Posts Tagged ‘Health’
Choosing The Best Health Insurance Plan For Students Studying Abroad
Today, students from all corners of world go abroad to participate in academic programs. All international students during their study time abroad need to have comprehensive healthcare insurance cover to efficiently handle unexpected emergent medical contingencies. You should find a study abroad health insurance scheme that meets all the requirements set by your course/education providers and make your course time healthy, happy and stress-free time.
Mandatory insurance coverage
As a student, you may be a US resident going abroad for further studies or an international student coming to US to continue studies. During study time, the schools & universities – the program-providers – have made it mandatory that you and your family have comprehensive study abroad health insurance plans which fulfil certain basic requirements to have adequate medical coverage for emergency and routine care so you can remain healthy and finish your studies successfully.
Compare plans
So how to choose the best study abroad health insurance plan from among so many that are available? Which plan offers genuinely quality benefits and valid access to excellent healthcare? See what medical expenses are covered. Read carefully to see what are excluded; so you will know whether you need any prior permission before any test/diagnostic procedure. Check who are the medical service providers and where are they located? See whether any PPO network is assigned in the plan?
Important features
Do not judge the merits of study abroad health insurance plans by just comparing your monthly premiums. For low premium plans, you may have to pay exorbitantly out of your pocket in an emergency/accident. Compare plans for features like
- Benefits
- Co-insurance
- Deductibles
- Medical evacuation & repatriation options
- Flexibility
Some plans will look costlier with extra premium but if they offer 100% with low co-insurance, it can be a good option. Check limits for coverage, benefits and extent of exclusions. Evacuation to your homeland and repatriation can be extremely expensive and needs coverage. Too rigid plans are not preferable.
Enjoy international study experience
With exemplary academic hard work and great financial effort, a student wins a chance to go abroad for studying. It may be for short or long. During this time, you may have your family with you. A well-chosen study abroad health insurance plan can offer benefits like routine care, hospitalization when necessary, emergent and intensive care, surgery, prescription drugs, evacuation and repatriation etc and make it an exceptionally healthy, happy and stress-free time.
Hefty Health Insurance Request Shocks Hernando County School Officials
As President Barack Obama prepared to take to the airwaves to defend his health care overhaul last week, Hernando school officials got a little insurance sticker shock of their own.
The district’s insurance carrier, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida, is seeking a 21.5 percent rate increase.
“We expected increases in health insurance, but you don’t really expect 21 percent increases,” said Heather Martin, the district’s executive director of business services. “It’s very disappointing in these economic times.”
The actual increase will likely come in at least a few percentage points below that, Martin said. Last year, for example, Blue Cross started with an 18 percent increase. By tweaking plans and raising deductibles and co-pays, the two sides brought that down to 12 percent.
Martin said she’s hopeful this year’s increase will be closer to 15 percent and that the district’s insurance committee — composed of staffers and members of both unions — had made progress toward that number during talks with Blue Cross on Wednesday.
Blue Cross declined to comment beyond a written statement issued through spokesman Mark Wright.
“The specifics of our negotiations with any client are confidential. However, I can say that for groups such as this, projected claims experience for the upcoming plan year is the determining factor for premium rate calculations.”
In other words, the company uses the district’s claims history and estimates for what next year’s claims will be to justify the rate increase.
The district’s history isn’t exactly pretty, Martin acknowledged.
Claims have been “relatively high” in recent years, she said. Last year, Blue Cross paid more than $14 million in claims.
“We are not an extremely healthy district,” Martin said. “We have not improved it.”
Martin noted, though, that the district is “punished” for the lack of urgent care facilities in the county. That forces employees to go to hospital emergency rooms, an expensive way to get urgent care that drives up the district’s clams, she said.
The School Board has agreed in past years to have the district absorb most or all of insurance premium increases and should try to do the same again this year, said board member Sandra Nicholson.
“If there’s any possibility of us being able to eat the increase, I think we probably will,” Nicholson said.
That could be a tall order, considering this year’s proposed budget has only $1 million in reserves that aren’t set aside for some purpose.
But it would help employees who have seen out-of-pocket costs rise, said Colin Davies, president of the Hernando United School Workers.
Davies said some employees have decided to go without insurance because they can no longer afford it, and he predicted that number could rise.
“You choose whether to eat or have insurance,” Davies said.
The unions accepted smaller pay raises last year in exchange for the district covering more insurance premium costs. Insurance will likely dominate negotiations again this year, said Joe Vitalo, president of the Hernando Classroom Teachers Association.
Vitalo expressed the kind of sentiment voiced by many Americans and that Obama says is motivating him to get health care reform done sooner rather than later.
“It’s probably the most legalized form of extortion there is,” Vitalo said.