Solid Advice For Buying The Right Health Insurance
Although health insurance may seem complicated now, it'll be far less confusing once you understand all the plans, benefits and costs you have to choose from. You can use the practical tips in this article to cut through the confusion, and stop worrying about your health insurance needs, starting today.
If monthly costs for health insurance are a concern, look a higher deductible plan. This option allows for you to handle smaller out of pocket costs as needed and the need for a deductible is only necessary when a more catastrophic event occurs. The minor incidents are easier to budget and allow you to save monthly dollars for your day to day life.
As your children age into adults, their health insurance coverage will eventually run out. You need to begin talking to them early (say, in the last two years of college) about their insurance needs so that they understand how the transition will occur. Since many employers are cutting benefits, parents are keeping children on their policies longer and longer, but this gets expensive. Perhaps the best advice is to point out the advantages of full-time employment which will provide them with their own independent health coverage.
To save money on health insurance, one strategy is to pool your resources with a group of people. Doing so lets employers offer cheaper insurance to their employees. If you're on your own, you may be able to take advantage of these savings by forming your own group or joining an existing one.
If you jump out of planes for a living, or go rock climbing on the weekends, make sure and disclose that when you are purchasing insurance. You will more than likely pay a higher amount for your insurance. However, if you do not tell them that information they can choose not to pay out for your claim if it was a result of those activities. Be honest, even if it will cost you more.
If your spouse has a health insurance possibility through an employer, you may have to pay a surcharge to add your wife or husband on your plan. It may actually be more affordable to have separate coverage through your respective employers, so make sure to calculate both scenarios.
Take advantage of any wellness programs offered by both your workplace and your health insurance company. Both of these may reward you in different ways, such as your workplace offering a cash-incentive for completing an exercise program, or your insurance company lowering your premiums if you follow a quit-smoking one. These offers are rare, but helpful.
It's really not hard to see how the tips in this article will help you stop worrying about your health insurance, and get started using this practical advice to find the right plan that fills your health insurance needs. Using these common sense tips will make the process here a lot easier.
Urgent care's impact during the pandemic and the future of on-demand care
A physician urgent care expert discusses the changing role of this type of care and how health IT plays an important part.
By
Bill Siwicki
August 16, 2021
11:54 AM
Dr. David Stern, CEO of urgent care software company Experity and vice president of the Coalition for Urgent Care Access.
Photo: Experity
In 2020 alone, urgent care clinics saw a 58% increase in visit volumes due to the demand for COVID-19-related episodic care, with testing and vaccinations accounting for more than 60% of total visits, according to the latest research from urgent care software company Experity, which surveyed half of U.S. clinics.
Of the 28 million patients who visited these clinics in 2020, almost half were new visitors. How can urgent care clinics retain these patients beyond the pandemic? How can they shift the perception of urgent care from an option for minor, episodic issues, and as an emergency room replacement, to what is now an expanding, one-stop-shop for on-demand care, such as primary care services?
Dr. David Stern is uniquely qualified to answer this and other urgent care questions. He is a practicing urgent care physician, CEO of Experity and vice president of the Coalition for Urgent Care Access. Healthcare IT News interviewed him to get his expert analysis on the state of urgent care, and where IT can help.
Q. Your research found urgent care clinics saw a 58% increase in visit volumes due to the demand for COVID-19-related, episodic care in 2020. How can urgent care clinics retain these new patients and shift the perception of urgent care to a one-stop-shop for on-demand care?
A. During the pandemic, the U.S. urgent care industry demonstrated its unmatched ability to adapt to unprecedented, rapid industry changes, and the market's collective response further cemented urgent care's importance as a key player in the country's care continuum.
https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/urgent-cares-impact-during-pandemic-and-future-demand-care