The cost of medical insurance across the country has increased as the cost of medical care has increased. Insurers charge what they must in order to recover the cost of the claims they pay out.
Americans want discount medical coverage. Double Digit increases in medical care costs has happened recently. The question of why medical care costs have seen double digit increases is an intricate issue.
Lower medical care costs are are actively being sought for many American families and small business owners. For those without medical insurance, one tempting option is a discount medical referral plan or discount medical card.
The discount plan promises that participating doctors and other medical care providers will offer discounted medical expenses to the consumer. However, unless the participating doctor and other medical providers have a current agreement with the discount plan, such discounts may not be available.
Some consumers have complained that they have trouble finding providers who will accept discount cards. Before signing up for one of these plans, ask for a list of local physicians and providers who have agreed to honor the discount.
Call the your doctor's office to verify that he or she grants discounts for that card or program. There have been many instances in which physicians and providers were unaware they were listed by discount medical programs.
Ask your doctors to tell you their usual fee for uninsured individuals and the fee they would charge someone who presented the program's medical discount card if you are considering joining a discount program. Compare the cost and benefits of the discount medical plan to medical coverage from a standard medical insurance company.
Employers looking for discount medical insurance plans for their employees should also be careful to avoid unlicensed companies claiming to offer medical insurance below market prices. These unauthorized insurers often collect fees for a short while and then disappear when claims are made.
One of the most common ways people access medical care today is through an employer-sponsored medical insurance plan. Unfortunately, many employers say they can not afford to provide medical benefits to their employees.
Various state legislatures are seeking avenues to provide discount medical coverage to their constituants in order to help address this concern.
Co-ops is one way of providing discount medical plans which must be composed of at least 10 separate employers, with the help of a licensed medical insurance provider or HMO. The goal is to encourage more employers to provide medical benefits to their employees.
Providing medical benefits makes business sense. It reduces expenses lost to sick days, and the cost of training new employees due to turn-over. Small employers across the state continue to indicate that they want to offer medical benefits to their employees but say that they can't afford to do so.
In a 2001 survey of small employers in Ohio, 59 percent reported they could afford no more than about $600 for a single employee's annual medical coverage. But the average annual cost of medical insurance is now more than $5,000.
About 26 percent of American are uninsured. 66 percent of uninsured adults work, but either work for a firm that doesn't offer insurance or they can't afford the employee contribution.
Unauthorized Insurers
One side effect of our country's need for affordable medical coverage is the proliferation of fake medical plans. As employers and individuals seek affordable options to provide medical care for themselves and their families, they can be at risk of falling prey to unauthorized insurers.
Discount medical companies may fold or simply disappear when the medical care claims come in. Customers not only lose the money paid to these unreal plans, they are also left responsible for their unpaid medical bills.
Many people have had disastrous experiences in the past with bad medical plans.
We welcome you with open arms to real health insurance that will accept you for who you are.
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Discounted Medicine for all Americans
