No matter how avidly you take care of your health, you'll find there are unexpected circumstances that can land you a day or two in the hospital. If you are not prepared and you do not have enough health insurance coverage, this can play havoc with your savings - and if you're like most people, you don't have any savings, leaving your spouse working an extra job nights to pay off your appendectomy.  Think about what that could do to your love life. Thus, it is very important that you choose the best health insurance plan that can take care of your financial needs in case of an emergency... and keep your sweetheart feeling frisky.

First, check out all the health insurance options that you have. There are two types of health insurance plans that you can sign-up for: there's the private plan, and then there's the government health insurance option. The private health insurance is personally signed-up for by an individual. You will also probably be offered a health insurance plan by your employer, of course, if you have one. A company should provide you with coverage as part of your employee benefits. When you take home the paperwork, put the kids to bed, open a bottle of wine, and go over the provider options with your honey.  You may not wind up making the most cogent of choices, but you're likely to use your health coverage with fond memories.  Now I ask you:  which do you prefer - quality of care, or quality of life?

The health insurance coverage provided by the government may be offered on a local, state or national level. Medicare is an example of a health insurance plan offered on a national level. You may already know that Medicare benefits are available for people who are over 65 years old, and to folks with disabilities.

Roses and the Clinic

Now, you might imagine there's a lot of red tape that goes along with government benefits.  If you're the married kind, make it a pact with your spouse to have a candlelit dinner every time you talk about your benefits together.  If you're not of the married persuasion, head to your nearest general practitioner's office.  A lot of times the folks in the Patient Assistance office provide great conversation... and they just might be available for social engagements. Hey, it happens. People meet in the funniest ways.  Other government-initiated health insurance programs include: Medicaid, the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, health care benefits for the veterans and military, as well as eligible Native Americans. If you find yourself applying, be a little nice about it.  Now you're getting the hang of it.

If you want to sign-up for a private health insurance plan, learn everything that you need to know about the coverage designated on your contract. Read the coverage information and check the sections stating the exclusions. Avoid signing up with a plan that has a long list of exclusions.  Those guys don't cover much of anything. More important, make sure that you have a copy of every contract you sign. See to it that your personal information is correct and make a note of the coverage period. All in all, make sure that you have ample health insurance coverage for you to use whenever you need it.

Health coverage doesn't have to be drab.  If you lighten up the process, you never know where it can lead.  Oh, and uh... make sure you take your vitamins.  With moves like these, you're gonna wear out your dancing shoes.  ...Yeah, like that.

Until next time,

JS
Spokesman

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