physical activity can be called a source of increased and better quality of life. 

The term quality of life is not a self-written term fixed definition, for there is great freedom in what one understands this concept. Nevertheless, the World Health Organization (WHO) defined quality of life as such; personal perceptions of their own position in life, in light of current cultural and value systems and in relation to their own objectives, expectations, standards and what they are concerned. To understand this more easily we can explain what individuals positive, negative, cognitive and emotional experiences. Even if the person has good health, big house and a high income, this does not mean necessarily that the person is happy. There are also people who are happy without all this. Happiness is an important factor for good quality of life! 

By conducting the training that provide positive experience and intrinsic value, we can thus enhance our self-picture. Joy, community, coping and progress in the training context also provides a positive surprise of himself, by achieving goals they have set themselves. 

Quality of life is a pretty new concept, even though the people have always asked the question around “the good life”. Quality of life is very extensive and can tell how people experience different aspects of the experience in his life. If you are active, and has an affinity with people, have a sense of self and are excited and happy.

Written by pettersorlie

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Guaranteed Issue Defined Benefit Health Insurance for the Uninsurable.

I have been a multi state licensed health and life insurance broker for 13 years now. One of the biggest challenges I have had to deal with through the years has been trying to help the uninsurable. Unfortunately in most states if you have one of a host of “pre-existing” medical conditions you are labeled as uninsurable on an individual health insurance policy. In most states this uninsurable status lasts for many years and sometimes for life depending on the specific pre existing condition you have been diagnosed with. Some of the pre existing medical conditions that render an applicant uninsurable for ten years or more are:

Heart Attack
Stroke Diabetes (insulin or sugar pill dependant)
Cancer (Infiltrating Ductal Carcinoma only, Carcinoma in site ok after excision)
Lupus
Multiple Sclerosis
Muscular Dystrophy
Degenerative Arthritis

and a host of other pre existing conditions. In addition, there are applicants who have a combination of controlled pre existing conditions but because they have more than three “rate-able conditions” they are labeled uninsurable. For example, with many carriers an applicant who has Hypertension & Hyperlipidimia but is also overweight falls under the “3 strikes your out” rule and is labeled uninsurable. Or an applicant may have two of the aforementioned controlled conditions and is not overweight but is a smoker and is then labeled uninsurable also. Or an applicant who has asthma but also smokes falls in to the same uninsurable category with many carriers. 

This is just a small snippet of conditions or “combo conditions” that can render an applicant uninsurable. The question then becomes, what do I do now? Who will insure me against the catastrophic medical bills that I may face in the future? Who will help me pay for the medications I currently am taking to control the aforementioned conditions? For many years depending on the state you live in you only had two options. They are as follows: 

1.) If you have a corporate tax i.d. number you can purchase a small group health insurance policy from most insurance carriers. With this scenario a minimum of two people (often husband & wife) who work for the same corporation can apply for a small group health insurance policy. After a period of time, or in some cases immediately (depending on how many months you have had prior health insurance coverage without a lapse) pre-existing conditions will be covered provided that they are a covered expense on the policy.

2.) Enroll in your states insurance risk pool (if your state is fortunate enough to have one). In our home state of Illinois the risk pool is called the Illinois Comprehensive Health Insurance Plan (ICHIP). ICHIP is a state health benefits program and not an insurance company. Persons must qualify for coverage but in most cases if the applicant is coming off an exhausted qualified COBRA continuation plan from a prior employer sponsored group, their pre existing conditions will be covered from day one (provided again that those conditions are a covered expense on the ICHIP policy). However, ICHIP (and all insurance risk pools) are by no means entitlement programs. They are far from free! Premiums charged are established by law at from 125%-150% above the average rates charged individuals for comparable major medical coverage by five or more of the largest insurance companies in the individual health insurance market in that state. Suffice it to say, the premiums are far from affordable for many people. The rates for a person 50 years of age living in Chicago can range from 4 monthly for a ,200 deductible plan to 2 monthly for a 0 deductible plan. For those who do not have an insurance risk pool in their state (http://www.naschip.org/states_pools.htm) their options are then even more limited if they are labeled as uninsurable.

There is now another option. American Medical & Life Insurance Company of New York, New York is now offering Defined Benefit Health Insurance Policies to the uninsurable. There are only three restrictions to obtaining these quality Defined Benefit Health Insurance Policies. They are as follows:

1.) You may not be a Medicare recipient.
2.) You may not be receiving disability benefits.
3.) You may not be receiving workers’ compensation benefits.

There are no other underwriting requirements. This means that regardless of your pre existing condition American Medical & Life insurance company will issue you a Defined Benefit Health Insurance policy.

What exactly is covered by their Defined Benefit Health Insurance policies? There are four different Defined Benefit Health Insurance Policies to choose from.
I will list the benefits covered on the best of the four different plan options. They are as follows:

All benefits are provided on a “first dollar” basis (no deductible or co pays required)
,000 per day covered for the first 100 days of hospital admission
,000 in additional coverage for the first day of hospital admission
,000 in additional coverage for the first 15 days of Intensive Care or Critical Care
Unlimited inpatient our outpatient Surgical Benefit provided on all plans
One Preventative Care Visit is covered per insured per calendar year with a 0 allowance for that visit
Up to 7 outpatient doctor office visits included with the with no co pay or deductible required
Mail order Generic & Brand name medications are discounted at up to 50%
Medically necessary diagnostic tests and x-rays performed in a doctor’s office or outpatient facility (e.g. MRI, CAT Scan, EKG, Mammography) are covered up to  0 per visit with a 5 visit allowance per year
There is a 12 month waiting period for Pre Existing conditions. However, because the plan is HIPAA compliant this waiting period will be waived if you have a Certificate of Creditable coverage from another health insurance plan showing 18 months of prior coverage with no lapse of more than 63 days
,000 of Critical Illness coverage provided for Primary Insured & Spouse (optional on other 3 plans) 
Nationwide P.P.O. network (www.multiplan.com)

Arguably these benefits rival the “first dollar” benefits provided on most major medical health insurance policies on the market today. The most attractive part about this kind of health insurance policy is that the premium required is well below half the premium required for the ICHIP state insurance risk pool. Also like the state insurance risk pool coverage these Defined Benefit Health Insurance policies are fully HIPAA compliant. This means that if you are coming off of an employer sponsored Cobra continuation plan and can produce a certificate of creditable coverage from this prior carrier showing 18 months of prior coverage with no lapse of more than 63 days your pre existing conditions will be covered from day one. If not, there is a 12 month waiting period for pre existing conditions.

Whilst a major medical health insurance policy is always the best way to insure oneself against the catastrophic medical bills one can experience throughout their lifetime, a Defined Benefit health insurance policy is most certainly a cost effective way to protect oneself if you are rendered uninsurable on the individual health insurance market.

Without a doubt, this is the finest Defined Benefit health insurance policy on the market today. Most especially since the majority of other offers to the uninsurable consist of discount P.P.O. network memberships that are by no means health insurance policies. We’ve all seen them advertised from company’s like “Care Entree” or “Ameriplan” that offer ”health coverage” (clever way to circumvent the words “health insurance”) that will “cover” the entire family for  monthly!

This “coverage” is so inexpensive because it provides nothing more than a P.P.O. repricing discount. This in itself is not a bad thing. However without a Major Medical or Defined Benefit health insurance policy in place one can experience catastrophic medical bills with these types of “health coverage” plans. This is the case because the average P.P.O. discount on medical procedures performed within a P.P.O. network is between 25% & 40%. For a 0 doctor office visit, this is a good deal. However, if the medical bill is 0,000 that can leave the “covered” person with as much as 0,000 in out of pocket expenses!

For more information about Guarantee Issue Defined Benefit Health Insurance Plans and or Major Medical Health insurance plans please visit click here: http://www.sbisvcs.com/guarantee_issue.htm

Written by C. Steven Tucker
Health Insurance Broker & Subject Matter Expert for the WSJ & Fortune Small Business Magazine

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