It is always quite hard for small enterprises to get good health coverage with competitive rates, especially if compared with bigger companies. Some small companies, especially home-based ones, don’t have the minimum number of workers to be eligible for health group plans at all. And this means that there’s no other option for these small enterprises than having no group plans for their employees altogether. If you have a home-based business chances are that you are the single worker at it, or have only a couple of additional employees beside you, which makes it virtually impossible for obtaining adequate insurance plans from most insurance companies.
But don’t give up too soon, because there are ways you can get what you need. A great number of insurance providers offer competitive plans for self-employed individuals as well as group plans for small businesses.
These are some useful tips that will help you get adequate health insurance coverage for you and your workers in case you are the owner of a home-based enterprise:
• Join a purchasing pool or an alliance plan. It is quite hard for small business to negotiate competitive rates with the insurance companies as they will usually get billed with higher premiums than bigger enterprises. However, if small businesses group together it will be much easier to negotiate the rates because of the larger number of employees getting the benefits. The two options for such grouping are purchasing pools and association plans. Contact your state insurance department or local chamber of commerce to learn what are the options for your business regarding these two possibilities.
• Choose plans that are specifically tailored for small enterprises. The market of small business insurance and health insurance for smaller enterprises is growing rapidly and there are more and more companies competing for this market niche. So learn what insurance providers have specific small business offers and compare the rates. They should get even more competitive with more players entering this market.
• Cover your individual health insurance needs as well. As a business owner, no matter whether you’re the single worker or have more employees, the entire enterprise depends on your well-being. So make sure you’re properly covered and have enough insurance, because a single accident with costly medical bills to pay can be fatal to the entire business and some of your most valuable assets (house, car, etc.) Having no health coverage is not the smartest thing in your situation.
• Choose the right insurance coverage type. There is a very wide selection of insurance types with their pros and cons. Things like fee-for-service, PPOs and HMOs will surely get you confused at first so try to learn more about these plan types in order to know which one is right for you and your employees. The difference can be quite significant so take your time, ask your insurance agent to consult you on the matter.
• Consider having health savings account. HSAs have an important advantage over other types of insurance plans because the save your pre-tax money that can be quite sensitive for a small business. Being not a form of insurance technically, HSAs still have some of the group plan benefits and prove to be very helpful during the income tax period. So if the financial matters are vital for your business consider having such an option.
The number of travelers in the 65-age bracket has increased tremendously. A large number of mature holidaymakers, mostly retirees, are heading overseas on foreign travel trips. Seeing other wonders of the world is exciting in itself, but that also involves making important considerations related to the trip. One such consideration is Travel Insurance.
Healthier lifestyles and medical advancement may urge you to think that you are the least to be affected by any sort of risk factors. Think again! You had saved your hard-earned money to enjoy the second lease of life to the fullest. Hence, buying a travel insurance policy is a wise idea. However, most travel insurance companies hesitate to offer insurance and marginalize senior citizens for the simple reason that senior citizens are more likely to make claims that are relatively expensive. Besides, they are charged higher premiums.
ICICI Lombard General Insurance offers a comprehensive travel insurance policy specifically meant for elderly travelers between 71 to 85 years. Senior Citizen Travel Insurance Plan from ICICI Lombard covers unexpected and unplanned medical expenses due to illnesses or accidents, including outpatient & inpatient medical expenses, medical aid, therapies and diagnostic test. Unlike other travel insurance policies, ours is a Pay Per Day plan wherein you pay for the exact number of days traveled (and not the usual slab rate) i.e. if you travel for 24 days you will pay only for 24 days and not 25 days as in the slab system.
What sets us apart from other travel insurance providers in the market is that we also cover people traveling with a pre-existing medical condition in case of life threatening situation. Besides, you can avail Senior Citizen Plan instantly with no medical check up with a claim benefit of $15,000 per illness or injury.
Furthermore, to ensure quality health care, ICICI Lombard has now tied-up with United Health Group, the best, and the most diverse health care company in the US which serves more than 70 millions Americans. More than 86% of all acute care hospitals and huge number of physician and OPD facilities are in their network. What else more, you can also avail the policy 24X7 from icicilombard with Buy Online facility which gives you instant digitally signed policy. It’s straight-forward and hassle-free.
So the next time you plan a foreign trip abroad buy Overseas Travel Insurance Senior Citizen Plan from ICICI Lombard and make your old age jaunt a fulfilling and memorable experience.
Do you consider yourself to be relatively healthy? If so, can gum disease affect you? Absolutely, gum disease is no respecter of persons. A healthy person is likely to be affected by gum disease just the same as the next person. In fact some form of gum disease affects 80% of the American adult population. Do you know the number one reason people get gum disease is due to improper oral hygiene? In America this is a growing epidemic. The two most common forms of gum disease that affect a relatively healthy person such as you, are gingivitis and aggressive periodontitis.
Have you heard of gingivitis? It is the first and most common stage of gum disease. Gingivitis only affects the gums surrounding your teeth. It begins when bacteria toxins from plaque build-up and you will most likely start to notice that your gums are red, swollen, and bleed easily. Another sign you may find that you are experiencing, is bad breath or a bad taste that won’t go away in this stage of gum disease. You will have little or no discomfort. Typically gingivitis tends to go untreated. However, if treated in the beginning stages it can be reversible with professional dental cleaning (every 6 months) and proper daily at home oral care (brushing and flossing twice per day).
When you don’t have gingivitis treated then it will progress. Aggressive periodontitis also known as pyorrhea is the second stage of gum disease. It is caused from bacteria toxins that accumulate below your gum line, when untreated it leads to rapid attachment and bone loss around teeth and familial aggregation. You will probably experience chronic bad breath and bad taste as they are both associated with this stage of gum disease. Aggressive periodontitis is so widespread mainly because the symptoms of gingivitis have gone undetected and untreated. This stage doesn’t have much to do with how healthy you are either.
The main beginning signs you will need to watch for are redness, swelling, and bleeding of the gums. If these have gone undetected then bad breath, gum recession, and loose teeth may be the signs that are more evident to you because they are going to be more bothersome.
Whether the progression of gum disease is eliminated, decreased, or allowed to worsen will entirely depend on you and how you intend to care for your teeth. Adequate brushing and flossing will help to remove plaque. So if you want to preserve your “pearly whites” for a lifetime then combine proper oral care and see a dental care professional. Your dentist will be able to answer any questions or concerns you have in regards to gum disease. It is important that once you see a dental care professional you follow his/her recommended treatment plan and continue routine visits.
Fast Company released its list of 100 Most Creative People in Business in June. As always, it is a captivating piece highlighting some of the world’s best, brightest and most creative business people. I’m constantly inspired by the innovation happening all around us. This year, I particularly enjoyed recognizing four healthcare visionaries on the list: Jim Yong Kim, MD President of Dartmouth College (#9), Eric Dishman of Intel (#15), Paul Farmer of Partners in Health (#31) and Giovanni Colella of Castlight Health (#57). This year’s visionaries largely focus on working to reduce health care costs while improving quality of care and expanding accessibility through various means.
As President of Dartmouth and a physician, one of Dr. Kim’s personal initiatives is improving global health programs. Dartmouth launched the Dartmouth Center for Health Care Delivery Science, a multi-disciplinary collaboration which studies the best practices of successful health systems in order to tackle the twin challenges of reducing system costs and improving outcomes. According to Fast Company, he believes that this endeavor “could improve health-care quality and help lower costs as much as 30%.”
Eric Dishman (follow Eric on Twitter), Director of Health Innovation for Intel’s Digital Health Group, is working to update the healthcare delivery process, particularly in the aging population. Eric champions home-care; his goal for 2020 is to enable 50% of care to be delivered in the home, improving quality of life, fostering independent living for the elderly and potentially saving trillions of dollars. Care Innovations GE, collaboration between Intel and GE which launched in January, was inspired by Eric’s vision.
The vision of Partners In Health, co-founded by Paul Farmer in 1987, is to offer care across the globe to those deemed by many as ‘untreatable’, either too poor or too sick. Specifically, Dr. Farmer’s aim is to provide the kind of care you would want any family member to receive. Partners in Health is currently active in 12 countries through the help of 13,000 employees. They have produced an impressive track record including successfully treating drug-resistant TB in Peru.
Castlight Health’s Founder and CEO Giovanni Colella created an online portal to allow users to comparison-shop for healthcare providers and procedures, bringing a new level of price transparency to the industry. The company believes that by allowing consumers to make smarter decisions, they can impact the cost and quality of care.
There are thousands of innovators in healthcare, working hard every day to broaden access to care, lower ballooning healthcare costs and most importantly improve patient care outcomes.
