We have had 3 of these meetings so far at our hospital, and so far the interest level has been high, and the ideas have been good. This next meeting, this coming Tuesday, catches me just after returning from Haiti, and may be losing some momentum, what with the recent passage of the health care reform package.
I would propose at this meeting to do several things.
First, I think that we should at least discuss gathering cost data for the hospital. I would like to know what the average patient or patient's insurance company is billed for various diagnoses, as an inpatient and in the emergency room. I would like to know how much the hospital actually gets paid. I would like to know how much uncompensated care is delivered, and would like to see what impact health care reform has over the next year. I know this kind of data is sensitive, but without it we are working in the dark.
I would like to go over the provisions of the health care reform package in a little more detail to see what impact we might expect to see from it, and what changes we might need to make in order for the impact to be positive.
I would like to discuss the idea of having quality and cost case conferences to see where money is being spent and evaluate what the impact of some of the most expensive procedures really seems to be.
I would like to discuss ways we can support primary care doctors in caring for their patients with the aim of keeping non-emergency patients out of the emergency room.
I would like to start thinking of continuing medical education presentations that address cost effective treatment of common conditions.
I would hope to continue to gather ideas from doctors and staff about perceived waste, so that we can focus our money and effort in directions that matter, and I would like to go over the ideas we have had so far and see where we are with respect to putting them in action.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
How do Haitian patients' expectations resemble those of American patients?
My trip to Haiti was satisfying, the people remarkable, and though many things about Haiti were very foreign, there were some definite and unsettling areas of similarity between the patients I saw there and those I see in the US.
I expected to see people with horrible and potentially curable injuries and infections, and thought that bringing antibiotics would be exceptionally useful. Instead, I found that most people were very healthy, and that they had complaints that didn't correlate with any physical findings of ill health, and which certainly were not life threatening. Many of these discomforts appeared to be related to various forms of overuse, such as headaches related to carrying five gallon buckets of water on their heads for long distances, and pelvic disorders related to having many babies. In general they were disappointed if I didn't have a drug or a test for their particular condition, and many were unconvinced or under-impressed with my explanations for their symptoms. I saw quite a bit of obesity and hypertension, and the hypertension was not treatable other than with instructions for lifestyle changes, since the vast majority of people could not afford a medicine that they would have to take daily, and I would feel uncomfortable prescribing one and being unable to monitor any blood tests or regular blood pressure readings.
So the general problems were related almost entirely to lifestyle and the patients wanted to get out of a doctor visit some sort of resources, be it a test or a pill. The test or the pill had value, and since I was doing work for free, this was a chance to get something for nothing.
Now, not all of my interactions were of this type, and there were people glad of an explanation, also people for whom a consultation or a medication had real value, but most of my patients really did not need a doctor and seeing me did not particularly improve their health.
In the US this same dynamic is at work. People pay for insurance, or in the case of Medicaid, insurance is paid for them, and they wish to get value out of the resource outlay. Tests are great, medication are great, all have intrinsic value, even if I, the doctor, don't see it that way. Unlike in Haiti, where very little is available in terms of medication and testing, in the US we spend huge amounts on both of these things, encouraged in many cases by the wishes (or presumed wishes) of our patients.
In Haiti, medical care and medications are available, to a limited extent, but though they are very inexpensive, they are outside of the means of most Haitians. In the US, procedures and medications are also available, but also cost more than most American's can really afford.
After a day of consultations in Haiti, examining people in a dark concrete room which was about 95 degrees and rarely giving them what they were expecting, my helpers and I decided that the whole process would have been much better if people had been expected to pay something, anything, even one goud (equivalent to a few cents). The patients would have self selected more appropriately and would have valued the interaction more. The same is true, I think, for American patients. I believe that having a real sort of contractual interaction with a caregiver focuses the interaction more effectively and gives it more value. I think the very fact of a medical appointment being paid for by insurance, as necessary as it has become, removes this important defining feature from a medical encounter.
I expected to see people with horrible and potentially curable injuries and infections, and thought that bringing antibiotics would be exceptionally useful. Instead, I found that most people were very healthy, and that they had complaints that didn't correlate with any physical findings of ill health, and which certainly were not life threatening. Many of these discomforts appeared to be related to various forms of overuse, such as headaches related to carrying five gallon buckets of water on their heads for long distances, and pelvic disorders related to having many babies. In general they were disappointed if I didn't have a drug or a test for their particular condition, and many were unconvinced or under-impressed with my explanations for their symptoms. I saw quite a bit of obesity and hypertension, and the hypertension was not treatable other than with instructions for lifestyle changes, since the vast majority of people could not afford a medicine that they would have to take daily, and I would feel uncomfortable prescribing one and being unable to monitor any blood tests or regular blood pressure readings.
So the general problems were related almost entirely to lifestyle and the patients wanted to get out of a doctor visit some sort of resources, be it a test or a pill. The test or the pill had value, and since I was doing work for free, this was a chance to get something for nothing.
Now, not all of my interactions were of this type, and there were people glad of an explanation, also people for whom a consultation or a medication had real value, but most of my patients really did not need a doctor and seeing me did not particularly improve their health.
In the US this same dynamic is at work. People pay for insurance, or in the case of Medicaid, insurance is paid for them, and they wish to get value out of the resource outlay. Tests are great, medication are great, all have intrinsic value, even if I, the doctor, don't see it that way. Unlike in Haiti, where very little is available in terms of medication and testing, in the US we spend huge amounts on both of these things, encouraged in many cases by the wishes (or presumed wishes) of our patients.
In Haiti, medical care and medications are available, to a limited extent, but though they are very inexpensive, they are outside of the means of most Haitians. In the US, procedures and medications are also available, but also cost more than most American's can really afford.
After a day of consultations in Haiti, examining people in a dark concrete room which was about 95 degrees and rarely giving them what they were expecting, my helpers and I decided that the whole process would have been much better if people had been expected to pay something, anything, even one goud (equivalent to a few cents). The patients would have self selected more appropriately and would have valued the interaction more. The same is true, I think, for American patients. I believe that having a real sort of contractual interaction with a caregiver focuses the interaction more effectively and gives it more value. I think the very fact of a medical appointment being paid for by insurance, as necessary as it has become, removes this important defining feature from a medical encounter.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Welcome Home: Health Care Reform Bill Passes Congress
I just got back from 2 weeks in the Haitian island of LaGonave to find out that in my absence congress actually passed health care reform. Organized medicine is generally in support of it, as I am generally in support of it, and I hope that we can now get to work and do what we can to make it live up to what I see as excellent potential for reducing costs and improving quality and accessibility.
On my dining room table, though, was the local newspaper, with a headline about our governor, Butch Otter, who had been fuming that Idaho would resist enactment of the new bill. Some information just makes me tired, and seeing this explosion of outrage over something which, though certainly not perfect, is a really good start, makes me tired. I then read an article in the New England Journal by T.S. Jost which addressed the issue of state resistance to health care reform. He expresses the issues well, and with good detail.
"I know of two other significant state campaigns — one ongoing, one historical — to rally or support state citizens in resisting federal law. In the ongoing effort, more than a quarter of the states have now legalized medical marijuana in the face of a federal prohibition. Although the Supreme Court has emphatically upheld the authority of the federal government to outlaw medical marijuana, the Justice Department announced last fall that the prosecution of users of medical marijuana was not “an efficient use of limited federal resources.”5 It is possible that the federal government will eventually conclude that it is not possible to enforce the individual mandate for health insurance. But if individuals successfully resist accepting responsibility for being insured, there will be no way of expanding affordable coverage in a system that depends on private insurers. If government funding of health care must therefore be increased, it may not be the result resisters want.
In the historical effort, demagogues such as the late Senator Harry Byrd (D-VA) mounted the Campaign for Massive Resistance to school desegregation in Virginia and other states during the 1950s and 1960s. Virginia passed a series of statutes intended to maintain the strict segregation of its schools, even going so far as to close the public schools in one county for 6 years. The legislation was held unconstitutional by the federal courts, and the campaign eventually collapsed. Today, most Virginians regard the whole episode as an embarrassment. The state legislature has even adopted reparations legislation to help people who were denied an education during the campaign. Perhaps if health care reform is successfully implemented and Americans come to fully appreciate its benefits, they will look back at the current efforts with similar embarrassment.
These resistance efforts are not about law — they are about politics. But of course at this point, health care reform is only about politics, except insofar as it is still about the morality of equal treatment for all."
This article was published before the package was signed into law, a couple of weeks ago. The republican efforts in congress now to weaken this law are painful to watch. From my vantage point it looks like they are diverting energy that should be spent on other issues, wasting taxpayers' money on political posturing.
P.S. I will be posting some very cool stuff, with pictures if I can figure out how, on Haitian culture, positive social change and sustainable technology.
On my dining room table, though, was the local newspaper, with a headline about our governor, Butch Otter, who had been fuming that Idaho would resist enactment of the new bill. Some information just makes me tired, and seeing this explosion of outrage over something which, though certainly not perfect, is a really good start, makes me tired. I then read an article in the New England Journal by T.S. Jost which addressed the issue of state resistance to health care reform. He expresses the issues well, and with good detail.
"I know of two other significant state campaigns — one ongoing, one historical — to rally or support state citizens in resisting federal law. In the ongoing effort, more than a quarter of the states have now legalized medical marijuana in the face of a federal prohibition. Although the Supreme Court has emphatically upheld the authority of the federal government to outlaw medical marijuana, the Justice Department announced last fall that the prosecution of users of medical marijuana was not “an efficient use of limited federal resources.”5 It is possible that the federal government will eventually conclude that it is not possible to enforce the individual mandate for health insurance. But if individuals successfully resist accepting responsibility for being insured, there will be no way of expanding affordable coverage in a system that depends on private insurers. If government funding of health care must therefore be increased, it may not be the result resisters want.
In the historical effort, demagogues such as the late Senator Harry Byrd (D-VA) mounted the Campaign for Massive Resistance to school desegregation in Virginia and other states during the 1950s and 1960s. Virginia passed a series of statutes intended to maintain the strict segregation of its schools, even going so far as to close the public schools in one county for 6 years. The legislation was held unconstitutional by the federal courts, and the campaign eventually collapsed. Today, most Virginians regard the whole episode as an embarrassment. The state legislature has even adopted reparations legislation to help people who were denied an education during the campaign. Perhaps if health care reform is successfully implemented and Americans come to fully appreciate its benefits, they will look back at the current efforts with similar embarrassment.
These resistance efforts are not about law — they are about politics. But of course at this point, health care reform is only about politics, except insofar as it is still about the morality of equal treatment for all."
This article was published before the package was signed into law, a couple of weeks ago. The republican efforts in congress now to weaken this law are painful to watch. From my vantage point it looks like they are diverting energy that should be spent on other issues, wasting taxpayers' money on political posturing.
P.S. I will be posting some very cool stuff, with pictures if I can figure out how, on Haitian culture, positive social change and sustainable technology.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Points to consider before choosing a health insurance plan
Apollo Munich, a joint venture between the Apollo Group of Hospitals and Munich Health, keeps the changing market trend and the life-style of people in mind so that it can fulfill the health needs of maximum number of people in India. The company designs its products in such a way that they stand best-in-class.
There are countless benefits included in our plans. Firstly, it offers life-long renewal, which can be used to avail health cover for the entire life. Secondly, the company believes that it is better to take preventive action than to fear for its cure and thus, it incorporates value-added services, which are designed to take care of preventive healthcare need. It comes free with all its products so that each client can enjoy complete health cover. Thirdly, Apollo Munich plans come with the longest list of network provides to remove the affordability issue of the medical treatment. Fourthly, its clients can avail health advice from experts just at a phone call and that too, without paying any extra for the same.
There are many more benefits of Apollo Munich’s plans. These points should be considered by an individual as he/she can get the health cover with so many benefits and that too at reasonable rate.
There are countless benefits included in our plans. Firstly, it offers life-long renewal, which can be used to avail health cover for the entire life. Secondly, the company believes that it is better to take preventive action than to fear for its cure and thus, it incorporates value-added services, which are designed to take care of preventive healthcare need. It comes free with all its products so that each client can enjoy complete health cover. Thirdly, Apollo Munich plans come with the longest list of network provides to remove the affordability issue of the medical treatment. Fourthly, its clients can avail health advice from experts just at a phone call and that too, without paying any extra for the same.
There are many more benefits of Apollo Munich’s plans. These points should be considered by an individual as he/she can get the health cover with so many benefits and that too at reasonable rate.
Comments / Feedback
With the motive to serve you better, Apollo Munich requests you to share your comments and feedback about the products. Please feel free to write so that we can offer you better services. Your honest participation will be helpful.
Apollo Munich Health Insurance Tax Implications
There are numerous persons who seek health insurance plan just due to associated tax benefits. At the end of financial year, individuals run after tax saving alternative. Some opt for short-term plans while others opt for long-term plans.
Health insurance is one such option that helps you to avail either type of benefit, depending upon your needs. In addition, these plans also offer tax benefits. If the policy is renewed regularly, long-term tax benefits can be availed.
The section 80 D of the Income Tax Act states that the amount invested towards the health insurance plans is exempted from tax. The same holds true, if the investment is made either for family’s health or for parent’s health.
It is subjected to the maximum of Rs.15,000 per year. In case of senior citizens, the limit may extend to Rs. 20,000 per year.
Apollo Munich, a joint venture between the Apollo Group of Hospitals and Munich Health, offers you financial and medical shelter through its plans. It also gives you an option to opt for life-long renewal feature, which helps in availing long-term tax benefits.
In addition to it, a person should compare various associated factors such as Premium, Coverage Limit, Exclusions, Deductible, Co-payments etc. It would help to choose the best plan.
Furthermore, Apollo Munich plans are designed, looking into healthcare needs of individual at the time of medical emergency. Thus, the company offers complete coverage to its customers. The team of experts working in designing of products has adopted unique ideology of identifying healthcare needs and then, designing plans accordingly. This means have proved beneficial both for the customers and for the company.
Working in lines of this unique ideology, Apollo Munich is looking forward to offer health cover to more than 500 million people in India over next five years, which if accomplished would bring a great change in the health insurance sector in the country.
Health insurance is one such option that helps you to avail either type of benefit, depending upon your needs. In addition, these plans also offer tax benefits. If the policy is renewed regularly, long-term tax benefits can be availed.
The section 80 D of the Income Tax Act states that the amount invested towards the health insurance plans is exempted from tax. The same holds true, if the investment is made either for family’s health or for parent’s health.
It is subjected to the maximum of Rs.15,000 per year. In case of senior citizens, the limit may extend to Rs. 20,000 per year.
Apollo Munich, a joint venture between the Apollo Group of Hospitals and Munich Health, offers you financial and medical shelter through its plans. It also gives you an option to opt for life-long renewal feature, which helps in availing long-term tax benefits.
In addition to it, a person should compare various associated factors such as Premium, Coverage Limit, Exclusions, Deductible, Co-payments etc. It would help to choose the best plan.
Furthermore, Apollo Munich plans are designed, looking into healthcare needs of individual at the time of medical emergency. Thus, the company offers complete coverage to its customers. The team of experts working in designing of products has adopted unique ideology of identifying healthcare needs and then, designing plans accordingly. This means have proved beneficial both for the customers and for the company.
Working in lines of this unique ideology, Apollo Munich is looking forward to offer health cover to more than 500 million people in India over next five years, which if accomplished would bring a great change in the health insurance sector in the country.
Apollo Munich Medical Insurance in India
Apollo Munich, a joint venture between the Apollo Hospitals Group and Munich Health, is a standalone health insurer in India. Looking into the importance of medical treatment in case of emergency, Apollo Munich has brought various health insurance plans, travel plans and accidental plans, which act as a solution to affordability issue of the treatment expenses.
Apollo Munich is highly sensitive towards client’s health need, as it notices the problems faced by the people and brings out innovative medicare solutions in response to these problems. Thus, the company brings out new product time-to-time.
The company works with the motto to take out the fear from faces, the jargon from words, the bitter from medicines, the trouble from treatment and the confusion from claim. The statement shows the company’s interest in solving out the health issues faced by the people in India. The last statement throws light on its easy and simple claim process, which is an answer to the problem of complicated claim procedure with other health insurers.
It offers value-added services (cashless hospitalization, healthline and health risk assessment tool) with each product to focus on preventive healthcare needs. Hence, Apollo Munich’s plans offer complete medical coverage to both curative and preventive health needs of its clients.
Working in the direction to make medical treatment easy for the citizens of India, Apollo Munich has brought following medical insurance plans:-
Easy Health—It is available in two variants—Individual and Family, each of which is further subdivided into three: - Standard, Premium and Exclusive. It is believed that this plan offers coverage to people of all income groups.
Insure Health—This plan is designed for people, who want to stay away from hassles related to policy issuance procedure. This plan also offers coverage to inpatient treatment for Ayurveda, Unani, Sidha and Homeopathy.
Maxima—It is India’s First 360 degree plan that offers wide health cover to both individuals and families.
Personal Accident Plan—This plan is designed to offer coverage to a person’s medical needs, when he/she meets an accident. This plan pays for the compensation amount in event of insured’s death or disability. It also offers coverage to bodily injuries and several other benefits.
Optima Cash—It is a daily cash hospital benefit plan that is easy to understand. It offers daily cash amount for the number of days an insured is hospitalized.
All the above mentioned plans are well thought and designed.
Apollo Munich is highly sensitive towards client’s health need, as it notices the problems faced by the people and brings out innovative medicare solutions in response to these problems. Thus, the company brings out new product time-to-time.
The company works with the motto to take out the fear from faces, the jargon from words, the bitter from medicines, the trouble from treatment and the confusion from claim. The statement shows the company’s interest in solving out the health issues faced by the people in India. The last statement throws light on its easy and simple claim process, which is an answer to the problem of complicated claim procedure with other health insurers.
It offers value-added services (cashless hospitalization, healthline and health risk assessment tool) with each product to focus on preventive healthcare needs. Hence, Apollo Munich’s plans offer complete medical coverage to both curative and preventive health needs of its clients.
Working in the direction to make medical treatment easy for the citizens of India, Apollo Munich has brought following medical insurance plans:-
Easy Health—It is available in two variants—Individual and Family, each of which is further subdivided into three: - Standard, Premium and Exclusive. It is believed that this plan offers coverage to people of all income groups.
Insure Health—This plan is designed for people, who want to stay away from hassles related to policy issuance procedure. This plan also offers coverage to inpatient treatment for Ayurveda, Unani, Sidha and Homeopathy.
Maxima—It is India’s First 360 degree plan that offers wide health cover to both individuals and families.
Personal Accident Plan—This plan is designed to offer coverage to a person’s medical needs, when he/she meets an accident. This plan pays for the compensation amount in event of insured’s death or disability. It also offers coverage to bodily injuries and several other benefits.
Optima Cash—It is a daily cash hospital benefit plan that is easy to understand. It offers daily cash amount for the number of days an insured is hospitalized.
All the above mentioned plans are well thought and designed.
Apollo Munich Health Insurance Premium
Apollo Munich, a joint venture between the Apollo Group of Hospitals and Munich Health, is a pure health insurance company in India. It looks after of healthcare needs of one and all in the country.
The major issue that a person faces with these products is their affordability. As a solution to this issue, Apollo Munich has brought several affordable health insurance products so that large number of people can enjoy under the health cover. The affordable policies are not only associated with premium amount, but signify quality care at reasonable rates.
Apollo Munich policies are tailor made plans that give its customers an offer to select the plan, as per their wants. For customer’s ease, Apollo Munich brings online premium calculator so that individuals can compute their premium themselves and decide the product that suits their budget.
The premium calculator operates on the specific algorithm that is made by a team of experts. It is formulated with the objective of fair transaction between the customer and the company. A person can use this calculator while purchasing online policy or in other cases.
A person can also look into premium charts, which gives a clear idea of amount to be paid.
The company keeps several fixed and variable cost in mind while deciding the amount of premium to be charged from customers. It involves:-
• Cost of advertising
• Cost of selling
• Cost of services rendered by healthcare practitioners
• Investment of premium amount
• Margin in profit
• Administration of insurance programs
Apollo Munich apart from these above mentioned factors also keep budget of different sections of society and the healthcare needs of people. As a result, the premium charged by Apollo Munich is not an encumbrance amount. Few of its plans can be bought at the expense of just few rupees per day, which is easily affordable amount.
So, buy health insurance without worrying for its costs. This small adjustment in your budget will help you in times of medical needs and will not upset the budget, besides making medical treatment affordable and accessible. Hence, you can now visit the most reputed hospitals of the city and can avail medical treatment from the hands of experts.
Apollo Munich has further made it very easy for people to seek quality medical treatment.
The major issue that a person faces with these products is their affordability. As a solution to this issue, Apollo Munich has brought several affordable health insurance products so that large number of people can enjoy under the health cover. The affordable policies are not only associated with premium amount, but signify quality care at reasonable rates.
Apollo Munich policies are tailor made plans that give its customers an offer to select the plan, as per their wants. For customer’s ease, Apollo Munich brings online premium calculator so that individuals can compute their premium themselves and decide the product that suits their budget.
The premium calculator operates on the specific algorithm that is made by a team of experts. It is formulated with the objective of fair transaction between the customer and the company. A person can use this calculator while purchasing online policy or in other cases.
A person can also look into premium charts, which gives a clear idea of amount to be paid.
The company keeps several fixed and variable cost in mind while deciding the amount of premium to be charged from customers. It involves:-
• Cost of advertising
• Cost of selling
• Cost of services rendered by healthcare practitioners
• Investment of premium amount
• Margin in profit
• Administration of insurance programs
Apollo Munich apart from these above mentioned factors also keep budget of different sections of society and the healthcare needs of people. As a result, the premium charged by Apollo Munich is not an encumbrance amount. Few of its plans can be bought at the expense of just few rupees per day, which is easily affordable amount.
So, buy health insurance without worrying for its costs. This small adjustment in your budget will help you in times of medical needs and will not upset the budget, besides making medical treatment affordable and accessible. Hence, you can now visit the most reputed hospitals of the city and can avail medical treatment from the hands of experts.
Apollo Munich has further made it very easy for people to seek quality medical treatment.
Apollo Munich Health Insurance Coverage
Apollo Munich Health insurance Company is a joint venture between two stalwarts. Munich Health is the new business segment of Munich-Re, Europe’s leading insurer and re-insurer. The Apollo Group of Hospitals is the largest healthcare group in Asia. It offers financial and medical protection at the time of emergencies.
The dimensions of health cover may vary from plan to plan. The coverage may be for individual, family or group (corporate houses). Hence, Apollo Munich plans offer health cover to all section of society. It brings life-long renewal feature of its plans so that the coverage limit may be extended for the whole life.
The Easy Health plan is believed to be the complete health plan that takes all major health needs into consideration. It also offers optional cover to eight major critical illnesses, which include cancer, kidney failure, sclerosis, major organ transplantation, first heart attack, coronary artery surgery, stroke and paralysis.
The Personal Accident and Easy Travel provide the further coverage to health risks that may arise during mishap or while traveling respectively. There is a long list of benefits with each of them.
In addition, these plans also offers coverage to preventive health needs of its customers through its value-added services.
Furthermore, Apollo Munich offers health coverage to its customers in the form of various facilities, such as cashless hospitalization and reimbursement. The company has tied up with more than 4000 hospitals to offer medical treatment to its customers on the basis of cashless hospitalization. An insured can go to any network hospital, can seek medical treatment and can walk out of hospital premises without paying medical bills, which are directly settled by the company.
If an insured goes for treatment in non-network hospital, he/she has to settle bills on his/her own. Later on, these bills can be raised for making claim for the same amount. These facilities have been proved beneficial to people, as they can seek quality healthcare without worrying about medical expenses.
Health Insurance coverage can also be availed for individuals, families and groups, as there are all sorts of plans available in market. Individual plan offers coverage only to an insured. Family Insurance plan offers coverage to all members of the family. Group health insurance plan offers coverage to group of people.
The dimensions of health cover may vary from plan to plan. The coverage may be for individual, family or group (corporate houses). Hence, Apollo Munich plans offer health cover to all section of society. It brings life-long renewal feature of its plans so that the coverage limit may be extended for the whole life.
The Easy Health plan is believed to be the complete health plan that takes all major health needs into consideration. It also offers optional cover to eight major critical illnesses, which include cancer, kidney failure, sclerosis, major organ transplantation, first heart attack, coronary artery surgery, stroke and paralysis.
The Personal Accident and Easy Travel provide the further coverage to health risks that may arise during mishap or while traveling respectively. There is a long list of benefits with each of them.
In addition, these plans also offers coverage to preventive health needs of its customers through its value-added services.
Furthermore, Apollo Munich offers health coverage to its customers in the form of various facilities, such as cashless hospitalization and reimbursement. The company has tied up with more than 4000 hospitals to offer medical treatment to its customers on the basis of cashless hospitalization. An insured can go to any network hospital, can seek medical treatment and can walk out of hospital premises without paying medical bills, which are directly settled by the company.
If an insured goes for treatment in non-network hospital, he/she has to settle bills on his/her own. Later on, these bills can be raised for making claim for the same amount. These facilities have been proved beneficial to people, as they can seek quality healthcare without worrying about medical expenses.
Health Insurance coverage can also be availed for individuals, families and groups, as there are all sorts of plans available in market. Individual plan offers coverage only to an insured. Family Insurance plan offers coverage to all members of the family. Group health insurance plan offers coverage to group of people.
Apollo Munich Health Insurance Needs
It is necessity for every person to get cover against all health risks that may arise due to unexpected event in life. Everyone wants his/her family member to undergo quality health services, which is not easily affordable. Before you face any such situation in your life and it becomes an encumbrance over you or your family member, it is better to get medical and financial shelter that could provide you the required help in times of need.
An escalating medical cost, costly doctor's visit, hospitalization chances and check up requirement all collectively sum up to a huge amount, which disturbs your budget. Hence, there arises the need of health insurance, as you get someone to pay for your treatment.
Apollo Munich Heath Insurance Company, a joint venture between the Apollo Group of Hospitals and Munich Health, is a pure health insurer in India that looks into healthcare needs of one and all in the country. These products give you an access to quality care and at the same time, help you in maintaining financial stability, which might get disturbed at the time of unexpected exigency, if you are not insured.
Apollo Munich promises to take the fear out of faces, the jargon out of words, the bitter out of medicines and trouble out of treatment.
In addition to it, Apollo Munich has adopted a unique ideology in designing of its products. It is on behalf of this ideology and their aim of demystifying health insurance that it has maintained its goodwill in the market. There is a team of experts that work from morning till evening in identifying people’s healthcare and using it as a data for designing of it plans. When a plan is designed, focusing on healthcare needs, it is successful in offering coverage to larger number of people.
Hence, it is advisable to people to look into their health insurance needs and then buy a plan so that they can get coverage for their needs. Buy health insurance and stay away from all financial issues that can turn up to in the path of your life at the time of medical emergency.
An escalating medical cost, costly doctor's visit, hospitalization chances and check up requirement all collectively sum up to a huge amount, which disturbs your budget. Hence, there arises the need of health insurance, as you get someone to pay for your treatment.
Apollo Munich Heath Insurance Company, a joint venture between the Apollo Group of Hospitals and Munich Health, is a pure health insurer in India that looks into healthcare needs of one and all in the country. These products give you an access to quality care and at the same time, help you in maintaining financial stability, which might get disturbed at the time of unexpected exigency, if you are not insured.
Apollo Munich promises to take the fear out of faces, the jargon out of words, the bitter out of medicines and trouble out of treatment.
In addition to it, Apollo Munich has adopted a unique ideology in designing of its products. It is on behalf of this ideology and their aim of demystifying health insurance that it has maintained its goodwill in the market. There is a team of experts that work from morning till evening in identifying people’s healthcare and using it as a data for designing of it plans. When a plan is designed, focusing on healthcare needs, it is successful in offering coverage to larger number of people.
Hence, it is advisable to people to look into their health insurance needs and then buy a plan so that they can get coverage for their needs. Buy health insurance and stay away from all financial issues that can turn up to in the path of your life at the time of medical emergency.
Apollo Munich Health Insurance Compare
There is no doubt that if you make up your mind to buy a health insurance plan, you will get confused as there are many options available in the Indian market. So, it is better to go with a reputed name and that is Apollo Munich, a joint venture between the Apollo Group of Hospitals and Munich Health. Both of its partners are leaders in their respective fields and thus, Apollo Munich brings out the best-in-class product. It is only after comparison of various parameters and considering health needs of an individual, several health insurance plans have been brought up with several unique features, which are not offered by any other health insurer.
The Easy health plan provides financial and medical protection during emergencies. The Easy Travel plan covers health risks arising while traveling and Personal Accidental Plan provides protection against health risks arising due to sudden mishap.
The Easy health plan provides financial and medical protection during emergencies. The Easy Travel plan covers health risks arising while traveling and Personal Accidental Plan provides protection against health risks arising due to sudden mishap.
As said above, it is always advisable that a person should focus on his/her healthcare needs and then concentrate and compare plans on the basis of following parameters in order to choose the best one.
· Premium
· Deductibles
· Waiting period
· Coverage Limits
· Co-payment
· Benefits
· Facilities
· Add-on-services
Thus, a person should first learn all these important terms and then compare plans. It would help him/her to make the right decision. Once done, don’t forget to focus read plan’s exclusions, as it will let you know about the uncovered perils. So, always have these points in your mind, when you choose health insurance plan for yourself or for your family.
Apollo Munich Health Insurance
Apollo Munich, a joint venture between two stalwarts. The Apollo Group of Hospitals is the largest healthcare group in Asia and Munich Health is a new business segment of Munich Re, the leading insurer and re-insurer in Europe. Both its partners are leaders in their respective field. Thus, Apollo Munich says, “We know Healthcare. We know Insurance”.
The company works with motto to
Let’s take the fear out of faces
Let’s take the jargon out of words
Let’s take the bitter out of medicine
Let’s take the trouble out of treatment
Let’s take the confusion out of claim
All the above mentioned statements show that the company has emerged to help the people to make their medical treatment easy and to spread awareness of the benefits of health cover and its significance. The last statement shows the company’s concern for the easy claim process. Thus, it looks into the people health needs and comes up with an innovative solution for the same.
Apollo Munich brings various health plans, accidental plans and travel plans to offer health cover in different areas of life. In addition to these plans, the company also offers value-added service for free so that it can offer coverage to preventive health needs of the masses.
Working in lines of its objective and promises, Apollo Munich has brought following plans:-
• Easy Health—It is one of the most sought after health insurance product in India. This plan is well designed, keeping healthcare needs of people of all income groups.
• Individual Personal Accident plan—It is an accident health insurance policy that comes in two variants—Standard and Premium. Apart from providing death and disablement benefit, this policy also offers compensation amount for several bodily injuries.
• Optima Cash—It is the newly designed policy that works on the principle of benefit. It is a daily cash hospital benefit plan that offers coverage to additional hospitalization expenses.
• Insure Health—This plan is designed for people looking for easy-to-buy product. It is said to have easiest policy issuing procedure, which keep an individual away from the related hassles.
• Maxima—It is a comprehensive plan that offers all round protection, including outpatient coverage.
• Easy Travel—It is travel Insurance product that is available in various variants, designed to make medical care easy for Indian passengers traveling abroad.
The company works with motto to
Let’s take the fear out of faces
Let’s take the jargon out of words
Let’s take the bitter out of medicine
Let’s take the trouble out of treatment
Let’s take the confusion out of claim
All the above mentioned statements show that the company has emerged to help the people to make their medical treatment easy and to spread awareness of the benefits of health cover and its significance. The last statement shows the company’s concern for the easy claim process. Thus, it looks into the people health needs and comes up with an innovative solution for the same.
Apollo Munich brings various health plans, accidental plans and travel plans to offer health cover in different areas of life. In addition to these plans, the company also offers value-added service for free so that it can offer coverage to preventive health needs of the masses.
Working in lines of its objective and promises, Apollo Munich has brought following plans:-
• Easy Health—It is one of the most sought after health insurance product in India. This plan is well designed, keeping healthcare needs of people of all income groups.
• Individual Personal Accident plan—It is an accident health insurance policy that comes in two variants—Standard and Premium. Apart from providing death and disablement benefit, this policy also offers compensation amount for several bodily injuries.
• Optima Cash—It is the newly designed policy that works on the principle of benefit. It is a daily cash hospital benefit plan that offers coverage to additional hospitalization expenses.
• Insure Health—This plan is designed for people looking for easy-to-buy product. It is said to have easiest policy issuing procedure, which keep an individual away from the related hassles.
• Maxima—It is a comprehensive plan that offers all round protection, including outpatient coverage.
• Easy Travel—It is travel Insurance product that is available in various variants, designed to make medical care easy for Indian passengers traveling abroad.
Apollo Munich Health Insurance Claim
Apollo Munich Health Insurance Company leads to a straightforward and uncomplicated claim procedure so that the customers can easily get the refund amount of their bills. There is a provision of cashless hospitalization in over 4000 network hospitals, which takes away the fear of raising claim as the human being gets the treatment for free in these hospitals on basis of the health insurance card.
But, if he/she gets treated in non-network hospitals, there is a certain procedure that he/she needs to follow so that he/she can raise the claim. Apollo Munich’s claim procedure is:-
Call at the toll-free number written at the backside of your health card. It might be of the TPA or the Company. Inform the representative about your hospitalization and the incident faced.
Speak about the every small detail, which is crucial from the point of reimbursement. He/She will help you in raising claim.
You might require documents such as duly filled claim form, discharge slip, xerox copy of health card, original bills and others, if required.
After submitting these documents, you have to wait till they get approved and then, the company issues you cheque against the same amount, as per the Company's policies.
But, if he/she gets treated in non-network hospitals, there is a certain procedure that he/she needs to follow so that he/she can raise the claim. Apollo Munich’s claim procedure is:-
Call at the toll-free number written at the backside of your health card. It might be of the TPA or the Company. Inform the representative about your hospitalization and the incident faced.
Speak about the every small detail, which is crucial from the point of reimbursement. He/She will help you in raising claim.
You might require documents such as duly filled claim form, discharge slip, xerox copy of health card, original bills and others, if required.
After submitting these documents, you have to wait till they get approved and then, the company issues you cheque against the same amount, as per the Company's policies.
Apollo Munich - Corporate Employees
Apollo Munich - Corporate Employees
Apollo Munich, a joint venture between the Apollo Group of Hospitals and Munich Health, unfolds health insurance products for individuals, families and corporate employees. It aims to provide health cover to one and all in India.
Looking into the needs of employer and employees, the company brings its Group Easy Health plan, Group Personal Accident plan and Group Easy Travel plan. All these products are tailor-made to offer coverage to group of people.
Group Easy Health—this plan allows employers to customize the benefits of the plan as per the employees’ health requirement. It covers medical expenses such as pre- and post-hospitalization, inpatient, optional coverage for critical illness etc.
Group Personal Accident plan—this policy is valid in case of accidental death or bodily injuries caused due to a sudden mishap. The plan also includes bank of benefits, thus giving an offer to choose as per the employer’s needs.
Group Easy Travel plan—it offers all-around protection to employers while traveling. The plan is offered at differential rates, depending upon the geographic region, where an individual is traveling.
Hence, Apollo Munich offers plan with several unique features so that its clients can enjoy their life to a larger extent.
a nearly instant solution to health care woes
Most peoples' health care needs are, or could be, taken care of by a primary care doctor. These needs are not being met because primary care providers are both too expensive and in short supply. A standard doctor's appointment may be billed at over $100, easily, and cost even more if lab tests are ordered. The uninsured just can't afford it, and the insured are hurting because their insurance costs so much, and this is in part due to the fact that care is expensive, and that patients go for more expensive urgent and emergency care because they can't get in to a primary care doctor.
But primary care is not very expensive at all to provide. A good full time primary care doctor manages 1600-2000 patients at a time. If each one of them paid $200 each year to that primary care doctor, the doctor could make a good salary and handle the 50-60% overhead which is common in medicine. Most of the uninsured could afford that much money, and it is far less than is usually spent on medical care by insurance companies and patients.
So how could this work on a large scale? Right now health care insurance costs per family are around $10,000, and most families use no more than primary care, or would if it were available when they needed it. Out of pocket medical expenses are harder to calculate, but are hundreds and often thousands of dollars for people who go for medical care. This is a lot of money, and makes $200 look like peanuts.
I would propose that all primary care be pre-paid. All insurance companies would rebate their insured $200 to be used to sign up with a primary care doctor. For this, they would have regular primary care when they needed it, and the doctor would not have to bill the insurance company and the patient would never have to worry about costs. $200 would probably also cover lab tests done in the doctor's office, since the overhead involved in billing would be gone, and the doctor would be able to see significantly more patients because they wouldn't be wasting time associated with documenting billing codes and time spent in order to be paid by an insurance company. At the end of a year, the insurance company would calculate the amount of money they saved (which would probably be huge due to savings on claims management staff and reduction in spending related to insured patients not getting timely preventive care) and would then be required to rebate a certain percentage of their savings to the patient and to the entity paying the premiums (employer, government or individual.) Everybody would win. Doctors would make an good salary and not hassle with billing. Patients would either get money back on insurance premiums, or in the case of medicare and medicaid, have some kind of a health related rebate, employers would pay less and medicare and medicaid would see their costs significantly lower. If a patient decided to go out and spend their $200 check on beer rather than on medical care, they would not get a rebate at the end of the year, and would also not be eligible for open access primary care.
This would not deal with every problem in medicine. It does nothing to deal with the high cost of hospital care, and doesn't deal with specialty care issues. It does, though, reduce overutilization because getting adequate primary care keeps patients out of emergency rooms and hospitals where much of that overutilization occurs. Also, in this system, patients would have some pressure not to partake of excess CT scans and consultations because these would be paid under the old system, complete with complex bills, copays and out of pocket costs. Since satisfaction would be higher in primary care because frustration and wasted time would be lower, it would probably make more medical graduates go into primary care, and reduce older physician burnout.
But primary care is not very expensive at all to provide. A good full time primary care doctor manages 1600-2000 patients at a time. If each one of them paid $200 each year to that primary care doctor, the doctor could make a good salary and handle the 50-60% overhead which is common in medicine. Most of the uninsured could afford that much money, and it is far less than is usually spent on medical care by insurance companies and patients.
So how could this work on a large scale? Right now health care insurance costs per family are around $10,000, and most families use no more than primary care, or would if it were available when they needed it. Out of pocket medical expenses are harder to calculate, but are hundreds and often thousands of dollars for people who go for medical care. This is a lot of money, and makes $200 look like peanuts.
I would propose that all primary care be pre-paid. All insurance companies would rebate their insured $200 to be used to sign up with a primary care doctor. For this, they would have regular primary care when they needed it, and the doctor would not have to bill the insurance company and the patient would never have to worry about costs. $200 would probably also cover lab tests done in the doctor's office, since the overhead involved in billing would be gone, and the doctor would be able to see significantly more patients because they wouldn't be wasting time associated with documenting billing codes and time spent in order to be paid by an insurance company. At the end of a year, the insurance company would calculate the amount of money they saved (which would probably be huge due to savings on claims management staff and reduction in spending related to insured patients not getting timely preventive care) and would then be required to rebate a certain percentage of their savings to the patient and to the entity paying the premiums (employer, government or individual.) Everybody would win. Doctors would make an good salary and not hassle with billing. Patients would either get money back on insurance premiums, or in the case of medicare and medicaid, have some kind of a health related rebate, employers would pay less and medicare and medicaid would see their costs significantly lower. If a patient decided to go out and spend their $200 check on beer rather than on medical care, they would not get a rebate at the end of the year, and would also not be eligible for open access primary care.
This would not deal with every problem in medicine. It does nothing to deal with the high cost of hospital care, and doesn't deal with specialty care issues. It does, though, reduce overutilization because getting adequate primary care keeps patients out of emergency rooms and hospitals where much of that overutilization occurs. Also, in this system, patients would have some pressure not to partake of excess CT scans and consultations because these would be paid under the old system, complete with complex bills, copays and out of pocket costs. Since satisfaction would be higher in primary care because frustration and wasted time would be lower, it would probably make more medical graduates go into primary care, and reduce older physician burnout.
Friday, March 5, 2010
watching Cspan
During my lunch hour (25 minutes more like) I went to the gym where I caught up on a small portion of TV. I have been avoiding the news about health care reform legislation lately because it feels like an “Obama’s gonna fail” fest. But today I had a TV all to myself and there was a representative from New Hampshire on CNN, telling me, live, how he felt about the budget reconciliation process and the health care reform bill that might pass.
The Republican congressman said about what the standard line appears to be about health care reform: “The majority of Americans don’t want to see this bill pass.” He said that it was too expensive, that small business would no longer be able to afford health insurance for employees, that it would put 17% of the nations economy into the governments hands, that it would make health care a puppet of the government.
It is absolutely clear from this that he hasn’t read the health care bill. It has many faults, but what he said was grossly inaccurate. And even if he had read the bill, it isn’t the bill that’s going to be voted on, so how are his comments even relevant? And as for some invented percentage of the American populace not wanting the bill to be passed, how could that possibly be relevant when the American people have even less of a clue than he does what would be in the bill? I can’t believe that my taxes go to pay the salaries of people like this so they can stand up and say stuff that is completely lacking in data or sense.
Health care reform detractors also keep returning to the statement that it’s all going to suck, no matter what we do, because health care costs are just going to keep on going up. There is huge amount of thinking and writing happening right now in the medical community about ways to reduce costs, and the magnitude of potential savings is huge, precisely because so much in medicine is grossly overpriced right now, and so much waste is uncontrolled. The pessimistic attitude put forth by lawmakers may be self fulfilling, but with a little bit of common sense, costs could go way down. Basic medical care is just not that expensive to provide and providing it could drastically reduce the need for the not so basic expensive medical care.
It is true that we have to tread lightly on an industry that accounts for 17% of our GDP because that represents many jobs and much of our industry. Legislation should strive not to be heavy handed, and changes should occur slowly.
The Republican congressman said about what the standard line appears to be about health care reform: “The majority of Americans don’t want to see this bill pass.” He said that it was too expensive, that small business would no longer be able to afford health insurance for employees, that it would put 17% of the nations economy into the governments hands, that it would make health care a puppet of the government.
It is absolutely clear from this that he hasn’t read the health care bill. It has many faults, but what he said was grossly inaccurate. And even if he had read the bill, it isn’t the bill that’s going to be voted on, so how are his comments even relevant? And as for some invented percentage of the American populace not wanting the bill to be passed, how could that possibly be relevant when the American people have even less of a clue than he does what would be in the bill? I can’t believe that my taxes go to pay the salaries of people like this so they can stand up and say stuff that is completely lacking in data or sense.
Health care reform detractors also keep returning to the statement that it’s all going to suck, no matter what we do, because health care costs are just going to keep on going up. There is huge amount of thinking and writing happening right now in the medical community about ways to reduce costs, and the magnitude of potential savings is huge, precisely because so much in medicine is grossly overpriced right now, and so much waste is uncontrolled. The pessimistic attitude put forth by lawmakers may be self fulfilling, but with a little bit of common sense, costs could go way down. Basic medical care is just not that expensive to provide and providing it could drastically reduce the need for the not so basic expensive medical care.
It is true that we have to tread lightly on an industry that accounts for 17% of our GDP because that represents many jobs and much of our industry. Legislation should strive not to be heavy handed, and changes should occur slowly.
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