Hope for your financial life and beyond

A Beginner’s Guide to Health Insurance and the Affordable Care Act

If you are wondering about the basics of health insurance you’ve come to the right place. Today I’m going to try an exhaust and consolidate all the knowledge I know about health insurance into one post. Yes, it’s going to be long, so if you don’t have time now you may want to bookmark it for later reading.

health insurance claim formOf all the insurances out there, health insurance has become the most highly sought after type of insurance based on its direct application to something very important to us – our health. Nothing gives us more cause for attention than when our bodies are not working properly. The kind of health insurance policy we are able to secure can go a long way in determining what type of care we get and what drugs we are able to get our hands on. Those factors consequently then can have an impact on how healthy we are able to maintain our own bodies.

In recent years health insurance has also been hotly debated within society and government. It’s even found it’s way to the highest court in the land in a landmark decision handed down by the Supreme Court of the United States. The Affordable Care Act (more commonly known as Obamacare) has changed the very structure of the health insurance industry – some would say for good, others would say for bad.

This post is going to outline for you the basics of health insurance. I’ll explain what it is and why it’s a good idea for you to have some form of coverage. I’ll address some terms you need to know when researching plans, what types of plans are out there and how to decide which one is right for you.

For those who are looking for ways to save money on healthcare, good luck. Premiums have increased dramatically and health insurance isn’t as affordable as it used to be. However, there are ways you can reduce the overall cost of the plans and I’ll address some helpful tips in that regard.

This post will conclude with a look at health care reform, how it impacts you and what alternatives are available to traditional healthcare as we know it.

What Is Health Insurance?

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How to Make a Home Inventory Checklist in Case of a Catastrophic Loss

Recent events surrounding the theft and eventual recovery of our family basketball goal have me thinking more about home security. One issue that presented itself during that incident was that I did not have proof (like a model number or receipt) or identifying marks on the goal that it belonged to me. If I had that proof the police could have pursued the matter more aggressively.

home inventory checklist in case of lossDuring the ordeal I had a conversation with a friend of mine who used to be a detective. He mentioned a case he investigated where a man had his entire music collection stolen. Fortunately for him, he had written down the title and artist of every CD in his collection. He gave that list to my friend who, believe it or not, was able to track down the collection. Of course, he was aided in his search by the fact that the not-so-intelligent thief sold the entire collection at once…to one pawn shop.

Wasn’t too hard to link those to events together.

My friend went on to say he has made a home inventory checklist of everything of value in his home. In case of a catastrophic loss such as a house fire, he will be able to present his home inventory checklist to the insurance company showing concrete evidence of what he did own. Of course that won’t help him recover the sentimental items he lost but it will give him a better chance of recouping the fair market value to replace all the consumer products he lost.

So, guess what the kids and I started doing over Christmas break?

How to Make a Home Inventory Checklist

We haven’t entirely completed our project but these are the steps we are taking to make our home inventory checklist:

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Insurance: The Black Sheep of Our Personal Finance Family

This may see like an odd time of the year to be discussing insurance. No doubt your mind is geared toward preparing for Christmas and figuring out how to save money on all the presents, decorations and food you will buy during the holidays. There is a reason however why this is coming out now, one that highlights an issue many people have when it comes to insurance.

insurance neon signI’ve put off talking about it…for months.

This post idea to go over the basic reason why we need insurance has been listed in my “blog topics to cover” spreadsheet since March. But I keep putting off writing about it, pushing it back month after month. Honestly, I don’t enjoy researching and talking about insurance.

It’s like the black sheep of the family. Every family has one at some level, right? That person who brings immediate tension to the room whenever their name is brought up? That historical figure we’ve conveniently deleted from the family ancestral tree?

Insurance is that black sheep in our personal finance family. With the exception of insurance salesmen, I don’t know anyone who gets up in the morning fired up about reviewing insurance policies. I’ll worry about saving, getting out of debt, investing, budgeting, root canals…anything before insurance.

Is it just me or is anyone else with me on this? Insurance can be really frustrating and confusing to deal with.

But I know it’s important and that I need it…badly. Without it I could be putting myself in serious jeopardy.

The Basic Reason We Need Insurance

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