Health Insurance

Keeping your mind fit

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Every day, Americans use online tools to gather information, pay bills, look for life insurance, communicate with friends, and conduct business.  A recent study by Intuit shows they want and expect that same connectivity and convenience from their doctor's office.

Seventy-three percent of Americans surveyed would use a secure online communication solution to make it easier to get lab results, request appointments, pay medical bills and comunicate with their doctor's office. The convenience of anytime, anywhere access is so important that almost half would consider switching doctors for a practice that offered the ability to communicate and complete important health care tasks online.

The survey also found that rising costs continue to be a major concern for people.

• 70 percent said they are somewhat or very concerned about managing their health care bills, the same percentage as last year.
• 62 percent said their health care costs increased in 2010.
• Two-thirds believe their health care costs will increase in the future.
• Baby Boomers were most concerned with rising costs: 66 percent said their costs have increased and 72 percent are most concerned with rising costs in the future. Compared to 59 percent of Gen Y and Gen X respondents who said their health care costs have increased, and 62 percent who were concerned with rising costs in the future.

As a result of competing priorities during the financial crisis, benefits education and communications moved to the bottom of companies’ priorities for their benefits programs. According to The Importance of Employee Benefits Enrollment and Diversity Communications Strategies, helping employees make better benefits decisions and addressing the diverse benefits needs of a company’s employee population have been at the bottom of the list of employer objectives, with plan sponsors ranking them at 35 percent and 28 percent respectively in terms of importance.

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What is critical illness insurance? Critical illness insurance pays a set amount to insured people when they're diagnosed with or suffer heart attacks, cancer, strokes, coronary artery bypass surgery, major organ failure, transplants or other specified major medical conditions.

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Stressed about the high cost of medical care? No worries. Here are five tips from Bankrate.com to reduce medical bills.

Problem No. 1: You get a bill from your medical provider's office for a procedure or service that your health insurance has covered in the past. Patience pays off here. The medical office's billing cycle might be ahead of your insurance company's claims processors.

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