The Senate version of the recently enacted health care reform does not provide any obvious, direct relief for couples looking for infertility health insurance coverage. Upon closer inspection there are areas where our friends in Washington have taken away, and places that show a glimmer of hope. Much will change over time as more details begin to emerge. Take a look at what can be learned from a high level overview of the bill.

I was interested to see what help the “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act” offered, if any, to couples facing infertility. One can learn very interesting things by downloading the 2,409 page PDF document available online. Adobe Acrobat provides a handy word search feature that allows us to quickly see what, if anything was done to address the needs of couples trying to conceive.

So I typed in a number of keyword phrases, and got the following results: Infertility: 0, IVF: 0, Fertility: 0, In Vitro Fertilization: 0, Assistive Reproduction Technology: 0

Okay so it seems that the new law does not provide any obvious direct help for couple trying to conceive. Is there indirect help? Let’s try typing in “pregnancy” as see what comes up. We find twenty one entries; now we may be onto something! The entries break down to these categories:

• Establishment of a pregnancy assistance fund to help pregnant and parenting college students.
• “A sense of Congress” to study the mental health consequences of women “resolving” pregnancy.
• Funding tied to state-established goals to reduce teen pregnancy rates.
• Personal responsibility programs designed to educate adolescents on abstinence, contraception, and sexually transmitted diseases.
• Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) as it relates to oral healthcare.
• Removal of cost share for counseling and pharmacotherapy for cessation of tobacco use by pregnant women.

It seems we are out of luck once again. Funding and attention are allocated to preventing pregnancy, and keeping already pregnant women healthy, but nothing about helping get people pregnant.

Flexible Spending Accounts can be very useful for infertile couples. Pre-taxing helps lower costs for the very high level of unreimbursed medical expenses associated with infertility treatments. Let’s see if the bill provides any help in this area? The news is not good. Health Care Flexible Spending Accounts contribution limits have been capped at $2,500 for any plans with tax year’s beginning after December 31, 2010. It still makes sense to utilize your FSA to keep costs low, but a $2,500 limit does not make much of a dent in a $15,000 IVF payment.

Let’s not give up yet. There are those state run health exchanges to examine. Their principle purpose is to provide some level of coverage for individuals with pre-existing conditions. The funds by nature lose money for the states that currently run such programs; which means your benefit may exceed your premium. Each state is given some level of flexibility it how it will set up and run its exchange. Perhaps there may be something for infertility hidden amongst these exchanges.

And then there is prescription drugs: 136 mentions, and a few that aren’t related to Medicare (the program for people over age 65). Perhaps we can explore these topics in another article. Stay tuned.

Find out more about how to leverage infertility health insurance to cut costs, and indirectly fund infertility treatments.

Kevin Haney is a licensed health insurance agent helping growing families generate maternity leave income, and protection just in case by using supplemental family health insurance benefits.

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Health insurance is defined as “a form of collectivism by means of which people collectively pool their risk, in this case the risk of incurring medical expenses”. In simple term, it is a contract between an insurance company and an individual. Let’s look at 10 things you should know about the development in health insurance.

1. This concept was proposed by the Elder Chamberlen from the Peter Chamberlen family in 1694. They are famous for inventing the modern use of obstetrical forceps. In 1694, Hugh the Elder Chamberlen published a book advocating health insurance.

2. In the 19th century, “accident insurance” which is quite similar to disability insurance began to be introduced in United States by the Franklin Health Assurance Company of Massachusetts which was founded in 1850. The plan covered injuries arising from railroad and steamboat accidents.

3. Traditional disability insurance evolved into modern health insurance programs during the middle to late 20th century.

4. Patients were expected to pay all other health care costs at their own expense before the development of medical expense insurance.

5. Blue Cross organisations were developed in 1929 by Justin Ford Kimball. Blue Cross is a name used by an association of health insurance plans throughout the United States. The first plan guaranteed teachers at Baylor University in Dallas, Texas, 21 days of hospital care for $6 a year. This plan was then introduced to other employee groups in Dallas and then nationally.

6. In 1939, the Blue Cross Symbol was adopted by the American Hospital Association as the emblem for plans meeting certain standards. The Blue Cross Association superseded the American Hospital Association in 1960.

7. Today there are hundreds of insurance companies offering not only medical but also dental plan.

8. In the United States, study found that 62 percent of all bankruptcies filed in 2007 were linked to medical expenses.

9. On 11th August 2009, US President Barack Obama said “”Nearly 46 million Americans don’t have health insurance coverage today.” He further said that it is vulnerable to those uninsured as if something happens, they go bankrupt, or they don’t get the care they need.

10. U.S. News named Fallon Community Health Plan, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts, Tufts Associated Health Maintenance Organisation, Preferred Care and Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of the Northwest as the Top 5 Best Medicare Plans for the Year 2009/2010.

For more information about individual health insurance and affordable health insurance, visit CommonHealthInsuranceFacts.com

Well…I found this list of Human Resources, etc. that seem somewhat promising to provide discounted dental care. http://www.doh.state.fl.us/Family/dental/resources/county/Duval.pdf But, you are right– an actual Dental School would be your best bet for satisfactory and affordable care. UF College of Dentistry in Jacksonville has good patient ratings. http://www.hscj.ufl.edu/dentistry/contact.asp , I would give that a try. I was a Dental student at one time, and we ran a very professional clinic and all of the patients were always thrilled with the work and pricing.

If you get laid off or fired they have to offer you the COBRA coverage. Basically you pay the full amount for the insurance, not just the portion you’ve been paying. It’s usually very expensive.
If you get laid off, ask for them to cover you for a few months. The worst they can do is say ‘No’. Always ask for everything during the layoff interview. Ask for help with finding a new job, ask for health coverage, ask what kind of reference they’ll give you, etc. They may keep saying ‘No’, but it never hurts to ask.
Good Luck!

Find a local insurance broker. They will decipher all the plans that meet your criteria. Our broker does everything for us, if someone has a question (and they are not sure of the answer) they will call the insurance company for us, that way we do not have to sit on the phone for hours. They will order new or additional cards and process claims. It sure makes life a lot easier.

Now, that we’re all excited lets get right to it. Segregated funds are professionally managed portfolios provided by insurance companies that have a guaranteed return on maturity or upon the death of the investor. The odd name is based on the fact that these funds are not part of the insurance company’s assets but rather from a separate pool of money dedicated to paying out the holders of the policy.

These funds are similar to mutual funds because they are professionally managed, offer diversification, have a variety of different types of focus to choose from, the profits are taxed unless these funds are held in a retirement account. The big difference is that segregated funds are variable annity contracts provided by life insurance companies that usually guarantee a return of at least 75% if held over a period of at least 10 years.

Besides the guaranteed return there are a few other benefits of segregated funds:

1) Reset options – Most segregated funds have the option of ‘resetting’ the investment amount to include the gains made in the portfolio. Their usually a maximum number of increases permitted depending on the contract and also the increase in the amount could extend the date of maturity of the investment.

2) Protection from creditors – As long as the annuity contract has existed for at least two years, and estate taxes are not owed, the investment held in segregated funds is not accessible by creditors. Even if the account holder files for bankruptcy or faces other financial difficulty the beneficiaries of the life insurance have first rights to the annuity.

3) Liquidity – Investors can usually withdraw upto 10% of the investment amount each year without a penalty. If these funds are held in retirement accounts then this figure increases to 20%.

4) Estate Planning – The process of wealth transfer is faster and cheaper because the investment in segragated funds is not subject to probate. The funds go directly to the account holder or the beneficiary.

As expected there a few disadvantages associated with segregated funds:

1) The cost of investing is higher than that of mutual funds.

2) Early redemptions above the limits usually have penalties upto 6% in the first year but they decrease by 1% in subsequent years to 0%.

3) If you decide to change the area of investment there can be additional fees and there is a limit on the number of times you can initiate such transfers.

Overall, segregated funds provide a great investment opportunity for all with room for growth and protection from losses.

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The reason: sachets containing the chemical dimethyl fumarate (DMF) had been used by Chinese manufacturer Linkwise to prevent mould from growing on their leather sofas during transportation and storage.

Unfortunately, the chemical, which is sometimes used as a fungicide, led to severe allergic reactions in some people using the sofas.

Tests have shown that DMF can cause severe eczema, a term referring to a range of skin conditions which are difficult to treat. The allergic reactions occur when the substance warms up.

Consultant dermatologist Dr Sandra Winhoven explained the condition at the time: ‘The substance that’s causing the sofa dermatitis outbreak is a fungicide, and this fungicide has a very low vapour point. So when it gets warm, more of it gets released.’ As a result, the summer months led to higher numbers of allergic reactions.

Symptoms of eczema

Eczema, which is sometimes known as dermatitis, can refer to a range of unpleasant and distressing symptoms including itching, blistering, redness, swelling, dryness, crusting, flaking, cracking, oozing and bleeding of the skin. These symptoms can be very damaging to a person’s quality of life, and some of the sofa rash sufferers reported symptoms of depression as a result.

With up to 50,000 households having been sold a contaminated sofa, and many people suffering from increasingly severe reactions, sufferers were often unaware that the reaction they were experiencing was connected to their sofa.

Some sufferers even unwittingly aggravated their injuries by staying at home to recover from their symptoms, thereby further increasing their contact with the problem sofa.

How the stores reacted

The sofas were sold by Argos, Land of Leather and Walmsley Furnishing. After learning of the problem with their sofas, the shops selling them responded in different ways. According to a Daily Mail report from June 21, 2008, Argos, who had sold the most contaminated sofas, withdrew the sofas from their shops and notified buyers, contacting them to arrange collection of the products.

Land of Leather, meanwhile, withdrew the sofas but was criticised for not notifying buyers, while Walmsley said they had removed the sachets from sofas they sold after they learned of the issue, though they also did not recall the sofas which had already been sold, as Argos had done.

Claiming compensation for sofa rash

In the UK’s largest ever consumer injury claim, thousands claimed for compensation against the stores where they bought their sofas. Compensation is expected to total up to £10m for this initial class action.

Along with the thousands already claiming compensation, an estimated tens of thousands could have suffered or still be suffering from burns which have not yet been linked to their sofas. These cases could lead to further claims for compensation.

If you have been affected by a ‘toxic’ sofa and experienced skin problems as a result, you could be entitled to claim compensation for your injuries and money lost due to time off work.

National Accident Helpline can help you make a sofa burn claim. We will put you in touch with a specialist personal injury lawyer to help you with your claim.

Group Health Insurance is a benefit that some companies offer their employees, enabling them to receive private medical treatment quickly and at no cost should they need it. This means that employees receive the medical treatment they need without the long wait and undue suffering.

Of course, this type of scheme has many benefits to both the staff and the employer.

For the employer, a member of staff needing medical treatment will receive it quickly, thereby helping speed up recovery and keeping disruption due to sickness in the office to a minimum. The employee will also be more focussed on their job as they will not be spending time worrying about a long wait for the treatment on the NHS, or a diagnosis etc or suffering undue pain.

For the employee, being a member of a Group Health Insurance plan has many valuable benefits, which a monetary value cannot be put on. In the first instance, they don’t have to pay out huge premiums for a private medical insurance plan – which can literally run into three figures every month. And they have the peace of mind that should they need it, expert medical help is available immediately.

As part of the Group Health Insurance Plan, many companies who do offer this benefit to staff will also pay for their employees to have a once a year ‘healthcheck’ at a private hospital. These health checks cover weight, height, levels of fitness, blood pressure, blood tests etc and are carried out to check that the member of staff is in optimum health or to spot a so far undiagnosed condition. Either way, the screening is beneficial to staff and their employers.

For an individual who is not part of an employers scheme to have the same sort of health screening, the cost can be anything from £150 upwards, so there is an added value to the benefit.

Any staff benefit, like company health insurance, of course also helps boost staff morale as it shows that the employer really cares about their staff.

Although health plans will vary from provider to provider and employer to employer, a typical Group Health Insurance package will offer cover for:

1. In-patient and day-patient treatment once the employee has received a diagnosis

2. Out-patient treatments (for example, physiotherapy)

3. Free Helplines – for example, a GP Helpline and Stress Counselling Helpline.

4. Specialist consultations following a referral from the employee’s GP

If you are an employer who has not yet instigated a company health insurance plan, consider this – you may find that the benefits of taking out group health insurance (such as better staff morale, employees having less time off due to serious illness, attracting a higher qualified level of staff etc) will far outweigh the cost. And in the long term, no doubt it will have a positive effect on your business.

Jason Hulott is Business Development Director of Protection Insurance. Protection Insurance is an internet based insurance business dedicated to getting consumers the very best insurance rates and the best products. Our product portfolio includes many specialist products such as private medical insurance

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