Published by Times Books October 2006; $15.00US/$20.00CAN; 0-8050-7980-7
From bestselling author Fred Brock, the first ever hands-on guide to managing your family's health-care costs -- and maximizing your coverage
With Retire on Less Than You Think and Live Well on Less Than You Think, Fred Brock inspired families to focus on increasing wealth by decreasing expenses -- rather than chasing investment fads -- and by following his distinctively achievable, pragmatic strategies. He now tackles the most alarming financial issue facing Americans today: the health-care crisis that is stifling job changes, bankrupting families, and unsettling retirement plans.
Brock investigates the best insurance options available, offering a one-stop guide to maximizing your coverage while minimizing your costs -- with potential savings of thousands of dollars each year. Drawing on the experiences of regular Americans and his practical, dollars-driven analysis, he shows how to
- choose among the health plans and minimize costs based on location
- shop for coverage when your job does not provide insurance
- assess whether health savings accounts help your budget
- track down the biggest savings on prescription drug costs
- master your insurer's fine print and win battles over payments
- manage Medicare and long-term-care insurance to protect your retirement savings
Worksheets and a handy resource list give you the tools to manage your health and your budget.
Once again, Fred Brock provides unrivaled, objective, and essential financial reporting and advice to safeguard the wallets of American families.
Excerpt
The following is an excerpt from the book Health Care on Less Than You Think
Know What Your Insurance Protects
Before selecting a policy from an employer menu (or shopping for an individual policy), you should be certain you understand the terms used by the health insurance industry. The meanings can vary slightly among insurers, so if a number or explanation doesn't match up with the following definitions, press the insurance provider for more details; there may be costs or exceptions hidden in the differences in jargon.
- Coinsurance is the amount you must pay after your health plan's deductible has been met. It's usually expressed as a percentage. For instance, you might have to pay 20 percent of every bill until the total of your own payments hits your out-of-pocket maximum.
- Copayment is a flat fee you pay for health-care services, regardless of how much the doctor or hospital receives from your insurance provider. Some plans, especially HMOs and some PPOs, require a copayment, usually $10 to $30 for each office visit to a doctor and often higher copayments for emergency care.
- Credit for prior coverage may be something you need to prove -- normally with a letter from your former insurer -- if you are switching employers or insurance plans and need preexisting conditions to be covered right away. This is especially important if you are buying an individual policy, which can have a waiting period for preexisting conditions.
- A deductible is the amount you must pay for your medical bills before your insurance kicks in. Usually the higher the deductible runs, the less expensive the policy is.
- EOB (explanation of benefits) is a statement from your insurance company showing what it has paid and not paid for a claim. Some companies resist supplying duplicate EOBs, so maintaining an organized file of your EOBs is important if you need to challenge a bill.
- An EPO (exclusive provider organization) plan allows you to use any doctor or hospital within the insurance provider's current network, without a referral. You have no coverage, however, outside the current network even if your doctor used to be included in the plan. There can be copayments similar to those for HMO and PPO plans.
- A fee-for-service (indemnity) plan is the traditional kind of healthcare policy that allows you to go to any doctor or hospital you choose. Deductibles can range from several hundred to several thousand dollars. After you have paid bills totaling your deductible, the plan usually pays 8
