NLIC.org

Peggy Said:

Why does the political left compare obamacare to car insurance?

We Answered:

Liberals aren't exactly known for their intelligence..

Not to mention they'll never understand how the constitution spells out what powers are for the federal government and what are for the states ( where car insuance actually is mandated ).

Gertrude Said:

If you've never had insurance, where can you compare prices without putting personal information?

We Answered:

Well, you CAN'T, because there's too much variation. You can't get a price without your name, date of birth, city & state, and in some cases, social security number.

If they don't have a pretty good medical backround, all the coverage comparisons in the world won't do you any good, because you don't know WHICH plan you're eligible for.

Jason Said:

Will my American health insurance cover me in Canada?

We Answered:

Most likely it will not.
Each insurance plan has what are called provider (doctor) networks. Few if any have provider networks in other countries. I would check with your insurance and ask can you pay extra to get coverage in Canada since you're going "outside" the coverage area.

Many schools have special insurance coverage for students. You should check into that one. The problem here is that you will have coverage at school but not at home. Tricky situation, but one common for people from the US going to school in Canada. I'm sure your situation is not unique. Check with your admissions counselor for all the exact details.

Good Luck.

Tommy Said:

What are the pros and cons of private health insurance?

We Answered:

I take it you are in Australia (and this info I present is only relevant for here).

The first thing is the cost:
If you earn over $50,000 (including fringe benefits) as an individual, or $100,000 as a family (with no or 1 child; $101,500 for 2 kids), then if you don't have private health insurance, you are subject to the medicare levy surcharge of 1% of your income. This is addition to the medicare levy which you would have to pay anyway (which is 1.5% of your income). So if you don't have private health insurance, you have to pay more anyhow and you can usually pick up a cheap level of private health insurance which gives you dental, physio, etc for not much more than you would have to pay for the medicare levy surcharge anyway. Aust Unity has gap free dental if you go to their specific clinics (on all levels) and other companies have similar arrangements (usually it is worth to get just for dental alone)

If you don't have private health insurance and wish to purchase, for each year over 30 that you initially join, you are slugged with another 2% of the premium of the private health insurance cover you purchase (as an incentive for younger people to get and maintain insurance). So if you think you may need it in the future, then that is another reason to consider as you will have to pay more.

Coverage and gap:
With lower levels of cover, there is a larger gap $$ for service. You can pay more to get a higher level of cover with less gap (even then, there are often some additional costs) but you have to way up what works best for you - pay less for the premiums and more gap if you actually need to go to a private hospital / need physio etc, or pay more for the premium and pay less if you need to use the service.

For hospital stays, you can elect to be a private patient in a public hospital (where your insurance pays for all your costs) or go to a private hospital where there most likely will be some level of gap (depending on your level of cover).

Private health insurance is excellent if you need elective surgery (ie not needed immediately but still needed). For example, if you need a knee reconstruction, the wait in the public healthcare system may be a year but if you go privately, you can have it done whenever you like (and by whomever you like). There are some procedures which you will not find completed much in the public system that you might only be able to get in the private system (eg some hip operations).

If you need emergency surgery, it will get done immediately whether you are public or private (and even if you have private insurance, you can elect to go public).
Obviously for obstetrics, it is a bit late for this time, but you need to factor that in as well for the future.

As someone who works in the public system, there are some things that are done much better in the public system than in private. If you require rehabilitation or additional assistance at home following an injury or illness after a hospital stay, the aftercare provided through the public hospital system is more expansive and we have access to services that we can put it (at no or little cost to patients) that you would have to pay full price for if you were not seen in the public system.

I have hospital and extras cover at one of the lower levels - I use dental & massage and essentially get more that my money paid out of those things alone than what I pay for the premium (and that's not considering the extra $$ I would have had to pay for the medicare levy surcharge. I have had elective surgery and chose when, who and where my surgery was done and even with my lower premium, I was only out of pocket a few hundred dollars (out of a $5000 procedure)

iselect.com.au gives you comparisons for the cost with the various companies

http://www.privatehealth.com.au/ gives you important info

Gladys Said:

Now assume that your health insurance covers 80% of the cost. Would you get the surgery? Compare your answers?

We Answered:

You can easily check your minimal health care rates in internet, for example here - health-quotes.isgreat.org

Stanley Said:

Where Can I Compare iPhone Insurance?

We Answered:

Here is a site where you can compare iPhone insurance from all the leading online insurance providers. Be careful though, as some do not cover loss protection.