How To Buy Insurance

Intended for prospective insurance buyers. Written by an experienced insurance agent, it will help the average consumer gain control over what insurance can and cannot do for him/her. Shows you how to deal with all those complex, frustrating and usually overwhelming coverage plans, premiums and claims for auto, home, business, farm, health and life insurance. The easy-to-follow format and the many anecdotes and examples from real-life situations further enhance its usefulness it will serve not only as a text/reference for insurance customers, but also as a unique training tool for new agents. Above all, it will help people who are interested in making sound decisions about buying insurance or want to know more about the insurance they own. After all, insurance is a product that makes up a major part of most people's annual budget.

Roughly 40 million Americans have no health insurance, private or public, and the number has grown steadily over the past 25 years. Who are these children, women, and men, and why do they lack coverage for essential health care services? How does the system of insurance coverage in the U.S. operate, and where does it fail? The first of six Institute of Medicine reports that will examine in detail the consequences of having a large uninsured population, Coverage Matters: Insurance and Health Care, explores the myths and realities of who is uninsured, identifies social, economic, and policy factors that contribute to the situation, and describes the likelihood faced by members of various population groups of being uninsured. It serves as a guide to a broad range of issues related to the lack of insurance coverage in America and provides background data of use to policy makers and health services researchers.

No two markets for voluntary health insurance (VHI) are identical. All differ in some way because they are heavily shaped by the nature and performance of publicly financed health systems and by the contexts in which they have evolved. This volume contains short structured profiles of markets for VHI in 34 countries in Europe. These are drawn from European Union member states plus Armenia Iceland Georgia Norway the Russian Federation Switzerland and Ukraine. The book is aimed at policy-makers and researchers interested in knowing more about how VHI works in practice in a wide range of contexts. Each profile written by one or more local experts identifies gaps in publicly-financed health coverage describes the role VHI plays outlines the way in which the market for VHI operates summarises public policy towards VHI including major developments over time and highlights national debates and challenges. The book is part of a study on VHI in Europe prepared jointly by the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies and the WHO Regional Office for Europe. A companion volume provides an analytical overview of VHI markets across the 34 countries.

This report reviews the key features and public policy issues regarding the property & casualty insurance industry in Canada. It begins with an overview of the business and structure of the industry: the nature and composition of the property and casualty business, the industry in the context of the Canadian financial services sector, financial structure, and regulation of the industry. It then discusses the following issues: the financial capacity of the industry to handle claims resulting from a major earthquake; the likelihood of major industry consolidation; potential changes in the industry's distribution system in the near future; and the impact of technology in general.

This combination textbook and workbook, explains each phase of the medical claim cycle, from the time the patient calls for an appointment until the financial transaction for the encounter is completed. Coverage includes types of insurance payers, basic coding and billing rules, and standard requirements for outpatient billing using the CMS-1500 claim form. It also emphasizes legal aspects related to each level of the medical claim cycle and the importance of the medical office employee, showing their responsibility for and impact on successful reimbursement. 3 separate chapters offer coverage of the basic concepts of medical coding.A comprehensive overview of the CMS-1500 claim form with step-by-step guidelines and illustrations thoroughly covers reimbursement issues and explains the billing process.Includes detailed information on various insurance payers and plans including Medicare, government medical plans, disability plans, private indemnity plans, and managed care.Stop & Review sections illustrate how the concepts presented in each chapter relate to real-life billing situations.Sidebars and Examples highlight key concepts and information related to the core text lesson.A companion CD-ROM contains sample patient and insurance information that readers can use to practice completing the accompanying CMS-1500 claim form, as well as a demonstration of Altapoint practice management software. Features completely updated information that reflects the many changes in the insurance industry.Contains a new chapter on UB-92 insurance billing for hospitals and outpatient facilities.Includes a new appendix, Quick Guide to HIPAA for the Physician's Office, to provide a basic overview of the important HIPAA-related information necessary on the job.

Many Americans believe that people who lack health insurance somehow get the care they really need. Care Without Coverage examines the real consequences for adults who lack health insurance. The study presents findings in the areas of prevention and screening, cancer, chronic illness, hospital-based care, and general health status. The committee looked at the consequences of being uninsured for people suffering from cancer, diabetes, HIV infection and AIDS, heart and kidney disease, mental illness, traumatic injuries, and heart attacks. It focused on the roughly 30 million-one in seven-working-age Americans without health insurance. This group does not include the population over 65 that is covered by Medicare or the nearly 10 million children who are uninsured in this country. The main findings of the report are that working-age Americans without health insurance are more likely to receive too little medical care and receive it too late; be sicker and die sooner; and receive poorer care when they are in the hospital, even for acute situations like a motor vehicle crash.