My wife and I just had a beautiful baby boy!  We recently had him vaccinated which we thought was covered by our insurance company, United Health Care (UHC).  To our surprise the claim was denied because UHC doesn’t cover immunization.  For 6 shots the doctor’s office billed us $565, which averages $94.17 per shot.  There is no way I was paying $565 for 6 common immunization shots.

After doing some research I found out that the state of Georgia offers the shots for free if you can prove your insurance company doesn’t cover immunization or you don’t have insurance.  This is why I think UHC doesn’t cover immunization; they know the state will.  However, they should do a better job of notifying their customers of this.

I then called the doctor’s office to complain about the bill and I was told if I had notified them that my insurance company didn’t cover immunization, the shots would have been pulled from the Medicaid stock which would have only cost $10 per shot.  (What the bleep!)  The clerk stated it was too late to reverse the charges and use the Medicaid charges.  She however discounted the bill by $130 which wasn’t enough.  

I told the clerk that was unreasonable and that I’d write a letter to the doctor (see letter below).  Well the letter worked.  I received a call from the doctor’s office yesterday saying the bill would be adjusted to costing only $10 per shot.  

One thing I’ve learned is to never let people take advantage of you.  This is also why we need Healthcare Reform in this country!  

See letter below of letter to the doctor’s office:

P. Birmingham
XXXX XXXXX XXX
XXXXXXXX, XX XXXX
XXX-XXX-XXX
XXX-XXX-XXX
June 22, 2009

Dr. XXXXX  XXXXXX
XXX
XXX XXXXXXXXX XXXXX
XXXXXXX, XX XXXXXX

Dear Dr. XXXXX  XXXXXX:

I am writing in regards to the bill (Statement #9149) received from your company for immunization shots given to our son (XXXXXX Birmingham) born on XXXXX XX, 2009.

To our surprise the immunization shots aren’t covered by our insurance company; United Health Care (UHC).  However, charging us $565 for 6 immunizations is outrageous!  If we had known UHC wouldn’t cover the shots, we could have gotten the shots for free from the state.  I realize as a courtesy most medical offices check with a patient’s insurance company first for coverage before giving medical services and I wished your medical office would have done this for us.

I spoke to Vicky in billing about this issue and she stated had we notified her that our insurance company didn’t cover the immunization shots; the shots could have been pulled from the Medicaid stock which would have only cost $10 per shot costing $60 instead of $565.   She stated it was too late to reverse the charges and use the Medicaid charges which I find unreasonable.  She however discounted the bill by $130 which isn’t enough.  

I am requesting that our account be adjusted with the $10 per shot.  If you have any questions please call me at XXX-XXX-XXXX.

Sincerely,

P. Birmingham

If you have student loans you may be able to lower your payments with the government’s Income Based Repayment (IBR) plan.  IBR is a new repayment plan for the major types of student federal loans, which include any Stafford, Grad PLUS or Consolidation loan made under either the Direct Loan or FFEL program.  However, if you are in default you are out of luck.   Additionally, parent PLUS Loans or consolidation loans that repaid a parent PLUS Loan are not allowed as well.

IBR caps your required monthly payment at an amount that should be affordable based on your income and family size.  New and old loans for any type of education (undergraduate, graduate, professional, job training) may qualify for the IBR plan.

You may apply for IBR if your federal student loan debt is high relative to your income and family size. Your lender will determine your eligibility, however, you can use the Departments IBR calculator to estimate if you would likely benefit from the IBR plan. The calculator looks at your income, family size, and state of residence to calculate your IBR monthly payment amount. If that amount is lower than the monthly payment under a 10-year standard repayment plan, then you are eligible to repay your loans under IBR.

For more information visit studentaid.ed.gov.

The interesting thing about life is that we don’t know what’s around the corner.  The recent death of Michael Jackson is a good example. Many people live as if tomorrow is guaranteed; as if their job, health, possessions, friends, family, etc., will be around tomorrow.  

When I was 16 years old I got hit by a car while crossing the road.  I recall one second being healthy and living and within less than a couple of seconds I was laying on the hot road in shock, feeling the bones in my left leg rub against each other, not being able to move because my collar bone was broken and with blood everywhere.  I thought I was dead, dying or would be crippled for the rest of my life.  That experience thought me that at the drop of a time things can quickly turn for the worst.

I’ve also learned that the word “permanent” doesn’t really exist for humans.  Nothing is permanent.  How can anything be permanent for a human, when his/her life is temporary?  In the past, whenever I got a job offer letter stating it was a “permanent” job I’d chuckle to myself.  How can they offer me a permanent job when no one knows what the future will hold?  Sure enough with today’s economy many people are experiencing this reality.

Because of this I’ve learned to plan for the rainy days which include having more than one source of income, saving money when you have it, and ensuring you have good insurance (health, auto, life, home, etc).   When things are going well, plan for when things will not go well, because they will one day!

Related Articles:

• Should You Have a One Year Emergency Fund?
• Keep Expenses Low for When the Hard Times Come

It amazes me that most Americans aren’t angry about our existing healthcare system.  I consider healthcare the biggest threat to most people financial well-being.  Most Americans don’t realize that a catastrophic illness or accident can easily bankrupt them even if they have health insurance.  

Consider this; treatment of the average breast-cancer patient costs $66,489 according to a MSN Money Central report.  If your insurance covers 80% of the bill, you are left to pay 20% which is $13,297.80.  If you are fortunate to have health insurance paying 90% of the bill, then you are left to pay $6,648.90. These costs depend on your financial wellbeing.  If you are a high income earner or have $100,000 saved in the bank, it’s not that bad.  But if you are the average American living from paycheck-to-paycheck, these costs are extremely high.  Plus with the current economy where many people are out of work, these costs can easily bankrupt you!

I praise President Obama for trying to restructure our healthcare system; however, it seems that most people don’t realize the seriousness of the problem until they run into problems.

If you are healthy, have a job and money saved in the bank, and then you may not pay attention to the problem.  However, the minute something happens to you (major illness or serious accident) and the bills start to roll in; you’ll then become aware of the problem.  But the problem is, by then its too late for you to do anything.
 
If more Americans were upset or concerned about the serious flaws in our healthcare system, we’d vote people into office who were serious about fixing the problems and vote-out the ones that aren’t.  We’d protest, have marches and demonstrations until it was fixed!

I’m so happy John McCain didn’t win the election because it was clear that he had no desire to fix the problem.  He didn’t see healthcare as a major threat to the long term stability of the American economy.  When asked if he thought healthcare was a privilege, a right or a responsibility?   He stated it was the responsibility of the individual.  President Obama stated it was a “right” for every American.  He stated for the richest country to have people go bankrupt because of an illness is wrong.  He spoke of how his mother who died at age 53 had to argue with her insurance company in the last months of her life from her hospital room over whether or not she had a pre-existing condition is fundamentally wrong.  President Obama clearly understands the system is broken and needs to be fixed!

Last night President Obama gave a prime-time interview moderated by Charles Gibson and Diane Sawyer of ABC News on healthcare and I was very impressed with the interview.  I’ve always believed the best way to get your ideas to implementation is to first sell it to the people involved.  If you try to ram your ideas down people’s throats you will fail.  President Obama’s strategy of selling his ideas in “town-hall meetings” is an excellent strategy.  When he’s able to convince the majority of Americans that his ideas will work, then it will become easier to implement.  President Obama has my full support!  I sincerely hope he succeeds.

According to a study published last week by the Employee Benefits Research Institute, people retiring today will need a ton load of money to cover healthcare expenses over the course of their retirement.

No one knows what will happen with President Obama’s plan to cut $131 billion in Medicare / Medicaid spending and reform the U.S. healthcare system.  However, for now men retiring at 65 this year (2009) will need $68K to $173K in savings to cover health insurance premiums and out-of-pocket expenses if they want a 50% chance of having enough money and $134K to $378K if they want a 90% chance.

For women, who have a longer lifespan, who retire at 65 will need $98K to $242K in savings to cover health insurance premiums and out-of-pocket expenses if they want a 50% chance of having enough money and $164K to $450K if they want a 90% chance.

Additionally, according to the report retires may need more money because the costs doesn’t cover long-term care expenses.

Those are some really big numbers, considering in some countries citizens pay nothing!  Let’s all hope that by the end of the year, the Obama administration will be successful in reforming the U.S. Healthcare system!

Source: MarketWatch.com

Related Article: It’s Time to Fix the American Healthcare Crisis

Now maybe a great time to buy a car, especially if your current vehicle is a gas guzzler.  President Obama is about to sign into law a program called the Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS) to help consumers purchase a new, more fuel efficient vehicle when they trade in their less fuel efficient vehicle.  The government incentive could save you up to $4,500 to purchase a new car.

To qualify, your vehicle must be less than 25 years old on the date of trade-in and you can only purchase a new or leased vehicle costing less than $45,000. Your trade-in vehicle must have 18 MPG or less, however, some very large pick-up trucks and cargo vans may have different requirements. To find out your vehicle’s official MPG, visit www.fueleconomy.gov.  Additionally, your trade-in vehicle must be registered and insured continuously for the full year preceding the trade-in.  You will not need a voucher because dealers will automatically apply the credit at the time of purchase.  To find the trade-in value of your vehicle visit Autos.MSN.com.

How Will CARS Work?  According the website Cars.gov:

• Step 1: Visit CARS.gov for current information about the program.
• Step 2: Determine if you qualify, then shop for a new car.
• Step 3: Bring the title, registration and insurance papers showing continuous registration and insurance coverage for the past full year.
• Step 4: When you buy or lease a new vehicle, the dealer handles the submission of all required information to NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration).
• Step 5: NHTSA ensures that your purchase meets the requirements.
• Step 6: About 10 days later, NHTSA will issue a financial credit to the dealer.

Sources:

• Visit Cars.gov for further details.
• Visit FuelEconomy.gov to determine your car’s MPG.
• Visit Autos.MSN.com to determine your trade in value.

This is interesting!  Do you realize that nearly 1/3 of multi-million lottery winners become bankrupt in just a few short years after their big win.  I’ve always believed that if you give a fool any amount of money, they will blow it.  Some people are prone to lose money!

The top ten lottery losers are listed below:

10. Vivian Nicholson – won £152,300, lost five husbands
9. Willie Hurt – won $3,100,000, lost everything
8. Evelyn Adams – won $5,400,000, lost all but her caravan
7. Shefik Tallmadge – won $6,700,00, lost his Ferrari
6. Michael Carroll – won £9,700,000, lost everything but his reputation
5. Rhoda Toth – won $13,000,000, lost her disability claim
4. William Post – won $16,200,000, lost his family
3. Janite Lee – won $18,000,000, lost her money but bought a seat in heaven
2. Billie Bob Harrell – won $31,000,000, lost his life
1. Jake Whittacker – won $315,000,000, lost his car insurance

Visit TimesOnline for the complete story.