Do You Need Visitors Health Insurance?

On this episode of the Moneywise podcast, Rajesh (R. J.) Jyotishi is joined by his long time colleague Kirit Ghandi to talk about travel insurance. 

Kirit is originally from Bombay India, and has resided in Atlanta for nearly four decades. A pioneer of the Indian Community, he is a founding member of IACA, ICRC, and Gujarati Samaj.  Kirit is a Georgia Tech Engineering graduate (B.S. and M.S.) who has enjoyed many successful years in the technical field.  A Registered Life and Health Insurance Agent, he has been associated with Shalin Financial since 2004 while providing fulltime guidance and services to individuals and businesses in the area of Insurance and Financial well being. 

Jennifer Stukey will be back on future episodes of the Money Wise podcast. 

Today's topic is appropriate for this time of year, looking into traveler's and visitor's insurance policies. These would be policies purchased when traveling outside of your home country, providing protections in case of medical emergencies or other issues occuring outside of primary coverage. It should be considered as another part of the overall travel expenses. 

Check your own policy specifically for coverage in the areas that you will be traveling, to determine whether you are covered for medical emergencies. Out of Network deductibles may be double the amount of in-network deductibles for today's popular, preferred provider policies. 

R.J. relates a story of a fellow traveler in Tibet who fell from a yak, and broke her shoulder in four places. Unfortunately, there was no medical evacuation services available in the area, so the entire expedition had to escort her back to Katmandu for treatment. Her traveler insurance policy covered the medical expenses that she incurred. 

Look closely at the policy's clauses regarding pre-existing conditions and illnesses or injuries that occur as a reslut of a pre-existing condition, which might not be covered. Policies that are comprehensive in nature where there is a deductible but no caps on hospital stays etc., might be a best option.  And you may find some high-risk activities are excluded from your coverage. 

Other types of insurance include trip cancellations, lost luggage and other services offered by cruise lines and travel agents. 

The question arises as to where to get these policies, is the home country better or from the country of travel. This really depends on your level of comfort, as many find that having an insurance agent to work with in the home country prior to travel provides the most secure feeling. 

Check out the Visitors Health Plans page on ShalinFinancial.com for more information. 

Rajesh (R. J.) Jyotishi of Shalin Financial & Jennifer Stucky with The A. I. Group have been in the insurance and financial services for over 15 years and have assisted hundreds of individuals and groups for their insurance and employee benefits needs.

For questions, they can be reached at Rajesh Jyotishi:  770-451-1932, Jennifer Stucky: (770) 664-5526.

Theme music for the Money Wise podcast is Now or Never, available on the album Carpe Diem.

Enclosure

Group Health Benefits Made Easier in GA



5 Key Questions in Life Insurance

3 Biggest Mistakes in Life & Health Insurance

Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Coverage in GA

On this episode of the Moneywise podcast, Rajesh (R. J.) Jyotishi and Jennifer Stucky get back into podcasting after a brief hiatus. One outcome of the hiatus however was the standup comedy class that R.J. participated in and was documented in this video clip from the RJ at the Punchline Comedy Club in Atlanta.

The topic for this episode is Pre-existing Insurance Coverage in GA. It is part of the Affordable Care Act and is funded by the federal government and provides up to $5 Billion in funding to support pre-existing insurance coverage in each state.  Georgia currently has a pre existing insurance plan and it is a great option for people who are not insurable on an individual basis.

Pre-Existing Insurance plans are a transitional plan until 2014 when insurance companies will be required to cover people with pre-existing conditions.

There are 3 Basic Criteria for Eligibility.

1. You must be a U. S. citizen or legal resident.
2. Must be uninsured for the last 6 months.
3. Must have been turned down for health insurance due to pre-exsiting conditions.

Who is NOT eligible?

• Individual covered by Medicare or Tricare
• Individual with job based coverage
• Individual with COBRA coverage 
• Or individual coverage

If an indivdual loses any of these coverages and are unable to obtain new coverage due to a pre-existing condition within a six month period, this would be an option.

Something to consider as the population in this country continues to diversify, eligibility for Medicare comes after working and contributing to the social security system for 10 yrs or 40 quarters.  Meanwhile, many individual plans do not cover individuals over the age of 65, based upon the assumption that Medicare would be kicking in. A pre-existing plan is an option that can be the alternative. 

An applicant must go about proving that they have a pre-existing condition that has impacted their ability to get coverage including a denial letter from a private insurer, or proof that the premium to be charged by the insurer is subtantially higher than the premium under the pre-existing insurance coverage. 

Some states offer eligibility based upon a conditions list, requirements of which can be found at Healthcare.gov.

Benefit Options

Currently there are 3 options. Each plan has a max out of pocket of $5950/yr. There is a network of preferred providers you can view on healthcare.gov.

Standard option:

• $2000 deductible plan in netowork.
• $25 co-pay for office visits.
• $500 Rx deductible with generous benefits for Rx.

Extended option:

• $1000 deductible
• $25 co-pay for office visits
• $250 Rx deductible instead of $500 with lesser co-pays for

HSA Option:

• $2500 deductible

Important Documents

Enrollment Form rev. November 2010

Benefits Summary 2011

Brochure for 2011

Pre-existing Condition Insurance Plan Guide

For children with pre-existing conditions that are having a hard time getting coverage, there is a web site called InsureKidsNow.gov with additional information about resources.

Rajesh (R. J.) Jyotishi of Shalin Financial & Jennifer Stucky with The A. I. Group have been in the insurance and financial services for over 15 years and have assisted hundreds of individuals and groups for their insurance and employee benefits needs.

For questions, they can be reached at Rajesh Jyotishi:  770-451-1932, Jennifer Stucky: (770) 664-5526.

Theme music for the Money Wise podcast is Now or Never, available on the album Carpe Diem.

Pre-existing Condition Coverage