As an independent Virginia Health Insurance agency, we work hard to find our customers the most affordable health insurance in Virginia.
Whether you are an individual, family, or small business, we shop for the best rates and offer free quotes for all of your long term and temporary insurance needs.
Health Care Reform has been in the news for over a year now and recently-passed legislation threatens to change an industry that is in the envy of the world. Although the health reform legislation has not yet been implemented, polls show that as many as two-thirds of the population oppose it. Why would that be?
Most Americans feel that we needs some true, sustainable, and responsible reform in health care to contain runaway cost. Does the current legislation address the issues that need reforming or is it all simply an effort to seize control of a powerful industry? The real issues were written in a letter that we sent to some of our congressmen and senators.
Insurance companies have done impact studies to show how costs could increase with this legislation. Actual premium comparisons for locations in Virginia were included in recent studies as well as an in-depth study on the impact that a family of four would feel. There are many reasons that consumers, employees, and employers should all be concerned about the potential effects.
Although the vote has been cast, the debate is far from over. There are already loud cries to repeal health reform even before it goes into effect. Was this legislation hastily debated and forced upon us? Will future generations of leaders be more attentive to the voice of their constituents? Only time will tell.
The Smoke Screens of Health Reform
The number of uninsureds is being grossly exaggerated-Illegal Immigrants
You've probably heard the number estimated at 47 million, however, that number required some analysis.How many of that number are actually non-us citizens?I recently participated in a group health insurance enrollment meeting for an up-scale hotel.My part of the presentation was directed to the Hispanic speaking employees none of which had health coverage.I used the services of an interpreter to explain that health insurance could be purchased by most of them for as little as $15 per week.Not one person opted for the insurance coverage.Surprised?Well, maybe you shouldn't be.Why would someone want to spend money on health insurance when to spend money on health insurance when you can go to your local emergency room for free?Would someone living in the United States illegally want to keep their name off of all public records if possible?So just how many illegals are there in the United States being counted in the uninsured population?Some estimates are around 12 million illegals currently reside in the U.S.
Between jobs
This is one of the biggest smoke screens being used by those who would have us believe that the number of Americans not covered by health insurance is far greater than what it really is.Is it really possible to have continous health insurance coverage from birth until death, 24/7?Probably not.Even with good intentions, most people will have periods of times that they go uncovered.How is this being abused as a smoke screen in the health care reform debate?Thousands of people change jobs every day.Most people move on to a new job within a short period of time, therefore, there are always a large number of people that may be uninsured for a few days or months.These people are not uninsured for long term, but are being counted as uninsured for the purpose of exaggerating the number.Most states even have Cobra laws which protect former employees between jobs should a disaster occur though technically uninsured.The number of people in this category is especially high during the downturn in the economy.
You can't get health insurance if you have a health problem
The advocates of the current health reform effort and Obama administration are using this smoke screen to make us think that health insurance is unavailable to some.While having a health problem can increase the amount you will pay for your health insurance in some instances, availability is not an issue.
If a new employee joins their employer's group health insurance plan, acceptance is guaranteed.There is no underwriting regardless of the medical conditions the employee may have and the employee will pay the same premium amounts as all other employees in his or her age group.
While an individual with severe health conditions may pay more for a personal individual plan, availability once again is not an issue.In Virginia for example, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield offers "open enrollment plans" that are available to anyone regardless of their health status.
As you can see, health insurance is available to everyone.We have no shortage of health insurance or health care in this country.The only shortage that we may have is that of ideas and responsibility.
Your insurance can be cancelled or rates raised if you make too many claims
While this claim might be true if we were speaking about property and casualty insurance, such as auto or homeowners insurance, it is rarely the case with health insurance.Proponents of the Obama health reform (HR3200) are using this scare tactic as another way to attack respectable insurance companies, such as Anthem Virginia.
The truth of the matter is that respectable insurers do not single out individual policyholders for cancellation or rate increases no matter how many claims are made.Rate increases have been a problem for many years now; however, the increases are applied to an entire class of insureds at the same time and the same percentage.
One might argue that they do not deserve an increase in premiums if they have not had claims for years.They might feel though they are being penalized for someone else who has had large claims.This is the nature of insurance though.Risk is spread out among a large number of insureds.The person that had the large claim would not want to be singled out for cancellation or a huge premium increase, nor would you or I if one day we happened to be the claimant.TIP!When shopping for health insurance, always make sure that you cannot be singled out for cancellation or a rate increase.Also, you are usually better off if you can stay insured with the insurers most current plans available.Since rate increases are applied to an entire class of policyholders, as discussed earlier, the older policy types seem to get the larger increases.There are a couple of reasons why this happens.As new plans become available, healthy policyholders switch to the new and less expensive plans.That leaves a pool of unhealthy insureds on the old plan because they cannot qualify for the new plan due to health reasons.As that pool of insureds continues to age and develop more health problems, premiums will naturally increase on that segment of business at a much faster rate than the new plans.
USA Online Health Insurance is an independent health insurance agency in Virginia. We are authorized to sell for Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield of Virginia, Carefirst Blue Cross Blue Shield, United Health Care of Virginia, and other outstanding Virginia health insurance companies. With over 40 years of combined experience in the industry, we specialize in finding individual, family, student, and small business insurance in Virginia. Let us at USA Online Health Insurance help you find affordable, low cost health insurance plans in Virginia with the coverage you need.
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