Check and balance.
Posted by editor on Mar 25, 2008
by: Christine Zafra
Although civic coverage and pay for performance are intended to perk up excellence when it comes to care, the minor performance increase in safety net hospitals will be damaging to these hospitals, destroying their name and funds. In the end, this might broaden existing discrepancies amid the hospitals, with wealthy hospitals becoming wealthier and deprived hospitals getting shoddier than before. Of course, to regulate these said hospitals, they were fined if they did not meet the standards set by the governing body of the medical institution. These institutions include Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and Hospital Compare (they will evaluate hospitals based on performance.
Health Maintenance Organizations (HMO)
Posted by Administrator on Mar 20, 2008
With an HMO, you receive a range of health benefits for a set fee. Generally, there are no deductibles – but most plans require a small copay per office visit (around $10-25). You must choose a primary care physician from the plan’s list. This doctor becomes your “gatekeeper” for all your medical needs. This is the doctor you call or see when you are sick, and he or she will refer you to a specialist or other providers within the HMO network. With most HMOs you will not receive benefits if you go out-of-network, except for emergency care.
Types of HMOs:
- Staff Model HMO
- Individual Practice Associations (IPAs)
A form of HMO in which doctors are employees of the HMO and you see them at a central medical facility.
Here, an HMO contracts with outside physician groups or individual doctors who have private practices. This means the HMO network will include doctors in various locations rather than only at a central facility.
Health Insurance Products from State Farm
Posted by Administrator on Mar 17, 2008
Choose the plan that best fits your individual needs.
This is primary medical insurance coverage that is designed for people who don’t have this type of coverage through their employer or another group.
Medicare Part D is prescription drug coverage available to those enrolled/eligible for Medicare Part A and/or Part B.
This is designed for the senior citizen who participates in Medicare, yet desires additional coverage to help with many of the expenses that Medicare does not pay.
Supplemental Medical Insurance
This is Ideal for supplementing your primary health insurance coverage. It provides you with a pre-determined benefit amount for those extra, unbudgeted expenses that arise.
Unless you tell us otherwise or benefits are assigned according to state law, the benefit is paid directly to you.
You decide how the money is spent.
Benefits may be paid for necessary:
- Hospitalization
- Accidental Injury
- Outpatient Surgery
- Extended Care
- Intensive Care
*Supplemental Medical is the marketing name for our Hospital Income, Hospital Indemnity and Hospital Confinement Indemnity policy series 97024
Check Out State Farm for more info
When Buying Insurance
Posted by Administrator on Mar 13, 2008
Don’t let yourself get fast-talked into changes: Some life insurance policyholders in recent years have fallen victim to a practice called “twisting” or “churning.” Churning occurs when your coverage is changed only to benefit the seller even though you may suffer a loss in the process. Churning often happens when people with cash-value policies are persuaded to convert their coverage to another policy, often one with a promise of better benefits. The problem is that the cash value of the original policy is raided in order to pay for the new policy. Luckless consumers may not realize until years later that the “higher” benefit policy is actually worth only a fraction of the value of the original policy.
Never buy a policy you don’t understand: If you are given illustrations or booklets, save that material with your policy. If your agent or company cannot explain the policy terms to your satisfaction, shop elsewhere. Make sure you understand the guarantees in your policy (not just the agent’s promises of returns) and the surrender penalties if you choose to drop the policy at any time. These costs are often hidden in a life insurance or annuity policy.
Six Tips for First-Time Life Insurance Buyers (part 2)
Posted by Administrator on Mar 10, 2008
Continued from Six Tips for First-Time Life Insurance Buyers
4. Look at the Quality of the Company
An insurance policy is only as good as the company that backs it. You want to know for certain that the company that issues your policy will be around to service it and eventually pay the death claim. To help you discern the strongest companies, there are several ratings agencies that rate insurance companies on the quality of their fiscal fitness, quality of investments, and overall financial soundness. A credit rating represents an independent assessment of the insurer’s ability to pay its claims on time and meet all its other financial obligations, the bottom line for any life insurance company. There are four leading agencies: A.M. Best, Standard and Poors, Moody’s, and Fitch.
Each agency has slightly different criteria and looking at different ratings for one company will give you a good overview of the company’s financial strength. New York Life’s ratings are among the highest from each of the four agencies.
New York Life and its subsidiary, New York Life Insurance and Annuity Corporation, have received among the highest ratings for financial strength from four major rating services as indicated below:
1
# Moody’s: Aaa
# A.M. Best: A++
# Standard & Poor’s: AA++
# Fitch: AAA
5. Consult an Agent
Agents provide an invaluable service. First, an agent can help you factor in the other “human’ elements into your insurance equations to help you determine the right amount of insurance. The relationship you develop with an agent can last a lifetime. Second, an agent can help you update your coverage as your needs change. They can help you guide you through a lifetime of financial decisions, giving you one less thing to worry about.
6. Increase Your Vocabulary
Any discussion of insurance will probably include words such as cash value, premium, dividends, death benefit and more. To discuss life insurance knowledgeably, it will help to understand the terms. Below is a brief summary of some common terms. This site offers a complete glossary of insurance terms.
- Cash Value: In a whole life (also called “permanent”) life insurance policy, this is the money that can accumulate in the policy.
- Dividends: A portion of the company’s surplus that is distributed to the owners of participating policies. Dividends are not guaranteed.
- Mutual company: An insurance company which has no capital stock or stockholders, but is instead owned by its policy owners. New York Life is a mutual company.
- Premium: In insurance, the periodic payment required to keep a specific policy in force.
Six Tips for First-Time Life Insurance Buyers (part 1)
Posted by Administrator on Mar 6, 2008
Six tips for the First-Time Buyer
1. Understand Why You Need It
While most people may need life insurance at some point in their life, don’t buy a policy just because you heard it was a good idea. Life insurance is designed to provide families with financial security in the event of the death of a spouse or parent. Life insurance protection can help pay for mortgages, a college education, help to fund retirement, provide charitable bequests and of course is a key element in estate planning. In short, if others depend on your income for support, you should strongly consider life insurance. Even if you don’t have any of these needs immediately, you still may want to consider purchasing a small “starter” policy, if you anticipate you will have them in the future. The reason: the younger you are, the less expensive life insurance will be.
2. Determine the Amount of Coverage You Need
The amount of money your family or heirs will receive after your death is called a death benefit. To determine the proper amount of life insurance an online calculator, like the one available at this site, can be helpful. You can also get a ballpark figure using any number of formulas. The easiest way is to simply take your annual salary and multiply by 8. A more detailed method is to add up the monthly expense your family will incur after your death. Remember to include the one-time expenses at death and the ongoing expenses such as a mortgage or school bills. Take the ongoing expenses and divide by .07.That indicates you’ll want a lump sum of money earning approximately 7% each year to pay those ongoing expenses. Add to that amount any money you’ll need to cover one-time expenses and you’ll have a rough estimate of the amount of life insurance you need.
As useful as calculators and rough estimates are, there are some things they don’t do.
They cannot provide you with any final answers. Calculators only allow you to perform “hypotheticals,” recalculating and generating new results as you make and input new assumptions. Using these tools and educating yourself on the workings of life insurance and other financial products, however, can help you feel more comfortable when discussing your needs with such professionals as a New York Life agent.
3. Find the Right Type of Policy
Once you’ve got an estimate of how much insurance you’ll need, it’s time to think about the type of policy that best fits your needs. Today life insurance comes in many varieties, but there are four basic types term, whole life, universal life, and variable life. As a first-time buyer, one will more than likely fit your needs.
Term Life Insurance
As its name implies, term insurance provides life insurance protection for a specific period of years. Benefits can be used to help pay off mortgages and other outstanding debts in the event of a premature death. Generally the least expensive form of life insurance, term provides pure insurance protection only. It does not accumulate cash value, and generally does not receive dividends.
Term may be an ideal choice when you need life insurance coverage for a well-defined period of time. It can be used to protect needs that last for a predictable period, such as a student loan or mortgage. People in their 20s and 30s often purchase a term policy and later convert it to a permanent plan (see Whole Life, below). The conversion privilege in their term policies guarantees their insurability at a later date-even if they become uninsurable.
New York Life makes a variety of term policies available, including five-, ten-, and 20-year policies.
Whole Life
In contrast to term insurance, whole life, also known as permanent insurance, protects you throughout your lifetime, from the day you purchase the policy until you die, as long as you pay the premiums. Another difference between the two is that permanent insurance builds cash value. Through policy loans, you can access the cash values and use them for a host of purposes such as education funding and supplemental retirement income. However, policy loans against the cash value accrue interest and reduce the death benefit and the cash value by the amount of the outstanding loan plus interest. Guaranteed for life, your policy will be renewed every year, regardless of your health for as long as you live, again, as long as required premiums are paid.
Permanent policies are also eligible to receive dividends, a portion of the company’s surplus that is distributed to the owners of participating policies. (Dividends can be taken in cash, used to reduce the premium, left to accumulate at interest, or used to purchase paid-up additional insurance. Dividends are not guaranteed.) Whole life can provide a permanent solution to several financial concerns including:
New York Life offers many permanent life insurance policies, including Modified Premium Whole Life, and Survivorship Whole Life.
Universal Life
Universal life also provides permanent life insurance protection and access to cash values that grow tax-deferred. Universal Life differs from whole life in its flexibility that enables you to choose the amount of protection that best suits your family or business. With Universal Life, you can increase or decrease your coverage, as your insurance needs change and control the amount and frequency of premium payments. The policy can also be customized with various riders to fit your lifestyle.
Variable Life*
Variable universal life insurance is a type of flexible premium, permanent life insurance policy that allow the policy owners to have premium dollars allocated to a variety of investment options, including a fixed account backed by the assets in the general account of NYLIAC. Variable universal life insurance generally provides a federal tax-free death benefit, and is accessible through policy loans and/or withdrawals. Note, all guarantees, including death benefit payments are dependent on the claims-paying ability of NYLIAC and do not apply to the investment performance or the safety of the underlying Investment Divisions on the variable universal life policies. Also, loans against the cash value and withdrawals may reduce death benefit and the cash value. If the policy is designated as a Modified Endowment Contract, withdrawals taken prior to age 591/2 may be subject to a 10% IRS penalty and surrender changes may apply. Additional taxes may apply to policies designated as a modified endowment. The product prospectus contains this information in details.
There are risks associated with investing in variable universal life insurance policies. Please be aware that assets allocated to the Investment Divisions are subject to market risks and will fluctuate in value. Please be aware there are fees and charges associated with the contract. Variable universal life insurance policies are sold by prospectus only through properly licensed Registered Representative. To obtain a copy of the product and fund prospectuses for the VUL policy that may be right for you, please contact your NYLIFE Securities Registered Representative or call 1-800-598-2019. Investors are asked to consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses of the investment carefully before investing. Both the product and the underlying fund prospectuses contain this and other information about the product and underlying investment options. Please read the prospectuses carefully before investing.
- VULs are issued by New York Life Insurance and Annuity Corporation (A Delaware Corporation) and distributed by NYLIFE Distributors LLC, Member FINRA/SIPC.
What is Health Insurance
Posted by Administrator on Mar 3, 2008
The term health insurance is generally used to describe a form of insurance that pays for medical expenses. It is sometimes used more broadly to include insurance covering disability or long-term nursing or custodial care needs. It may be provided through a government-sponsored social insurance program, or from private insurance companies. It may be purchased on a group basis (e.g., by a firm to cover its employees) or purchased by individual consumers. In each case, the covered groups or individuals pay premiums or taxes to help protect themselves from high or unexpected healthcare expenses. Similar benefits paying for medical expenses may also be provided through social welfare programs funded by the government.
Health insurance works by estimating the overall risk of healthcare expenses and developing a routine finance structure (such as a monthly premium or annual tax) that will ensure that money is available to pay for the healthcare benefits specified in the insurance agreement. The benefit is administered by a central organization, most often either a government agency or a private or not-for-profit entity operating a health plan.
Pennsylvania plans.
Posted by editor on Mar 1, 2008
by: Christine Zafra
Pennsylvania is having a different kind of twist right now when it comes to their health plans. Six companies recently launched a three year deal worth $13 million to give the faithful physicians rewards for taking care of the sick and monitoring the health of their patients. There is also another program to be launched called Prescription for Pennsylvania which allows the coverage of insurance to expand to those uninsured. Some say that if they get focused on health care, chances are, they can improve on the aspect of patient care and of course, save a lot money in the end.