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Health care insurance is a necessity today. Most educational institutions in the United States require students to be covered for healthcare. Surveys reveal that nearly thirty percent of students in the US do not have healthcare insurance, and ask their parents for financial help when in need. These students are most likely to drop their studies for financial reasons, as they have to work to pay off their dues of healthcare expenses.

Many students find it difficult to meet the costs of healthcare insurance, because it does not come cheap. However, it is advantageous for a student to have this medical insurance.

Although there are many plans offering student health insurance, they can be categorized into three basic types: parent’s health care plan, college health insurance plan, and the commercial health insurance plan. Each of the mentioned plans has their own advantages and disadvantages.

Under the parent’s health care plan, a college student may not be covered, after a certain age. If that is the case, extra coverage called COBRA needs to be obtained, which is not necessarily cheaper than purchasing a different plan altogether. Moreover, it may be a pre-requisite that the student should have at least ‘x’ number of college credit hours to qualify for the coverage.

The college plan can offer coverage through HMO (Health Maintenance Organization), or PPO (Preferred Provider Organization). These are group plans and generally cheaper than commercial health plans. However, the coverage offered may be limited. Other options would have to be explored for coverage that is more comprehensive. The college plan is preferable when there is an ‘on campus’ hospital. Most of the college plans cover all accident or health care expenses, subject to the condition that the student continues to be registered with the college for a particular duration.

Many companies sell commercial health insurance. The terms may differ widely, hence, it would be essential to purchase a plan that offer facilities that one finds suitable. The best way would be to make a list of the features that are important, and then get the details for different plans from various companies, and compare them to decide which plan is the best one.

Under the commercial health plan, there is the temporary student health insurance, which is meant for students staying away from home. It can be availed for periods of thirty days, to six or twelve months. According to the temporary plan, the student can find a doctor or hospital of his choice by taking an Indemnity Plan. Alternatively, he or she may take the Managed Care Plan, which allows a choice of doctors and hospitals that are in the plan’s network. The Managed Care Plan has lower premiums than the Indemnity Plan.

Most states in the US have legal stipulations, which require compulsory health care insurance for foreign students, and set a minimum amount that should be available for emergency evacuation, medical treatment and repatriation of remains, if required. International student medical insurance costs approximately six to seven hundred dollars per annum.

In view of emergencies requiring medical attention, it is essential for students to be covered under health care insurance. It is a precondition for registration in most educational institutions in the US. Many states have laws that make it compulsory for foreign students to be covered by the health care insurance.

By: Joseph Kenny

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After having undergone a tummy suck surgery there are a few things that you should expect. These things do not only include the possible outcome of the procedure but also the recovery period and things you may have to deal with.

For starters there are the temporary symptoms that are associated with the immediate postoperative time period. These symptoms can include things like swelling of the abdominal region, tenderness of the incision, bruising over the entire abdominal region, numbness of the skin and even the swelling and bruising of the male’s scrotum or the female’s labia. It is important that you learn more about these postoperative symptoms so that you can better prepare for them after having undergone your tummy tuck.

It is important that when your surgeon gives you the list of postoperative suggestions that you follow them closely as the surgeon has the experience of many surgical procedures and knows what will and will not be beneficial to your quick recovery.

You will most likely wake up every morning with swelling and pain in the abdomen but as the day goes on these will generally fade away. It is very important that when you first start to feel the pain associated with the tummy tuck start that you take your prescribed pain medications. It is important not to wait until the pain is unbearable as doing so may slow down the recovery process. You may also want to quit smoking to help speed up the recovery.

The outcome of the tummy tuck surgery is that you will have a more defined and contoured figure than what you had prior to the tummy tuck procedure. This figure will most likely be more youthful looking as well. While the chance of scars cannot really be prevented it is important to speak with your surgeon and ask for suggestions pertaining to minimizing you chances of having an unsightly scar as they will know what does and does not help minimize scarring. Also make sure that you show up to all of your scheduled postoperative checkups as it is in these that your surgeon may be able to detect a complication that may be associated with the tummy tuck surgery.

By: Dr. Jim Greene

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Cheaper health insurance: You can rise above just wishing you had more affordable rates. You can start paying a lot less for superior coverage by reading and applying the following tips…

1. You’ll save by insuring your kids through state plans. There are criteria that must be fulfilled before you are considered eligible.

But check if you’re eligible as this will cost you nothing or very little in most cases. If you have a kid with a special ailment, you will save much if you insure such a kid through a state plan.

2. If you want to lower your rate then register with a group health expense sharing plan. This refers to a group of individuals who have decided to collectively provide themselves with health insurance coverage. Large churches and other large organizations are places where you can find such groups with less effort.

Each group normally creates its own set of rules, the type and scope of coverage offered, restrictions if any and more.

You can find out if your individual requirements are met by this kind of group. You can expect your rate to be cheaper if you get a group that meets your needs.

3. If you drive recklessly then be prepared to pay expensive health insurance rates. Being convicted of traffic offences isn’t just bad for your car insurance rate it also affects your health insurance rates. The simple reason is that if you’re such a driver, you’ll most likely require medical attention for crash related injuries than a very careful driver.

You’ll lower your costs if you develop a good habit behind wheels. If you drive a sports car or power bike, you’ll likely pay much more in health insurance. The higher probability of a crash means you could be injured and have to make a claim soon.

4. Some individuals find themselves in a position where they are not eligible for Medicaid and also find it difficult to pay for traditional health insurance. If you are one of such people, you will benefit greatly from a discount medical card.

A discount medical card qualifies you to make use of a network of health care providers who have agreed to give card carriers health care services at a lower rate. These cards aren’t managed by any health insurance carrier.

It’s also a wise choice for people who may have a pre-existing ailment that will disqualify them from most health insurance schemes or make them get high premiums. No one is declined for any reason. Simply pay your monthly fee and you will use a network of doctors who will charge you less for their services.

5. You’ll pay less in health insurance if you have more knowledge on it. Knowing what is in your best interest helps you make better decisions. Moreover, you’ll find it easier to get every opportunity that you’re eligible for if you have the right information.

You can get advice on health matters from government agencies by calling their number toll-free. One of such numbers is that of the National Health Information Center: 1-800-336-4797

6. You can get savings of hundreds of dollars on your health insurance policy by requesting for insurance quotes from quote sites. The best way is to visit a minimum of five sites and making sure that you provide the same (correct) information about yourself.

I recommend that you visit at least five quotes sites since that will ensure you do not miss out offers not presented by the other sites. This provides you a broader basis for doing better comparisons thereby increasing your chances of getting more for less.

By: Chimezirim Chinecherem Odimba

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Not infrequently I get requests from patients for the desire to transform a round face into a more shapely appearance. One cause of a round face is that the patient is overweight. A full neck, round cheeks, and a lot of subcutaneous fat throughout the face creates a generalized fullness that creates a fat and round face. These patients know full well that they are overweight and some liposuction of the neck and buccal lipectomies may make some difference. But weight loss will probably make the most difference in these cases. And these procedures should not be performed until some weight loss has been achieved.

But the overweight patient is not what usually makes up the ’round face’ patient. Most commonly these are younger patients that are not significantly overweight and are usually closer to being more height and weight porportionate. They may have some mild fullness in the cheeks and neck but often their bony prominences (cheeks, chin, or jaw angles) may be somewhat deficient. The approach to these patients must deal with both hard and soft tissues issues to be effective at improving the face’s angularity and definition.

In addition to the fullness of the cheeks and neck, the next most important consideration in facial shape improvement should look at the chin. Often it may only be midly short in the horizontal dimension but the width of the chin is also important, particularly in the male patient. Chin implants today can provide more projection as well as width in many different sizes. Placed through a small incision under the chin bone, a chin implant can lend more definition and squareness to the lower face from subtle to dramatic results.

Upper facial fullness, more specifically midfacial fullness, can be achieved through cheek implants. Placed into position by incisions inside the mouth under the upper lip, cheek implants can provide good highlights through three-dimensional enhancement of the bone as it wraps around the area below the eye. An amazing aray of cheek and midface implants is available to provide a lot of enhancements around this important facial landmark. When paired cheek implants are combined with a chin implant, an upside down triangle of change is created that directly opposes a more round or oval facial shape.

Jaw angle implants are always a possibility but these are rarely needed in most really round faces. They can produce some lateral facial fullness but this is not usually helpful in ‘de-rounding’ the face in most patients.

The procedures of buccal lipectomies, neck and jowl liposuction, chin and cheel implants make up the usual plastic surgery tools for facial rehaping. Which one or a combination of procedures is most helpful for improving facial definition is best determined by careful computer imaging study during the consultation with your plastic surgeon.

By: Dr Barry Eppley

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There are several things that are considered when your health insurance rate is being calculated. We’ll look at a number of them with the view to helping you make adjustments that will help you get better rates for superior coverage…

1. The older you are the higher your rate will be. Younger persons have better resistance to many health conditions. Furthermore, as people age they become frailer and more susceptible to certain diseases.

2. Women generally require more health care than men. It makes sense, doesn’t it? Apart from the general stress of life (which everyone experiences) women have the added privilege of child birth and the attendant challenges. Furthermore, by the very nature of the female sex, they are more susceptible to certain diseases. Because of this a woman will pay more than a man given a similar profile.

3. There are occupations that are generally considered hazardous. Members of such professions will generally get higher rates. You can’t work in a nuclear plant, for example, and expect to pay the same rates with the clerk at the local grocery.

4. How healthy or otherwise you’ve been in the past is an indication (theoretically) of how often you might need health care in the future. A person who’s been treated for serious health conditions in the past will pay more than someone who has never had a major health crisis.

5. Smokers, heavy drinkers and abusers of prescription drugs will pay a lot more than people who avoid all these.

6. There are many other factors that insurers use to determine your rate. However, it’s interesting to note that different insurers have different loss histories and experience in underwriting prospects. These shape how they bill profiles.

This means that even though the same factors are used, different insurers will have different weightings for each of these factors. The result: A huge disparity in rates from one health insurance provider to the other.

While you should make adjustments (where they are possible) to get the best rates, you have to get and compare health insurance quotes from very many reputable insurers. That way you can take advantage of the disparity in rates among them.

By: Chimezirim Chinecherem Odimba

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Reducing scars following surgery is one of the most important problems following plastic surgery. It is important to minimize scarring and reducing downtime.

Decrease Anxiety

During pre-op (before surgery) is necessary to decrease overall anxiety. Stress within the body system could have a dramatic effect on your immune system. Your immune system will react slower and is unable to fight against foreign organism which results in a longer recovery period.

Education

Education is very important in reducing overall anxiety. Make sure you ask your health professional plenty of questions like the possible complications, expectant recovery time, and the type of surgical procedures performed. Any other personal issues need to be addressed. Talk to your family and friends to help you deal with these issues and if you can’t reach anyone, seek counseling.

Exercise

Exercise is essential in reducing recovery times and scarring after plastic surgery. Exercise will facilitate overall blood circulation throughout your body and is a great stress reliever. Furthermore, meditation and yoga can have a positive effect on reducing stress.

It is well known that facial exercises is a great way to improve facial muscular strength and blood circulation but it also a powerful tool to prevent any surgical complications. Facial exercises help to break up tough scar tissues and in addition, help to stimulate new nerve and blood capillaries to grow within the soft tissue.

Lymph Drainage Therapy

Lymph Drainage Therapy (LDT) is a very gentle and extremely effective exercise. It should be part of your daily exercise regime as part of you pre and post operation treatment plan. The lymphatic system in your body has three functions: Removal of excessive fluids from body tissues, boost the immune system and to transport and absorb of fat throughout the circulatory system. Stimulating the lymph system will all decrease the chances of plastic surgery complications and scarring.

The main benefits of LDT are reduction of pain/discomfort, swelling, improves elasticity of the elasticity of the tissue, stimulation of the immune system and improve rest and relaxation.

Avoid Cigarettes and Alcohol

If you had completed surgery, you should avoid smoking and drinking alcoholic beverages immediately. These activities can have a serious effect on your recovery time. Smoking and drinking can dehydrate and therefore decreases blood circulation in the soft tissues. Drink plenty of water and avoid salty foods.

Follow Plastic Surgeon’s Advice

Follow your surgeon instructions, you shouldn’t take any anticoagulants (anti-blood clotting drugs) like warfarin or aspirins, as they will increase bruising and may cause internal bleeding. Take at least a week away from your daily routine and avoid all stressful situations.

The majority of patients will become depressed during the transition period following surgery. You might not see significant positive effect after surgery because of the swelling and bruising but it will eventually go away. Therefore, it is important to have a positive attitude and always, always smile!

By: Tu Tran

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Plastic surgery information is sometimes contradicting and inaccurate. Some people would claim that the procedure is safe while some have stories to tell regarding real plastic surgery gone wrong. Is the idea of it going wrong really fact or fiction?

Plastic Surgery

Some life instances would require people to go into reconstructive surgery in order to save their lives and to restore damaged bodily functions. Even such a critical procedure however requires patient consent. Since cosmetic surgery is not a matter of life and death, it is generally more elective than reconstructive surgery and has been the subject of a lot of sites on procedures that have gone wrong. Perhaps more and more people are wondering why others volunteer to put their bodies in danger.

Modern plastic surgeons and plastic surgery practitioners may tell you that today’s latest innovations on the field present almost zero risk. Numerous capable practitioners really do great jobs that generally satisfy patients. It is still a fact however that pictures of such still circulate online. It is also a fact that there are actually law firms that specialize in bad plastic surgery. What does this tell you? If some lawyers see this as a lucrative area to set their sights on then cases of such must therefore be a reality. The figures say too that one in four people have had some bad surgical reaction or experience.

What Can Go Wrong

In any case, let’s assume that plastic surgery is, indeed, safe. Granting that bad surgery cases are rare and isolated, you would still be most unfortunate if you became the rare recipient of incorrect procedures.

It cannot be denied that possible risks are damaging to the individual. In minor cases you may just have to bear prolonged bruising or swelling. More serious problems however can also happen which may just include some of the following:

- Leakage or hardening of implants

- Reactions to medicine or anesthesia

- Slippage of implants

- Drooping, disproportionate or asymmetrical breasts

- Extensive scarring and possibly disfigurement

- Too much skin removed

- Death

- Nerve, tissue, muscle or organ damage

What Happens After

Naturally, a bad procedure can lead to other things such as more medical bills and more work absences. You might also have to run after the doctor responsible for such procedure and the legal battle could be inconvenient, costly and long. The worst thing that could happen is that you might end up looking worse than before the surgery and your new look could be permanent. Although the physical pain may eventually diminish, the emotional pain can drag on for a long time.

What You Can Do

Try natural methods before going into plastic surgery. Try the natural way of trying to get a better appearance and resort only to surgery if all else fails.

Trust only a certified plastic surgeon. A certification is the best way to ensure that your doctor has had the necessary number of years of training and has passed the required exams.

By: Trina Rowde

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More and more, we see people leaving the comfort of a big organization to branch out on their own. Whether they are tired of being micromanaged or are just interested in doing something different, people are making this move in record numbers.

Becoming a business owner comes with many considerations. While small business owners face a number of obstacles, securing health insurance is probably one of the most common. Surveys report that 23% of small business owners state that the rising cost of insurance stifles success. Today, it is estimated that only about 49% of all small companies offer insurance compared to 98% of the larger corporations.

The reality for most small business owners is that the cost of insuring themselves, in addition to staff, would have a dramatic impact on the business. For some people, health insurance is provided by a spouse, but as people get to retirement age, these benefits often go away. Young people may get coverage through their parents, struggle to get and keep an individual policy, or simply go without.

Some Chambers of Commerce in towns and cities across the nation provide options. In this case, if you were a member of the Chamber, you might have some choices for health coverage, but keep in mind that many times these insurance plans are expensive. However, if there were no other resources, it would be a consideration.

While there is no perfect solution to addressing health insurance coverage in your business, the news isn’t all bad. There are a number of reputable and qualified companies dedicated to helping small business owners establish health and other types of insurance. Here are a few recommendations for your consideration:

Standard (http://www.standard.com) This company has been working with small businesses for years, establishing the right employee benefits. In addition to group insurance, they also have plans for group life, group long term and short-term disability, and even group dental.

Bank of America (http://www.bankofamerica.com/insurance) B of A has options pertaining to small business insurance benefits, matching needs and budget to the perfect plan.

NASRO (http://www.nasro-co-op.com) This acronym stands for National Association of Socially Responsible Organizations, which is geared toward helping employers, professional associations, and cooperatives find affordable health insurance in states to include California, Massachusetts, Maryland, Washington, Washington DC, and Virginia.

America Medical Security (http://www.eams.com) This organization offers competitive medical, dental, and term life coverage through various independent agents. The plans are flexible to meet the needs of any size company, even small ones.

eHealth Insurance (http://www.eams.com) This site allows you to shop for several types of health insurance across a number of providers, all from the comfort of your keyboard.

Health insurance coverage is a big part of putting a business together, whether you intend to only cover yourself or will be offering it as a benefit to employees. Take the time to thoroughly research your options, and include your tax and legal advisors in the process. It is better to understand all the facets and come up with a solution that will remain viable as your company grows.

By: Andrew Brown

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Health Insurance

Health Insurance; COBRA; OBRA; HIPAA; Medicare. If asked, could you state that you knew that all 5 of these topics had the same thing in common: medical insurance coverage for you and, perhaps, your family? Would you know the qualifications for each? Well, in this article, we will discuss them. For a timeline that depicts, graphically, the time relationship between them, please see the timeline in http://www.disabilitykey.com.

HEALTH INSURANCE Coverage from Work

If we are lucky, we, and/or our spouse, work for a company that provides, as a benefit, health insurance coverage for us and our family. If so, we are very lucky. Even if that is true, there are some key things that you might want to look at to see if you have ENOUGH coverage.

1) From your Human Resources Department (or wherever else you would go to get information about your health insurance) get what is called a “Summary Plan Description” (SPD). This document should be kept where you can always find it, as it contains all the information you will need about what your insurance covers and what it doesn’t.

2) Look up “Coverage” and “non-coverage” in your SPD.

These will tell you what your plan covers and doesn’t cover. You need to see if, perhaps, you or one of the covered members of your family has a condition or circumstance that might not be covered, where you need additional coverage. For example, let’s say that your family has a history of cancer; perhaps your plan restricts the number of hospitalization days for care; or, restricts the days per condition. In this case, (like my children) you might want to get additional “cancer insurance” (I think that AFLAC might provide this type of coverage).

It would be a good idea to contact a Health Insurance benefit Broker and ask him/her to read your SPD and see if you have any gaps in coverage. They then can help you supplement coverage BEFORE YOU NEED IT!

NO HEALTH INSURANCE COVERAGE

You might be one of the growing members of our society that, through one circumstance or another, does NOT have health insurance coverage for your family. In this case, I strongly encourage you to contact a Health Insurance Broker and get immediate coverage of what is called “catestrophic” (not sure if I spelled this correctly) coverage. In this type of coverage, you will generally have large deductibles, but will have coverage if, say, one of you has to go into the hospital.

CONTACTING A BENEFITS INSURANCE BROKER

Whenever you call or email a Health Insurance Broker, it is very important to prepare ahead of time. WHAT, specifically are you looking for; how much can you afford to pay every month; what circumstances do you want to make sure that your family is covered for. In this way, you can make sure to focus on your critical needs.

COBRA

COBRA is an acronym ( how can I spell acronym correctly, yet not be sure that I spelled catestrophic correctly?) that stands for: Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act. Basically, it is a federal law that allows you to pay for your Company-paid health insurance, as an active member, if you no longer work for that company for, generally 18 additional months.

1) COBRA is “triggered” (that is, you, or a covered member of your family, become eligible for COBRA) by events such as the following: resignation from the company; termination (FOR ANY REASON) from the company; divorce of a spouse; a covered chile’s birthday makes them ineligible for coverage. These are the main “triggering” events for COBRA.

2) Now, when eligible for COBRA, you will be asked to pay for 100% to 105% of the company’s employee/employee and family coverage amount. You should get a letter from your company explaining what that amount will be. BEFORE YOU DECIDE TO TAKE COBRA, there are some important things for you to consider.

What will be your cost, and what will be the coverage for that cost?
Sometimes the cost is too much for the coverage. In these cases, you might want to select HIPAA coverage, instead (see HIPAA below).

Or, you might just want to get catestrophic coverage as was mentioned earlier, and wait for full coverage under your next job.

Part of this decision should be whether or not you or a member of your family has what is called a “pre-exisitng coverage” condition.

Here again, before automatically taking COBRA, it would be wise to contact a Benefits Insurance Broker and give him/her all of your options, and get their input. I have worked extensively with a Benefits Insurance Broker, and he is absolutely fantastic!

OBRA

What, you ask, is OBRA? I’ve never heard of it, you say, and no one I know has heard of it either! Well, that’s because, 99% of Human Resource or Benefit folks that I know have never heard of it! OBRA is a federal law that was passed that extends COBRA for an additional 11 months FOR DISABILITY PURPOSES ONLY!! Why, you ask, is this important? Thanks for asking, let’s see if I can explain.

If you are as nieve (did I spell this wrong too? sorry!) as I was when I first started looking to bridge my health insurance from working to Medicare, I assumed that when I got through all of the hoops to qualify for SSDI (Social Security Disabililty Insurance) I’d IMMEDIATELY be eligible for Medicare, RIGHT??? WRONG!!!!

When you FINALLY qualify for SSDI, you have to wait for 5 months before you get your first check. AND, the rules state that, you are eligible for Medicare 2 years (24 months) FROM THE DATE OF YOUR FIRST SSDI PAYMENT. Well, if you add 24 + 5 you get, 29 months between qualifying for SSDI, and Medicare coverage.

OK, I said earlier that COBRA is for 18 months of coverage. Well guess what 18 months of COBRA + 11 months of OBRA equal – 29 months!

BUT, there are two catches to OBRA; first of all, you have a small window of 30 – 60 days to apply ( this window opens the date of your SSDI approval); and, it can cost up to 150% of your plan coverage amount. BUT, if you have a “previously existing condition” this might be the best way for you to proceed.

Again, it is important to contact a Health Insurance Broker to help you with the risk/cost ratio of all of these situations.

It is also improtant to know all of these deadlines as you plan to ensure that you and your family have important health insurance coverage.

HIPAA

HIPAA is a federal law that is called, briefly, the “portability” law for health insurance. What that means is that when you leave a group (read company-paid plan), the carrier that provided that plan, must offer to you, another plan, different from COBRA, when you leave the group coverage. Generally this will be what is called a “bare bones” plan. Again, the best thing for you to do is to call/email a Health Insurance/Benefits Broker with all of your information: SPD, COBRA info, HIPAA info, needs, cost limits, and let him/her help you find the optimum plan coverage for you.

MEDICARE

OK, now, finally, we’ve reached Medicare! BUT (you really didn’t think it would be that easy, did you?) if you have qualified for Medicare because of disability, there are RESTRICTIONS (of COURSE there are!).

First of all, if you are qualifying for Medicare because of disability, you are probably under the age of 65 – normal retirement age.

Medicare coverage does NOT cover prescription drugs, which, those of us with disabilities probably need, and which cost lots.

But, Congress prescribed that states (all but 11) offer what is called “Medicare supplement” plans, some of which do offer prescription coverages.
BUT, these plans ARE NOT REQUIRED TO, and do not, offer these medicare supplement plans that offer prescription coverages to folks who qualify under age 65! So, if you are qualifying because of disability, your medical insurance plan doesn’t cover one of your primary cost expenditures!

Here again is where you need to contact a health insurance/benefit broker. Again, he/she can work with you, and your specific circumstances, to get you the coverage you need.

Hope that this information was helpful to you. If you have any questions, please feel to ask them by commenting on this blog, and I’ll be happy to get you an answer.

By: Carolyn Magura

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