November 2013

Not that long ago a diagnosis of cancer often meant a death sentence. Fortunately, rapid advances in early detection and treatment during the past three decades have led to a dramatic rise in the odds of surviving the disease. The result: it’s easier than ever for cancer survivors to find life insurance at an affordable rate.

If you have survived cancer, the first step in buying coverage will be to provide the insurance company with your comprehensive medical records. Any attempt to fudge these records could lead to cancellation or denial of some or all of benefits.

Most policies will require you to complete an extensive health questionnaire and provide blood and urine specimens. However, some insurance companies will waive these steps in return for offering more limited coverage at a higher premium.

Generally, to purchase life insurance, a survivor must be in good health, with the malignancy cured or in remission, and no history of treatment for three months to as much as five years (depending on the nature of the cancer. A survivor who has been in complete remission for at least five years might be able to obtain life coverage at a reasonable rate.

Insurance companies are most likely to cover survivors of early breast cancer (Stage 1), prostate cancer, and conditions that are caught and cured early. Those in whom the disease is more advanced (Stage 2 or higher), have suffered a recurrence or multiple malignancies, whose cancer has metastasized, or who use tobacco products will find it more difficult, or pay a hefty surcharge, to buy a life policy.

For more information, just give us a call.

Although the Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires health insurers to cover most preventive care, the definition of this term remains unclear.

“A lot of consumers, doctors, and pharmacists don’t know what’s required,” says Judy Waxman, vice president of health and reproductive rights with the National Women’s Law Center.

To avoid surprise costs, healthcare experts recommend that you:

1. Know what’s covered: Under the ACA, insurance companies must cover the full cost of many preventive services, including vaccinations, cancer and other health screenings, annual well visits, breast pumps, and all FDA-approved contraceptives, based on input from a nationwide panel of primary care experts. (For a list of services covered, go to http://www.healthcare.gov/what-are-my-preventive-care-benefits).
2. Know how your insurance company interprets these guidelines. For example, because mammograms are recommended for women over 40 every one or two years, some insurers will pay for the test annually, while other will only do so every other year.
3. Stay in your health plan’s provider network. Once you see a doctor who doesn’t participate in your plan, you’ll be subject to costs, even if the visit is for a preventive service that the law requires insurers to cover in full.
4. Get to the bottom of unexpected bills. If you’re billed for a service you thought was preventive and covered in full, begin by calling your doctor’s office and then go to your health plan. If that doesn’t work, you can appeal to an independent third party. For a tool kit on preventive services, including sample appeals letters, go to The National Women’s Law Center, http://www.nwlc.org.

To learn more about this key issue, feel free to get in touch with our health insurance professionals at our agency.

Term life insurance is temporary, but it doesn’t have to stay that way. Most term life policies sold today can be converted to permanent whole life or universal life which will provide coverage until you die and can offer significant advantages.

When you convert from term life to permanent, you won’t have to answer questions about your health or undergo a medical exam. If you bought a policy when you were in excellent health but then later got sick, you’ll maintain the health rating you had when you purchased coverage.

If you’re relatively young, the conversion feature also allows you to build your life insurance investment gradually as money becomes available. More and more people are using this strategy to accumulate a life insurance nest egg for their beneficiary(ies). For instance, you might convert $100,000 of a $1 million term life policy to permanent life every few years.

When shopping for convertible term life coverage, ask yourself:

• Is there a deadline for converting? Although some policies let you convert at any time until the end of the term, others only allow conversion during a specific period.
• What are your conversion options? This will depend on the insurance company and the quality of its portfolio.
• What are your options if you don’t convert? Once your policy reaches the end of its term, the premium spikes and is no longer guaranteed. To keep coverage in force, you’ll either have to either pay a far higher rate or shop for a new policy, which might be difficult if your health has declined.

We’d be happy to review your financial situation and offer our recommendations. Just give us a call.

A recent report from the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) reports that individual health insurance under the Affordable Care Act will cost an average of $2,988 yearly or $249 a month. Subsidies, tax credits, and Medicaid payments should reduce these premiums to no more than $100 a month for nearly 30 million people who don’t have insurance.

Although some individuals might pay more for coverage, these averages are still 16% lower than the Congressional Budget Office projected in 2012.

The health care reform act extends coverage to low-income Americans, including the 48 million now uninsured. To help offset the cost of covering older, sicker individuals in this group, the law requires every American to buy insurance or face a fine, under the “individual mandate” provision. The 55% of adults who have health coverage through their jobs are considered in compliance with the mandate.

According to the DHHS report, rates under the ACA’s state-based insurance exchanges, where individuals will shop for health plans, will vary significantly depending on the state and the level of coverage (Bronze, Silver, Gold, or Platinum). For example, in Wyoming, the least expensive Bronze plan will cost $425 a month, compared to only $192 a month for the same coverage in Minnesota.

In Comparison, a recent Government Accountability Office report on the cost of individual health insurance found that people who are young and healthy can buy relatively inexpensive policies. According to the GAO 30-year-old nonsmoker might pay as little as $30 a month in Georgia or $85 a month in Alaska. As always, our agency’s health insurance professionals are stand ready to offer their advice on selecting the health plan that’s best for you.