Healthcare matters can involve a whole host of medical and legal complications. At best, these issues may affect you financially; at worst, they could mean the difference between life and death. Whether you go to the hospital for a routine procedure or an emergency, there are steps you can take to help avoid complications. 

1. Have an up-to-date Medical Power of Attorney or Advanced Medical Directive (“Living Will”). In the event you cannot make medical decisions yourself, these documents entrust decisions about your care to a person you designate. Advise your family of your designation so that person is notified when decisions must be made.

2. Make sure your name, identifying information and all other information is completely accurate at each doctor’s appointment, outpatient surgery and hospitalization. Serious problems involving medical care sometimes begin as simple clerical errors. A small error can create a major treatment crisis. Reduce the chance of error by carefully reviewing all your doctor’s office or hospital admissions paperwork. During hospitalization check your hospital wristband for errors. 

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By David Ross

You may think health insurance is too expensive for you.

And it is true that health insurance policies offered in the Obamacare Marketplace ("Affordable Care Act" policies) are astronomically expensive, have ridiculously high deductibles, and are only available from a dwindling number of companies. This recent article reports rates for ACA coverage are expected to jump another 90% in the near future.

What the mainstream news doesn't tell you is this: LOW-COST HEALTH INSURANCE IS AVAILABLE!

You cannot afford to NOT have health insurance.

Just because you consider yourself “healthy” doesn't mean you can afford to go uninsured.

I recall a man who told me just that a few years ago. He was hesitant to buy insurance, being a 40-something who never went to the doctor. He finally decided to get coverage for himself and his new wife, mostly out of concern over the then-existent tax penalty for not having coverage.

He went the next year-and-a-half paying his premiums, but never even going to the doctor.

And then – he was shot. A totally random event put him in the hospital with serious injuries and serious medical bills.

Another client, a sixty-year old man, the owner of an auto body shop, didn't have coverage when I met him. His reason for not having health insurance? He said his insurance had gotten too expensive so he had dropped it for himself and his employees. When I told him about our low-cost policy, he jumped at the chance to sign up.

Seven months later he had a heart attack, and almost immediately had over $75,000 in medical expenses. His new insurance plan, the new one I helped him get, covered his expenses, and all he had to worry about was getting well.

Not all stories end as well.

Recently a friend on Facebook posted a link to a GoFundMe page, asking for donations to help pay medical bills for her uninsured daughter-in-law who had been severely injured in an automobie accident. The post said the hospital had dismissed her after only four days because she didn't have insurance, though she still needs additional care and therapy. Why didn't a young mother have health insurance? Did she think she couldn't afford to be covered, or did she think she would never need health insurance?

She could have had a great health insurance plan for about $120 a month.

The man who got shot had coverage – including dental insurance plus an extra critical illness rider that would pay him $50,000 should he be diagnosed with a critical illness – for about $220 a month. That includes both him and his wife.

The 60-year old's coverage cost him about $400 a month, and saved him over $75,000.

These are incredibly low rates, and are certainly affordable for most people. Of course, no one likes paying for something they aren't “using.” Heck, I don't like paying for things I do use, like cell phone service and gasoline.

But like cell phones and gasoline, in today's world, health insurance is a necessity.


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by Dr. Sharon Orrange 

After practicing medicine for 20 years, I’ve become adept at “clarifying” to insurance companies why patients are taking certain medications. The same medications appear to trigger red flags for both long-term care and life insurance companies.   
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Their “concern” makes sense for some medications because they are used for serious chronic illnesses, but for others, the insurance companies are worried about your lifestyle. Most on this list are important medications so do not stop taking them because you’re concerned about rejection and do not omit them from your forms. Instead, along with your physician, you can clarify and appeal their decision.   

Here are the ten worst medications to be taking that will trigger a “no” or a further review if applying for life insurance or long-term care insurance.

1. Namenda (memantine) or Aricept (donepezil). One of the more obvious red flags, dementia is expensive for Long-term care insurance plans because folks with dementia are often physically healthy and their care is expensive. Pro tip: be careful here because Namenda is also prescribed for migraine prevention and may trigger an unnecessary alarm.
2. Hydrocodone, oxycodone, morphine aka “Opioids.” Long-term use of pain medication raises red flags for insurance companies and almost always results in a closer review. Why? Because costs associated with chronic pain patients taking opioids are substantial and range from 560 to 635 billion per year in the U.S. in 2010. Insurance companies run for the hills because of that.
3. Xanax (alprazolam), Ativan (lorazepam) and Valium (diazepam) are benzodiazepines that will lead to a closer review of your application. Why? Several studies have shown an association between benzodiazepines and risk of death.  In folks 65 years or older benzodiazepines increase the risk of falls and fracture-related mortality. Some studies have found a threefold or higher increase in the risk of all-cause mortality among adult populations using benzodiazepines even for durations shorter than one month.

Sick patients may feel they have no choice but to sign up for a loan to receive treatment. And the quick loan process may leave them with expenses they can ill afford to pay.

Laura Cameron, then three months pregnant, tripped and fell in a parking lot and landed in the emergency room last May; her blood pressure was low, and she was scared and in pain. She was flat on her back and plugged into a saline drip when a hospital employee approached her gurney to discuss how she would pay her hospital bill.

Though both Cameron, 28, and her husband, Keith, have insurance, the bill would likely come to about $830, the representative said. If that sounded unmanageable, she offered, they could take out a loan through a bank that had a partnership with the hospital.

The hospital employee was “fairly forceful,” said Cameron, who lives in Fayetteville, Ark. “She certainly made it clear she preferred we pay then, or we take this deal with the bank.”

Hospitals are increasingly offering “patient financing” strategies, cooperating with financial institutions to offer on-the-spot loans to make sure patients pay their bills.

Private doctors’ offices and surgery centers have long offered such no- or low-interest financing for procedures not covered by insurance, like plastic surgery, or to patients paying themselves for an expensive test or procedure with a fixed price.
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But promoting bank loans at hospitals and, particularly, emergency rooms raises concerns, experts say. For one thing, the cost estimates provided — likely based on a hospital’s list price — may be far higher than the negotiated rate ultimately paid by most insurers. Sick patients, like Cameron, may feel they have no choice but to sign up for a loan since they need treatment. And the quick loan process, usually with no credit check, means they may well be signing on for expenses they can ill afford to pay.

Keep reading at AARP.org....