It's Just Money

How maddening are HMOs?

Don't answer that.  It's rhetorical.  Well, answer it if you want.  Don't let me tell you what to do.

I recently had a routine checkup with my primary care physician.  The good news, I'm healthy.  Well, mostly.  I did need a referral to specialist.  I'll spare you the details of what type of specialist and why, but fear not, it doesn't appear to be serious.  Phew!

I was told I would receive the referral letter in the mail.  Well, two weeks later, I still had not received it.  I called my PCP and they gave me the number for the specialist's office, and told me to call to schedule the appointment before the referral expires, which is on September 15.

I call the specialist, and they ask for my "IPA number."  What, you ask, is an IPA number?  Yea, I still don't know.  Apparently it would have been found on my referral letter, which I never received.  I call my Primary Care Physician and they don't know what I'm talking about.  Instead, they give me a referral number.  I call the specialist's office again, and am told that the referral number is useless.

So, round and round we go.  I call the PCP again, and get the IPA this time.  I call the Specialist's office once again (bear in mind here that each time I call I have to press several buttons on the automated system before I can get the person I just spoke with), and the earliest appointment they have is on September 29.  But wait, my referral expires on September 15.  "You'll have to call your primary doctor and have them request an extension."

I call my PCP, and they tell me they will get the extension.  Of course, I plan to call after September 15 to verify whether or not the referral was extended.  Lest I arrive on the 29th to find that they can't take me.  Geez, the freaking hoops you have to jump through for a simple appointment!

Two Elderly Women Kill Homeless Men for Insurance Money

There's insurance fraud, and then there's INSURANCE FRAUD!  These ladies are disgusting and should spend the rest of their lives in jail.  But what about the insurance companies?

It's a strange story; the kind you would see on Law and Order.  One detective was talking openly about a peculiar case of the hit and run murder of a homeless man, when another detective put the dots together, noting the similarity to an unresolved case he had worked on six years earlier.

Return of Premium Life Insurance

It sucks, doesn't it?  You pay good money for auto insurance, six months goes by, and darn it, no accident!  Isn't that what you are thinking everytime you renew your auto insurance?  How about fire insurance for your house?  It's just money down the toilet if your house didn't burn down, isn't it?  Well, the insurance companies have figured it out.  They know that if you get a 10 year level premium term life insurance policy, it means that you're going to be awfully disappointed to find yourself still fogging up a mirror ten years from now.

Or is that not how you would feel?

What if Life Insurance wasn't sold on commission?

This really is a pet peeve of mine.  They talk of forced savings, level premiums for life and the tax benefits of the cash build up.  We can argue that the cost of the insurance and the underlying expenses of these policies are not worth it.  But there are some people who are ardent believers in whole life.  Not surprisingly most of them are life insurance sales people or their thoroughly convinced customers.

Just how much more does a life insurance salesperson make when they sell you a whole life policy instead of a term policy?  Well, in one of my first posts, I compared the prices of a 30 year level premium term versus a whole life policy for a face value of $250,000 based on my age, gender and health profile.  The term would cost $462.50 per year, while the whole life would cost $2,988 per year.  So, how much of that goes to the salesperson?

We had our benefits meeting today

This was just for our medical insurance.  I am currently enrolled in the HMO through Blue Cross.  Our open enrollment is only open until Monday.  I have option of staying in the HMO, changing to the PPO for a $23/month premium, or changing to the "high deductible" HSA plan.  They are all attractive for different reasons.  Here is how I see the pros and cons of each.  I would really appreciate any advice or experiences anyone has with any of the plans:

HMO
Pros:  Cheap, low co-pays, low annual maximum (the most I could ever be responsible for would be $1750).
Cons:  Typical HMO crap - I have to get all procedures approved, can't go to any doctor I choose.

PPO
Pros:  Flexibility - I can go to virtually any doctor, I don't have to ask for approval for tests or procedures, just pay the co-pay.
Cons:  More expensive.  co-pays are higher dollar and percentage of any procedures.

HSA PPO Plan
Pros:  HSA allows $2700 per year contribution to an account tax deductible with tax deferred earnings.  The account may be invested as I please (mutual funds, stocks, CDs, etc.).
Cons:  The deductible is $2,400.  Basically all medical costs are out of pocket until I reach $2,400 per year in expenses.  I have only spent that much once in my life.  That was when I had an emergency appendectomy.

I'm really drawn to the HSA plan for the tax deduction and tax deferred earnings on that money.  It is additional money that I can save for long term, assuming I stay healthy.  So, I suppose it is a risk.

If you are participating in a HSA plan, I would love to hear how you like it.  Thanks!