Group and Individual insurance - Protect yourself and your dear ones

The employer would usually have to pay only a part of the premium (unlike earlier when 100% employee benefits were prevalent) of the group medical insurance policy.

In essence a group health insurance policy is an insurance cover applied for by the employer, with Insurance Company. The employer would usually have to pay only a part of the premium (unlike earlier when 100% employee benefits were prevalent) of the group medical insurance policy. To counter this expense to the employee, Congress passed Section 125 so that the employee pays the expenses, on a pre-tax basis, for specified benefits. The employee's net expenses for the group health insurance cover, and for various other benefits, have been greatly reduced as a result.

It is a well known fact that an employee values a group health insurance cover and its benefits. It is viewed by the employee as the second best thing next to monetary compensation, and gives the employer the added advantage of being able to employ and retain the best in the business.

As an employer, you may not have purchased medical insurance cover for your self. Do you know that by buying medical insurance cover via a company, you would be probably getting better rates than if you were to purchase an individual medical insurance policy?

Additionally, a group health insurance policy also offers your employees and yourself a special bonanza in the form of tax incentives. For instance, as an employer you could reduce payroll taxes, by offering your employees group health insurance as part of a whole compensation package, thereby deducting 100% of the premiums that you would have had to pay on a qualifying group health insurance plan. Better still, your employees, using pre-tax dollars, would be able to pay their part of the monthly premium.

The Basic Health Insurance Plan was specially designed to function as an inexpensive (limited benefit) alternative to the major group health insurance covers which are very expensive. This can be comprised of an "any size group" and its outstanding features include:

• Hospitalization and surgery benefits
• Medical Emergency Room benefits
• An option of either a single cover or a family coverage
• Visits/Consultations at a doctor's office of your choice
• Affordability
• Accessibility-to qualify for this Plan, there is no necessity to undergo physical exams, and neither are medical questions asked as a pre-qualifier. For those members who are eligible; this medical insurance cover is "guaranteed issue."

Types of Group Health Insurance Plans

Group Health Insurance Plans are broadly split into indemnity plans (traditional indemnity plan, an FFS or Fee for Service Plan, and more prevalent in the east coast) and managed care plans (very popular in western USA), both different from each other in approach. The outstanding differences between the indemnity and managed care plans are in sectors concerning:

• Out -of-pocket expenses for covered medical services,
• Choice of medical providers and hospitals, and
• How medical bills are paid.

In an indemnity plan, you will have a wider choice of hospitals and medical/healthcare providers (this includes specialists like a cardiologist).In a managed care plan, you will incur less paperwork and out-of-pocket expenses.

Fee for Service Plan
In these plans, the insured patient is examined by a doctor chosen by him, and the medical professional receives a fee for each service given to the insured patient. The fee- for -service health insurance claim is filed either by the patient or the medical provider.

Private health care insurance has existed for a long time, but it hasn't been until the last decades in which it has been democratized. Consider that it wasn't until the end of second world war that the demand of private health insurance plans skyrocketed.

Although they are criticized by many people, it is undeniable that they offer a invaluable service to our modern society. In conjunction with the public health system, private health has become one of the main reasons why our life expectancy has more than doubled since the times of Ancient Rome.
Right now in the United States there are two kinds of health insurance: public and private. In the case of public health insurance, there are three types of plans, each one designed for a determined type of costumer.

The first one is Medicare, a program that was funded by the government in 1965. The intention of this program was to correct certain inconsistencies in the Social Security legislation. This program covers people who has 65 or more years of age, or that meet determined parameters (for example, disability). The second one is Medicare Advantage, an extension of the original Medicare. It was created in 1997, and it combines both the public and private sector. How so? The beneficiary can opt to use private health insurance plans. Finally, there is the private health insurance (PHI). A PHI is nothing but a contract between the company and the beneficiary. The first step of this contract is a complete medical exam of the person who wishes to obtain an insurance policy. After determining the ailments that the client has, the insurance company will determine what kind of medical policy will it emit.

For example, if the patient has an antecedent of cancer, he won't be offered a cancer policy since there is a high percentage of probability that the individual will suffer again from that disease. After all, insurance companies earn money from the estimation of probabilities.

Aetna (NYSE: AET) is one of the nation's leaders in health care, dental, pharmacy, group life, and disability insurance, and employee benefits. Dedicated to helping people achieve health and financial security, Aetna puts information and helpful resources to work for its members to help them make better-informed decisions about their health care.

Florida health insurance premiums vary greatly amongst different carriers and plans. To keep premiums down, you need to have access to multiple quotes