Things to Consider About Cancer Insurance Plan

There are various types of health insurance plans that cover the costs incurred in the treatment of various diseases. A cancer insurance plan, as the name suggests, covers various types of cancer treatments. It differs from a usual health insurance plan, as it covers cancer exclusively at early and advanced stages.

Cancer is a severe ailment that impacts numerous people throughout the world. The reason for cancer being such a huge threat is rising pollution, unhealthy lifestyle, stress, eating habits, and others.

The disease impacts both men and women from different age groups. Hence, despite the difference in their gender, age, weight, and other medical conditions, more and more people are falling prey to different types of cancer.

In such a case, cancer insurance plays a crucial role in ensuring your future health. These plans provide medical relief for minor and major stage cancers.

Before you start your search for the best cancer insurance plans, here are a few things you need to consider about these plans.

1) Reliability of the insurance provider

The first thing you need to consider when looking for an insurance policy is the track record of the insurance provider. The overall reputation of the company provides an important indication of the customer policy.

A high claim settlement ratio, customer-friendly approach, and service efficiency are true indicators of a reliable insurance provider. You can also check reviews on third-party sites to understand the quality of service provided.

If you see numerous complaints, it could be a red flag, and you need to continue your search for the best cancer insurance provider.

2) Stages of cancer

The cover from a cancer insurance policy generally includes diagnosis, treatment, and surgery. The amount of cover depends on the stage of cancer and previously admitted claims under the policy.

The payout from the policy will also differ depending on the stage of cancer. These stages include the pre-cancerous stage, early-stage, and advanced stage.

Before you choose an insurance policy, you need to check the stages of cancer the policy is bifurcated into. Also, check the benefits that will accrue at each stage.

3) Longer policy term

The policy term is the time period for the policy cover provided by the insurance. Hence, when looking for the best cancer insurance, you should choose a plan that covers you for the longest duration.

The maximum age the policy covers, the lesser will be your risks. This is especially helpful because the risk of disease increases with age as the immunity declines.

4) Sum assured

The sum assured is the amount of financial relief you receive from your insurance policy. Health care costs are increasing at a rapid pace. The cost of cancer treatment includes expenses for chemotherapy, radiation, PET scans, endoscopy, bone marrow tests, cost of medicines, hospital charges, etc.

All these expenditures can quickly add up and ruin your financial budget. In such a case, a higher amount of sum insured can be extremely helpful. This can become your aid in the fight against severe illnesses like cancer.

5) Types of cancers covered

There are different types of cancers like Lung cancer, Melanoma, thyroid cancer, pancreatic cancer, uterine cancer, etc. Depending on factors like genetic conditions, food habits, lifestyle, and screening results, you can arrive at a list of different cancer types that can impact you.

The best cancer insurance plan for you is the one that covers these forms of cancer. Also, have a thorough discussion to understand the factors that may impact your eligibility for such a policy.

6) Premium payable

Premium is the number of monthly payments that you need to make towards the insurance policy. Since there is a financial commitment involved with the insurance policy, you need to choose a policy that fits your budget.

However, comparing the premium amount is not enough. You also need to compare the sum assured and policy term to choose the best insurance policy.

These are some of the important factors that you need to consider before choosing the best cancer insurance policy.

Things You Need to Know About Before Purchasing a Medicare Supplement Plan

By buying Medicare Supplement Plans in Texas, you can fill in the gaps in your medical insurance coverage. With the Original Medicare (Part A and Part B) plan, for instance, you don’t get coverage costs for copayments, coinsurance, and deductibles. A Medicare Supplement, however, will cover them.

While it makes sense then to get Medicare Supplement Plans Texas, here are a few things you need to know before making your purchase:

There Are Several Letter Plans

Currently, out of the available ten Medicare Supplement plans, the most affordable ones are Plan G, Plan N, Plan C, and Plan D. However, you should stay alert about the extensive Medicare changes that 2020 will usher in.

In the new year, you will have no out-of-pocket medical expenses if you get Plan C and two other first-dollar coverage plans. However, if you become eligible for Medicare after Jan. 1, 2020, you can no longer buy Plan F and High Deductible Plan F. These plans will remain available, though, if you already have them or if you become 65 before January.

There Are Monthly Premiums

You will have to pay monthly premiums on the Medicare Supplement Plans. The amount you must pay will depend on how old you are, what your gender is, and where you live. However, the exact cost can differ from insurance carrier to insurance carrier. Also, they may follow the Issue-Age, the Attained-Age, or the Community-Rating pricing methods.

With the first, your premium amount will depend on how old you were when you bought the plan. With the second, the premium amount will increase as you grow older. And, with the third, it will vary according to location. So, what you pay in Texas will be different from what you might have to pay in Wisconsin.

Medicare Supplement Plans in Texas That Are Available in 2020

In 2020, you should consider buying Plan G, Plan N, and Plan D. These are the three most affordable letter plans in the new year. Let’s look at what they offer:

Plan G

With this plan, you can fill in the 20% coverage that you won’t get with your 80% Medicare Plan. It provides coverage for your copayments and coinsurance. Additionally, it will cover for the Part A deductible. There is no yearly payment for this deductible, by the way. You will need to pay only according to the times of hospitalizations in one year. For instance, if you were admitted to a hospital once in one year, you will only have to make one payment.

Having Plan G is also essential if you are going to travel abroad in the coming year. The full insurance coverage policy will provide medical emergency coverage and cover any excess charges you might incur by seeing a medical provider whose fees exceed the Medicare-approved amount. Plus, the premiums are quite low. You must only pay for the Part B deductible every year. There is no need to pay for the services that Medicare covers.

Plan N

Here is another decent plan to back up your 80% Medicare coverage and also to cover any medical emergencies that might occur while you are out of the country. If you visit a doctor’s clinic, the plan will provide $20 in copayment and $50 if you go to the emergency room. However, it does not provide for any payments for hospitalization or if you have excess medical charges.

The issue of excess charges is not much of a concern in the United States, though, as it is illegal in most of the states, and only about 3% of the medical practitioners in the country charge more than what Medicare considers acceptable. And, on the positive side, you will have to pay lower premiums with Plan N.

Plan D

You should consider Plan D if you need a solid support plan after your traditional Medicare plan. It covers both the hospital and hospice cover and coinsurance costs that Part A offers and the copayments and coinsurance you would get with Part B. Furthermore, you are also covered for medical emergencies abroad. The only issue with Plan D is that it doesn’t cover excess charges and the Part B deductible.

Five Things You Should Know Before You Purchase Life Insurance

Buying life insurance can seem like a necessary thing to do before it’s too late. It is, however, easy to decide that you want to buy one. But it can be rather confusing to decide on the type of policy to buy. It can also be difficult to understand all the bells and whistles related to life insurance.

Making a purchasing decision with confusion in mind can lead to poor selection of the life insurance policy. So, it is important to have all the necessary information with you before buying the right life insurance plan.
Here are five things to know before you purchase life insurance.

Different Type of Life Insurance Plans

There are two types of life insurance you can purchase – term or permanent.

Term plans are for a definite period of time. The time of the policy and the premium amount are fixed. The premium amount is decided according to your health at the time of the application. You can choose the term of the policy such as 30 years or 20 years.

Permanent plans cover the policyholder until death. You can decide on a fixed or variable premium amount. It will depend on the policy. The premium amount is determined based on the applicants’ health at the time of buying the policy. Permanent plans also have a savings attribute; as in cash value. The cash value is what makes permanent plans more attractive to buy.

Terms plans are simpler in structure while permanent plans can be a bit complex due to the saving mechanism. An insurance agent can help you understand the differences between the two, and how to decide on buying one over the other. But ensure that you work with independent companies or agents in this case.

To find the right independent agent, you can conduct a simple online search pertaining to your area; such as life insurance San Antonio. You can then check their websites to glean more information about their offerings or simply call them with your inquiry.

Consider Benefits First; Investment Later

Life insurance is first and foremost an insurance plan that can offer financial benefits to your family upon your death. So, it is important to buy life insurance as per its benefits. You must think of it as an investment as secondary. Consider it as more of a tool for managing risk than simply an investment.

Compare the Plans

When buying life insurance, compare different plans offered by different providers. Even if you have decided on either term or permanent policy to buy; it can help you to know the cost differences between the two. So, always check coverage offered and its premium costs of different types of life insurance plans before settling on one.

You can ask your insurance agent to provide you with different buying options. As per your unique needs, your independent insurance agent can find the optimal plans and help you make an informed decision.

Premium Rates depend on Several Factors

The premium rates for life insurance plans can differ as per the health and age of the applicant.

For instance, for a healthy young individual, it can be less expensive to buy a term life insurance plan. The premium will be generally lower in such cases. So, you need to pay attention to the benefits and then decide if the cost of the plan is worth it. But do know that buying life insurance gets costlier as you get older. If you smoke or have a serious medical condition; you may need to pay a higher premium amount.

Also, even if you are young and healthy; the premium cost of permanent plans will always be more than what you will need to pay for term plans.

Seeking Help may be Necessary

Yes, you can buy insurance online easily on your own. But you may find it rather complicated to find the right plan. For instance, there are many options available in terms of permanent life insurance plans alone. There are plans offering flexible premium paying terms. Then there are plans offering different ways to add interest to the accumulated cash value.

So, it is best to buy life insurance after consulting with experts.

Factors to Keep In Mind While Selecting Health Insurance

Health insurance is a way to manage medical expenses and everyday healthcare costs in an economical manner. In lieu of the premium, you will pay to a health insurance company, you will get to enjoy certain benefits that can help offset the costs of some of your medical expenses.

But you can enjoy the full benefits of your health insurance plan only when you select the right one. With so many options now available, it can get overwhelming to select a health insurance plan that is just right for you.

Consider these factors when selecting a health insurance plan for you.

Services on Offer Vs your Requirements

The most important factor in choosing health insurance is to check if the services on offer align with your requirements. For instance, not all policies offer coverage for prescription drugs. When looking for a policy, you will need to check if a provider offers coverage for the prescription drug you need on a regular basis. Now, this is just one example.

You could be planning to start a family in the near future and would ideally want a plan to cover the medical expenses for it. Perhaps you need benefits for any specific healthcare need. So, you need to carefully assess if a plan (however good) is right for you. Even the best health insurance plan may not be ideal for you if it doesn’t offer you the coverage you need.

One of the best ways to find the right healthcare plan is to work with a reliable insurance agency in your local area. For instance, if you need health insurance in San Antonio TX then it is best to choose a reputed local agency to help you find the right solution for the coverage you need or want. The agency executives can offer you solutions catered and customized for your needs. Many professional insurance agencies do not even charge anything for this kind of service. You can work with one such agency in your city and buy the best health and cancer insurance plan for you and your family.

Networks

When selecting health insurance, you need to choose a network with the participating doctors as per your needs. If you seek services from doctors outside of your network, you end up spending more on your healthcare/medical costs. It is a good idea to check the list of doctors available for your network every time you reenroll.

HMOs or health maintenance organization can have a limited number of doctors in the network where you need referrals from your primary care physician in order to see them. PPOs or preferred provider organization most often have a wider network and may be ideal for those who need to travel extensively.

The Costs

The costs for health insurance must be something you can afford without compromising on the kind of policy you want.

You need to account for costs such as premium, out-of-pocket expenses, copayments, etc. You need to be aware of the deductible amount for your policy along with any co-insurance you might need to pay as per your coverage.

The deductible is the amount you need to pay before your coverage can begin. So, if the deductible amount is $1000 then you will have to spend this amount from your end before your policy will cover any expenses. Copayments are fees you need to shell out for specific services depending on your policy. Co-insurance is when you and your provider split the cost of a service. For instance, you might need to pay 20 percent of the cost of the healthcare service you seek and the rest 80 percent is covered by the policy.

It can be quite overwhelming to work out these costs to find the best healthcare policy for you. Your insurance agency can work out these details as per your unique needs and help you find the right policy for you. It is best to work with an insurance advisor before shelling out for a policy that might not offer you full benefits you seek. Your insurance advisor can help you select the right coverage – be it an individual policy or group insurance.

How to Choose Medicare Supplement Plans?

But like any other insurance program, Medicare is also becoming more and more complex, and people often get confused how to choose the right Medicare Supplement plans Texas.

And it has to be. Medicare Supplement plans are of 10 types, and each plan is represented by a letter (A, B, C, D, F, G, K, L, M, and N) and offers a different level of healthcare coverage. Fortunately, the benefits of each plan within a lettered category are the same despite the location or insurance company. This means Plan F benefits are the same in Texas as they are in New Jersey. So it makes little easier to choose a Medicare Supplement plan. You only have to compare the benefits of ten types of Medicare Supplement plans.

So how to choose the right Medicare Supplement plan for you out of 10 standardized types? Let’s find out.

Here are four tips to pick the best Medicare Supplement plans in Texas for you:

1. Compare Plan coverage

Each plan has a different level of coverage. So, to choose the best policy, first, consider your health status and family medical history. It will help you figure out what to look for.

Medicare Supplement plan generally provides coverage for Part A coinsurance or copayments, Medicare Part B copayment, and Part A hospice care coinsurance. Some plans also provide Part A and Part B deductible and private skilled nursing facility. Compare the coverage of each plan using Medigap policies comparison chart. If you want maximum coverage, plan F is the best option. It covers almost all the gaps in Original Medicare but charges high monthly premium than other Medicare Supplement plans in Texas.

2. Monthly Premium of plan

There are three different methods of pricing premium of your Medigap policy: Community-rated, Issue-age rated, and attained-age rated.

Community-rated policies charge the same monthly premium to everyone who has a policy, regardless of age.

In Issue-age rated policies, the monthly premium is based on the age of Medicare beneficiary. For example, if you enroll at age 65, you will pay a lower premium than if you enroll at age 75. However, a further increase in the price of the policy depends on inflation.

In Attained-age policies, the premium is based on your current age but increases as you get older. Your monthly premium may start low but increase within a few years. You can expect the increase in the rate every year.

3. Out-of-pocket limit

If you want to put a cap on your out-of-pocket costs, choose a plan with a maximum out-of-pocket limit. Only plan K and L have a maximum out-of-pocket limit. Once you reached out-of-pocket maximum, your Medigap policy pays for 100% of your Medicare-covered costs.

4. Consult with an independent insurance agent

Once you know what you want, consult with an independent insurance agent. Unbiased expert input is always helpful in making the right decision. Also, Medicare Supplement plans have the same standardized benefits for each letter category and premium varies from company to company. Therefore, it is always in your best interest to contact an independent insurance agency before purchasing Medicare Supplement plans in Texas.

Some additional facts about Medicare Supplement Plans

• Medicare Supplement plan does not include Part D coverage. If you want Medicare prescription drug coverage (Part D coverage), you have to buy a stand-alone Part D plan. No Medicare Supplement plan provides prescription drug coverage to Medicare beneficiaries.

• A Medicare Supplement plan is different from Medicare advantage plan. You cannot buy Medicare Supplement plan with Medicare Advantage plan. It is illegal to sell a Medigap policy to Medicare beneficiary who has enrolled in Medicare Advantage plan.

• Unlike Medicare Advantage plans, Medicare Supplement plans cannot be used as a replacement for Original Medicare. You must have Original Medicare to avail the benefits of Medicare Supplement plans in Texas.

• A Medicare Supplement plan can cover only one person. If you spouse want Medigap coverage, he or she has to purchase a policy separately.

• Medicare Supplement plans in Texas is sold by private insurance companies approved by Medicare. You have to pay the monthly premium for your plan to a private company.

Tips to Choose the Best Life Insurance

The insurance business is huge and a number of insurance companies that have come up in the last few years. So what makes a plan the best life insurance San Antonio? Is it the premium that it offers or the coverage that it provides? Read below to find out how to choose the best life insurance in Texas.

Buy a plan as per what you need

Your life insurance plan should be tailor-made for your needs. A life insurance in Texas that your friend may have bought may not be the best plan for you. The life insurance plan that you purchase should be based on your own personal situation. Someone who is a breadwinner of the family needs more amount of coverage as compared to someone who is just a student or just starting his life and does not have a lot of liability. So each individual will have a different requirement and the life insurance plan that an individual selects will thus be based on his needs.

What is your age?

Your current age plays a very important factor in deciding which life insurance policy you should buy. The younger you buy the life insurance in Texas plan the lower will be the premium and vice versa. It is thus important that you buy a life insurance policy as early as you can so that you save on the premium amount.

Choose the plan carefully

There are many insurance plans that are available for purchase. Some of them are a pure insurance plan that offers no return in case the policyholder survives the term period. There are other policies like the endowment plans that have a maturity amount attached to the policy which the policyholder gets back after the policy term. Each policy comes with its own pros and cons, and thus it is important that you thoroughly research on the same.

Coverage period

You need to be clear about the period till which you want coverage. The tenure of life insurance in Texas is an important factor to consider. A term plan, for example, should offer coverage until the policyholder reaches his retirement age. The retirement age is an important factor to consider in deciding the policy tenure.

Risk-taking appetite

There are many insurance policies that offer you investment benefits as well. If you are looking for a plan that also offers investment benefits, then you need to opt for one based on what your risk taking appetite is. So for example, a person with a high risk-taking appetite would opt for a unit linked insurance plan. Someone who is not ready to take high risk would opt for an endowment plan.

Income

The sum assured amount of the insurance plan that you buy should be based on your income. The amount should be decided such that if it is deducted from your income, it does not cause a lot of difference to your family and does not make them compromise on their living standards. Also, if you choose to buy a term insurance plan then the coverage should be at least fifteen times your annual income.

Before you buy a life insurance in Texas, it is important that you understand your personal financial position and what your financial needs are. This lets you choose the right life insurance plan. List your needs as per priority and then calculate the amount of insurance you would need for your family to be able to maintain the same living standard when you are not around.

« Previous Entries