Celtic Insurance gains customers with low prices

Celtic Insurance gains customers with low prices

Pricing of short term medical insurance tends to be more stable than managed care plans or other types of health insurance. As a result, pricing trends tend to develop more slowly and it may take longer for advisers and consumers to identify those companies with cost advantages. One such example is Celtic Insurance that has slowly and quietly winning over customers with its low rates and strong customer service. The coverage is priced and issued completely online at the company's secure enrollment site managed by ehealthinsurance.

A closer look at Secure Short Term Medical Insurance

A closer look at Secure Short Term Medical Insurance

The brand name "Secure Short Term Medical" is one of the best-known and most highly regarded low cost health insurance plans in the U.S. The brand actually consists of four products that each target a specific group of consumers. The four products are: 1)Secure STM, 2) Secure Lite STM, 3) Secure 12x3 STM and 4) Secure Saver STM.

What makes this product lineup work so well? Probably not any one thing in particular but rather a combination of factors. We could make an analogy to an "all star lineup" in a sports team. First, the plan is administered by Health Plan Administrators, Inc., arguably one of the best service organizations in health care today. Second, The Standard Security Life Insurance Company of New York enjoys a strong reputation among insurance professionals and consumers.

Next is the length of coverage. This is the only insurance product that can adequately span a gap from just one month to 36 months of continuous coverage. With a growing number of consumers looking forward to post-reform insurance within a few years, theSecure 12x3 offers the flexible length of coverage they need del with the uncertainty of the health care reform timetable.

Eligibility for the four insurance plans is liberal so most applicants will qualify for coverage. In fact, in many cases this is one of the few options available to applicants who have been previously declined for health insurance with another company. The exceptions are listed in the "medical eligibility" section of the online product descriptions. It is important to realize that all short term medical insurance plans exclude coverage for pre-existing medical conditions. This is what makes them so affordable and easy to access.

Only one of the four products screens for weight or previous declines in determining eligibility. That is the Secure Saver, as we might expect, since it it the lowest cost plan with the least predictable out-of-pocket expenses.

Finally, we cannot ignore price. Despite all the talk about the quality of insurance the fact is that many consumers buy based primarily on price. The Secure Lite and Secure Saver rank among the least expensive major medical insurance choices in many parts of the country.

A comparison of the four Secure STM products is published atFreedomBenefits.net and a description of coverage and exclusions is available for each product. Although all of these policies come with a standard "10 day free look", generic sample policy certificates are also available online for all four products for those who want to take a closer look at these insurance options.

HCC announces affiliation with Travel Insured International

HCC announces affiliation with Travel Insured International

In a press release dated 10/30/09, HCC Medical Insurance Services, LLC announced its new alliance with Travel Insured International. HCC Medical Insurance Services LLC is a leader in online health insurance products for international travelers and expatriates. Travel Insured International is a provider of travel insurance services such as trip cancellation, trip interruption and travel assistance services.


HCC Medical Insurance Services President Mark Carney is quoted  saying “We are very excited to announce our affiliation with Travel Insured International. In spite of the economic downturn, the international traveler and expatriate’s need for health insurance products continue to grow”.
Travel Insured International’s product portfolio will now include eight additional health insurance products that are already also available online at Freedom Benefits:

Atlas Travel Series – a short-term health policy for individuals traveling outside their home country

CitizenSecure(SM) – annually renewable major medical insurance with a term-life insurance option for individuals and families

StudentSecure(SM) – health coverage for international students and scholars studying abroad

IC+ International Term Life – term life insurance policy for individuals living outside the U.S. for up to 10 years

Other products offered by HCC Medical Insurance Services include: Atlas Group, Atlas Professional, CitizenSecureSM Economy, GroupSecureSM.

About Travel Insured International

Travel Insured International, based in East Hartford, CT, was founded in 1993 by the foresight of insurance industry executive Peter Gehris when he acquired the travel protection division of the Travelers Insurance Company. Travel Insured International delivers strong, affordable benefits in the customer’s choice of a broad range of travel plans, as well as group and customized protection programs. Travel Insured International has established and driven higher standards for policy quality and customer care.

About HCC Medical Insurance Services

The international products are administered by Indianapolis-based HCC Medical Insurance Services, LLC (HCCMIS), a recognized leader in international life and health insurance offering coverage to consumers in more than 130 countries. Through its staff and a worldwide network of distributors, HCCMIS provides quality and value to clients. The company is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to serve its clients worldwide. HCCMIS is a subsidiary of HCC Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: HCC), a leading international specialty insurance group headquartered in Houston, Texas. HCC has assets of $8.9 billion, shareholders’ equity of $2.8 billion and is rated AA (Very Strong) by Standard & Poor’s and AA (Very Strong) by Fitch Ratings. In addition, HCC’s major domestic insurance companies are rated A+ (Superior) by A.M. Best Company.

Ford workers consider short term medical insurance

Ford workers consider short term medical insurance

Ford Motor Company announced that it will offer short term medical insurance as part of a buyout retirement offer for almost all of its 41,000 hourly workers. The offer is intended to reduce the firm's factory work force. The New York Times reports that in the past Ford kept laid-off workers in a job bank rather than remove them from the payroll. This year, however, Ford is actively reducing its work force in anticipation of lower demand for cars in the future.

The short term medical insurance plan is a six month basic health insurance policy but the details of the coverage are not provided. Ford has not announced how many workers are expected to elect the buyout offer.

Considering the larger regional trend of employers hiring temporary workers and the shift toward individual health insurance (as opposed to employer-sponsored group insurance), some of these workers in the Detroit area are likely to consider alternate affordable health insurance options for the long term before deciding whether to accept the buyout package. Those who do not qualify for lower cost options could face higher health insurance costs through their state's high risk Blue Cross insurance pool.

Growing need for short term medical insurance in Washington state

Growing need for short term medical insurance in Washington state

Washington state residents faced a higher than usual risk of employement layoffs over this past year and this trend will continue into 2011, particularly among its younger workers. Exel already announced 146 permanent layoffs in Auburn for next month (January 2011) and International Paper will lay off another 78 in Bellevue.
Layoffs at commercial employers follow layoffs and other work reductions for state government employees. In April 2010 the state Legislature passed and Gov. Chris Gregoire signed into law Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 6503 that was designed to reduce state government spending for employees, the law requires that state agencies close on the 10 days specified in the bill or submit an alternate compensation reduction plan for approval by the Office of Financial Management.
Last week Governor Chris Gregoire proposed deep budget cuts, including the elimination of the state's health insurance program for the poor in response to the state’s budget crisis. Marty Brown, director of the Office of Financial Management, says the state needs to cut $901 million in spending. Legislators likely will face a special session to deal with the state’s budget gap prior to the regular session in January.
These are typically candidates for low cost short term medical insurance during their position of transition as a more cost-effective alternative to COBRA. While most U.S. residents have a choice of several short term medical insurance plans, Washington residents have only one. Markel Insurance Company apparently is apparently the only commercial insurance provider who has applied and received consent from the state insurance department to offer these policies. Freedom Benefits Insurance Exchangerecently reviewed this coverage. We have no concerns about this single payor system, since Markel has a longstanding reputation as a stable and reliable provider of specialty insurance.
Short term medical insurance can be issued immediately with an online application and coverage can extend to as long as 12 months.  While short term medical insurance is typically hassle-free, it does not cover the cost of treating pre-existing medical conditions and so is not appropriate for a person who has large ongoing medical costs. COBRA and other continuation plans, although more expensive, are a better option for high medical risk individuals.

Less expensive short term medical insurance

Less expensive short term medical insurance

We believe that many consumers are still unfamiliar with a new type of short term health insurance that is priced significantly less than other national brands. The new product is called "Secure Lite STM", calling attention to its unique cost-saving features. Premiums are about 1/3 of regular major medical insurance and about 25% less than other short term medical insurance. Coverage is issued by Standard Security Life Insurance Company of New York. Applications are made online for immediate processing and evidence of insurance can be printed immediately.

Cost savings are achieved by using higher comprehensive policy deductibles and placing limits on maximum benefits of $750,000. The new policy has a maximum coverage period of six months but allows consecutive policies for periods of coverage.


For information is available athttp://www.freedombenefits.net/affordable-health-insurance/Secure-Lite-short-term-medical-insurance.html

health care planning for early retirees

What is the best approach to health care planning for early retirees? 

A Cigna executive published a white paper athttp://cigna.tekgroup.com/images/56/The%20New%20Health%20Care%20Gap.pdf that basically says that planning for health care for a surge of baby boomer early retirees is a serious matter and that employers and the insurance industry have not yet responded.

It seems that good health care planning under the ideal circumstance could cost a client $10,000 to $20,000 a year less than poor planning in an unfortunate circumstance, so this could be a "make or break" issue for cleints considering early retirement.

Under the best case, an applicant within three years of Medicare eligibility could use a 12 month x 3 year renewable short term medical insurance. This would give the most liberal coverage at the lowest price if pre-existing medical conditions are not an issue. Unfortunately this type of extended coverage is only available in about half of the states. The list is included in the review article at http://medsave.com/articles/Review-of-Secure-12x3-STM.htm. This coverage would typically be priced well under $1000 per month for a typical couple at age 62-64.

At the worst case, in some states with highly regulated individual insurance like New Jersey the same coverage could cost several times more, perhaps more than $3,000 per month.

lesson learned from a failed wellness program

Insurance companies consider obvious health indicator factors like smoking, obesity, and cholesterol when setting health insurance premiums. There is little question that these factors are closely linked with long term health costs so this is a sound actuarial practice when utilized in the right context balancing individual privacy and behavioral management skills. Estimated costs for these risk factors are built into our individual health insurance premiums whether we know it or not. Federal law now allows employers to build behavioral health factors into group health plans as part of a wellness program.

When one company tried to incorporate these cost factors to an employee wellness program, they went about it the wrong way. A news article describes the story of one employer, a heath care company, that proposed charging higher premiums for those with higher behavior risk factors. Employees strongly objected and the plan was dropped. Instead the employer now offers discounts for those who meet behavioral health goals like quitting smoking or lowering cholesterol.It is interesting that the net financial result is the same, yet one approach is palatable and the other clearly is not. Consider this example as a lesson for employee benefits planners.

By charging the same price for all similar state/age/sex applicants regardless of behavioral health factors, short term medical insurance premiums actually favor those with health risks. Yet the system is simple and draws little objection, partly because the premium rates are so low that cost pressures are not as significant as in other health plans.

Improve policyholder satisfaction with better communication

When a short term medical insurance customer is unhappy, it is usually due to a lack of coordination and poor communication between the policyholder and a service provider within the insurance company or in the health care field. Improving customer satisfaction is really about reducing anxiety. After all, no one will ever be thrilled with the prospect of receiving and paying for their heatth care. But we must focus on reducing unnecessary policyholder anxiety and avoid larger problems through clear communications.

When a claim is not processed, for example, the most likely cause is that no one submitted the clam to the insurer. The policyholder assumed that that the doctor's office submitted the bill; the doctor's office holds that it is the patient's responsibility. No one gets paid and both are frustrated. This scenario describes about four out of every five claims problems.

Another common issue is when a policyholder wants to know in advance if a proposed medical service will be covered under the policy: the insurance company says they will not comment on a theoretical claim until they can review the facts and medical records. The doctor says they do not know if the claim is covered but they will submit it and find out (passing blame on the insurer and the financial risk to the insured). Both parties prefer to "hope" tht the treatment will be covered rather than take responsibility for making the determination on their own. No one takes the time to say "Based on your description of the situation, this procedure is a treatment for a pre-existing medical condition that is not covered by your policy. We need to discuss alternate methods of paying for the treatment proposed".

OnlineAdviser service at MedSave.com provides this type of bridging that can help connect the missing communications between service providers. As a provider of advice only, the focus of this service is on clear communications that can help reduce problems for policyholders and medical providers over the long term. This service has addressed an estimated 50,000 consumer questions about short term medical insurance worldwide over a period of more than a decade. As a result, MedSave.com has become one of the most trusted sources of short term medical insurance in the U.S. and the enrollment support endorsed byhttp://www.short-term-medical-insurance.com/.

Cuomo misques on medical consumer protection

Today the New York attorney general Andrew Cuomo announced plans to sue UnitedHealth Group Inc. as part of an investigation into the way the health-insurance industry sets payment rates for hospitals and doctors outside of their networks. Sixteen of the nation’s largest health insurers, including Aetna Inc., Cigna Corp. and Wellpoint Inc.'s Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield unit.

Mr. Cuomo said that he believes that the reduced payments for out-of-network doctors and hospitals are part of an “industry-wide scheme perpetrated by some of the nation's largest health insurance companies to defraud consumers”.

Consumer advocates traditionally take the opposite stance and consider preferred provider networks to be a positive force promoting medical prices in an otherwise unregulated medical pricing system. Members of the health insurance industry responded by saying that Mr. Cuomo misunderstands how doctors and hospitals charge out-of-network providers and believe that the suit is largely a publicity stunt by the attorney general. Without the medical cost database maintained by Medicare and insurance industry PPO organizations, consumers would have no idea of the conventional price of a specific medical service.

The insurance industry’s position is backed by the fact that even the lowest out-of-network provided are higher than the amounts paid by the government Medicare system – the largest health care payer. By comparison, the insurance PPO payments are generous to providers and consumers.

Fortunately the short term medical insurance industry sidesteps the PPO issue entirely. Payments are the same regardless of a provider’s network affiliation. All of the plans athttp://www.short-term-medical-insurance.com/ provide coverage at the usual and customary rate for each geographical market area in the United States.

Regardless of whether using a short term medical insurance or a regular medical insurance policy, patients should always ask whether their medical provider will accept their insurance as full payment after the patient pays the cash deductible. When this issue is addressed in advance of treatment, all risks are avoided.

If Mr. Cuomo really wants to help protect consumers, it would be far more effective to endorse a simple law requiring medical service providers to accept the reasonable and customary charge for a service as determined by private PPO systems. This provision has already been part of the Medicare system for years. Experience proves that this simple provision does not adversely affect the care or finances of patients.

Secure STM administrator cited for excellent customer service

One of the nation’s best short term medical insurance administrators SASid was cited in a new book called “Results That Last”. The book shows business managers how to build excellence into their organization, specifically focusing on how a manager can ensure that a business provides consistently great customer service experience for its clients. A letter from one satisfied insurance client is reproduced in the book. It is interesting to not that the praise is expressed not for any heroic effort by SASid, but rather because the company consistently provided meaningful responses whenever he called SASid with a question about his policy!

SASid administers several of the nation’s most popular short term medical insurance policies like Secure STM and Secure 12x3 STM at http://www.short-term-medical-insurance.com/.

lowest price short term medical insurance

An insurance company would not be expected to have the lowest priced policy in one type of medical insurance and also have a reputation for the highest quality most comprehensive coverage in another medical in another type of medical insurance. Lowest price and highest quality normally do not go together in combination for any type of product. But that is what a growing number of online shoppers are finding at Celtic Insurance(www.celticenrollment.com). Celtic Insurance has long been considered the highest quality coverage for long term individual and family coverage, especially for high deductible plans like Health Savings Accounts (HSA). But now the company is growing in popularity due primarily to price. The short term coverage does not have the same reputation for best quality of coverage but for short term medical coverage price is more often a buyer’s primary consideration.

Rates for a specific type of coverage are based on three factors: age, sex, and location. Of course rates are also affected by the coverage selected including policy deductible and level of co-payment. There is no assurance that rates for short term medical insurance are set in the same pattern as long term renewable coverage. As a result, it is possible that Celtic could be the lowest priced coverage for one person and not another.

The Value of a Certificate if Creditable Coverage (Part 1)

Often the most valuable feature of short term medical insurance is the Certificate of Creditable Coverage that is automatically issued by law at the termination of every STM policy. Under federal law, every employer provided policy must cover the pre-existing conditions of a new enrollee who has proof of continuous coverage in the form of a Certificate of Creditable Coverage. This simple piece of paper can be worth thousands of dollars and could easily mean the difference between financial survival and financial ruin for many people.

Take the fairly common example of a healthy active middle-aged weekend warrior type of guy who needs orthopedic knee surgery. His old sports injuries are causing increasing pain and he hopes to schedule an arthroscopic procedure as soon as possible. He suddenly changes employment for any reason; or perhaps his spouse who carries medical insurance for the couple changes her employment. In either case, any new group health insurance plan has a waiting period before benefits can begin so there is risk that the proposed surgery will not be covered. Going ahead with the treatment could be disastrous; the cost for even a simple knee procedure is likely over $20,000. If there is a gap in employment between jobs, the waiting period without coverage will be longer. If the gap in coverage is longer than 62 days then we are just out of luck - there is no benefit provided by either the old or new health insurance company for the pre-existing condition. The new waiting period where treatment could not be covered could range from six months to several years.

But the solution is easy - if he carries short term medical insurance, his knee surgery can be covered from the first day of his new group coverage. In fact, the trend is to schedule this surgery on a Thursday or Friday and be back in work by the following Monday.

In other words, the simple solution of taking an STM policy at a cost of a few hundred dollars gives this fellow in our example a financial benefit of tens of thousands of dollars. In this example, it is easy to place the tangible value of the policy almost exclusively on the Certificate of Creditable Coverage.

The Value of a Certificate if Creditable Coverage (Part 2)

If the value of a short term medical insurance lies primarily in the certificate of creditable coverage that is included as a legal requirement as part of all STM policies, then doesn't it make sense to buy the least expensive highest deductible minimal benefit STM that we can find. Probably not; but the explanation for this type of thinking lies more in the psychological realm than in mathematics.

In the example used in part one it was easy to calculate a tangible value of the STM policy into tens thousands of dollars. But this example is not common of the way insurance usually works. The primary benefit of insurance is for the intangible or unexpected costs. When we compare a tangible known cost (like the knee surgery in the example) with an intangible unpredictable medical cost, the latter fades in comparison.

Our mind naturally values the tangible cost much more than the intangible. Yet the intangible risks remain the same as before. In other words the value of insurance is based on a factor completely unrelated to the assumed knee problem. Remember that the STM policy is not paying for the knee procedure and its cost is based only on the possibility of unexpected and unpredictable expenses.

The human brain automatically enlarges the value of the tangible and diminishes the value of the intangible. Some neurologists link this behavior with a pre-historic survival wiring built into our brain. In a life or death situation, it makes no sense to weigh the cost of an intangible future event if we don't live past today to see the benefit of our "wise" decision based on logic and probability. If we relied solely on logic, the decision of the best STM should be made independently of the knee issue. Obviously the insurance has value other than the value of the Certificate. Yet scores of examples show us those individuals facing the need to obtain a Certificate of Continued Coverage shop for only the least expensive short term medical insurance. Not logical, but perfectly normal considering the neurological makeup of our human brain

Canadian Values Won't Work Here

This week public television aired an interview with President and Chief Executive Officer of Standard Life Assurance Company of Canada Joseph Iannicelli. His company is a major provider of financial services and employee benefits to Canadians. Mr. Iannicelli argued the point that leaders are born, not made. He admitted that courses and training in leadership can have some effect but that the leadership genes are either there or they are not. I personally found the idea repulsive from a values-based perspective.

Fortunately for us, almost all American business leaders would strongly disagree with Mr. Iannicelli. In fact our business and economic model is based on the premise of developing leadership within the ordinary gene pool of that group we call our employees. We believe in individual ingenuity and the power of each individual to aspire to the greatest potential to which they may be able to achieve. When we work our way to the front of the line, no one tells us “sorry that’s all there is; this is the end of the line”.

It struck me that this interview was an example of why the fundamental Canadian systems of business management of business management do not work here in the United States and why their health care system would be equally objectionable. It is not our point to get into a discussion of sociology, but it seems obvious that anyone who wants to avoid a Hillary Clinton style disaster in a proposal to reform our health care system must pay attention to the fundamental differences in beliefs between Americans and those people around the world who have adapted to a universal health care system. I just can’t see us accepting it, and I hope we never do. It would be a great defeat for the American free spirit.

Whether managing a business or managing a national health care system, one method that will not work is to say “you just don’t have what it takes”. I am proud that our health insurance plans allow a patient to pursue the best course of treatment with any provider anywhere in the country without a limit on cost or the probable outcome based on my genetic makeup.

In short, I am glad that neither my career nor my heath care are managed based on factors outside my personal control.

Pricing health insurance to reward healthy behaviors

A well-written post by Eric H. Schultz, president and CEO of Fallon Community Health Plan in Boston athttp://www.wbur.org/weblogs/commonhealth/?p=376 asks the question "Can — and should — health insurance be a positive agent for driving healthier living and producing better outcomes?". This wotic of often considerer on this Blog, since our health plans athttp://www.short-term-medical-insurance.com/ have been financially rewarding healthier applicants for decades. Short term medical insurance (STM) is not even available to those with serious ongoing medical conditions. The intent is not to make social change but rather to effectively manage costs both to the insurer and ultimaely to the consumer. We know that that there is an acceptable way to use tiered pricing of health plans (as with STM policies) and unacceptable ways that have failed at other health plans (see a recent example in an earlier post this month). Yet despite the pricing differences th have existed for decades, there is no indication that tiered pricing in the individual insurance market has any social effects. This is likely due to the low market share of this coverage and the fact that the majority of people are covered by group health plans. While we admire the intent, we are yet unconvinced that tiered pricing in group health plans will ever be widely accepted on a legal or social basis.

Less coverage is the answer

When politicians like Senator Obama talk about providing top quality health coverage to everyone, little is said about the cost. Obama’s plan may be the most costly idea of all the proposals. His specific plan is to offer the same health benefits that members of Congress have now to everyone in the U.S. on a universal basis! A consensus of economic opinion is that would cost about 40% of our GNP or, in other words, 40 cents out of every dollar we see would be allocated to provide this type of universal health care. Let’s assume for the sake of discussion that this estimate is much to high and that we could really get the job done for 33% of GNP. The next logical step is to ask how many families or businesses are willing to spend a third of their gross income on health care? That means that average healthcare costs for a household with $60,000 total income would be $1,500 per month. We would see very few takers for this plan and, ultimately, is why these politically ideal plans will not be successful.

So what is the answer? Simply provide less health coverage. Even if we cannot provide the absolute highest level of health care to everyone in our nation, we certainly can provide solid fundamental care across the board at a fraction of the cost. 

It is no coincidence that low cost limited benefit insurance plans are gaining in popularity. Secure Lite Short Term Medical, for example, provides coverage with any doctor or hospital but adds the words “up to $xxx” for each type of covered medical treatment. The coverage lasts up to 12 months. By simply limiting the coverage to a to a reasonable length of time and dollar amount that covers most but not all of the possible bills, we can provide health insurance coverage to most people at a reasonable cost. It is not rocket science but is an answer that works for most people most of the time. Sure, this is not a perfect solution in an ideal world, but it works well here and now and this option is available immediately while we continue to debate other political options!

short term life and dental insurance

When changing from a group health plan to individual short term medical insurance, many people consider providing temporary replacements for their group life insurance and group medical plans. The problem is that while medical insurance provides significant immediate value, the value of dental and life insurance plans accrue over time. In other words, if we were to calculate the real benefits of a life insurance or dental coverage, it would be more 12 months after the policy started that it is today. A significant part of the price of the insurance reflects the benefits that will accrue in future years rather than immediately. This is sharply different than short term medical insurance. For this and other business reasons, there is no insurance product called “short term life insurance” or “short term dental insurance”. Of course you could use regular dental insurance and life insurance, but if the intent s to use them of only a short time then the consumer is effectively overpaying for the coverage that they need.

A better approach is to consider the use of supplemental life and dental insurance that can overlap the period without group coverage and continue in force to provide additional benefits even after new group insurance is in place. These policies are made to overlap and pay benefits in addition to any other insurance.

Fortunately it is easy now to get immediate supplemental life and dental insurance online. A company called Guarantee Trust Life Insurance issues up to $250,000 term life insurance coverage to most people with an online application and no medical exam. A new group of innovative individual dental plans for 2008 likeSecure DeltalOne from Health Plan Administrators Inc. offer more coverage options and more reasonable prices than dental plans of the past. The best part is that these insurance plans, even in combination, are only a fraction of the price of the short term medical insurance so they won’t break the insurance budget. In the end, this approach provides the best value in immediate protection as well as making a wider range of coverage options available for the future.

health insurance for young adults

Young adults often have little relevant consumer education at the time they need to buy their first health insurance policy. A new series of articles for young adults will be published here this month that addresses the young adult market. The first article published at
http://www.short-term-medical-insurance.com/press%20releases/Primer-on-health-insurance-shopping.htm covers four key points when shopping for health insurance. The articles are written in a jargon-free "down to earth" tone specifically geared for this age group of consumers. The articles take the unique approach of including what the reader needs to know rather than what they want to hear, as is so common in many popular financial media publications.

Short term medical insurance enrollment trends

Peak months for short term medical insurance enrollments are May, September and December. May and September enrollments are attributable to college students and December is attributable to changes in employer-sponsored group insurance plans that usually run on a calendar year basis.

The next busiest time for enrollments, especially online, is Thanksgiving. The reason is not clear. Some industry people speculate that this is an opportunity for some families get to deal with lack of health insurance issues for their college-age or young adult children. An article titled "Thanksgiving Health Insurance Ritual for College Students" describes this phenomenon.

Most enrollments take place in the first and last week of each month.

state laws limit acces to affordable short term insurance

Many people are surprised to learn that some states have laws that restrict citizens access to affordable short term medical insurance. Ten states have laws that restrict the use of short term medical insurance and four states (New York, New Jersey, and Vermont) do not allow short term medical insurance at all.

California, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, and North Dakota all have laws that require a person to go without coverage for a period of time ranging from one day to six months before they are eligible for a subsequent policy. The intent was to push people into more expensive renewable coverage, but this option is neither appropriate nor available to everyone.

See more detail on the restrictions at http://short-term-medical-insurance.com/press%20releases/how-long-can-I-use-short-term-medical-insurance.htm

We support the right of all people, regardless of their state of residence, to have the freedom to choose the insurance they think best suits their individual needs.

the case against universal health care

Brian Schwartz of the Hawaii Reporter makes a great point about universal health care athttp://www.hawaiireporter.com/story.aspx?4904d58c-6296-45df-83ea-73b0b3f13f98 .

We echo the point that adapting the concept of universal health care is not a panacea for our problems. We will likely need to be reminded that covering the cost of our care and ensuring the quality of coverage available are much bigger problem issues than availability of coverage. Unfortunately these are the weaknesses of the universal coverage model.

health insurance cost inflation

Health care costs are predicted to double in the next decade, to almost a third of our gross national product, according to government estimates issued last week. These forecasts are made with or without national health care reform. Political changes are not likely to significantly affect this trend.

This means that a short term medical insurance policy that costs $100 now will cost $200 per month by 2017. An average person's wages will not double over the same period, so health care and health insurance will become slightly less affordable over the next decade.

UA student praises merits of individual health insurance

University of Alabama senior Stephen Spiehler joins the cause to spread the word that individual health insurance is both available and affordable to most Americans. Short-term-medical-insurance.com has been committed to this cause since our inception and we share the vision of the future put forth by Spiehler when individual health insurance policies will be the norm for the majority of Americans. Currently, over 98% of individual insurance policies last only a short period of time before the individual selects other coverage. A typical policy lasts les than two years. Short term medical insurance policy can currently last up to three years in most states but these limited term policies are less expensive than continuously renewable coverage. See more athttp://media.www.cw.ua.edu/media/storage/paper959/news/2008/03/03/Infocus/Ua.Senior.Examines.Insurance.Market-3246600.shtml

Physicians praise simple insurance coverage

We applaud American Medical News for reporting that transparency in health care is "hot" while proposed reform mandates are dead on arriaval. Full disclosure of facts, and not the push for more legislation, will be the effective medicine for improving our health care system. 

Physicians want their patients to have simple easy to undersand health insurance coverage.
"There has been a lack of clarity about health plans' co-payments, deductibles, coverage, physician networks and other issues, so physicians backed measures to reduce this confusion, said Susan Strate, MD, immediate past chair of the TMA council on socioeconomics and a surgical pathologist in Wichita Falls, Texas".Short term medical insurance (STM) avoids these pitfalls by providing clear simple universal coverage with any medical provider in the U.S. STM is generally considered to be simple and generally problem-free because it avoids these entanglements.

presidential candidates' updated position on health care

The Nation Review does a great job summing up the three candidate positions on health care reform athttp://article.nationalreview.com/?q=NTQzOGMwN2I1Zjc1ZjM1OWZiNTQxMzM2NTIxYjZmNzk=

Clearly McCain's position is do-able and would help. But is it enough?

Clinton's position is politically unrealistic and there is no reason to beleive that her results would be different than when she tried under Bill's presidency. Where are the indications that she learned from that failed attempt?

Obama does not seem to have a real grasp of the economic issues here. We have to conclude it is just political rhetoric. Even his own support groups are concluding that if he becomes president, health care reform :just won't happen". See discussion of the New York Times article from February 4 at a university-based newspaper athttp://media.www.dailytexanonline.com/media/storage/paper410/news/2008/03/03/Opinion/Lets-Talk.Universally-3247336.shtml.

Meanwhile, commercial health insurance enroller MedSave.com is launching a publicity campaign to promote the fact that universal health insurance is here now, available and affordable to most Americans. Plans like those at short-term-medical-insurance.comcould solve many problems if they were simply prromoted more efficiently. Yet we have no public or private economic incentives to promote low cost limited benefit solutions. We simply need to get the politicians out of the way to acheive widespead coverage. We know that 100% coverage is not doable under any real life circumstances but we also know that big improvements can be made without big cost or major political action

Indiana's candidate confused on health care economics

The myth that it is cheaper to buy health insurance in pools continues despite years of evidence to the contrary. This quote from a newspaper in Indiana talks about a candidate Jill Long Thompson's views on the topic:

"Transforming healthcare policy in Indiana by changing state law to encourage businesses and individuals to pool to buy health insurance, vastly reducing its costs for individuals and smaller sized businesses. This proposal would expand coverage for uninsured or underinsured Hoosiers. It would also positively impact business by reducing overall costs - not only by lowering prices by "bulk purchasing" health insurance, but also by reducing the number of uninsured in Indiana."

There is absolutlely no evidence that in Indiana or in any state that allowing individuals to buy group insurance increases the number of insured or lowers costs. In fact it is clear that group insurance is significantly more expensive that individual insurance in Indiana and in most other states. "Bulk purchasing" savings are only a political myth.

Virtually every cost saving initiative with national programs like MedSave.com or here at www.short-term-medical-insurance.comare based on individual health insurance initiatives, not group or association policies.

Another part of the same article talks about how the current governor's inaction on poor academic performance is unforgivable. We suggest that Jill Long Thompson's lack of knowledge on this basic health economic principle is equally unforgivable.

Americans are Uncommitted on Uninversal Coverage

A recent poll conducted by National Public Radio, Kaiser Family Foundation and Harvard School of Public Health found that Americans are divided as to whether we should require the 1 in 6 uninsured Americans to buy health insurance. The results of the poll were reported in “Morning Edition” 2/29/08.

While 93 percent of those polled said the issue of uninsured is “serious”, there is less agreement on the approach to take to tackle the problem. About half of Americans support the idea of using government subsidies to get coverage for the uninsured.

Opponents say the proposal is similar to attempting to solve the issue of homelessness by requiring everyone to buy a house.

Bottom line is that while we like the fuzzy warm concept of “universal health coverage”, over 30 million Americans without health insurance coverage are unwilling to spend even $100 per month of their own money to buy basic health insurance even when offered to them and less than half of us think that the government should help with that cost.

Shame on Blue Cross / Blue Shield of Michigan

Michigan residents should be outraged at the conduct of Blue Cross / Blue Shield of Michigan that pulled out every political stop to push new laws known as P.A. 141 through the legislative process. The bill would increase profits to Blue Cross / Blue Shield, a tax exempt company, and eliminate some of the lowest cost health plans now available in the state, including many of the plans listed at www.short-term-medical-insurance.com .

The law is opposed by the Michigan Attorney General’s office, AARP Michigan, the Consumers Union, the Area Agencies on Aging, the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, the United Auto Workers, and many newspapers across the state. Blue Cross / Blue Shield of Michigan countered with a massively expensive media campaign to sway public opinion on the issue. See http://www.putmipeoplefirst.com for more information on the growing public opposition to this bill.

This incident is the latest in a series of actions by Blue Cross / Blue Shield member companies across the country taking moves that are clearly not in the public interest, but benefit only the corporate interest of the Blue Cross / Blue Shield health insurance companies

health insurance rates decrease for healthy applicants

Two commercial health insurance carriers, Golden Rule and Celtic Insurance, announced rate decreases in some markets effective April 2008 and one carrier International Medical Group announced that it will keep rates set in early 2006 through September 2008 on its international medical insurance. These announcements posted on the News page at www.MedSave.comcame amid an overall trend of medical cost inflation. So why do these insurance plans buck the price trend? We only know that rates are set based on past and projected claims in accordance with each state’s insurance laws and we can presume that these insurers had lower than expected claims in specific geographical markets and among certain age groups.

All of these plans are medically underwritten, meaning that that only healthy people are admitted. These types of plans are under fire as public sentiment moves toward universal coverage but there is no doubt that underwritten plans are a good deal for the people who qualify for them. Proponents of these plans say that the lower rates for healthy and “preferred risk” applicant promotes healthy lifestyles since about 80 percent of our nation’s health care costs are directly attributable to basic manageable lifestyle choices like smoking, over-eating, poor nutrition, lack of exercise and stress reaction.

For now, most states allow the health insurance rates for healthy applicants to be substantially lower than for those with medical problems and so it makes sense for consumers to shop for an insurance plan with restictive eligiblity requirements.

The eligibility requirements for each short term medical insurance vary at www.short-term-medical-insurance.com are listed on the application page and so it makes sense to compare prices and requirements for a few different plans.

health insurance after a layoff

One of the primary uses of short term medical insurance is to provide affordable coverage for people laid off from their jobs while they transition to new employment. The economic issues were recently covered in Washigton’s Medill Reporthttp://news.medill.northwestern.edu/washington/news.aspx?id=82463. The article concludes by saying that resourceful people find other sources of affordable coverage but does not name short term medical insurance as the choice of most people in this situation.

A consumer friendly report titled “Surviving a Layoff” was recently updated at MedSave.com to help people make smarter decisions about benefits when changing careers.

Amigo Medical Relaunched

HCC Life HealthCare Options, a division of HCC Life Insurance Company, announced the availability of a new short term medical insurance product designed for individuals in need of health insurance for up to 12 months. Called Amigo Medical, the product is available in both English and Spanish. Professional service is provided in English and Spanish by representatives at the World Service Center, located in Indianapolis, Indiana. 

Underwritten by HCC Life Insurance Company, rated A+ (Superior) by A.M. Best, Amigo Medical is currently available in Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, District of Columbia, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas and Wyoming. Additional states will be added throughout the year. 

Amigo Medical may be purchased through licensed health insurance professionals and online at MedSave.com. 

Amigo Medical offers a solution for individuals transitioning between jobs, new employees in eligibility waiting periods for group benefits, recent college graduates or students no longer eligible for coverage on their parents' plans. It is also an option for the unemployed, self-employed, individuals seeking an affordable alternative to COBRA, and those who are awaiting Medicare eligibility. 

"As a company, we saw a growing need for a product like Amigo Medical," said Betsy Brougher, Vice President of HCC Life HealthCare Options. "There are still too many people living in the United States without some type of health insurance. And we are proud to be one of the very few companies to take a proactive position in recognizing the need to offer products in a language accommodating to the millions of Spanish-speaking people living in the United States." 

For information about HCC Life HealthCare Options and the Amigo Short Term Medical Plan, please visit MedSave.com. 

About HCC Life:
For more than 30 years, HCC Life Insurance Company has been an industry leader in medical stop loss and excess lines coverage. HCC Life, an Indiana domiciled insurer, has offices in Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Indianapolis & Minneapolis and writes over $750 million dollars in premium annually. HCC Life Insurance Company is rated an A+ (Superior) for financial strength by A.M. Best Company ratings services. All HCC Life products are backed by the financial stability of our parent company, HCC Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: HCC).