Health Care Insurance

health care safety and quality
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Protect Yourself from Health Care Fraud


To avoid insurance fraud:

1.  Only visit your personal doctor, hospital or clinic for medical help. Only they should make referrals for special equipment, services or medicine.
2.  Never show anyone your medical or prescription records without first talking to your doctor or pharmacist.
3.  If someone calls and tries to threaten or pressure you into something – simply hang up the phone.
4. If someone comes to your door and says they are from Medicare or some other health care company shut the door…It’s shrewd to be rude!
5.  Do your homework and talk to your health care provider before buying or investing in internet “cure-all” or “miracle” products or services.
6.  Don’t keep mail in your mailbox for more than one day. People steal personal information right out of your mailbox.
7.  Rip up or shred your Medicare or other health care papers and other important documents before throwing them away. Crooks go through the trash!
8.  Treat your Medicare & Social Security numbers like credit cards. If someone offers to buy your Medicare or social security number, don’t do it…it’s simply not worth it.
9.  Remember that “Medicare” doesn’t sell anything.
10.  Follow your instincts—if it seems too good to be true, it usually is!
11.  If you suspect an error, fraud or abuse related to health care, gather the facts and report it.
12.  ALWAYS read your Medicare Summary Notice (MSN) or health care billing
statement. Your Medicare Summary Notice is the piece of mail stamped “This is Not
a Bill” that comes in after you get medical care. Look for three things on your billing statement:
• Charges for something you didn’t get
• Billing for the same thing twice
• Services that were not ordered by the Doctor

If you suspect fraud, call the National Insurance Crime Bureau’s hotline at 1-800-835-6422. For more information, check out www.insurancefraud.org


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Posted on on June 1st, 2008 in Getting Help, Protect your Family, Protect your Health, Uncategorized | 4 Comments »

Are you covered for Short-term disability


Short-term disability is private insurance that replaces some of your income if an injury or illness prevents you from working. While you are away from work it pays you a percentage of your income for a defined period of time.

Some employers provide group policies as part of their benefits packages. If your employer does not offer short-term disability or you want additional coverage you can buy an individual policy from an insurance agent.

State temporary disability insurance (TDI) programs are currently available in six states/territories:

  • California
  • New York
  • New Jersey
  • Rhode Island
  • Hawaii
  • Puerto Rico (Spanish)

For a longer illness lasting six months or more your employer may provide group long-term disability (LTD) insurance. The Federal Citizen Information Center (FCIC) offers an LTD guide that includes information about individual disability income insurance and offers tips and a checklist on buying the right policy for you.

Social Security provides long-term disability benefits based on your salary and the number of years you have worked and contributed to the Social Security system. However, Social Security replaces only a limited portion of your salary, and the qualifications to receive benefits are very strict. To be eligible for Social Security disability benefits, all of these conditions must be met:

  • You have been disabled for five full calendar months.
  • Your disability is expected to last at least 12 months or end in death.
  • You are unable to be gainfully employed at any occupation, not just your occupation at the time your disability began.

Disabilityinfo.gov is the federal government’s web site for disability-related information and services. You may wish to access information about disability benefits, or locate state and local resources.

If you were injured on the job, you should contact your state workers’ compensation office.



 

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Posted on on May 30th, 2008 in Getting Help, Government help, Protect your Health, Uncategorized | 3 Comments »

Paid leave to care for sick family


In 2002 historic legislation was enacted to extend disability compensation to cover individuals who take time off work to care for a seriously ill child, spouse, parent, or domestic partner, or to bond with a new born child. Senate Bill 1661 established the Paid Family Leave insurance program, also known as Family Temporary Disability Insurance program, to be administered by the State Disability Insurance (SDI) program. An estimated 13 million California workers who are covered by the SDI program have also been covered for Paid Family Leave insurance benefits as of July 1, 2004.

Paid Family Leave is unemployment compensation disability insurance paid to workers who suffer a loss of wages when they take time off work to care for a seriously ill family member or bond with a new child. Workers can receive up to six (6) weeks of benefits that could be paid over a 12-month period.

Paid Family Leave Insurance is a component of the California State Disability Insurance (SDI) program. The Disability Insurance benefit portion compensates workers who suffer a wage loss when they can’t work because of their own illness or injury. The Paid Family Leave benefit compensates workers who suffer a wage loss due to the need to provide care for a seriously ill family member or to bond with a new minor child.

The Paid Family Leave insurance program is fully funded by employees’ who contribute to the SDI program. Beginning January 1 2004 employers were required to deduct the Paid Family Leave contributions from the wages of employees’ who contribute to the SDI program.



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Posted on on May 29th, 2008 in Getting Help, Protect your Family, Types of Insurance | 2 Comments »

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