Op-Ed: Patient's plea makes the best case for health care reform – Yahoo! News

By Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius

If you want to understand why we need to reform our health insurance system, you need to know about Americans like Natoma Canfield. Natoma is a 50-year-old cancer survivor from Medina, Ohio, who wrote to President Obama last December. Like a growing number of Americans, she’s self-employed and can’t get health insurance through her job. But until this January, she always made sure to maintain a policy for herself on the individual market. It was the responsible thing to do.

(Join a live chat with Secretary Kathleen Sebelius at 5:15 pm ET today. Please email your health care questions ahead of time to news-editorial@yahoo-inc.com and then click here to join the chat at 5:15 pm ET.)

Her insurance company didn’t make it easy for her. Year after year, she’d pay higher premiums or have to switch to a plan with a higher deductible. Last year, they hiked her monthly bill by 25 percent, and Natoma ended up spending more than $6,000 in premiums. She also spent more than $4,000 out of her pocket for co-pays and other expenses. But because she never hit her deductible, her insurance company only spent $900 on her care. So she paid more than $10,000 for $900 in benefits.

At the end of last year, she finally hit her breaking point. She got another letter from her insurance company. This time, her premium was going up more than 40 percent. It was too much. She couldn’t afford her insurance. So she gave up her coverage and, like a lot Americans, hoped for the best. In her letter to the president, she said she worried that she was now just one health emergency away from losing her family home, which her parents built in 1958.

Then her worst fear came true. Two weeks ago, while she was working, she collapsed. When she went to the hospital, they diagnosed her with leukemia. Now she’s facing more than a month of chemotherapy and has the added worry of how she’s going to pay for it.

What’s remarkable about Natoma’s story is how unremarkable it is. She was unlucky enough to get sick. But that was just chance. It could have happened to any of the tens of millions of Americans who don’t have health insurance. Or to any of the tens of millions more who are underinsured. Some of them have caps on their benefits, which means their coverage can disappear in the middle of a hospital stay or a round of chemotherapy.

Those of us who work for large employers that can negotiate better insurance rates have slightly more security. But the share of Americans under 65 who get health insurance through their job has been going down every year since 2000. And as soon as any of us change jobs or retire or decide to start our own business, we’re facing the same risks as Natoma. Even if we keep our jobs, our health care premiums are rising three times faster than wages, eating up a bigger chunk of our paychecks every year.

Our health insurance system is failing at the very job it is supposed to do. It’s supposed to protect people against exorbitant health costs, yet many Americans who have insurance still spend tens of thousands of dollars a year on health care. It’s supposed to soften the financial blow that comes with getting sick, yet the Americans who are most likely to have serious health problems often can’t get insurance. It’s supposed to give families peace of mind, but it’s hard to think of any other issue that causes as many worries.

President Obama’s health insurance reform plan will make our insurance system work for families, small business owners, and individuals like Natoma by making three significant changes.

First, it will protect families by ending the worst insurance practices. It will outlaw the practice of arbitrarily canceling someone’s coverage and eliminate caps on benefits. It will also forbid insurance companies from denying you coverage because of a pre-existing condition like high blood pressure. So for the first time ever, every American will be able to get an insurance policy.

Second, it will give self-employed workers and small business owners the same private insurance choices as members of Congress by creating a new, consumer-friendly insurance marketplace called an exchange. Because this marketplace will allow consumers to band together to negotiate lower rates, it’s estimated that premiums for many consumers will go down 14 to 20 percent for comparable coverage. And it will provide tax credits to help middle-class Americans and small business owners buy insurance.

Third, the president’s plan will bring down costs for families, businesses, and government with the broadest package of health care cost-cutting measures that has ever come before Congress. A report from the Business Roundtable (an association of CEOs from leading U.S. companies) says these reforms could lower costs by as much as $3,000 per employee. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the president’s plan will lower the federal deficit by about $100 billion over the next 10 years.

Collectively, these changes will help give Americans control of their health care choices. Under the president’s plan, no insurance company would be able to turn Natoma away because of her cancer diagnosis. If one company raised her premium, it would be easy for her to find a new plan in the exchange. The plan’s wide range of cost-cutting policies would help ensure she could find affordable coverage.

Natoma wants us to tell her story in the hopes that it will lead to reforms that will protect others from what happened to her. That’s what we’re going to do. But we also want to hear your health care story. That’s why I’ll be answering your questions in a live, online video discussion today at 5:15 ET. To participate and find out what reform will mean for you, email your questions ahead of time to news-editorial@yahoo-inc.com and then click here to join the chat at 5:15 pm ET. 

Kathleen Sebelius is the Secretary of Health and Human Services in President Barack Obama’s Cabinet. She was the Democratic governor of the state of Kansas from 2003 to 2009.

Op-Eds by contributors do not reflect the editorial views of the Yahoo! News staff.

Confuse on which California car insurance provider to pick? The State mandated drivers to secure insurance. Getting an online quote will help you find an insurance company. Pick one that meets the State’s requirement. Include Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Bodily Injury. Read this article for more insurance information.

You can get a California car insurance quote online. Quotes are now quite common on the internet. There are a variety of different types of quotes that you can get. Some types are just a single quote from particular insurance company. Other quotes from a website can come from several different sources.

Having California car insurance is critical, so if you don’t have it, go get an online quote right away. But before you start your quote, get some basic information on the insurance cover you want and list your vehicle information. Do always go for the cheapest insurance, but get the insurance you can afford.

You do not really need to spend a fortune just to get auto insurance regardless of its nature. There are different kinds of car insurance for you to choose depending on your needs and your budget of course.

Before you can actually get the best car insurance in California you need to know California car insurance requirements. This will help a lot in getting the California car insurance quotes that is right for you.

You must know that the state of California follows a Tort system in its automobile insurance. This means there must be someone found to be at fault for the accident. Hence, that person and his or her insurance firm should be responsible for all the damages caused by such an accident as stipulated in the policy.

In getting California car insurance quotes, it is important for you to know that the tort system varies for each States. State Law in California, in particular, requires a minimum of $15,000 per injured person up to a total of $30,000 per accident for Bodily Injury Liability limits. It also requires a minimum limit of $5,000 for Property Damage Liability coverage. This is most often referred as 15/30/5 coverage.

Residents in California had an average auto insurance premium of $1,650 in 2009. Since the national rate is $1,735, people have this feeling that the state has been collaborating with insurance companies to fix the rates so that there would be no need to look for better California car insurance quotes. This is why it is really important for you to look around to find the cheapest California car insurance.

You should always make sure you get Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Bodily Injury coverage. This will cover whatever bodily injuries that you might endure from an accident caused by an uninsured and/or underinsured driver. This is just one of the many car insurance quotes you can choose. Hence, you need to shop around to make sure you will get the best deals on this matter.

In selecting automobile insurance, you need to consider and know in detail every bit of information about the insurance. You should also look for insurance firms that can offer you only the best California car insurance quote.

About The Author

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Dexter

Dallas Texas

Yes, it is always good to shop for car insurance quotes first before buying a policy in Dallas. Aside from getting a lesser insurance premium, you will also find a good insurance provider that you have never heard of before. Getting online car insurance quotes is the easiest way of shopping for best insurance deals because you can do it at the comfort of your home, and on your own time.

Following are steps in getting online car insurance quotes. Aside from your personal information, be ready with your driver’s license, SSS number, vehicle registration.

1. If you have car insurance companies or brokers already in your mind and you know their websites, you can start going to their sites. If you do not have any insurance providers in your head, do not fret because the search engine can help you find plenty of them.

2. Once you are in a website of an insurance company, find their free online insurance calculator. It is usually in their homepage, and it is very prominent so you can right away notice it. Usually it has a heading or tag line of ‘Get a quote’ or ‘Get free insurance quote.’
Do not worry about being obliged to pay or avail of their products, the online calculator is totally for free.

3. Once you find their online insurance calculator, be prepared to fill out some forms. The first information they would usually ask are the type of insurance you want to get quote of and your zip code.

4. The following page or fields will ask for your personal information: name, gender, address, and birthday.

5. After your personal information, you will be asked about your vehicle or vehicles: type, year, make, and model.

6. Then, if you have additional drivers you want to add to your policy, you also need to feed the information into the system.

7. You will then be given list of discounts you can use or you will be asked what discounts you want to add to your policy.

8. After entering all the necessary information, you will then get your online car insurance quotes.

This is basically the common steps or process of getting your insurance quote from any insurance companies or brokers in Dallas. Try to get as many quotes from various providers so you will have a good basis of comparison.

Carlos

Dallas Texas

Everywhere you look, there are a lot of web sites in the Internet that will provide you with free online car insurance quotes for your perusal. However, unlike getting free online life insurance quotes, you will be required to provide a more detailed information to the insurance provider.

One option is to go directly to the Dallas car insurance provider’s web site. Most of the time, the company web site will offer free online car insurance quotes to their prospective clients. Typically, you will have to enter the place where you are currently located. For U.S. residents, you will be required to enter the U.S. State they are in. This is because the minimum coverage that car insurance can offer to their clients differs in every State. Further, you will be asked bout your previous automobile-related violations as this will affect the car insurance rate that will be offered to you. Additionally, violations of the people that will be driving your car will be requested also. This will further help your insurance provider to assess their risk on your car. In addition, details about your car will also be requested as well as information of your driving license.

After answering the information required by the Dallas insurance company’s web site, you will be asked about your contact details so that their insurance agents can personally talk to you or make a phone call regarding the car insurance policies that will suit your needs.

On the other hand, there are other web sites that will provide you with many free online car insurance quotes which they will pull out from various car insurance companies that they are affiliated with. In this case, you don’t have to input too much details in these web sites unlike the ones owned by the car insurance companies themselves. However, you will only be given rough estimates regarding the car insurance you require.

I hope these will shed light to you regarding car insurance. Enjoy your hunt!

Maria

Dallas Texas

Comparing insurance quotes can be tricky. If you have no idea what you are comparing then you might end up comparing the wrong items. Keep in mind that insurance quotes are merely a list and the best thing you should do is to compare automobile insurance rates reflected on it one by one. Doing this will assure you that you are comparing the same items from different insurance companies.

To compare automobile insurance rates is not an easy task. There are several factors that you have take into consideration. Among those factors to consider are the following:

Coverage. One major factor to consider is the coverage that each insurer offers. Example of this is the comprehensive coverage which protects your vehicle in case you lose your car through theft or weather damage. Collision coverage is another type of coverage which covers your vehicle in case it gets into any form of collision. When comparing, make sure that you are able to compare the different types of coverage including those previously mentioned.

Deductibles. This is the amount of money that we will owe in case of accident or loss. The maximum amount of deductibles is $1000 while the minimum amount is $500, of course the amount will vary depending on the type of the coverage. The higher the deductible is, the lesser the amount that you have to pay for your policy and vice versa. So in the event of a loss with the premium savings, expect some amount to pay in addition. Higher deductibles reduce the amount of your premiums.

Limitations. The limits will depend on that insurance company although most automobile insurers don’t provide limitations for the following types of coverage: comprehensive coverage and collision coverage. Other types of coverage like rental reimbursement coverage, uninsured motorist and liability coverage may have some limitations. The limits can sky rocket the premiums, but when comparing make sure that you are comparing policies with the same limits so that you will be able to clearly see the difference between the rates. Always make sure that you get enough limits to cover your possible exposure to any form of accidents or loss to keep you from being held legally liable for any damages.

Understanding the three basic factors can help you compare automobile insurance rates with ease. Always evaluate your options and choose the one that protects you and your assets in the event of accident or loss.

Sally

Dallas, Texas

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Compare your auto insurance quotes online and save today. You can start a quote online today to see the rates, discounts and payment plans offered by the companies we quote. You can find out everything there is to know about auto insurance, obtain instant online auto insurance quotes, compare these insurance quotes and auto plan benefits, choose auto insurance from the leading auto insurance providers, and finally apply and buy auto insurance online.

You also need to know that the company you are considering has the financial resources in place to be able to pay out on a large claim, should the need arise. You may qualify for a discounted rate in certain situations, and you will want to check out a company’s customer service satisfaction record before applying for coverage. A well-established insurance company with a good reputation is one that you should consider.

Robert

Dallas, TX

Robert,

It’s a given fact that your car insurance rate after DUI conviction will go up. When a motorist has been convicted of DUI or DWI , the auto insurance provider will consider you a high-risk driver. . This means that you may be a potential liability risk from property damage and injuries to others that a DUI implies may happen in the future.

Your auto insurance provider may cancel your car insurance policy. If the insurance company considers you a risk as a driver for them to continue carrying your car insurance policy, they may cancel your car insurance coverage.

You may also be required to file an SR-22 Proof of Insurance Certificate if you get convicted of a DUI. Usually this is filed through the insurance provider. Some insurance providers do not offer policies for those who have filed an SR-22 insurance.

The effects on your car insurance after DUI conviction can be difficult to manage. You will surely have to pay much higher car insurance rate on your existing auto insurance policy. The best thing to do if have been arrested for DUI is to plan ahead. It is a good thing to ask expert on what to do with

John

Dallas TX

Great Question.

You need to purchase auto insurance coverages from a insurance carrier to have the SR22 auto insurance form filed for you by insurance provider licensed to do business in  Dallas Texas.

Once you purchase the car insurance required by the state, the insurance company will file the SR22 auto insurance form. Some insurance providers offer instant SR22 auto insurance form, other may require the form to be filed first before they mail it to you. .

If the state require you to file an SR22 auto insurance form you may contact your car insurance carrier and inform the car insurance agent that an SR22 auto insurance form is needed to be filed with your state.

If you cannot find an insurance provider that can file the SR-22 auto insurance form for you then you may be able to check with your state’s insurance regulator who should be able to tell you where to find an insurance carrier in your area that you can buy the required insurance and file the SR-22 car insurance form for you

You can also check out our website that will also give you several free rate quotes on SR22 insurance Dallas.  Just enter your zip code in the box provided above and you will receive no obligation quotes.

 Will my job effect how much I pay for my insurance premiums?

Doug,

Garland, TX.

Doug,

You will be able to use your good driving record to your advantage due to your status as a “good driver.” There’s a discount available for people with an engineering or science degree; specifically, most insurance companies offer a teacher discount because teachers are rated as “above average drivers” by the Auto Insurance companies.

 At least one insurance company maintains that there is a direct relationship between what you do for a living and your risk of being in a car accident. Therefore, a scientist will pay the least amount of money and owners of businesses will pay the most. Not only does job type determine the cost of your insurance premium, geographic location, driving record, claims history, credit history, gender, age and car make and model also determine the cost of your premium. Therefore, if you are a teacher, you are in luck. The reasons for this are justified with statistical evidence.

Excellent Question.

Jed,

Grand Prairie, Tx.

Jed,

At least one insurance company maintains that there is a direct relationship between what you do for a living and your risk of being in a car accident. Therefore, a scientist will pay the least amount of money and owners of businesses will pay the most. Not only does job type determine the cost of your insurance premium, geographic location, driving record, claims history, credit history, gender, age and car make and model also determine the cost of your premium. Therefore, if you are a teacher, you are in luck. The reasons for this are justified with statistical evidence.

Great Question.

Mary

Dallas, TX.

Mary,

When shopping for SR22 auto insurance the way to get the most affordable policy is to get rate quotes from as many different sources as possible. The DUI, DWI, & SR22 quotes are free and there is no obligation to use any insurance company by getting a quote from them.

But sometimes to get affordable DUI,DWI, or SR22 in Dallas, Texas you’ll have to shop with a specialized broker who can show you all policies available to you. Or an easier way is the internet and do some comparison shopping where you can look at different quotes at your on leisure.

Thank you for asking this question. I hope this website helps you make a decision in this matter.