Insurance World

More than half of the 45 million Americans who lack health insurance are self-employed or work at small businesses. Most simply cannot afford the sky-high premiums associated with traditional health insurance policies.

Consumer-guided health plans offer an affordable alternative. The best plans, such as those powered by HealthMarkets, allow consumers to shop online for a doctor or hospital with powerful, user-friendly tools.

But not all consumer-guided health plans are created equal. Some offer little more than cheap rates and few benefits. Three questions can help you separate a real consumer-guided plan from a “look-alike,” ensuring you get the most for your money.

Question 1: Will the plan help stretch my health care dollars?

A well-kept secret is that doctors charge very different prices for the same medical procedure or service. One doctor might charge $90 for a routine office visit, while another in the same town charges $130.

Under a traditional managed care plan, patients don’t know and don’t have a reason to care about differences in price. They might pay the same $20 co-pay at either office.

A consumer-guided plan takes the mystery out of health care pricing. With a consumer-guided plan, patients seeking non-emergency care have a way to know how much things really cost, and a reason to care. By setting a reasonable maximum charge that the policy will pay for any given procedure or service, consumer-guided plans keep premiums low. By giving consumers new tools, they can compare out-of-pocket costs from one doctor to another.

A spending account for routine care helps too. On Day 1 of coverage, well-designed plans typically offer a spending account for routine or preventive services. Money left in the account at the end of the year rolls over. If the fund is depleted, routine services remain covered, but are subject to deductibles and coinsurance. The result: an incentive to go to the doctor for preventive care at a reasonable price.

Many consumer-guided plans also incorporate Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), which allow you to set aside money in a tax-advantaged account for health care needs, adding to a sense of ownership over healthcare spending.

Question 2: Does the plan provide information on quality?

To focus only on money misses the point of health care. Consumers also need quick, easy access to other information, including a doctor’s board certification, medical school, and years in practice, and a hospital’s adherence to patient safety standards, volume of procedures and clinical outcomes.

The best consumer-guided plans let consumers post feedback on physicians for other members to view, creating a powerful feedback mechanism such the one used on Internet auction sites. Rude doctors, beware!

Question 3: Does the plan offer education and support services?

Being a smart healthcare consumer can be complicated. A good plan offers customer service representatives trained to discuss the critical issues faced by healthcare consumers, such as how to compare cost among various providers and how to manage financial accounts.

EDITOR’S NOTE:

About HealthMarkets

HealthMarkets is America’s leading provider of affordable health insurance for the individual, self-employed and small business markets. HealthMarkets is also a leader in student and hourly employee insurance nationwide. HealthMarkets has a dedicated agent and broker force of more than 4,000 professionals who are trained and licensed through the company’s agency associates in 44 states.

HealthMarkets sells insurance in 44 states. Please note that HealthMarkets has consumer guided plans approved in the following states: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.

It is important to get your home insured. But do you know how to get homeowners insurance quotes?

You are always recommended to invest in a reputed homeowners insurance company and seek advice from a reliable insurance agent. Only professional insurance agents can offer you the right home insurance quote.

Here are some important factors that should be discussed with your insurance agent while requesting for the homeowners insurance quote:

1) Liability protection.
2) Coverage for your personal belongings
3) Coverage for structure of your home.
4) Ask your agent if their policy covers additional living expenses in case your house is temporarily unsuitable for living.
5) What type of disasters does the policy cover?
6) How can you save money with this specific policy?
7) How often will you have to renew your homeowners insurance?
8) What is the difference between nonrenewal and cancellation?
9) How you can get right home insurance rate?

After getting satisfactory answers to all these questions you can choose right homeowners insurance quote.

As a homeowner requires homeowners insurance quote, in the same manner an agent is in need of homeowners insurance leads.

Today, homeowners insurance field is developing very fast and is in great demand. Here are some tips for the agent to get right homeowners insurance leads.

1. To get the right home insurance leads, the home insurance agent should have more significant tools. As Internet is the most convenient and fastest mode of communication, agent should know use of emails, billboards, Yellow Pages ads and pop up ads. These tools will help them in getting information very fast.

2. Some home insurance leads provider companies have their official website, you can take their help. These companies offer you 5-10 free leads so that you can check their efficiency.

Some of these companies also provide even if you are offline. They just charge you extra and provide you lead using fax or telephone. The right lead can help any agent achieve his business target.