cq-life-and-health-blog

Healthcare Reform Scam Alert

Wed, 14 Apr 2010 12:37:38 +0100

The health insurance industry is urging its customers to beware of phony telemarketers pitching health insurance deals. In the wake of healthcare reform, buyers need to be wary of scammers who tell them they need to buy a new health insurance policy because of the new law.

The pitches may come in the form of phony e-mails, fraudulent online ads, door-to-door or by way of pushy telemarketers. The scams promise a variety of bogus benefits or enticements such as “medical discount” cards. The consumer ends up making huge payments that entitle the buyer to nothing more than a piece of paper-- the benefits don’t exist. Scams of this nature have been identified in other states.

We encourage you to be on the lookout for such scams and to contact your South Carolina health insurance agent before making any changes.

If you have any questions, please contact a licensed South Carolina health insurance agent.

Car Buying Experience in Charleston South Carolina

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 15:13:15 +0100

It's been a couple of weeks since I posted anything to this South Carolina Life and Health insurance blog. This post is off the usual topic, but I think it is worthy of writing. After all, my primary business focus is South Carolina. This is not a paid endorsement of Hendrick Imports of Charleston, though it may sound like one. I've had a great experience!

I'm like most folks in that I truly despise looking for a new car. There is nothing more time consuming and annoying than going from car dealership to dealership. Most car salesmen are ignorant and only out to sell anything in their inventory.
Recently, my wife spent many hours online looking for a clean, preowned car. We have three children and were looking for something specific. We are also big Dave Ramsey fans, so in addition to a good deal, we were also looking for something that made good financial sense. After weeks of viewing online and many phone calls, we decided to venture out last Friday and visit the many dealerships listing the cars we were interested in.

Can you say garbage! A picture IS worth a thousand words but none that I can mention here. Most of what was shown to us never came close to what we described our interests were. We spent most of that day 'spinning our wheels' wasting time walking and talking to salesmen who could have cared less about what was important to us. Even worse, some of the dealers pulled us into their 'Bully Pit' in an effort to sell us on a car my wife never had an interest in.

Long story short, I ran into John Fulp at Hendrick of Charleston. Nice Guy! He was knowledgeable, and understanding. He sat down with me, looked over his inventory list and showed me only the cars that he thought might meet our needs. I do not part with hard earned money easily, so I'm a bit uptight anytime I'm buying anything more expensive than a gallon of 2% milk.

In short time, because John Fulp showed a genuine interest in us and our needs, we found a car that worked almost perfectly for our needs. Our experience with Damon Delaney (Finance Guru) and Don Smith (GM, Volvo of Charleston) at Hendrick of Charleston was equally nice. Both Don Smith and Damon Delaney's professionalism, was just as much as appreciated as the fairness imparted by John Fulp, my salesman for life.

In the future, when I am in need of a new or used car, I will simply pick up the phone and call 843.402.6596. You will not find a more professional group of car people anywhere.

The Importance of HIPAA

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 14:08:55 +0100

With every new visit you make to the doctor, you will be required to sign a form stating that your doctor’s office has informed you of their compliance of the HIPAA laws. How many times have you signed this document without reading it thoroughly? What you may not understand is that the HIPAA laws are extremely important and have been put into effect to protect you from several things, including being denied care and health insurance coverage, as well as identity theft.

Enacted in 1996, HIPAA or the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act was created to put a set of national standards in place to protect the health information of all individuals. When you go from one doctor to another or from one hospital to another, your information will follow you and the new HIPAA laws protect that information as it follows you. With advances in technology, most of the medical information about you is sent electronically and HIPAA laws help maintain the safety of your personal data flowing through electronic networks.

The first thing one must understand is what HIPAA actually protects you from. Generally, it will protect all of your personal identification, such as your birth date, address, telephone number, and Social Security number. It also protects any information associated with previous medical conditions and treatments. This information can not be disclosed to anyone, unless it is for a specific reason regarding a current treatment. The protection HIPAA offers will help to guard you from becoming a victim of identity theft.

HIPAA will also protect your personal information from being used by health insurance providers without authorization from you first. Basically, the only time they should access and use this information without your authorization is if they are to send information to you, use the information to determine the best course of action, or collect payments on the treatments you received. When the insurance carrier's need for your information does not fit into one of these categories, they are required by law to get your authorization first. They must also explain why the authorization is needed in terms that can be understood by someone without any medical education in medical terminology.

While you may sometimes feel like these privacy forms are a simple waste of paper, the truth is, they are necessary to protect your personal information. The HIPAA laws may seem overblown, but they are an important aspect of protecting your personal health information from being used inappropriately. For more information on the HIPAA in South Carolina or for a free health insurance quote, please visit Carolina Quoter.

South Carolina Health Insurance Basics

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 00:13:53 +0100

For many in South Carolina, health insurance is readily available and provided by their employer or a family member’s employer. Unfortunately for others, health insurance is not readily available or affordable. For these people selecting the right type of health insurance can be quite confusing. These South Carolinians are required to get an individual health insurance plan that is purchased individually, as opposed to through an employer. Most people who need an individual health plan are either self-employed, unemployed, or employed by an organization which does not offer health insurance plans. An individual plan can be used to not only cover an individual, but an individual’s dependents as well. Some of the most common individual health plans are PPOs, HMOs, HSAs, FFS, and high risk pools.

A PPO, which stands for Preferred Provider Organization, is a flexible health insurance plan which covers the widest variety of illnesses. Many prefer a PPO because it allows the health insurance purchaser to see any doctor the wish and still be covered by their health insurance. Because of its flexible and comprehensive nature, a PPO is generally more expensive than the alternatives. While the PPO is the most expensive, its level of coverage often saves an insured individual a significant amount of money in the event of illness or injury.

An HMO, which stands for Health Maintenance Organization, is a health insurance plan that only provides for coverage for doctors listed in the HMO network. The HMO network is normally very vast and includes many professional doctors which provide professional service, but at lower rate than doctors not included in the HMO. Because of this, the HMO is one of the cheaper health insurance options available in South Carolina. Unfortunately, many people who have an HMO insurance plan may not be able to visit their preferred doctor.

An HSA, which stands for Health Savings Account, is a savings account which is normally used in conjunction with an insurance plan that has a high deductible. An HSA allows an individual to save for future medical needs by contributing funds in a tax deferred savings account. While there are benefits of saving money in an HSA, the owner of the savings account will be penalized if they withdraw funds for non medical reasons. People who have Health Savings Accounts normally have affordable medical premiums, but have very high deductibles.

An FFS, which stands for Fee For Service, is a very cheap form of health insurance. When an insured goes to visit a doctor, the insured pays for the cost of the visit up front. The insured is then reimbursed a portion of the expenses directly from the health insurance provider. The amount that the insured is reimbursed varies significantly depending on the plan. Generally, the higher the monthly premium is, the more the insurance company will reimburse.

The last type of individual health insurance is the South Carolina high risk pool. This type of insurance is designed for individuals who cannot obtain any other form of health insurance. People are normally denied health insurance if they have had a significant history of illness or are presently sick. Because the insurance provider who is giving insurance to the high risk individual, the insurance costs are often extremely high. Most private health insurance providers do not offer a high risk insurance plan. Instead, high risk individuals are required to obtain insurance from a governmental organization.

In conclusion, obtaining an individual health insurance plan can be quite complicated and expensive. Luckily, there are many options available which should fit in anyone's budget. Prior to selecting an insurance plan, you should carefully consider the pros and cons of each plan and ensure it fits in your budget and lifestyle.

For more information about health insurance plans or for a free South Carolina health insurance quote, please visit Carolina Quoter.com.

South Carolina Health Insurance Application Tips

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 01:46:52 +0100

Before you apply for health insurance in South Carolina, be prepared with the following information:

    *Physician's name and most recent date of visit (month/year).

    *The name and dosage of any prescription medications taken in the past year.

    *Other information about any current or recent medical conditions, such as date of onset, current status, treatment, prognosis, medications, date of surgeries or hospitalizations (month/year), and names of physicians that provided care.

    *Payment information, such as your Visa or Mastercard account number or bank account number and related bank routing number.

For more health insurance tips, please visit Carolina Quoter.

Save Money and Buy Generic Medication

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 01:46:37 +0100

One of the best ways to save on your prescription drug costs in South Carolina is to ask for generics. Most prescription drugs taken in the United States are available in generic form. A generic drug has the exact strength, safety and active ingredients that the name-brand drug has.

Often, a doctor has a vested interest in prescribing name-brand prescription medication. It is not uncommon for pharmaceutical companies to to offer doctors perks such as trips to sell their name-brand drugs. If your doctor signs your prescription 'Dispense as Written', ask him to rewrite the prescription and indicate 'Substitution Allowed'. Remember to be sure to tell your pharmacist that you want generic.

Generics are also available in over-the-counter medications. For example, in most drug stores, Advil, a product to alleviate fever and pain, is available in a generic form as ibuprofen. Ibuprofen is much less expensive than Advil and it is essentially the same medication.

In South Carolina, Wal-Mart, Publix, and BiLo offer a month supply of many generic drugs for $4. For a complete list of $4 generic drugs from these pharmacies, please call 843-478-2662.

For more information about how to save on your prescription drug costs or to receive free health insurance quotes, please visit www.carolinaquoter.com.

Shop Canadian Pharmacies and Save

Sat, 20 Feb 2010 10:41:15 +0100

Brand-name prescription drugs can be very expensive. If you are prescribed a medication that is not available in generic form, consider using a Canadian pharmacy. Quite often, brand-name medication can be bought from a Canadian pharmacy for a fraction of the price that same drug can be purchased from a pharmacy in South Carolina.

Be sure to exercise caution when buying your medication online. There are a lot of fraudulent websites posing as legitimate pharmacies. They promote drastically discounted drugs but do nothing but take your hard earned money and supply nothing in return. I recommend using Pharmacy Checker to determine legitimate websites to do business with. Pharmacy Checker has compiled a database of legitimate foreign pharmacies. This site is free to explore.

For more helpful information about how to save money on your prescriptions in South Carolina, please visit www.carolinaquoter.com.

Save Money with a Prescription Discount Card

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 01:45:23 +0100

One of the largest expenses associated with healthcare in South Carolina is prescription drugs. In the past, you did not have to be concerned about the expense of drugs because the costs were picked up by your employer leaving you with only a small co-pay of $10 or $15 per prescription. With QHDHP's and HSA plans becoming the preferred individual health insurance, the need for drug discounts is growing.

Today, people are more concerned with the expense associated with name-brand prescriptions because they have to pay for them. In fact, many prescriptions written today are never filled because of price. Fortunately, there are ways to reduce drug costs in South Carolina. One way to reduce your prescription costs is to get a drug discount card. A South Carolina drug discount card can save you 10 to 50 percent or more on your prescriptions. There are about 85 drug discount cards available and most are free. Too good to be true? Actually, no. Drug discount sponsors are generally paid a $1 to $4 fee by the solicited pharmacy. Additionally, the pharmacy receives financial incentives from the pharmaceutical companies.

For South Carolina insurance clients, I recommend the South Carolina Drug Card. Participating pharmacies include: CVS, Publix, Eckerd Drugs, Walgreens, BI-LO Pharmacy, and Kmart Pharmacy, as well as hundreds of independent pharmacies. There are additional discounts associated with the card when you use it at select retailers. There are discounts on diabetic supplies, vitamins, hearing aids, and eyeglasses.

For more information about how to save money on health care in South Carolina, please visit Carolina Quoter.

Herpes and Health Insurance in South Carolina

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 01:43:51 +0100

As a health insurance agent, people share their medical history with me on a daily basis. Attention deficit disorder, high cholesterol, hypertension and the like are routine admissions I hear every day as a South Carolina insurance agent. Most folks, if they have been alive for more than a couple of decades have a health issue or two. Sharing this information with your insurance agent is important in choosing the proper South Carolina health insurance plan and carrier. A good agent is informed and knows which carriers will accept certain health conditions and which insurance carriers will not.

Most people will freely discuss "benign" health conditions but will choose not to disclose embarrassing conditions they think are taboo such as genital herpes. The fact of the matter is that herpes is fairly common in South Carolina and elsewhere. One in five people in the United States has a sexually transmitted disease. As health insurance agents, this is a diagnosis we see on a regular basis.

Your South Carolina health insurance agent has a fiduciary duty to you the client which is very similar to doctor patient confidentiality. In fact, your agent is bound by law to respect your privacy and share your health information only with the insurance company you are applying for coverage with and only after you have agreed to this in writing.

Health insurance carriers handle certain medical conditions differently. Depending on the condition, the company may decline coverage, rider out coverage, rate up and include, or apply a condition specific deductible. So it is important to share your entire health history, including any sexually transmitted diseases, with your agent, so he can direct you to the health insurance carrier that is right for you.

Thinking About Buying Health Insurance Online? Stop!

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 01:42:56 +0100

We can all agree that we live in the internet age and that shopping online is fast and convenient. I have to admit that with my busy schedule, I do most of my shopping online. But when it comes to South Carolina health insurance, I recommend contacting a licensed health insurance agent for several reasons:

    *Health insurance is more complex than it used to be. Because the economy has been struggling for a while, health insurance carriers have had to develop a more diversified portfolio of affordable health products to maintain marketshare. Thus, there are more South Carolina health insurance plans available than ever before. A licensed South Carolina health insurance broker is qualified to sift through the ever increasing number of health insurance plans and help select a suitable policy for you.

    *Health insurance applications can be tricky. Omitting pertinent health history, unintentionally or otherwise, can significantly impact whether or not a South Carolina health insurance carrier will accept you. A good insurance agent will scrub the application for you to make sure all questions are answered thoroughly.

    * An agent will monitor the progress of your health application and can withdraw or amend it before it gets rejected, rated up, or ridered (exclusions) by the South Carolina insurance carrier.

    *It doesn't cost you a dime. Insurance rates are fixed and recorded with the South Carolina Department of Insurance. Buying a health insurance policy in South Carolina from an agent costs the same as if you were to purchase that same policy online. Wouldn't you feel more comfortable seeking the advice of a professional?

For free health insurance quotes in South Carolina, please visit Carolina Quoter.