Healthcare, Health & Fitness Resources

- Medical and Health Professionals

Personal Health Insurance

An Option for the Underinsured Worker or Entrepreneur (see below for more resources)

These days many companies are taking shortcuts on their employees' insurance coverage, which means that you may be left underinsured or without any sort of insurance at all. If you are starting your own business you may also be in a similar situation of needing health insurance for yourself and your family. Personal health insurance may be the answer, and many people do not know that it can sometimes even be less expensive than health insurance through an employer. The trick is to shop around, don't let them talk you into buying the insurance you don't need, and check for local and federal assistance program.

Many insurance agencies offer personal health insurance as an option to protect the underinsured and to help out the uninsured entrepreneurs, although not all of them are affordable. Also, the cost may rise substantially if your job is the least bit dangerous. If you are the owner of a construction company, you may be in need of chiropractors or physical therapists for any injuries attained while building. All of this is going to affect the quote. But it is extremely important that you be honest about what you do. The LAST thing you want is to give any insurance company the excuse not to pay if something should happen.

As far as your eye care goes, you may be in need of vision insurance if anyone in your family wears glasses or contacts, or if you think you may need them as well some day. Many corporate insurance companies do not cover the cost of glasses or contacts, so a personal health insurance policy might be your only option. However, a lot of people get eye insurance because they think it is necessary in case of an accident, such as having an object puncture the eye. This may not be necessary, as most healthcare insurance plans cover this type of an accident. You should check with your insurance company to make sure, and remember that ongoing treatment may or may not be included in the coverage.

Aside from jobs that may place you in the way of impairment, many companies do not insure employees for dental work, or do a very poor job of it if they do. It is a good idea to look into a personal health insurance plan that will cover dental work, and compare prices and coverage to your other plan. This also applies to entrepreneurs who want the best coverage they can find for themselves. A complete plan will include dental work, but not usually any sort of cosmetic dentistry. Your normal healthcare insurance may cover medication, such as pain killers, that are prescribe from the dentist, even if you don't have dental insurance.

If you are looking to get quotes for personal health insurance, there are many websites that you can use to find quotes from all of the biggest insurance companies nationwide. One example of a good site for getting quotes is ehealthinsurance.com. This site allows you to search for policies that match your needs and then compare prices across the board.

Whether you already have some coverage or you are completely without, independently buying personal health insurance may be the best option to arm yourself against any medical work that you need done. Physical therapists and chiropractors can be very important to certain jobs and people with certain conditions, so it might end up being something that you add to your employee coverage. Dental and visual work are just as important as the other procedures in your overall health, so make sure that you look into these options as well before striking out on your own as a new small business owner. Below are a few resources and tips to help you get the best deal on personal health insurance for the underinsured or the small business owner:

• Medicare.gov
  The Official US Government Site for Medicare.
• State of Wisconsin Office of the Commissioner of Insurance
  This page has a downloadable checklist and worksheet for comparing health insurance policies.
• The HMO Help Center
  This is a government-sponsored help site for those who would like to learn more about comparing the benefits, costs, and quality of different health care plans. It is part of the Department of Managed Health Care (DMHC) and includes an "HMO Report Card" for groups providing healthcare insurance in California (most groups are usually national, so this may be of use to you even if you don't live in California).
• The United States Department of Health and Human Services
  A very useful guide to choosing and using a health plan from the AHRQ.