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Category health insurance

Health Insurance Reforms on the way….

After heavy anticipation from residents nationwide, the long-awaited healthcare bill was finally voted on. A national effort has been induced in order to put a spotlight on the numerous Americans who are currently living without any type of health insurance whatsoever.

Even those who are not unemployed including Hazel Layne, who is actually a health caregiver for Alzheimer patients at an assisted living facility in West Virginia, is forced to go visit the West Virginia Health Right Center when she is ill because her employer does not offer insurance to its employers who don’t get paid at least a predetermined amount.

“They offer insurance, but I don’t get paid enough to get their insurance,” said Layne.

Layne is just one of nearly 19,000 residents of West Virginia who receive treatment at the free clinic each year. An overwhelming 83% of these people actually have jobs; however, are not offered group health insurance benefit.

The executive director of the West Virginia Health Right Clinic, Pat White, considers these particular patients to be “the working poor”. “They are people that are at fast food restaurants, that are mowing lawns, that are cleaning offices, there are many of them having two or three jobs, but just not being able to afford, or not being offered, health care insurance by their employer.”

White feels that the country can no longer handle the unbelievably high number of uninsured citizens since that number is continuing to grow at such a shocking rate. Not to mention, the fact that the price of typical health insurance has continued to rise every year.

White is among the people who feel that something needs to be done immediately and stresses that this is a national issue and not just a problem in the state of West Virginia.

“They live sicker, and they die sooner than the rest of the population that has health insurance coverage,” says White.

For those living through this particular predicament daily such as Layne, they believe that anyone who works and pays taxes should be able to get affordable health insurance. She sums up the national debate this way.

According to Gavin Magor, a Ratings Senior Insurance Analyst, there are presently 46 million Americans living uninsured. More than 9 million of these people happen to be children. The worst part is that more than eight out of 10 of these people come from working families.

Luckily, for all Americans the issue of health care reform has been a prime subject in recent weeks and hopefully pushed through the congress. Until we as a country reach such a life changing decision, it is vital to know that you have other options. There is still affordable health care insurance out there.

If you live in the states of Arizona or California and are currently seeking out health care insurance please call and speak to someone at ASJ Insurance & Financial Services Inc. today, or visit their website at http://www.asjhealthinsuranceexchange.com/. Their helpful representatives are more than willing to help you and your family find a suitable health insurance plan that works for you and is affordable.

Latest on Health Care Costs & Reforms

According to a recent study conducted by the PLoS Machine, value-based insurance design (otherwise known as VBID) in which consumer payments are waived for highly effective treatments, but are raised for less effective ones, could increase the benefits of healthcare in the US without increasing expenditures. This could potentially be the very answer to health reform that all Americans have been waiting for.

Health care benefits and co-payments have always worked side-by-side and been distributed equally among employees. This arrangement has worked well for many years. But is it effective? Or is VBID the answer struggling health care consumers have been longing for?

Advocates of “value-based insurance design” suggest that it makes more sense to price health care costs based on their specific value to individual patients rather than using a “one-size-fits-all” solution. The costs saved by VBID could be used to formulate coverage for the currently uninsured, providing a substantial improvement in health outcomes.

All current cost sharing programs are nearly always based on the expense of the service or medicine and rarely is related to its potential benefit to a patient. The new plan would design specific services for targeted groups of patients.

Strategies that influence the quantity of health care consumed are essential to controlling healthcare costs. Cost sharing decreases health care costs, but it can also reduce demand for essential care and thus reduce the overall quality of care.

Consequently, some experts have proposed VBID, an approach in which the amount of cost sharing is set according to the ”value” of an intervention and the additional health benefit it adds per dollar spent rather than its cost. For example: under VBID, cost sharing could be waived for office visits necessary to control blood pressure in people with diabetes, which constitute high-value care, but could be increased for high-tech scans ordered to diagnose chronic dementia.

In the current study, using computer simulations of costs and life expectancy gains based on US healthcare data, R. Scott Braithwaite of the New York University School of Medicine and colleagues, estimated that approximately 60% of health expenditures in the US are spent on low-value services and 20% are spent on high-value services, indicating that the vast majority (80%) of health expenditures would have cost sharing that would be affected by VBID.

Broader diffusion of VBID to drug costs alone increased the benefit conferred by health care by 0.03 to 0.05 additional life-years, without increasing overall costs or out-of-pocket payments. Extension of VBID to other health care services could increase the benefit conferred by health care by 0.24 to 0.44 additional life-years. Among those without health insurance, using cost saving from VBID to subsidize insurance coverage would increase the benefit conferred by health care by 1 .21 life-years, a 31% increase.

If you have any questions regarding health care insurance and live in the states of Arizona or California please visit ASJ Insurance & Financial Services Inc.’s website today (http://www.asjhealthinsurance.com) to get an instant comparative quote from several health insurance companies like Blue Cross, Blue Shield, Cigna, United Health, Health Net, Pacific Care, Kaiser, Assurant Health and many more. Or give them a call at (602) 212-1048 to discuss various options available to you.

Health Insurance Fraud

With the economy still currently struggling to get back on its feet, many companies have found a prime opportunity to construct fake insurance fraud. Advocates from CBS say that health insurance scams are at an all time high right now. These problems have been occurring in every state around the country.

 James Quiggle, of the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud told CBS News, “People are suffering devastating financial losses. They are looking for a better health insurance deal. Swindlers love this kind of environment.”

 Unfortunately, for customers such as Bob Harper, this is a very realistic nightmare.

 With a tough economy, rising healthcare costs, and millions of people desperate for coverage, Consumer Correspondent Susan Koeppen describes the current situation as a ‘perfect storm’.

 One company undergoing investigation American Trade Association (ATA) has been accused of taking advantage of as many as 12,000 people nationwide.

 Harper found out his coverage was phony when he was preparing to receive life-saving surgery.

 “I was lying in my bed, honestly praying to God, ‘How am I going to get out of this?” Harper said.

 ATA has put many costumers like Harper in way over their head. Although ATA covered his prescriptions, he has been left owing $2,000 in uncovered claims.

 One consumer reportedly has $60,000 in unpaid medical bills, yet they had been paying monthly premiums to ATA.

 Harper has been left fearing his future. He is currently 63-years-old, has a handful of pre-existing conditions, and is virtually every insurance company’s worst nightmare.

 When CBS’s “Early Show” requested an interview with the reported fraudulent company ATA, they denied, but responded with the statement: “We have paid in full every single claim that met the terms of coverage, and we will continue to pay those that are outstanding.” ATA adds that it’s working to resolve issues with insurance regulators.”

 ATA, including other companies that have been accused of undergoing similar schemes are currently being investigated by the FBI.

 With so many frauds being constructed nationwide, it is important to have your guard up when shopping for insurance.

 Things to look for:

Aggressive sales (unsolicited faxes, phone calls or emails offering plans that sound too good to be true, especially if their  premiums that are much lower than the competitors. Companies that have very little information about themselves or the company’s backing the plan.

 If you are unsure, you can always contact your state insurance commissioner. This will enable you to make sure the company you have chosen to work with is licensed to sell insurance.

 If you live in the state of Arizona or California and are looking for a trustworthy, independent insurance and financial services agency, look no further than ASJ Insurance & Financial Services Inc. With access to top rated health insurance companies like Assurant Health, Blue Cross, Blue Shield, Cigna, Health Net, Humana, Kaiser and United Health, experts at ASJ Insurance are sure to find a plan that will fit your need and budget.

 Give them a call at (602) 212-1048 or (877) 275-2201 or visit their website http://www.asjhealthinsurance.com to get an instant quote from several insurance companies.

Health Insurance Reforms

Ever since President Obama was inaugurated, there has been an ongoing controversy surrounding health insurance. The most sought after topic has been reform, up until lately when the issue of antitrust issues arose.

 The entire health insurance industry has been in a chaotic uproar ever since new plans began being proposed to United States congress.

 If the plan does in fact go into effect, health insurance providers will more than likely have to pay additional taxes, thus putting their would-be profits at risk.

 The health insurance industry as a whole has had the unique privilege for the past 64 years of being exempt from antitrust laws.

 Currently, health insurance is controlled mostly by few major players: Aetna, Blue Cross, Cigna, United Health, and Health Net. Many customers who are seeking out health insurance turn to online search engines to find their best options and often face the health insurance monopoly of these companies. But, why not venture off to more plausible, affordable options?

 There are plenty out there. In fact, working with an insurance broker versus an individual insurance company, will almost always provide you with better results in terms of both premiums and coverage.

 One of the most sought after insurance brokers serving both the states of Arizona and California is ASJ Insurance & Financial Services Inc. (Available by phone at (602) 212-1048, website:

http://www.asjhealthinsurance.com

 or email customerservice@asjhealthinsurance.com).

 

Antitrust laws would be beneficial, as they would assist in promoting competition among all the major insurance companies and help prevent any one company from taking over the market entirely.

 Enabling competition would not only lower pricing, but also provide more selections for the consumer.

 The subject of antitrust laws as a whole has up until now been pushed off, in an attempt to achieve the original change the industry sought after.

 In the beginning when the issue first became a major obstacle for the Obama administration, the main topics of the health care agenda were funding, fiscal responsibility, and illegal immigrants.

 However, with the public outcry over recent issues and the overall failure of the congress to come to any sort of agreement in terms of reform, politicians have been pushed to think outside the box and deal with other issues. This is where antitrust laws first came into play.

 With congress providing insurers overall invincibility, legislation constructed a way for health insurance providers to share information without being responsible for either price fixing or collusion. Apparently, congress’s initial plan backfired horribly.

 Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House of Representatives, has taken the lead in getting the new health bill off the ground. Pelosi is hopeful of passing the legislation as an individual legislation, aside from the overall health care reform.

 For once, Speaker Pelosi has come up with a plan that has received positive feedback from both sides of the political world.

 If the bill passes, it will help jump start health care reform being passed, which will ultimately allow all Americans to have the option of having health insurance that will have to undergo both public scrutiny and antitrust laws.

Auto Insurance

Things to Know When Searching for Auto Insurance

 1. “You’re a statistic”: You will hear this general statement numerous times when you begin your hunt for auto insurance. Your premium will be based off of a combination of factors including the type of car you drive, its year, your age, your gender, marital status, your occupation, who you are, your personal driving violations, accident claims, credit rating, education, how far you drive to work, the miles you drive each year, your vehicle’s theft protection devices, where you live and how you live. This may appear to be an abundance of determinants; however, all of these can and will work both for and against you to come up with a reasonable monthly premium.

2. You will save money by comparison shopping. Just like when you prepare to purchase anything else, you are going to want to do your research before jumping the gun and making your ultimate decision. Prices for auto insurance will vary vastly depending on the provider. What may appear to be the same exact product can still have a different price tag, so make sure to do your research before committing to any specific company.

 3. it’s not just about price. It is also about the customer-service that your insurer provides. It is your right to do some background research regarding each insurance company’s history in terms of claims service. If a company takes forever to file a claim after an accident occurs or they are financially unstable, you are not going to want to sign up with them solely based on a low premium.

 4. Auto Insurance is not an area to be skimpy on. Most states only require liability coverage, which again will protect you from being held responsible for another party’s damages, in the event of an accident. You should look for more coverage beyond just the basics. For example collision, bodily injury, car rental, comprehensive, full glass, medical coverage, uninsured or underinsured motorist, and towing are all additional types you can add to your policy. Just because you choose to get extended coverage does not mean that you will have to necessarily pay more. Many companies can work with you and come up with a reasonably priced multi-coverage plan designed just for you.

5. Research what discounts you are entitled to. Discounts are granted to reward behavior. For example, good grades and certain safe driving courses could make you eligible for monthly discounts. Do your homework before purchasing auto insurance. Any website that is willing to give you multiple quotes at once such as www.asjautoinsurance.com is the perfect place to start.

ASJ Insurance & Financial Services Inc. is any insurance customer’s ideal insurance agency of choice, because they work with multiple companies, which will in turn provide you with a listing of various quotes and from there you and your family can find the one that works for you. You can go ahead and request a no obligation quote at:

http://www.asjinsurance.com/asjinsurance.aspx?MyMenu=home&MyPage=forms/auto.asp&SessionID=63631471

and the experts at ASJ Insurance & Financial Services Inc. will go to work on coming up with a number of auto insurance quotes from different companies such as The Hartford, MetLife Auto & Home, Progressive, Safeco, Infinity, Foremost, Bristol West and many more companies. Visit us at www.asjautoinsurance.com or call us at 602-212-1048 or toll free 877-275-2201.

At ASJ Insurance & Financial Services Inc. you are in the hands of elite, experienced professionals who have been providing insurance services to both Arizona and California residents for more than 10 years and will work for you non-stop until you are fully satisfied with the outcome.