Glossary of Terms Series

When it comes to insurance, most people get the proverbial "deer in the headlights" look when an agent is talking to them.  Numerous terms are being used during a presentation--e.g. pre-existing, grace period, reinstatement--just to name a few.  I have had a tendency in the past to rattle these terms off without a second thought, taking for granted the person knew what these terms meant.   Now I am making it a point to educate all of my prospective and current clients about what different terms mean, so they'll have a full understanding of what a particular policy does/does not do.  After all, it is my job - to explain all aspects of a policy, from the terms, to the premiums, to how to file claims.  Unfortunately, though, there are agents who do not explain policies in full as they are supposed to.  I know this because I've had some not-so-pleasant conversations with other agent's clients where they didn't know how their policy/policies worked, what benefits were payable, etc.

As a resulf of past experiences (and in keeping in line with my mantra of educating), I have developed a blog series, titled "Glossary of Terms".  This series will feature a different insurance term--from its definition, how and why it's used, to showing examples.  The ultimate goal of this series is to educate you, the consumer.  The more you know, the more you'll be able to make the right choice(s) for you and your family.

I hope you enjoy this series!

Two Years Later

I started this blog over 2 1/2 years ago with the goal of educating Americans on what insurance is, both health and supplemental, and how each works.  The blog started out great.  Then, my personal life and my business became hectic--to the point that I felt something had to "give".  This blog, unfortunately, was one of those things.  I had great intentions of reviving it last year; however, a few career opportunities presented themselves for which I felt compelled to act upon.  Once again, this blog was neglected.  As one of my networking colleagues says, "It isn't time." 

Thankfully, things have settled down now.  The stars have realigned, allowing me to revive this blog.  The time for it is now.  I have quite a bit of subject material to discuss, too.  Topics primarily relate to supplemental insurance (which is my forte), but there are other topics that go hand-in-hand with them.  I will expand upon those from time to time.

As I state in my bio, my primary goal is education.  My wish for 2016 is that everyone educates themselves when it comes to anything insurance-related.  The more you know, the more you'll be able to make the right choice(s) for you and your family.  I look foward to sharing my wealth of knowledge with you.

Happy New Year!

Federally-Facilitated Marketplace Website Crash

Yesterday was the first day for the Federally-Facilitated Marketplace (FFM) to be open for business.  This is the place for millions of uninsured Americans to enroll for health insurance in accordance with the federally mandated law--the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), also known as the Affordable Care Act (ACA) or "ObamaCare."

Unfortunately, their website crashed yesterday, on Day 1.  It is now Day 2 and although they have made progress, there is still a lot of work to be done to resolve the issue(s).  I'm sure you're hearing about this website crash from all the news media outlets, social media websites, etc., and I'm sure some are postulating as to why this happened.  Regardless of the "how and why," there is one thing everyone needs to remember--these "glitches" will be worked through eventually.  

Please be patient; you have six months to enroll in a plan.  Consider visiting the Marketplace website in a few weeks or contacting a Licensed Insurance Advisor regarding any options through the Private Health Insurance Exchanges/Marketplaces available in your area.

Health Care Scam Alert

I received a notification recently from a reliable insurance news source that there are a group of individuals posing as Federal Government employees calling up people telling them they need their private information in order to enroll them in the mandatory healthcare insurance program. 

THIS IS A TOTAL SCAM!!! 

Please, please, please...Do not give out any private information--date of birth, social security number, financial information, etc.--to ANYONE who calls you wanting this information. THAT'S NOT HOW IT WORKS! 

MY ADVICE: Seek out a trusted and federally-trained insurance agent (such as myself) for any and all assistance regarding the upcoming enrollment. Please share this information with your family, friends, colleagues, etc. ASAP!

A Must-Have Book: "ObamaCare Survival Guide"

I know it's been four months since my last post.  My apologies.  I was being pulled in many different directions--joining forces with a work partner to write business, doing my taxes (boo) and reading everything related to Health Care Reform (HCR)--and couldn't get my schedule to work out to devote the time necessary.   Well, the tax man has had his day, working with my partner to write business is now on an even keel and fruitful, finally allowing me to schedule much-needed time for reading the mind-numbing plethora of information being hurled at us about HCR--all so I can put it in a format for you to understand!

When I started this blog, I thought the best course of action to stay current with HCR was through subscribing to electronic newsletters , scouring websites on a regular basis and attending seminars and webinars when possible.  This has turned out to be a smart choice.  I have gleaned quite a bit through these sources while waiting to speak to the manager or owner of a business or while riding shotgun to/from appointments with my partner.

Another smart choice I made at the same time was purchasing the Kindle version of a book written by Nick Tate entitled "ObamaCare Survival Guide."  Wow!  Am I on information overload with this book!  This is one of the best sources of HCR information--and it's in layman's terms for everyone to understand.  In my opinion, it's the foundation of which all other books, newsletters, seminars/webinars are being based upon.  This is an excellent reference book and I highly recommend obtaining a copy.   For your convenience, I have a quick link on my page for you to order your copy from Amazon.  You can order in any media format you prefer.

Over the next several months, I  will be using this book (along with my other sources) to educate you on different HCR topics, how they can potentially affect you and your loved ones and how gap plans are going to be vital in reducing your out-of-pocket costs.  

House Rules

Code of Conduct

This Blog is designed to be an educational and informational tool for those seeking information on what HealthCare Reform is, how it will affect them and how medical gap plans will help them.

I (owner/author/administrator) reserve the right to delete any post at any time without explanation.

I (owner/author/administrator) reserve the right to change this Code of Conduct at any time, at my discretion.

Here are the rules:

                1.  No trolling and/or spamming.

                2.  No profanity or insulting remarks.

                3.  No political or religious ranting allowed.  Comments/discussions are allowed, as
                     long as they are civil and pertain to the blog topic.

I expect participant to conduct themselves as adults and refrain from being inconsiderate in any way.  Violation of any of the rules above will result in your post(s) being deleted immediately.  I have a zero tolerance policy.

All of you are welcome to provide blog topic suggestions and/or ask any questions at any time. 

The information I provide in my blogs is well-researched.  Citations will be given upon request if they haven't been provided in the blogs itself.  The health care law will be an ever-changing and evolving piece of work.  Citations given at a particular time may not be valid at a later date, so please keep this in mind. 

Introduction

The 2012 elections have come and gone and the Supreme Court upheld their ruling on President Obama's health care law.  Now what?  What exactly is in the health care law?  How will it affect me, my family and/or my business?  How much is it going to cost?  These are just a few questions I have been asked since the elections...and there will be plenty more coming my way over the next year.  

The healthcare law is known by many names.  The proper name is the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), followed by the Affordable Care Act (ACA), HealthCare Reform (HCR) and the most popular name of all, Obamacare.   Regardless of what you want to call it, it's here, like it or not. For simplicity I will be referring to the health care law as HealthCare Reform or HCR.

The goals of this blog are basic:  Educating you on what HealthCare Reform is, how it will affect you and how medical gap plans will play an integral role.  There are a few household rules you will need to be aware of.  These rules will be posted in a few days.