Friday, May 25, 2018

Most important Overusing Your Health Insurance

When reviewing health plans and evaluating cost, keep in mind health insurance wasn't designed to cover every penny related to health care.

Everything under the sun on an open credit card is nice, but not when you are paying the bill. But you are.

The purpose of insurance is to cover sudden very expensive losses. It's about making you whole again and not have the financial responsibility of a ton of money to do it. Somehow we all decided over the last 60 years that the traditional plan should pay for everything.

Health insurance is the only insurance product, for the most part, that pays for first dollar coverage like doctor visits and prescription drugs. The healthcare system gamed the system on the bigger bank account paying the bill, not the small guy. The tables have turned...

Employees are more responsible for their healthcare in paying more for premium dollars out of their check and higher costs. Employers should engage their employees in being more proactive in their healthcare. Here are a few ideas:

Don't run to the ER or the doctor visit for every little thing. What happened to home remedies or waiting to see the doctor instead of running to the ER? This will save you thousands in a year if you have kids.
Try saving money on medication by finding alternatives. Sometimes skipping the drug may not have an impact on your health, but keeps you coming back to the doctor. The other thing you can do is shop around. Just because they are convenient doesn't mean it is the most cost-effective.
Just because your doctor recommends a test, it doesn't mean you have to jump to it and have it done. The doctor went through many years of school, but they are also trying to run tests to protect them and get paid. Ask more questions to see if you feel it's the right thing. Just like you would if your mechanic suggested items. It's your money.
If you are scheduling a procedure, take a look around. Many new facilities are popping up to help reduce cost from outpatient testing to outpatient surgical facilities. The hospital isn't the cheapest. Far from it. This ends up driving the price up for you and the insurance company.
You do not need to go to a state of the art teaching hospital, for most thing. There are a time and place for the advanced care that some of the predominant teaching hospitals bring to the table. However, for most things people go through its overkill and overcharged.
In the end, it will end up costing you more money, either in out-of-pocket expenses or premium. There is no free lunch.

Saturday, May 19, 2018

With The A Decision Automation Process

An extreme late in medical prescriptions and procedures, overdue accounts, problems with paperwork is a big challenge. After receiving a prior authorization, nearly 869 million hours are spent per year!

It is true that electronic prior authorization has been in effect for more than a decade. For payers who have their own heavy web portals, however, there is a lack of better communication between two receptive interfaces, the portals, which are only associated with the individual process work flow.

What we need today is expert intervention and a combination to make the most of the technology's benefits. While it is true that a manual process is quite expensive and costs about $ 10.78 per transaction, compared to $ 2.07 for a prior electronic transaction authorization.

Reduce the time with electronic prior authorization

Good communication between the payee and the vendor is a serious problem that becomes a major obstacle to the ideal change for more value-based care. Ultimately, solving your practice management priorities will be possible with a perfect combination of manual and electronic prior authorization that heals your pain in exam and authorization mandates as a medical practice.

With more than $ 31 billion being spent annually for prior authorization, healthcare providers need to leverage the best technology in order to accelerate the practice management process., Healthcare in general generally stays local!

Whether it's REM on the supplier side, the end-user management systems are old and often unable to keep up with changing business dimensions. The continuous data exchange between provider and payer is still hampered by unusual pay-per-view portals that correlate with their individual work flow models.

Combination of a manual/electronic process for a simplified prior authorization process

Although both systems can communicate, tuning and data absorption are not efficient enough, which makes integration rather bleak. The entire licensing process is the most important aspect of the actual sales cycle. Patient access services do not have sufficient resources to respond to authorization requests!

The Medicare and Medicaid cuts will be just another challenge, and a more rational management/management cycle management will be the reference. Appealing to all the "non-self-denials" that you face as an organization requires that you combine manual and electronic processes with a large number of resources that meets the demands of modern day practice management.

Considering that nearly 90% of previous authorizations require a call or fax, Sure scripts calculates that the cost of servicing these requests is between $ 2,000 and $ 14,000 per year. Previous authorizations account for almost 2% to 4% of this revenue!

Considering that billions of recipes are ordered every year, that brings a lot of money and time! For an urgent request it can take 24 hours to make a decision, and for a standard, it can vary between 10 and 15 days!

On average, we find that physicians spend 1.1 hours a week, surgeons 0.7 hours and specialists 0.8 hours. The biggest challenge still does not take into account that different forms are associated with the prior authorization process.

Thursday, May 17, 2018

Finding A very Low Rate For Individual Dental Insurance

While many of us understand the need for regular dental care, a surprisingly large number of people still will not see a dentist regularly. Oftentimes, this is a result of concerns about cost. When asked why they have not seen a dentist recently, more than one-third of individuals asked, reported that it was due to the price of care.

While dental insurance is able to reduce these costs, a lot of people have difficulty getting a plan that is both affordable and comprehensive. In 2008, nearly 45 million people had no dental insurance. Of people with health insurance through work, nearly 80% also received dental benefits. Only 30% of those people also had a dental plan.

As these numbers indicate, having a good dental insurance plan is directly correlated with better health. The better your insurance, the less likely you are to have cavities or more serious issues with your teeth. Even if you do not get dental insurance by your employment, you must find an individual plan that will make it affordable to see a dentist.


Fortunately, you can find individual dental insurance plan policies that can help. However, prior to choosing a plan, there are a few key elements that you should bear in mind. Otherwise, you may end up with a plan that will not provide you with the coverage that you need.


If you are already a patient of a particular dentist, and you are happy with using this type of care, you should choose a plan that he accepts. Otherwise, either your new insurance will not actually save you any money or you will have to get a new dentist. Before you start shopping, talk to your dentist's office to find out which plans he accepts.


Consider your personal needs and the needs of your family when you are looking for a plan. Are you simply looking for insurance for yourself, or are there other members of the household who need coverage as well? For example, if you have children, you need to look for a plan that covers pediatric dentistry.

Additionally it is a good idea to consider the future cost of orthodontics when choosing a plan. The odds are that at least one of your children will need braces. More than 80 percent of orthodontic treatment is done on patients under the age of 18. Look for a plan that gives generous benefits for such treatment.

Make sure to balance the cost of the monthly premiums against your own out-of-pocket obligations. Many people automatically choose the plan with the lowest premiums, only to be shocked when they learn how much they have to pay before their benefits kick in. It may be worthwhile to pay a bit more each month so you pay less later on.

There is a lot to consider when you are shopping for individual dental insurance. Take your time and don't make any hasty decisions. This way, you can find a plan that works for you and peoples.

Tuesday, May 15, 2018

Your Insurance Agency Lead Scoring

Insurance agencies have not yet formalized their lead scoring system. This is a worthwhile endeavor for all agencies, and one which should be revisited every year, while tracking the return on investment of their marketing programs.

What is lead scoring? It is a methodology used to rank prospects against a scale, and then assign a value to determine interest level and distribution. For example, let's say a trucking insurance lead appointment arrives at your agency. This lead is with an owner of 15 power units, they use company drivers, and they are unhappy with their carrier. Perhaps your lead scoring system falls on a 1 to 10 scale, and this lead is scored an 8. What might receive a higher score? And what types of leads are outside of profile, and what score would they receive? Perhaps prospects need to score an 8 to appear on your producer scorecards.

Is the lead distributed to producers by territory? Does your lead handling process vary by type of lead, product or prospect? For example, are commercial leads separated by large and small business, by industry or product? Are benefit leads parsed by groups over and under 50? And does your agency have a tracking system in place to determine how many leads showed for the appointment, moved into the pipeline, received quotes and ultimately convert into new business?

Salespeople, sales managers, producers and other business people often refer to prospects in vague terms such as: new, warm, hot, cold, likely, qualified, etc. These terms do little to better understand a sales pipeline or convey likelihood of purchase to other members of the team. Agencies can consider creating a simple prospect scorecard to resolve this issue and quantify their lead scoring. Formalizing lead scoring offers benefits such as:

Helps Producers create ideal attributes to form a buyer persona
Creates a simple numeric system to leverage your buyer persona
Assigns numeric values to rank your best prospects
Creates a simple qualification acronym to determine likelihood to close

What should be included in a prospect scorecard?

Use a prospect scorecard to quantify your approach to pipeline building. Some attributes of your ideal client might include revenue, growth rate, client type (business or consumer) and market niche. For example, are you targeting companies with $5m to $10m in revenue? Are your best prospects fast-growing firms, trucking companies, manufacturers or consumers?

If you're selling to consumers, are they high net worth, middle-income, millennial or senior citizens? Are your prospects in a specific niche market such as banking, insurance, biotech, consulting, education, etc.? Create a scorecard with your ideal attributes and a customized qualification abbreviation to help you determine if you're selling to an in-profile prospect.

Insurance agencies and brokers seeking to get to the next level with their insurance marketing and lead generation, but lacking the internal resources to achieve their marketing goals, can reach out to a proficient insurance agency marketing firm.

Friday, May 11, 2018

Three Simple Actions For Secure Your Finances.

Millions of people do not understand how important it is to be financially stable. Financial stability does not necessarily refer to having a well paying job and a lot of money. In order to be secure, one has to know how to handle their monetary resources. You need to be able to determine how you will
spend, save and invest your money. This will make sure that you are financially secure.




How to use your money

There are simple tricks you can apply to your life to ensure you are utilizing your money well. The three main elements are to make sure you can;

· Spend

· Save

· Invest

When you get your salary or profits from your business ventures, you must be willing to pay attention to all these three areas. The secrets to maintaining a constant structure that will ensure you are financially stable is by following the pointers below.

1. Budget

Always budget whenever you get your money. Be logical when you do so. Write down all your expenses and needs. When you budget, always indicate payments you have to make to insurance companies or loan payments if they are not part of your net pay. Once you have a clear picture of how much you are spending, you can now know how much to save.

2. Saving

Choose a savings account that will generate more funds for you. You may need to do some research before you settle for one. If you have dependents, you may want to put money aside for their needs as well such as tuition savings. Allocate your savings according to your needs.

3. Invest

Investing ensures that your future is secure. Once you have done your savings and budgeted well, make sure you take a leap of faith and invest your money in other ways. For instance, you can put some money into company shares.

For the sake of your family, you can also apply for insurance. Life insurance is the best since it covers both you and your loved ones. There are many options available for such insurance covers like new policies that offer life insurance without medical.

With these three factors in place, you can begin to take charge of your finances. In the event that you have extra money to spare, hiring a financial manager will ensure you keep track of all your expenditures. Be sure to prioritize in the first stages so that you meet your goals and live within your means.

Tuesday, May 8, 2018

Save And Secure Your Finances With Three Simple Actions

Many of people do not understand how important it is to be financially stable. Financial stability does not necessarily refer to having a well paying job and a lot of money. In order to be secure, one has to know how to handle their monetary resources. You need to be able to determine how you will spend, save and invest your money. This will make sure that you are financially secure.

How to use your money

There are simple tricks you can apply to your life to ensure you are utilizing your money well. The three main elements are to make sure you can;

· Spend

· Save

· Invest

When you get your salary or profits from your business ventures, you must be willing to pay attention to all these three areas. The secrets to maintaining a constant structure that will ensure you are financially stable is by following the pointers below.

1. Budget

Always budget whenever you get your money. Be logical when you do so. Write down all your expenses and needs. When you budget, always indicate payments you have to make to insurance companies or loan payments if they are not part of your net pay. Once you have a clear picture of how much you are spending, you can now know how much to save.

2. Saving

Choose a savings account that will generate more funds for you. You may need to do some research before you settle for one. If you have dependents, you may want to put money aside for their needs as well such as tuition savings. Allocate your savings according to your needs.

3. Invest

Investing ensures that your future is secure. Once you have done your savings and budgeted well, make sure you take a leap of faith and invest your money in other ways. For instance, you can put some money into company shares.

For the sake of your family, you can also apply for insurance. Life insurance is the best since it covers both you and your loved ones. There are many options available for such insurance covers like new policies that offer life insurance without medical.

With these three factors in place, you can begin to take charge of your finances. In the event that you have extra money to spare, hiring a financial manager will ensure you keep track of all your expenditures. Be sure to prioritize in the first stages so that you meet your goals and live within your means. We believe saving budget.

Saturday, May 5, 2018

Workers Benefit From Supplemental Insurance Coverage

Healthcare costs continue to rise, employers have started to shift the burden of health care costs onto their employees. Some have even cut back on employer-paid benefits. The health-care law requires most people to obtain and most employers to offer major medical coverage with certain essential benefits. Even so, what workers pay out-of-pocket through these plans keep rising as employers try to control their own costs.

A 2015 report revealed how employers are still looking for ways to reduce expenses by pushing costs onto workers in the form of increased deductibles, premiums and co payments. By offering supplemental or voluntary insurance to employees, this can provide financial protection in the event of a serious accident or illness. Three reasons why supplemental insurance is essential for employees are:

Healthcare cost increases are outpacing raises

According to a report, 31 percent of employers increased employees' share of premium, 30 percent increased employees' co payments, and 21 percent implemented high-deductible health plans. Those are big expenses hitting employees' wallets, but salary increases are not keeping up. A recent Kaiser Family Foundation study found that deductibles have risen six times faster than workers' earnings since 2010.

Out-of-pocket limits are high, even for higher-paid employees

The average out-of-pocket expense is approximately $7,000 for individuals and $14,000 for families, and that is only for covered essential health benefits. Yet, a whopping 52 percent of employees have less than $1,000 to pay for out-of-pocket expenses associated with an unexpected serious illness or accident, and 28 percent have less than $500.

Workers tend to choose price over quality, which may mean less coverage than they realize

With rising costs, it is tempting to choose health insurance based on the monthly price tag. In fact, 30 percent of employees say monthly premium is the most important factor when choosing a major medical insurance plan each year. A lower-cost plan may mean short-term savings, but could eventually add up to significantly higher out-of-pocket costs.

Employees need a financial safety net. Benefits received from supplemental insurance have long served as a way to help protect employees when they are sick or injured, regardless of their major medical insurance coverage. Some of these benefits include vision, dental, pet insurance, short-term disability, accident, critical illness, and hospital indemnity. Supplemental benefit recipients can use money received from these products to help pay for their daily living expenses, such as rent, mortgage payment, groceries, child care, and medical bills during the time the insured is unable to work.

When companies add voluntary products to their companies' benefits package, they can raise employees' level of satisfaction and help them feel more financially prepared to cope with possible life-changing events. On the other hand, employers can experience lower operational costs and save money in the process. The result is a win-win situation for both employer and employee.

Friday, May 4, 2018

Health and Your Insurance Coverage : Lead Poisoning

The water crisis in Flint, Michigan took place and residents worried about the lead content. For years, home and property owners and managers, as well as mortgage companies have known about lead risks.

Recent studies about the metal exposure in many parts of the country have raised significant questions.

What is lead poisoning?

This form of toxic poisoning can happen when a perilous level of lead enters the body. Incidentally, small amounts of lead are not good for you, either, and can cause serious health concerns, particular in kids under six years of age.

Where does lead come from?

Lead problems typically originate from lead-based paint and lead-contaminated dust. Older houses and buildings are problematic in regard to this. Lead can also be found in polluted air and water and soil. Those working with batteries, apartment or office building renovation may also be at risk, as are auto repair people.

How does one this form of poisoning?

All it may take to reduce low levels of lead poisoning is avoiding spots where lead is contained. Patients who suffer from a high level of lead poisoning may need to undergo a treatment called chelation. Family physicians are the best source of guidance in this matter. Of course, avoiding contact with lead sources is the best antidote in the first place.

How does one prevent lead poisoning?

Here are several everyday tips that help residents prevent exposure to lead poisoning.

• After turning on the cold water, let it run for a minute or so before using. 
• Wash hands before eating, bed time, and after playing outside 
• Sanitize toys regularly. 
• Mop all floors on a regular basis. Wipe furnishings and clean surfaces with a damp cloth to maintain a dust-free atmosphere 
• Train family members to remove shoes prior to coming inside 
• Plant grass over soil patches. 
• Plant grass over bare outdoor soil patches, covering sand boxes after playtime 
• Eat wholesome meals three times a day. 
• Avoid toys, remedies, cosmetics and hair dyes that may contain lead.

What about Property Insurance? Does it Cover Lead Poisoning?

This type of metal poisoning is a controversial topic for most insurance companies - especially when it comes to older homes, buildings and property. Generally, home and property owners must hire a special inspector to confirm that lead is not a known problem before a provider will sell related coverage.

More information about lead poisoning as it relates to property insurance can be learned from an independent insurance agency that is experienced in all areas of real estate.

Thursday, May 3, 2018

Important Reasons to Buy Life Insurance

The first introduction to life insurance is when a friend or a "friend of a friend" gets an insurance license. For others, a close friend or relative died without having adequate coverage or any life insurance. For me, I was introduced to a life insurance company where I had to set appointments with friends and family as I learned the ends and outs of the industry and hopefully, make some sales.

Unfortunately, however, this is how most people acquire life insurance - they don't buy it, it is sold to them. But is life insurance something that you truly need, or is it merely an inconvenience shoved under your nose by a salesperson? While it may seem like the latter is true, there are actually many reasons why you should purchase life insurance.

As we grow older, get married, start a family, or begin a business, we need to understand that life insurance is absolutely necessary. For example, picture a safety net. You may be the greatest tightrope walker in the world, without a doubt. You could perform without a net, but, "Why?" You cherish your life and the life of those close to you and you wouldn't do anything that showed that you felt differently. Let's face it, we have no control over the unpredictability of life or of unforeseen occurrences. With that in mind, just as a safety net protects the uncertainty life, so does life insurance. It is an indispensable and fundamental foundation to a sound financial plan. Over the years, life insurance has given many caring and responsible people the peace of mind knowing that money would be available to protect the ones most important in their life, family and estate in a number of ways, including:

1. To Pay Final Expenses

The cost of a funeral and burial can easily run into the tens of thousands of dollars, and I don't want my wife, parents, or children to suffer financially in addition to emotionally at my death.

2. To Cover Children's Expenses

Like most caring and responsible parents, it is necessary to be sure that our children are well taken care of and can afford a quality college education. For this reason, additional coverage is absolutely essential while children are still at home.

3. To Replace the Spouse's Income

If one parent passes away while the children are young, the surviving caring parent would need to replace that income, which is essential to their lifestyle. The responsible surviving parent would need to hire help for domestic tasks like cleaning the house, laundry, and cooking. Add to that equation if it is a single parent, helping with schoolwork, and taking your children to doctor's visits.

4. To Pay Off Debts

In addition to providing income to cover everyday living expenses, a family would need insurance to cover debts like the mortgage, so they wouldn't have to sell the house to stay afloat.

5. To Buy a Business Partner's Shares

In a business partnership, the partners need insurance on each other partner's life. The reason is so if one dies, the others will have enough cash to buy his interest from his heirs and pay his share of the company's obligations without having to sell the company itself. They have the same needs (due to the risk that one of the partners might die), and they simultaneously purchased insurance on each other's life.

6. To Pay Off Estate Taxes

Estate taxes can be steep, so having insurance in place to pay them is essential to avoid jeopardizing assets or funds built for retirement. Use of insurance for this purpose is most common in large estates, and uses permanent (rather than term) insurance to ensure that coverage remains until the end of life.

7. To Provide Living Benefits

With the advancements in medicine and rising healthcare costs, people are living longer, but cannot afford to. Living benefits is an option to use death proceeds before the insured dies to help with obligations or necessities to ease the pressure on themselves and others.

How Much Coverage Should I Buy?

The face amount, or "death benefit" of an insurance policy (i.e., the amount of proceeds paid to the beneficiary) should be high enough to replace the after-tax income you would have earned had you lived a full life, presuming you can afford the annual premiums for that amount. In other words, the insurance replaces the income you didn't have the chance to earn by living and working until retirement due to a premature death.

The proper amount of insurance allows your family to continue their lifestyle, even though your income is no longer available. The actual amount that you should purchase depends upon your present and probable future incomes, any special circumstances affecting you or your family, and your existing budget for premiums.

Whole Life or Term?

Some people prefer to drive Cadillac, Lincoln or Rolls Royce, which come with all of the electronic gadgets that make driving safe and as easy as possible. Others prefer less customized makes, equally reliable to their more expensive cousins, but requiring more hands-on attention.

Whole life is the "Cadillac" of insurance; these companies try to do everything for you, specifically investing a portion of your premiums so that the annual cost doesn't increase as you grow older. The investment characteristic of the insurance means that premiums are generally higher than a similar term policy with the same face value. After all, whole life insurance is intended to cover your whole life.

Term insurance, on the other hand, is temporary life insurance. There are no excess premiums to be invested, and no promises or guarantees beyond the end of the term, which can range from 1 to 30 years. The annual premium for term insurance is always less than whole life, lacking the investment component, but your premiums will rise (often substantially) once the term period expires.

Both types of life insurance, term or whole life (or one of their derivatives) have benefits and drawbacks; both have their place depending upon the needs, desires, and financial objectives of the purchaser. A knowledgeable professional insurance agent can help you decide which type of policy is best for you depending upon your circumstances. But whichever you select, be sure that you have enough coverage to meet your objectives in the short term and the long term.

The Last Word

Some people mistakenly believe that life insurance is a scam. This is because the money for premiums is lost if death doesn't occur during the coverage period (in the case of term insurance), or because many people live to a ripe old age and continue to pay their permanent insurance premiums. Such naysayers compare life insurance protection to gambling, and forgo the protection entirely.

There are others, who have the belief that life insurance does not help them. To those individuals, the answer is: You are absolutely correct! The truth of the matter is that life insurance is a way for caring and responsible people to help ensure that their family can continue to move forward in the event of your untimely demise, a truly difficult time of loss. Of course, there is no bet - you will die, but no one knows when. It could be today, tomorrow, or 50 years into the future, but it will happen eventually.

Insurance best way for happy life.