Over the last six years, in the United States, health insurance rates have almost doubled. The good news though is that there are ways by which individuals can lower their health premiums.Firstly, it is important for individuals to research and shop for various rates. An agent can help individuals to search the rates, which suit the budget of the buyer.The other method by which individuals can lower their health insurance rates is by quitting smoking. Firms always charge more to smokers, as they are more prone to health problems and hence costs.In addition, if individuals maintain good health or improve on their health, they can also cut down on their health insurance rates. With the help of few tips and precautions, individuals can get good health rates that can save them their hard earned money.Important Factors:Age is the most important factor, which affects health insurance rates. Young people pay a lower premium on their health plans.One more factor that affects the health insurance rate is gender. Women pay lower health premiums as compared to men. The reason is women are less likely to suffer from diseases such as high blood pressure, heart attacks, and other illness.Some insurance companies in the U.S. offer discounts to individuals, if they pay their insurance premiums on time, since they are viewed as better customers.Health insurance rates vary as per the variance in medical expense in different areas. The medical costs vary due to differences in medical practice, the degree of specialization in different fields of medicine, and the level of competition in that area. Most plans vary in their rates depending on the zip code. The address of the employer’s business determines the rate.Some policies pay only limited amount of health expenses. The insurer has to pay the remaining amount. Some plans have maximum lifetime coverage. Here, the policy will pay individuals until the amount reaches benefit’s maximum. The remaining amount has to be paid by the policyholder.Conclusion:Health insurance is an agreement between the company that provides the insurance and the insurer. It is possible to renew the contract annually or monthly.HMOs use the term health plan, whereas insurance companies use the term health insurance. A health plan can also be a medical care arrangement offered by health organization. These plans are similar to pre-paid dental plans. HMO stands for Health Maintenance Organization. It is costlier than a PPO. The major disadvantage of HMO is that, it gives limited choice in doctors that too present in the network provided by the policy.PPO stands for Preferred provider Organization. The only difference between a HMO and PPO is the possibility to seek medical attention from outside the network.POS stands for Point of Service. It has the features of both PPO and HMO. POS is considered as the best health insurance, although not the cheapest.According to a recent study, health insurance rates are on the rise due to increased demand and new treatments. Advancements in medical technology are also responsible for increase in health insurance rates. Factors related to lifestyle also contribute to increase in insurance prices.With all this in mind the only way to be certain if you are paying the lowest rates is to get a quote online for free. The good news is that you can do just that by vising one of the sites listed below.
Tag Archives: nutrition
Fruit Nutrition – Why It Is Important You Are Getting It and What It Does For You
Fruit nutrition is extremely advantageous to your health – vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, phytohemicals and lots of fibre. Phytochemicals are found mainly in plants and help to protect your health. Antioxidants kill free radicals, which are harmful substances that are in the body. Fruits are cholesterol-free.Fruit nutrition is generally made up of 70 to 80 percent water.Fruits contain natural sugar, and since we as humans are born with a sweet tooth, they are easy to consume. They taste very nice and are enjoyable. So they’re not hard to incorporate into your lifestyle or increase in your diet.Have you heard the saying “an apple a day keeps you from the doctor”?Why not adopt an apple a day at the least. When I say eat an apple a day, I don’t mean to stop at that. Go further and eat some other fruits every day so that you can the benefits of the nutrients in fruit.You can make a habit of eating fruits before and after lunch, or before and after every meal.
Don’t forget your kids – the nutrients in fruits are essential for them too.The other great feature of fruits is that they don’t need preparing or cooking, just wash and you’re off to the races. Just make sure they are always in the fridge!Make a habit of eating fruits. When you are on your way to work, munch some fruits – strawberries, grapes, plums, tiny tomatoes are all easy to pop into the mouth as you work at your desk or watch TV. You can also slice fruits into your breakfast cereal or yoghurt.Or, you can even ‘drink’ the fruits! Count your blessings, one of which is good old juicing!
Fulfilling the fruits part of the experts’ 5 A Day recommendation for you is even easier than the vegetables part. This is because you can juice the fruits and then drink; or you can just simply blend the fruits together and drink that.Or you can juice or blend with healthy yoghurt to add another flavour.Some people say eating the fruits whole is better than juicing. They are right in the sense that most people refer to juicing assuming the pulp will be removed. When you remove the pulp, you can add to a cake or biscuit mix you plan to bake, or also add the pulp to your beans being cooked, or to any other meal! Just find a way to eat the pulp too, because that is fibre that you need from fruit nutrition.This is the reason I prefer to use my other juicer that works exactly like a blender. I simply blend them altogether without separating out the pulp. Admittedly, for some people it’s easier and more pleasing to the mouth to drink a “smooth” smoothie with no pulp.
That’s ok too – just strive to eat the pulp someway too.And if you don’t currently have a habit of eating fruits, and may not like the pulp yet, don’t worry about it just yet – just start eating fruits anyway. We’ll get to the pulp bit gradually. Half-fruit nutrition is way better than none.The nutrients in fruits also help to build up the immune system.
Health experts, nutritionists and dieticians that tell us about 5 A Day tell us that eating five portions of fruits and vegetables everyday can help prevent or fight cancer and heart disease, and many other lifestyle diseases.1 serving or portion of fruits is approximately equivalent to:
• 1 pear
• 1 apple
• 1 medium carrot
• A handful of strawberries
• 1 banana
• 1 peach
• 1 glass of unsweetened fruit juiceSome other benefits of the fruit nutrition that we get, is that they:
• Help to fight diseases such as cancer, heart disease and so on.
• They are anti-allergic.
• They are anti-inflammatory.
• They are anti-viral.
• They help regular elimination of toxins.
• They are anti-carcinogenic. Carcinogens in the body contribute to causing cancer cells to grow or multiply.
• They help to boost the immune system.
• They help to prevent and fight against infections.
• They greatly reduce the risk of your likelihood of contracting a wide range of diseases.Natural fruit nutrition is something you should not be doing without, both for your kids and you.