Health Insurance: That's the ticket: Insurance for medical tourism

If you’re unable to afford medical treatment, saving money by leaving the United States for treatment can be an attractive, even essential, option. Roughly 648,000 people traveled outside the United States to undergo a medical procedure in 2009.
With health care costs escalating, that number is expected to grow by 35 percent each year, according to the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions. Even if you have good health insurance, deductibles and co-insurance can put surgeries out of reach. Besides price, people travel abroad because certain procedures are not available in the United States.

Health Insurance: How to get free prescription medicine

For too many Americans, skipping doses of prescription drugs to save money or cutting pills in half to make them last longer is a way of life.
More than half (54 percent) of Americans say they currently take prescription medicines. According to a March 2008 report, "The Public on Prescription Drugs and Pharmaceutical Companies," issued jointly by USA Today, the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health, one in five Americans are currently taking four or more prescription drugs on a daily basis.

Health Insurance: Don't be rude! The etiquette of asking your doctor for price breaks and free drugs

You talk to your doctor about personal issues you wouldn't discuss with your best friend but, if you're like many patients, there's one topic you might feel squeamish about: Money.
Particularly if you have a high deductible or no health insurance at all, the doctor's bill weighs heavily, and it's something you should talk about. Your doctor needs to know what you can afford, and you need to get the most cost-effective care.
Here's how to broach the topic without being rude.
1. Be upfront

Health Insurance: How to haggle for a lower price with your doctor

You might have negotiated a better price for a new car or bargained for a great lamp at your neighbor's yard sale, but did you know you might be able to negotiate with your doctor to lower your out-of-pocket expenses?
According to a November 2007 survey by the Consumer Reports National Research Center, among those who have tried to negotiate medical bills, 93 percent were successful at least once.
"Everything in health care is negotiable," says Andrew Cohen, spokesperson for The Access Project, a nonprofit organization concerned with improving health care access. "Negotiating can be a great way to reduce bills. Unfortunately, people often think that this isn't an option when it comes to medical expenses, but it is something they can take advantage of."
Larry Gelb, president and chief executive officer of Care

Health Insurance: 12 ways to lower your health insurance premiums

You can shop around for health insurance quotes just as you would for better car insurance rates. Fortunately, lower premiums don't mean shoddy health insurance plans.
"There are a variety of affordable health insurance options available today that also offer quality coverage," says Ellen Laden, a spokesperson for Golden Rule Insurance Co., a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group. "Consumers believe that if they get a lower-cost plan they will have to worry about getting quality coverage and that is absolutely not the case. Make sure you find coverage that meets your family's unique health care and budget needs. If the plan doesn't meet both of these needs, it's not going to save you money and it may cost you more in the long run."
Here are ways to get the most for your health insurance dollar.

Health Insurance: Health insurance basics

Unless you're a millionaire and can pay for your health care out of pocket, health insurance is a crucial purchase. The time to buy it is before you have an accident, suffer a serious illness or discover you're pregnant.
Individual health insurance doesn't cover health care for medical problems or conditions that start before the date you were issued a policy, although there are now pre-existing condition insurance plans available from the government. However, due to health care reform legislation, health insurers will no longer be able to deny coverage or refuse to renew coverage to adults with pre-existing conditions beginning on Jan. 1, 2014.
Still, finding adequate and affordable health insurance coverage might seem overwhelming, but knowing the basics can help make your search less daunting.

Health Insurance: Understanding Medicare

Medicare is a health insurance program for people age 65 or older, certain younger people with disabilities, and people with End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD). According to the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Medicare serves about 40 million beneficiaries.

The large majority of Medicare beneficiaries have original Medicare. This is the traditional fee-for-service arrangement, which means you can go to any health care provider who accepts Medicare. You must pay a deductible, and then Medicare pays its share of the costs and you pay your share.