Insurance World

According to the United States Census Bureau, 87.7 percent of Ohioans had some form of health insurance coverage during 2005, while 12.3 percent were not insured at any time during the year. Additionally, 14 percent of Ohio residents under the age of sixty-five did not have health insurance during 2005.

AFFORDABLE HEALTH INSURANCE OPTIONS IN OHIO

Most Ohioans who have health insurance are covered by either employer based plans or government programs. What options are available for individuals who do not have access to such coverage? Ohio Department of Insurance Director, Ann Womer Benjamin, references the “increasing number of options with Health Savings Accounts. There may be a person, or a family, generally comfortable paying for health care costs, but wants a high deductible policy. Also, for fairly young, fairly healthy individuals, an HSA coupled with a High Deductible Health Plan could really work.”

Health Savings Accounts are not feasible for everyone. Ohio residents who are not interested in HSAs should try to take advantage of alternative plans and programs. “Ohio has an Open Enrollment Program that takes (uninsured individuals) regardless of pre-existing conditions, but is likely costly”, Womer Benjamin explains.

HEALTH CARE COVERAGE LEGISLATION

There are currently two bills in the Ohio Legislature, Senate Bill 272 and House Bill 5 / Senate Bill 5 that are generally supported by the Ohio Department of Insurance as methods of expanding access to health insurance coverage.

Senate Bill 272 would repeal the Open Enrollment Program, as well as the Open Enrollment Reinsurance Program. In its place, the Ohio Health Insurance Risk Pool would be created to provide health care coverage to individuals who are unable to obtain affordable health care coverage in any other manner. This would eliminate the annual periods of open enrollment that sickness and accident insurers, health insurance corporations, and multiple employer welfare arrangements (MEWAs) are currently required to hold. “The Ohio Health Insurance Risk Pool would provide a state fund for those without health insurance coverage. We would support this concept and have various suggestions for funding. We would theoretically be able to reach ten times more individuals than the Open Enrollment Program does currently”, says Womer Benjamin.

House Bill 5 / Senate Bill 5 would permit small employers to offer health care plans that do not provide benefits otherwise required by law. The bill provides for the operation of health savings accounts that are consistent with federal law, and places a limit on an insured’s liability for co-payments and deductibles under a health benefit plan. ODI Director Womer Benjamin asserts that the bill “would provide more options for small businesses, and we are hopeful that that will pass”.
THE MASSACHUSETTS EXAMPLE

On April 4, 2006, Massachusetts House Bill 4850 was overwhelmingly passed by the state legislature. All Massachusetts residents will be required to obtain health insurance coverage by July 1, 2007. The state’s plan dictates that businesses with more than ten employees that do not provide health insurance coverage will be charged a fee of as much as $295 a year for each employee. Government subsidies to private insurance plans will provide affordable health insurance to a greater number of the working poor, and individuals who can afford private health plans will be penalized on their state income taxes if they do not have coverage. Should Ohio consider a similar plan in order to achieve nearly universal health insurance coverage? Ohio Department of Insurance Director Ann Womer Benjamin says that we need to “watch Massachusetts and evaluate the plan’s success and funding”. “Ohio has a larger number of uninsured individuals and is different than Massachusetts, politically.”

Ohioans have a large selection of health insurance carriers and government programs to choose from. Regardless of the provider, it is extremely important for individuals to obtain a health insurance plan. Director Womer Benjamin emphasizes that she is “concerned with people who don’t think they need health insurance coverage”.

About The Ohio Department of Insurance

The Ohio Department of Insurance (ODI) is an informative resource for those seeking information regarding health insurance options in the state. ODI asserts that its mission is to be “responsive to and safeguard consumer interests through education and vigilance while promoting a stable and competitive marketplace among insurance providers”. The Ohio Department of Insurance can help uninsured persons sort through their options, depending on their individual circumstances. For more information, call the ODI Consumer Hotline at 1-800-686-1526.

The Department is headed by Director Ann Womer Benjamin, who was appointed in January of 2003, and is the first woman to hold this position. Prior to this appointment, Womer Benjamin served in the Ohio House of Representatives for eight years.

Owning a life insurance policy may seem a little ridiculous to some people. After all, it is not like auto insurance or health insurance. The buyer of a life insurance policy is not likely to get any direct benefit from the purchase. So why bother with a life insurance policy? There are actually quite a number of good reasons.

Perhaps the single most important reason to have a life insurance policy has to do with those you will leave behind. You’ve shared your life with these people, and the last thing you want to do is place financial burdens on them once you are gone. What if you die after a lengthy hospital stay? Sure, you have life insurance, but chances are that any serious illness will exhaust that coverage and still leave deductibles and expenses above and beyond those covered. A good solid life insurance policy will take care of any medical expenses that were not covered by your health coverage.

In like manner, a good life insurance policy insures that your final expenses are taken care of in a way that lifts much of the burdens of financial matters off your survivors and allows them time to grieve. While many funeral parlors have pre-paid plans and there are insurance packages that specifically address death expenses, chances are neither of these options will completely cover everything. Just as your life insurance policy kicked in and made up the difference in your last medical bills, it can help cover those variable expenses related to your funeral and final resting-place.

Moving beyond the matter of your final expenses, there are other financial matters your life insurance policy will address. As an example, do you own your home? Or to be more specific, is your home owned jointly by you and the bank? If you are the sole source of income for your family, that revenue stream will dry up at your demise. Funds from your life insurance policy can keep the family afloat as they work through their grief and face the future. And that policy can ensure they have a roof over their heads while they adjust to you not being around.

A good life insurance policy not only provides assistance at the time of death; it also can have an influence well in to the years to come. For instance, careful planning will help you determine how much insurance you need to take out in order to help your family with immediate needs, but also have funds set aside that can help your children attend college later in life. By making sure your life insurance policy is adequate, you have made it possible for your children to continue their education and enter into careers that have meaning for them. What better legacy can a parent leave a child?

Also, your life insurance policy could provide funds that would assist your spouse in later years as well. Assisted living facilities and retirement homes are expensive. By making sure your life insurance policy allows for this possibility, you can help take care of the person you had planned on living with into ripe old age.

Even if you do not have a family to support, or if you are older and no longer have any relatives who depend on you financially, a life insurance policy is still a good idea. Chances are that you do have a cherished friend or a non-profit organization that means a great deal to you. Charities that depend on donations to keep going would welcome your support. If there is a charity or a place of worship that has occupied a special place in your heart, consider using life insurance as a way to ensure that the organization will continue to touch lives for many years to come. In like manner, if there is a close friend who has been there for you through thick and thin, provide him or her with one last parting gift of your resources, as one more way to let your friend know you care.

A life insurance policy can provide a lot of piece of mind. While it is true the policy will not directly benefit the buyer, it will provide the very important benefit of knowing that people and places that are near to your heart will continue to know you care.