by Andrea

Professional Liability insurance, also referred to as Errors and Omissions insurance or E&O , is an insurance to guard or to look after you and your company in the event that a client claims they have suffered a financial loss or defeat. This is a result of an error or an omission committed by the workers in the delivery of professional services. This coverage is separate from a General Liability (GL) guiding principle which would cover mainly the  injured party or if there’s property damage liability. The General Liability coverage on a business insurance policy also meets your landlord’s requirement whenever you carry business premises liability insurance.

From commonwealthfund.org

In the past years, health insurance sponsored by employees has been eroding. The number of working adults without health insurance coverage has increased. It has been forecasted that there will be continuing declines in coverage. To remedy these trends and to able to expand the coverage for workers and their families, there have been discussions on a range of public and private policy options. These approaches vary in relation to the extent that would build on the employment-based system, adapt the non-group or individual market, or expand public programs. Many health coverage expansion policies would combine private and public approaches. Proposals in the 109th Congress address four major options: “expansion of tax credits; creation of new federal�state roles in regulating insurance markets; expansion of purchasing options for small firms; and expansion of public programs for the under-65 population.”

In April 2006, the headlines on Boston’s Beacon Hill read like this:

“Massachusetts Plan Gives All Residents Access to Health Insurance.”

“Lower-Income Residents Will Receive Premium Subsidies.”

“Employers, Individuals Face Levies If They Lack Coverage.”

In the coming years, bigger news for workers nationwide will be heard, if their states adopt reforms similar to those passed by the Massachusetts legislature and signed by former Governor Mitt Romney, prompting headlines that might read: “With Health Insurance a Given, Workers Feel Freer to Change Employers.”

Reforms should be pushed.

by Andrea

An HMO or  Health Maintenance Organization, is a type of insurance plan with the intention of  focusing on the long term care of its insured and on an average is less expensive than a Major Medical Plan. Every patient is given a Primary Care Physician, who is answerable for giving defensive care and coordinating care for the patient if additional consultant or hospitalization is essential. This somehow keeps the costs down. In addition to the limited choices of a HMO plan, choosing for a  physician or consultant in your network and not covering the services that are deemed unnecessary, controls costs.

As an employee, we do not often have a selection in what kind of health plan our employers provide. Some companies do have a variety of plans to select from and individuals and those that are self-employed need to be able to choose a plan that will fit their needs and also their budget. Others are buying a separate self employed health insurance for their own protection, so make sure you understand or aware the kind of coverage you need. At the same time, paying for a health insurance nowadays is no longer as unproblematic as signing a form and allowing payments to be deducted from your take-home pay.

If you lost your health insurance because you got fired from your job, you could qualify for individual coverage. You could get this under the benefits provisions in the plan or policy or from the Federal law mandated COBRA extended coverage. This is limited to 18 months normally, 29 months if you are disabled, or 26 months if you are a spouse or dependent of a deceased insured or divorced from an insured. If you have any questions, you could contact your union or association representative or your company’s benefits office. You could also ask any insurance agent for further clarification.

The third type of managed care plan aside from HMO and PPO is the POS Plan. A Point-of-Service or POS Plan is a hybrid of the Health Maintenance Organization or HMO Plan and the Preferred Providers Organization or PPO Plan. In POS, the primary care doctors will make referrals to other providers included in the plan. If a member chooses to leave the network, the POS plan will pay for a set amount of the bill. These kind of plans costs more than HMOs but they are more flexible because you could call a doctor on your own whenever you want and even if your primary care physician doesn’t.

A record 46.6 million Americans had no health insurance in 2005. Fewer people received coverage through their employers. according to U.S. census figures released Tuesday.

Almost 1 in 6 Americans, or 15.9% of the country was not insured for some or part of last year, compared with 45.3 million, or 15.6%, in 2004.

The number of people covered through their jobs slipped to 59.5 percent from 59.8 percent in 2004, according to data from the census’ Current Population Survey.

Data may be in 2003, but still hold relevance. Quick Stats from according to data from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ): February 21, 2003

January to June 2000, more than 60% (71 million) of working Americans under 65 years of age had health insurance that they got through their primary place of employment.

The data wer collected by AHRQ’s Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. They are published in a new statistical brief giving details of the characteristics of U.S. workers who have health insurance obtained from their primary employers. The statistical brief does not focus on other sources of insurance coverage obtained through a family member’s employment, an individually purchased private policy, public insurance, or another job.

Health insurance –it pays for medical expenses. This is the general description. Sometimes it would include insurance for disability, long-term nursing or custodial care needs.

Souces: government-sponsored social insurance program, or from private insurance companies.

How: either on a group basis, or individually,

Purpose: to help protect selves from high or unexpected healthcare expenses.

Social welfare programs may be funded by the government.