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Insurance
When a budget is tight it is easy to dismiss the need
for life insurance. Lack of knowledge can also make an individual
put off purchasing a life insurance policy. And, of course, planning
for one’s own death and discussing it with loved ones is always
difficult. However, the lack of life insurance can leave those you
care about with burdens after your death.
Why is it necessary?
In the period immediately following a death it is much easier to
arrange for a funeral if a life insurance policy is in place. The
average cost of a funeral is more than $7,500.
Also, within a marital partnership, the death of the
spouse does not relieve debt. Your partner will be liable for any
payments that need to be made. Standard housekeeping expenses will
need to be met as well. The ability for your loved ones to continue
living in the same manner as they did prior to your death will also
be important to you. Funding the education of any children will
certainly be important.
What amount should be bought?In order to calculate
the amount of life insurance you need you must consider immediate
and short term needs as well as long term requirements. Burial costs
and existing debt would fall into the current needs category. Mortgage
payments and child care would also fall into this group. College
expenses would be an example of future expenses to be considered.
Don’t forget taxes that may be due. There are many calculators
available on the net which can help you to estimate the amount of
life insurance you may need.
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act or HIPAA
has two purposes. The first, “portability,” allows an
employee to keep their current health insurance even if they should
happen to leave their current place of employment. This is easily
done thanks to plans such as COBRA. The second part, “accountability,”
means that the government can now regulate healthcare providers,
health plans, payers, clearinghouses, and anyone else that might
coordinate health data, for complete privacy and security. If an
employer provides any type of on-site health care, that employer
must also comply by HIPAA standards.
It means that if personal information is stored on
computer databases, tapes, disks, or transmitted with the assistance
of faxes or the Internet, in addition to anything written down or
talked about, steps must be taken to ensure a patient’s privacy.
This also means that, in addition to protecting your privacy, the
electronic exchange of financial or administrative information must
now be standardized. Penalties for non-compliance can include fines
that range from $100 per person per violation up to $25,000 per
year and/or up to ten years imprisonment.
The process is complaint driven and only covers health
care providers and health plans. It doesn’t mean that a friend
or family member can’t discuss someone’s medical issues
with another party. Relatives may talk freely about what they may
have discussed with health care providers. Journalists may report
on a subject’s medical condition, but the information that
can be disclosed by a doctor or hospital is limited. These restrictions
also don’t apply to police, firefighters, coaches, trainers
or teachers.
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