Getting Health Insurance with a Preexisting Condition

Health problems are a pretty big deal and it is no wonder why they can be absolutely terrifying even with health insurance coverage. What happens if you have health problems with no insurance though? 

It happens all over the country and while the health care reform is hoping to lessen the numbers of those that go without the option for health care, it can still be quite a challenge to attain the care you need for your conditions.

There are many factors as to why a company can deny your health insurance coverage, but typically it will come down to one simple factor. Just how much are you going to cost them? 

An insurance company wants you to pay in without them having to ever payout much. It is how they make their money and why many companies will deny coverage to those with preexisting health conditions.

Know Your Options

They key to getting health care when you already have some kind of health condition is to know your options and not give in easily. Obviously, your first step is to talk to your employer, find out if they have health care options, and determine what you need to do to get on the plan. 

Ask if your employer is considering adding a company health care plan in the future and respectfully make your case and explain your situation. A decent employer may be more understanding than you might think.

The reason why getting insurance through your job is your best option is because an insurance company by law cannot exclude you on a group policy because of your health condition. 

Of course, we aren’t all in the same position and many of you may not have the option to turn to your employer, so what now? 

Now you work because if you don’t work hard and push for yourself, you will not see any results and be stuck without health insurance.

You will have to contact a lot of insurance companies and be prepared to pay the fees and costly payments of having your very own policy. 

At Linton and Associates, we have prepared a list of health care providers in New Mexico that may very well be able to assist you with your dilemma. 

Be sure to check it out here. Remember that if you have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact us and we would be more than happy to assist you in any way we can. 

Group Insurance vs. Individual Insurance – It’s Not a Competition

With the Health Care Reform passed, most everyone has had a few questions on how and why things are changing and how it will affect them. 

At Linton and Associates, we have tried to answer these questions for you, but in the end there are always more to be answered.

For instance, which is better -- group insurance plans or individual insurance plans?

 Honestly, it is not about which is better but about which is better for you. In this blog post, we are going to break down what group insurance plans are and what individual insurance plans are as well as help you to identify which best suits you because, come 2014, everyone will have to be insured.

Group Insurance Plans

Group insurance isn’t something that you, as an individual, just goes out and buys; it is the most popular of insurance plans and most commonly seen in practice at the office. Group insurance is the type of health insurance that is offered to you through a company.

You pay a small portion of the premium and you get what is called employee benefits. Since your boss is dealing with the insurance company, you don’t have to worry about them, excluding some type of healthcare from the plan because of a defect in your family history.  

So, why do insurance companies offer group insurance? Well, simply put, it’s because though there is a chance of loss to be factored in. 

For the most part, health care with employees promotes good health and makes them less likely to grow severely ill with regular doctor’s checkups and such.

Not to mention that all the employees paying a monthly premium makes for good money in the insurance world. In short, group insurance is a win-win – that’s a win for both the insurance company and the people.

Individual Insurance Plans

These plans are designed for individuals. Most often, the people who opt to purchase them are either self-employed or unemployed. These plans are expensive due to being high risk for most insurance companies, and these factors have actually led to many companies not offering this service any longer. 

However, if you are self-employed and cannot access a group insurance plan, there is not always a choice, which is why many Americans go without health insurance every year.

When it comes to choosing health insurance, it always comes down to what you need and have available. 

Many people would prefer employee benefits, but they do not always have the option and so they then can choose to try and qualify for the individual plan or just not have it at all.

Linton and Associates is a firm supporter of the health care reform because everyone should have access to insurance, so we are here to help with specific group insurance solutions and individual insurance solutions that will hopefully fit your budget and needs. 

Invest in Your Future with Retirement and Healthcare Knowledge

 It is hard enough to think about the next few weeks let alone your retirement years from now. But, it is important to educate yourself now about retirement and health care so you can make smart decisions that will impact on how comfortable you are in the future and how much enjoyment you can get from your retirement.

With this in mind, we have prepared a few tips to ensure a much smoother retirement process, especially where your healthcare is concerned.

Tried and True Investment Tips

Here are some things to think about when it comes to retirement planning and health care issues in the future:

• So you’ve worked at some big business company for 30 years and are expecting a pension and full range of sweet benefits to be coming your way once you retire. Well, you just got laid off, the company just cancelled their 401k plans because well, have you seen the economy lately? It might not happen to you, but it could so whatever you do, so don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Have some other retirement options outside of work in process.
• Work towards Medicare. Why? Simply put, in this economy, it is the smartest thing to do. Medicare is big and likely to stay afloat. It’s simple, critical, and the realist way of looking at things, but it’s the truth.
•  Of course, you could always work a little longer. Sure, it’s not quite ideal and probably wasn’t part of the plan. However, things don’t often go to plan and this can help you to put away more of a savings to help live off of if that pension should fall through.
• When considering your health in the long term, try and remember that eventually you could wind up with a care giver or in an assisted living home. Why does this matter? Mainly because these kinds of long-term care cost a lot of money. They offer insurance in this too. Sometimes though, it can be viewed as a scam because you can’t know for sure if and when you will need it and might end up paying into it for nothing. However, it is also an investment that could be very beneficial should you need it.

These are all things to keep in mind where health care and retirement are concerned. At Linton and Associates, we realize that the ideal situation isn’t always the real one.

 This is why we work to educate the people about the truth behind what is going on in the insurance world. We want everyone to make the most informed decisions about their insurance purchases and future.

How Your Small Business can Benefit from the Health Care Reform

From the very beginning, there has been a lot of talk about the Health Care Act. There have been the naysayers and those in full support of it. 

People have called it many names and screamed that it is unconstitutional. That is until the Supreme Court declared it constitutional.

At Linton and Associates, we support the Health Care Reform because it can help to bring quality health care to those who previously did not have access to it. 

As for small business owners out there, it can help you, too. You just need to know what to do and how to reap the benefits. This blog will show you some of those answers.

Rules…Always Rules

The biggest and most obvious rule put into play by the Health Care Reform is, of course, mandated insurance, but that does not really affect businesses. It just impacts the individual employee, which is why we are bringing it up. Employers should keep in mind that it may be in everyone’s best interest for them to begin providing health insurance through the state exchanges.

Next, we have the rule that affects businesses with 50 or more employees. Now you may be thinking, “Why talk about a bigger business, should not this just be covering the smaller businesses?” 

What is big and what is small? Everyone has their opinions on the matter. Sure, 50 employees is quite a lot to someone with 10, but it’s nothing compared to one with 100. The bottom line is that this next part is important.

If your business has 50 or more employees, you absolutely must provide them with substantial health care (60% coverage at the very least and the fees cannot be more than 9.5% of the families salary).  If you do not follow this rule, then you will face fines and these are very steep fines as they start at about $40,000. Yes, that is a lot of zeros, so please if you have 50 or more employees or will by 2014, get them covered.

Contact us as we can help you get ready for these changes and set you up with affordable health care coverage.

Reaping the Rewards

Okay, so the rewards may not seem that great. However, there is a major way to benefit from this whole ordeal if you are a small business (which is defined as having fewer than 25 employees that average less than $50,000 a year).

Thanks to that tax credit from 2010 staying in play, it pays to insure your employees. You can get a substantial tax credit and build towards a nice return, which is always good. 

Linton and Associates Guide to Health Care Terms

If you have been to a health insurance office, talked to a representative on the phone, or ever made a claim on your policy in order to have your insurance company cover something, then you have probably heard a few different health insurance terms at some point or another. 

But, did you understand them or did they perhaps leave you feeling baffled?

At Linton and Associates, we want our customers to be as informed about what their health care involves and what all the technical ‘stuff’ means. This is why we have prepared the is guide to some of the more commonly used health insurance terms and have even explained them for you in plain English.

Key Health Care Terms and What They Mean

There are many health insurance terms and, while we can’t cover them all, we are sharing the ones we find most common and relevant below:

• Alternative Care is the action of visiting a chiropractor or homeopathic doctor for medical treatment. Not all health insurance will cover alternative care treatments.
• The Carry-Over Deductible allows the last three months of the current years deductible to be brought over into next year provided you haven’t used it all up.
• Co-pays are the fees you must pay when visiting your physician; it is typically a small amount anywhere between $10 and $40 per visit.
•  A Deductible is typically the amount you pay per calendar year to be provided health insurance.
• The Gate-Keeper is your primary doctor i.e., the expert you visit for all your medical needs and who decides if you get the prescription or referral that you are requesting.
•  Indemnity is a term used to describe a plan that covers loss, injury, and damages incurred. The amounts that are covered will vary depending on the plan.
• Insurance Broker is a company or individual that sells insurance policies. Linton and Associates is a great example of an Insurance Broker.
•  Limitations are the coverage limits that each plan has and these vary from plan to plan.
• The Waiting Period is the time that you must wait while employed with a company to fall under the company’s health insurance benefits. It is essentially a probationary period that can be compared to the type of waiting period that some companies call ‘training period.’

When it comes to medical insurance terms, the list is extensive. 

At Linton and Associates, we don’t like to keep our customers in the dark, which is why we hope that this glossary has some light on a few things. 

Remember, if you have any questions, always feel free to contact us and we would be happy to help you.

Choosing the Health Insurance that Best Fits You

There are many kinds of insurance available today and they all serve us in different ways. However, with so many choices, it is easy to become confused on which one is the best for you and your particular situation. Maybe you feel like you don’t need a lot of insurance to get by.

At the same time, it can really pay to have more than you really need in the event of a disaster. 

What do you do? What is enough? And, what is too much? In an effort to shed some light on the subject, this blog post breaks down some of the insurance plans and what they offer in relation to what you may or may not need.

Indemnity Plans, HMOs, and Every Insurance Plan In-Between

The pay for service indemnity plan is considered to be a more traditional health insurance plan than the others, yet it is a lesser known and used type of policy. This is mainly because the indemnity plans are known to be quite expensive.

More commonly, we have the Health Maintenance Organizations or HMOs as they are known. HMOs allow you to have a specific range of medical benefits and coverage, but these do require you to pay a fee called a ‘co-pay’ every time you visit a medical office. This co-pay is typically a small fee that is no more than $25.

You are assigned a specific doctor who, from that point on, serves as your go-to man or woman for all of your medical needs. This allows you to schedule an appointment for periodic health checkups, visit when you are feeling ill, and get referrals to specialists and prescriptions when these are necessary.

Preferred provider organizations, or PPOs as they are typically called, are only similar to HMOs because they are also managed care providers. 

There is small co-pay and you have a specific list of people you are allowed to see for treatment. However, you can visit an outside practitioner if the price is lower, but your co-insurance payment will be more.

These are just a few of the many types of health insurance offered. We broke down these select insurance types for you because we have found that many are similar to these types in some way or another.

It should be noted though that when shopping for insurance, it is important to check with all outlets, including your office, as many reputable companies do offer health plans for their employees and families. 

Feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns you may have about what type of health insurance might work for your specific situation. 

Health Concerns on the Rise: Taking Action in Albuquerque

As an insurance company that serves the insurance needs of businesses and individuals alike, we have an invested interest in the well-being of others everywhere. 

We are the first to tell you that our very own City of Albuquerque also has an interest in preventing health decline.

All over the country, health decline has become a threatening issue. It is a sad thing, especially because with the right knowledge and a little effort, our lives could be reshaped for the better. 

In an effort to work alongside the health and wellness programs of our fine city, we, at Linton and Associates, LLC, have put together a list of a few simple guidelines that can lead to truly life-changing results.

Start Living Healthy

We all hear it all the time -- on the news, the infomercials and even the radio: “Try this new natural miracle weight loss” mumbo-jumbo. Truth be told, living healthy is as easy as it has ever been. 

By simply cutting out fast food and most sugar, you will find yourself living healthier. Of course, it’s not just about what you eat; it’s about what you do, too.

Being active is the next step to a healthy life, something that many find to be harder to achieve than eating healthy. However, it does not take a gym membership to stay active. It can be something as simple as walking your dog to the more strenuous trail running.

Eating healthy and staying (or getting) active are great ways to improve your overall health as a human being, but don’t stop there.

Being Health-wise

If you are a city employee of the City of Albuquerque, being health-wise has never been more achievable than right in this moment. The city offers many great programs dedicated to getting and staying fit in this fast food nation of ours.

For instance, the Live Younger Challenge is a great way to participate with others just like you and to get the encouragement and motivation you need to get fit. Here are some of the benefits:

·         Lose weight and work on sculpting yourself into who you really want to be.

·         Let out the stress of a long day’s work with a good workout.

·         Find yourself with more energy than ever before.

With benefits like these available at your fingertips, why not check them out? For more information on staying fit, visit the City of Albuquerque website today.