General information
There is no " National Health Insurance " in the US.
It is for this reason that the united states information agency
(USIA) requires all exchange visitors to have insurance meeting
their standards.
If you are treated by a doctor , you may have to pay the bills first
and then file a claim with the insurance company for reimbursement.
If you are going to see a doctor for non-emergency medical problem,
check your health insurance policy to make sure that this type of
treatment is covered.
Unless you need immediate treatment , it is better not to go to
a hospital " emergency room " to see a doctor.
You should use these facilities only for emergencies as they tend
to be quite costly. Your country's consulate may also be able to
provide a list of approved physicians.
 Top
When you work in the United States, usually most of the companies
deal with Insurance companies.The health Insurance will take effect
after 15 days or 3 Months depending on the company you work for.Employers
in the States choose between several general system:
|
HMO "Health Maintenance
Organization
"
|
| You pay a determined fixed monthly premium which gives
you access to a "Network" of Doctors
and Hospitals.First of all you have to consult a Generalist,
who will if necessary guide you to a specialist. The
hospitals bills and honoraries must be paid by your
HMO. Your participation in medical consultations is
minor. The medicines prescribed by the doctor's Network
will be paid by your HMO. There is no deductible and
your participation runs between 5 to 10$ per medical
consultation.Your Insurance Counselor will help you
choosing the best Insurance according your needs.Usually
HMO covers 100% of your expenses, better than PPO which
covers only a certain percentage and the rest has to
be covered by you. |
|
PPO "Preferred
Provider Organization"
|
| You pay a determined fixed monthly premium and a "Co-Pay"
that runs between 0 and 20% and which gives you access to
a Doctors and Hospitals Networking. You can choose your Deductible
between 250 and 1000$. You can also consult a specialist without
consulting first a Generalist. The Hospitals bills and honoraries
are paid by your PPO. Your share for each medical consultation
is minor. The medicines prescribed by those Doctors are paid
by your PPO. If you consult doctors that don't belong to your
PPO "network", your share will increase. |
|
Disability Insurance
|
| You can subscribed a "disability insurance"
to guarantee a monthly income for a 2; 5 year period or till
you reach 65 years old. |
|
Life Insurance
To insure a comfort and a financial security
to your close relatives you have the choice between 3 types
of Life Insurance Policy:Term Insurance, Wholelife Insurance
and Universal Insurance...
|
|
Term Life Insurance
|
| It offers you a defined protection for a determined period
of 5 , 10 or 20 Years. It guarantees the payments of a "Capital
at the Death" of the insured person, if it arises
before the expiration date of the defined period. |
|
Wholelife
Insurance
|
| It anticipates a payment
of a "Capital at the death" of the
insured . It covers long term needs as long as the insurance
policy is current. It includes a" buying back
value", which can be used to borrow or cashed.
It can also include a "Free Insurance"
which allows you, while stopping to pay the premiums,to
enjoy a" readjusted protection " if necessary. |
|
Universal Insurance
|
|
It includes 2 distinct elements:
-A Protection Element, which can be a Term-life Insurance
or Permanent.
-A Savings Investment Element.
That policy offers the flexibility to increase or reduce
the Premiums or the Death capital. The Holder decides on
the payments he wishes to do, according the evolution of
his Life Insurance needs, while accumulating a capital.
|
*Note: Your Life Insurance counselor will help you:
-Choosing the best insurance according your needs.
-Building-up a capital for your Retirement ; for your close relatives
or a project you had in mind...
-Distributing a capital in Annuities for a defined period or in
Life Annuity.
-Choosing the kind of investment according your sensitivity to
Financial Risks...
You can also take an additional insurance for you and your family.
You usually have a monthly payment , the older you are the more
expensive it is.When you subscribe to a private company you'll
get a "Medical Book" with the list of all the
doctors that are approved by your health company.For example a
famous company: Mutual
Care.The cost of health insurance vary from
a person to another, for instance: a family with 2 children will
pay per year between 2500 and 3000$.The choice is wide open.
Here is a list of online Health Insurance.
Nowadays most of the Americans get a "Mutual
fund", where you create a capital by giving
monthly a 100 to 200$ to the fund you've chosen. You earn
more money on your capital with the gain of the interest
(between 15 and 30% per year).If an accident happens you'll
just have to draw from your mutual fund. One of the biggest
Mutual Fund in the States is :Fidelity Investment.
*Note:The mutual fund program can be deductible against
tax!
Top
If you are not working , there are not really a public system
of health insurance, like you can find in different European countries,
in the States you will have to be on the "Welfare state".
Top
There aren't really Medical Clinics in the States. You'll find
the appropriate Doctor through the Healthcare company you belong
to (with the doctor list).Otherwise, you've got the Hospitals
where usually all kinds of doctors can be found.
Clinics would be more appropriate for plastic surgery or laser
treatments such as: eyes or skin operations (lifting, breast implants...).But
again those surgeons will appear on the list the Health company
will give you.
Top
Make an appointment with the kind of doctor you need , and be
on time!It's very important in the United States. Once in the
waiting room you'll have to fill out a form with your : name,
address, social security number and information about your health
insurance...
Then once the doctor has checked you out, he'll give you
a "Prescription" to get the appropriate
medicines, and an invoice and the papers you'll need to
send to your insurance.
To get your medicines you'll have to go to anykind of pharmacy
such as: Walgreens, Eckerd, Publix, Wall-Mart, K-Mart, Winn Dixie...
Most of the time antibiotic are charged by the "pill"
so you won't waste any of them. Some of the Antibiotic cost
a lot of money , it may vary from 40 to 150$. If you need
to renew your treatment, the word "Refill"
will appear on your prescription.
The pharmacy will give you your medicines in
a small tube where a sticker says on it your name, the length
of treatment and how many pills the tube contains.The tube
is usually put in a bag where again there's a summary of
your prescription.
Top
|
