GOLDEN RULE...UNITEDHEALTHCARE...CONFUSED???

Rather confusing, isnÂ't it? Actually, Golden Rule is part of the UnitedHealthCare family. And they market individual health insurance here in Ohio. HereÂ's a brief synopsis of some of their more popular policies: Saver 80 A high deductible plan that offers catastrophic coverage at reduced premiums. Copay Select The most comprehensive policy in the Golden Rule portfolio. Copays of office visits and prescriptions along with strong preventive coverage. Copay Saver Much lower in cost than the Â"Copay SelectÂ" plan. Limit of two office visits and generic prescription coverage. HSA 100 An HSA plan that combines higher deductibles and a low cost along with a tax-favored savings account. This type of coverage is relatively new, but often is the most economical choice. Obviously, UnitedHealthCare is just one of many companies we use. Standard discounts apply for non-smokers and applicants in good health. Warning and disclaimer:I deeply apologize for my juvenile attempt (below) to seek additional business. For a free individual quote, please visit Ohioquotes.com or email service[at]ohioquotes.com. Email deactivated - Evan

healthcare proposal

: President Bush Delivers State of the Union Address andquot;To build a future of quality health care, we must trust patients and doctors to make medical decisions and empower them with better information and better options. We share a common goal: making health care more affordable and accessible for all Americans. The best way to achieve that goal is by expanding consumer choice, not government control. So I have proposed ending the bias in the tax code against those who do not get their health insurance through their employer. This one reform would put private coverage within reach for millions, and I call on the Congress to pass it this year. The Congress must also expand health savings accounts, create Association Health Plans for small businesses, promote health information technology, and confront the epidemic of junk medical lawsuits. With all these steps, we will help ensure that decisions about your medical care are made in the privacy of your doctor's office -- not in the halls of Congress.andquot; -- President George W. Bush January 28, 2008 Empowering Americans With Affordable Options For Health Care President Bush Calls On Congress To Pass Standard Deduction For Health Insurance, Lays Out Key Elements Of Agenda To Empower Consumers And Make Basic Private Health Insurance More Affordable On January 28, 2008, during his State of the Union address, President Bush called on Congress to eliminate the unfair bias in the tax code against those who do not get their health insurance from their employer. This would make basic private health insurance more affordable for millions and give patients more choices and control over their health care. Instead of favoring Americans who get health insurance through their jobs, the President has proposed reforming the tax code with a standard deduction for every American who buys health insurance, whether they get it through their jobs or on their own. President Bush Has A Strong Agenda To Expand Access To Affordable Health Care And Empower Consumers To Receive Treatment That Best Meets Their Needs The President believes the Federal government can help make health care more accessible and affordable, while leaving medical decisions in the hands of patients and the doctors that treat them. The President believes as many Americans as possible should have private health care coverage, which is better for consumers because it offers choice, flexibility, and increased quality of care through competition. His health care agenda will help more Americans receive the health care they need at a price they can afford, while empowering consumers to make their own decisions to best meet their health needs. The President reformed Medicare to add a prescription drug benefit and give beneficiaries more private plan choices. These programs have been a great success for our Nation's Medicare beneficiaries. The Medicare prescription drug benefit is now in its third year of operation and more than 32 million beneficiaries, including nearly 10 million low-income beneficiaries, now have coverage in a standalone drug plan, through a Medicare Advantage drug plan, or through their employer retiree plans. Thirty-nine million, or close to 90 percent of eligible beneficiaries, now have creditable drug coverage through Part D or another source, and the estimated costs of this program to taxpayers have declined about 38 percent since enactment. Nearly nine million beneficiaries are enrolled in Medicare Advantage and receive their comprehensive Medicare benefits through a private plan option. The President has proposed expanding Health Savings Accounts (HSAs). In 2003, President Bush signed into law HSAs to allow people to save money for health care tax-free, and to take these accounts with them as they move from job to job. These portable accounts are affordable for individuals and small businesses, and they offer consumers greater ownership and control over their health care decisions. In 2007, there were 4.5 million Americans enrolled in consumer-directed health plans with HSAs. The President has proposed policies that would expand the HSA option to more Americans. The President has taken steps to increase the transparency of America's health care system and empower Americans to find better value and better care. He has directed Federal agencies to share information with beneficiaries about prices paid to health care providers for procedures and about the quality of services provided by doctors, hospitals, and other health care providers. Increased transparency about prices and quality will help bring more competition to health care and enable consumers to make better health care purchasing choices. The President is working to improve the adoption of health information technology. Electronic health records show promise as a tool to help improve the efficiency and effectiveness of medical treatment. In 2004, the President launched an initiative to make electronic health records available to most Americans within the next 10 years. Health IT systems can give citizens better access to their health information, resulting in informed decisions about their care and a better understanding of the quality of the care they are receiving. In 2006, the President directed Federal agencies to use improved health IT systems to facilitate the rapid exchange of health information. The President has proposed strengthening the buying power of America's small businesses by forming Association Health Plans (AHPs). To help make the costs of providing health insurance more affordable, small businesses, as well as civic and community groups, should be allowed to band together in AHPs to get the same discounts big companies receive. The President has proposed medical liability reforms to limit costly and frivolous lawsuits. These lawsuits are driving many health care providers out of communities and forcing doctors to practice overly defensive medicine. This reduces access to medically necessary services and raises the costs of health care for all Americans. The President supports permitting the purchase of health insurance across State lines. Americans should be allowed to buy the best health insurance for themselves, based on their own circumstances, instead of being limited to only the policies available in their State. I did not know if everybody watched this on television or not, I did and found it very powerful, if this could happen it may make things a little better for those who have and don't have health insurance.

Title Insurance

This was an excerpt from the LA Times Blog : $16 billion for title insurance? If you could scan the entire American economy for money that is thrown away -- gift cards never redeemed, home gyms never used, etc. -- one of the biggest piles you would find is the title insurance industry. Sixteen billion a year -- that's nearly double the size of what Hollywood movies gross in a year in American theaters. From LATimes.com: andquot;Americans spend more than $16 billion annually for title insurance when buying, selling or refinancing their homes. But few people question the expense, even though they're probably paying too much, say consumer advocates and government regulators.andquot; And I must admit that this is one that I never really thought to much about. I knew you had to have it before most mortgage companies would do a loan but never really thought about andquot;shoppingandquot; around. Anyone have suggestions on how to even go about shopping around for this? [/quote]

Does this make sense??

Does this make sense?? : FIVE POINTS: I don't do supplements, I do Final Bills and give them to my customer to pay in full. BECAUSE..... In my personal Opinion: Point - 1. The consumer has an agreement with the Repairer to repair their auto as discussed between the repairer and the car owner. Point - 2. The consumer has an agreement with the Insurer that says the insurer will pay for any covered loss, minus any deductible if applicable. Point - 3. The Repairer is not listed anywhere in the consumers Insurance Policy and has no rights or obligations with or to the consumer's insurer. Point - 4 The Insurer is not listed anywhere in the consumers agreement of repair with the Repairer, leaving the repairer with no rights or obligations with or to the consumer's insurer. Point - 5 The repairer has no automatic right discussing and/or modifying that repair agreement at the request of any third party, which would include (but not limited to) representatives from, insurance co.'s, bank's, law firm's, in-law's, grandma, etc. So... lets see. Who is my customer? The consumer. Who's responsibility is it to pay me? The consumer. If the actual repair is less than the estimate I wrote, who do I charge less? The consumer If the actual repair is more than the estimate I wrote, who do I charge more? The consumer. Just like most other businesses on the Planet..! I'm NOT a Claims Handler, I Fix Cars. It really simplifies things. Its not my insurance policy, and its not the insurance companies automobile. FK

Do kids need life insurance ?

I was reading an article this morning about life insurance and kids and was wondering what the community take on this is. The article is of the opinion that life insurance is not a good investment on kids but I have heard others say it was a good idea. Is it a waste of money. Would the money you spend be better invested elsewhere? Here is a quote from the author of this article on yahoo: : Question: I received an offer in the mail to buy a life insurance policy for my 18-month old daughter for a small monthly premium. As I understand it, the policy would not only build cash value, but double the amount of insurance coverage when my daughter turns 21. Do you think this is a good plan to build for my daughter's financial future or is there a better way? -- R.K. Answer: Let me put it this way. I think almost anything you would do with your money, outside of buying lottery tickets or playing the ponies, would be better than sinking it into a life insurance policy for your daughter.

The trouble with title insurance

Apparently the LA Times is publishing a mini series on this andquot;Title Insuranceandquot; thing. Today the title is andquot;The Trouble With Title Insuranceandquot; and a quote from it sums up a lot of what we have been posting here: : Consumer groups say policies are overpriced; home buyers have little choice but to pay : andquot;Unfortunately, what's happened in this industry is there's been a lot of illegal kickbacks and incentives that have been paid by the title industry to others to steer business in a particular direction,andquot; Poizner said. Title insurance is part of virtually every real estate transaction. It covers claims and legal fees for home buyers and lenders if problems arise -- even years later -- over ownership of a property's title. Defects in title include errors or omissions in deeds, mistakes in examining records, forgery, liens for unpaid taxes or contractor's bills, conflicting wills related to the home and missing heirs who suddenly appear and claim to own the property. Typically there are two title policies for each property: one to protect the home buyer; the other to protect the mortgage lender. In California, coverage that protects the buyer would probably cost about $1,200 to nearly $2,000 for a $500,000 home. In Southern California, the policy is customarily paid for by the seller, but practices vary by region. In the San Francisco Bay Area, for example, the buyer usually pays. So it looks like this type of insurance has been a controversy for years and it appears from these LA Times article that the insurance companies pay out much more in bribes and fines than they ever would pay out to actually policy holders.

Narrow Mountain Road

Arrgh! I just typed this all out and my daughter hit the power button on the computer and turned it off!!!!! So here goes again.... Please advise on this one! I am really worried about how this situation is turning out. Friday afternoon (3PM) my husband was driving home (in my parents company minivan). We live in a small mountain town west of Boulder in Colorado. Dirt road, hard snowpack. The plowing makes snowbanks on either side of the road, making the already narrow road narrower. My husband is taking a middle line in the road. Many places along this road are single lane this time of year and we all know the pulloffs etc. He is approaching a slight right-hand bend, slight uphill, when he sees a car coming the other way, pretty fast. First reaction is to brake hard, slides a short way, lets up and steers towards his snow bank slowing down at the same time. He is in control of his vehicle. He is going well under the speed limit (uphill I have to add so gravity is on his side). He is almost stopped, sallying up to and hitting the snowbank on his side of the road trying to make as much room as possible (absolutely no damage to our car). The approaching car passes, still on the road (since there is a snow bank on her side we can see clearly where she actually left the road). She leaves the road (approx 100 feet after they pass), meaning her right tire is on the other side of the snow bank, and she hits a tree that is right on the edge of the road. Car is not driveable. Later we can see that her skid marks start well before the cars pass and continue all the way up till she hits the tree (ie. she slammed her brakes, they locked, and she slid the whole way till she left the road). The width of the road we measured to be 14-15 feet where the cars pass. A car (including wing mirrors) is almost 7 feet. YEESH! The driver of the other car is a neighbor and a friend, I'll call her D. My husband parks his car at the top of our driveway, which coincidentally was only about 50 feet from where he stopped. Runs up to her to see if she's OK. Says she's fine, but is FREAKING OUT, she is in a big hurry, late for a meeting in Denver, says that an audience of 50 people are waiting for her, don't know the details. My husband immediately offers her our car (not parents) to drive, tells her not to worry about it, to bring it back the next day. I told him on Friday night that I was worried that this situation could get complicated and that if she said anything about fault, to simply say that he'd be glad to exchange insurance details with her. D and her husband come by the next day, she says that he 'ran her off the road'. Her side is that she admits that she was driving too fast, she says 30mph, but that he was 'in the middle of the road' and that he didn't move out of the middle, so she was forced to leave the road. She asks for 'our help', husband is a car enthusiast, and has repair body shop type connections, so he tells her he can help; meaning he can find a good guy to do the work, or help her tow the vehicle etc.. (we know that the car would be 'totalled' insurance wise, but if she wanted to keep it and get it fixed etc.) He mentions exchanging ins. details but she insists that she doesn't want to get the insurance involved. She clarifies that by help she means money, but hubby is not very straightforward, avoids conflict and is simply a nice guy all round' so he doesn't straight out say it's not his fault, or that they absolutely need to let the insurance handle it. At first it honestly didn't occur to us that this had anything to do with us, so we didn't think about contacting our insurance company. This was a single car accident and our vehicle was not involved. She went off the road well after the cars passed, she was driving too fast and not in control of her vehicle. We felt awfully sorry for her, and bad that it happened; but we don't think he's at fault. Are we mistaken? Today she called DH when I was at work, saying that she 'needs help' that she has severe whiplash, that her own policy won't cover! YIKES! What kind of insurance does she have that it won't cover her medical? An hour later DH got a call from her insurance company asking for his version of the incident. She informed us she filed a police report. We had not contacted our insurance, not filed a police report etc. But this is going downhill fast. I think from the way she's talking that we might hear from a lawyer soon! What is the best next step?

collision coverage on a new policy

hi everyone, i'm new here. =) i have a question about collision coverage. i was at a drive-thru banking center earlier (02/06) and pulled in to the rightmost lane. the lady at the window told me to move to either of the two lanes to the left of me. so i reversed the car far back enough for me to drive into the lane to the left of me. unfortunately i miscalculated and as i was driving into the lane i brushed against the thick pole to my right, so i reversed the car (which probably made it worse). there's a big dent on the rear door and large scratches extending from the rear to the front door. collision insurance should cover this right? thing is, we had just switched TO a new insurance company from a different insurance company last february 4th (policy effective 02/04). the photo inspection was done 02/05 (no damage whatsoever yesterday). is the car covered? they might say that it isn't since we had just switched. i'm so worried. another thing is that even though the car is insured under my name, it is currently registered under my mother's name. our new insurance company said that i had 30 days to transfer the registration to my name. i did add my mother under my policy (as a non-driver) the other day but when i called in to check today, it was only under the andquot;notes.andquot; so they added her again but said that i'll be seeing her name online in about 24 hours. i haven't reported the incident to my insurance co. yet. is the collision covered under the policy? also, is this considered an andquot;accidentandquot;? will it raise my premium? thanks in advance.

what kind of car insurance and for who

Hi I'm trying to figure out who needs to get insurance on a car and for how much? Ok I inherited a car-that I am not going to drive (its a straight drive) I know I should just sell it but I don't want to yet. I think I am either going to let my boyfriend (30 years old) or my little bro (18 years old) drive it or possible they can share. It is a crappy car but it gets good gas mileage. I now have a lot of assets I need to make sure are protected...ie if they get in a wreck I don't want to be sued. Both boys will dog this little car, I don't trust either one of their driving. However, I think just sitting in the driveway probably isn't good for it either. What people need to be insured and what limits should I get. I have my own policy, my boy friend has his own policy and my little bro shares a policy with my mom and step-dad

Insurance company slaking

I had my 2006 chevy colorado stolen on dec. 23, 2007 from the backyard of my in-laws house. It was found 11 hours later in the marshes and it had water all in the cab and a water line that reached the top of the bed. The police said they had a string of thefts lately and it was possible that could be what happened. I had left it unlocked since it was a safe place(so i thought) and i always had my spare in the glove box since i had a history of locking my keys in. nobody knew this but me and my wife. i was told i would be contacted by an adjuster by jan 1. well i didnt hear from him till the 4th, then i was told i would be contacted by an investigator by the 4th. that didnt happen untill the 12th. on the 25th, they told me that they chose to do an EUO and i would be given a phone number for the attorney to set up my appt by the 28th. today is the 4th of february and i have not heard from the since. I had looked at getting a replacement vehicle the whole time and was told i couldnt get a letter stating they were taking over it untill after the investigation. well, on the 9th of jan i found a vehicle and the dealer called and they sent the letter. so on the 25th they said they wanted to go thru an attorney, even after i got a letter saying i had no interest in the vehicle anymore. I spoke to a military attorney today and they said i may want to look into suing the company. any suggestions or advice. Im also getting ready to go on deployment to afghanistan and when i leave i cant do anything.

Comp Settlement

Just had a nephew go through a year of compensation hearings, he was hurt on a drilling rig and ripped his rotator cups, he can not do this type of work anymore so he is going through the office of vocational rehabilitation to get retrained in another field that won't be as laborous and won't affect his injury. He was initially promised around $80,000, when it was all said and done he got $40,000 and the attorney took 33% of that. He settled out last week and is moving on with his life. I am curious as to how a settlement is chopped up like this, this don't even cover his wages for the year. The wage and the availability of overtime he would have worked which they could have verified through his wage record would have been over $45,000. It is all done now, the paperwork signed and I am sure the check is on it's way. I am just curious about how they can chop it up, where you end up with half of the initial offer, makes you wonder, should you jump at the first offer and let it go.

How to settle injury claim with adjuster?

I have a landlord who left a 6inch pipe sticking out of the ground infront of the porch. He was obilgated andamp; had the duty to fix under nys landlord andamp; tenant law. I recently sent him another demand letter stating to inform his insurance co. The accident happened april of 2007. He was hiding from his insurance cause he was at fault. Will his insurance company at least look at that. Im now in contact with an adjuster how do i settle my claim. I know people sometimes dont use lawyers cause we know they are in it just for the money. And plus with proper documents i think i can settle it. Could you tell me whats things i can do to settle and get it out the way? I had to get surgery because the nerves in my hand and wrist was damage. And it cause me to have radial nerve damage. I had an appt today to get an emg test. The doctor stated it was most likely permanent. Can feel anything in my hand and wrist at times. But part of my hand as no senation and numbness all the time. I also chronic pain and weakness in my hand and wrist most of the time. im fairly young and have to deal with this for a long time or even forever. What do you think my claim is worth. Over 9grand in med bills. Should i create a well organized settlement package with all my supporting documents andamp; etc. And also if i should do that should i put a amount in the package or let them make the first offer. I know people settle with adjusters but what documents do i need for him to give me a fair offer? Thank you for your time and help. Please Advice. Have anyone ever done this before?

FOX news article brings up question

Yesterday FOX news was reporting that Time Warner Cable was billing tornado victims for damage to cable boxes and equipment due to the tornado. Below is a quote from the article: : WHEATLAND, Wis. — Having a tornado demolish her home was bad enough. But when Ann Beam received a $2,000 cable bill a few weeks later, she was floored. andquot;I just couldn't believe it,andquot; Beam said. andquot;I was like, 'What are they thinking?'andquot; Time Warner Cable billed a number of Wheatland residents for equipment destroyed in the Jan. 7 twister that struck the southeast corner of the state. Beam's bill covered five cable boxes and five remote controls. She immediately called the cable company, but a man who identified himself as a manager said there was nothing the company could do. andquot;They said I would have to take the bill and turn it in to my insurance company,andquot; Beam said. But her cable equipment was nine years old, and the insurance company would pay only a depreciated value that wouldn't cover her bill, she said. Now Time Warner also states that this was a andquot;mistakeandquot; and all the customer has to do is call them and they will take these charges off their bill. However, this does bring up a question about the andquot;Act of Godandquot; clause that many insurances have. And my question is (in light of this recent news article), If your insurance company refuses to cover some claim to your property under this andquot;Act Of Godandquot; clause but some one else's property get destroyed as well are you responsible or does this andquot;Act of Godandquot; clause relieve you from responsibility also? It does not seem fair that some event happening that you could not control and is also a legal way out for large insurance companies to keep from paying a claim would leave you still responsible for some repair or replacement of other's property that might be affected but somehow I think the homeowner might still be held responsible. In this case it appear that Time Warner did not want the bad andquot;publicityandquot; associated with the news that was being reported about this so they said it was a andquot;mistakeandquot; but from reading the article it appears to me their original intent was to collect damages from the individuals who had their services and who's boxes had been damaged or destroyed. Anyone feel like weighing in on this one?

Question about Old Accident

Ok, it's been a few years since this accident happened, but I had no access to a forum like this at the time. I thought what happened was wrong and just wanted some opinions. I live in Florida as far as any insurance laws go. (We are a andquot;No Faultandquot; state.) My fiancee was driving southbound coming to pick me up from work. A teenager pulled out from a sideroad turning left to go North. My fiancee slammed her brakes but didn't have enough time to not hit the kids car. She clipped the back edge of his car and the front of my car was pretty smashed up. Neither her or the teen had any damage. (Funny thing is my dad met me there and the kid ended up being one of his students.) The police found that the teen was pretty much more at fault, so it was going to be his insurance paying damages. He had Mercury, I had Geico. I talked with his insurance a few times and they talked to my fiancee. She didn't think about it and told him she was going a few miles an hour over the speed limit. (It was only like 3-4 MPH, but OOPS!!) She also told him there was a turn lane to her right, but how was she supposed to think that fast? Anyways, they decided they'd pay 60% of it and if I wanted more, my insurance could pay the rest. After talking with my insurance, they offered to send their adjuster to look at it so I wouldn't get screwed by Mercury. I agreed to do this. I regret that. It wasn't their insurance that screwed me. The gentleman that went to look at it called me back and gave me the estimate but said he should have the car towed to where Geico takes them. I told him and the storage place no because Mercury was supposed to tow it to their adjuster...Geico was only giving me a backup adjustment. This guy was a total jerk about it saying he knew what he was talking about and that it was his call. I went to the storage place and signed my car out to Mercury to pick up and told them that Geico was NOT to take it. What do they do? Release it to Geico. The moron working at the storage place (who showed no paperwork of my car coming the night before by the way) ended up calling me and telling me I released it to the wrong company, but they gave it to the right one. They then called up my fiancees cell phone trying to find out who she was. MORONS!!!! Anyways, I gave Geico my information on my car's leinholder and they were going to take care of it and get their money back from Mercury when the time came. They repeatedly told me they couldn't get ahold of my leinholder. The guy and car company were shady to begin with, so I just assumed that he disappeared or was in jail or something...so I tried to get info on where he went through the state like Geico told me. Almost a year later, I was like, andquot;What the heck? Let's try calling the car dealership he was based in and see if they have info.andquot; What do you know...he was still THERE!!!! So I called Geico again, gave them the number once more and got it settled, got my car paid off and got a big $600 check after they took care of the storage fees. (Even though storage was worthless.) Am I the only one that can't believe these fools?