Jay Schindler asked:


Before cat owners purchase health insurance for their family cat there are a few questions they should ask themselves. Asking themselves these questions will give the cat owner a reasonable idea of what type of policy will best suit them.

The first thing they should consider is whether or not they would like a discount insurance plan or a comprehensive insurance plan.   

The next question cat owners need to ask themselves is how attached are they to their local veterinarian. Some veterinarians will not accept pet health insurance from various pet health insurance companies for a variety of reason. If the cat owner does not feel comfortable taking their family pet to a different veterinarian they should look for an insurance company their veterinary clinic accepts. Cat owners should also be aware that in certain instances the local veterinarian or animal hospital cannot help their pets and might refer them to the State University veterinary clinics. When purchasing a health-insurance plan for their owner should double check and make sure that any expenses charged to the university veterinary clinic will be covered by the insurance plan.

Before cat owners purchase a health-insurance plan for their family cat they should decide if they would like to neuter or spay their cat. Some pet insurance companies offer health insurance plans for pets that will cover the cost to neutering or spaying. If the policy you are thinking about purchasing does not include neutering or spaying you might want to purchase an additional rider to help with the expense. Remember that if you have adopted your cat from a local animal shelter you will be required to neuter or spay your cat if the shelter hasn’t already done that. This is also a good time to get the first round of your cat’s annual shots out of the way.      How much can you actually afford to pay in addition to the monthly or yearly cost of your pets health-insurance plan? If you have to bring your cat to the veterinarian will you be able to pay a deductible? A deductible is the amount of money you have to pay the veterinarian out of your pocket each and every time you visit them. The higher the deductible you carry the lower your monthly premiums are on your pet’s health-insurance plan.      

If your cat gets injured in a freak accident or suddenly becomes sick will you be able to pay for any medication that the veterinarian might prescribe. Prescription drugs are expensive whether they are for humans or for pets. If you are concerned about the potential cost of prescription drugs you may want to purchase a rider that will help cover the cost. Purchasing a co-pay option a prescription drugs get help lower your annual fee.      

Before purchasing a health-care plan for your cat find out if the plan just coverers your cat’s immediate health care issues or if it will also cover the cost of the veterinarian’s office visit. Cat owner should remember that the time to research the various types of pet health-care insurance is normally before they purchase their pet. Most injuries and illnesses occur during the pets early years of life.

Asad Haroon asked:


Many businesses provide health insurance for their employees as a benefit for working for the company. Individually purchasing health insurance is expensive, so businesses purchase group policy plans, which lowers the overall cost of the health insurance per individual. There are many types of policies that businesses can select from. For example, some health insurance policies cover preventative care, while others do not. Some policies cover dental care while others do not. Some cover prescription medications, gym membership, alternative medicine treatments, and more, while others do not. Do you need help choosing a health insurance provider? If so, click here.

Health insurance companies and plans vary significantly in what they offer and how much policies cost. So how should you select a vendor? Here are some suggestions:

Determine the type of health and other insurance you will provide. In addition to medical insurance there are also short and long-term disability, dental, vision and prescription coverage.

What are you paying for? Many employers cover a portion of the deductibles for each medical procedure. Many employers also cover a portion of the cost that the employee needs to pay for the policy each month. For example, if the out-of-pocket monthly expense for an employee is $100 for a health care plan, the employer may cover 30%.

What are the group rates? The rates for each health care plan and company will vary based on the vendor and what you actually purchase.

What are the terms of the policy? What is the annual deductible that employees must meet? Does the plan cover preventative care and immunizations? Does the plan allow employees to visit the doctor for check-ups? Will the plan cover x-rays, CAT scans, and MRIs? Does the plan cover hospital-acquired infections? These answers make a great deal of difference to your employees should they become ill.

Check the Better Business Bureau and Google for both your insurance agent and the company they want to insure you with. Make sure you are dealing with reputable firms.

When an employee has a health care policy through work, the employer needs to understand his or her limitations and responsibilities as well. For example, the employer is legally prohibited from inquiring about the employee’s medical condition – before hiring the employee, during the term of employment, and after the employee has left the business. They cannot interact with the medical providers caring for their employee at all.

Because of the variety of coverage that companies offer, the rates and your individual decisions as an employer, choosing a health care insurance provider for your employees can be time-consuming. If you want health insurance vendors to compete for your business, click here. For additional information, you can visit our health insurance wiki.

MIKE SELVON asked:


Even though your cat probably doesn’t come to you when called and seems to have an agenda of her own most days, your life would undoubtedly be missing something special if your feline friend was not part of your household. It is also very distressing to the cat lover who’s cat has become ill and needs veterinary pet attention. For these situations, cat insurance policies can be both a financial and an emotional benefit to the owner.

When an adorable cat becomes ill or is somehow injured, most cat owners will worry and stress over the cost of proper veterinary care. Because all health costs have been soaring in both the animal welfare segment of the market, as well as in the case of human health care, there has been an increase in interest in pet health insurance. Because felines are one of the most popular types of house pets, insurance for health and wellness care has become very much sought after.

One aspect of cat insurance that is very important to cat owners is the peace of mind they enjoy by knowing that if their beloved cat encounters an illness, that the costs will be covered. This can greatly reduce the stress levels of a cat owner who may already be distressed by the illness or injury to which their feline companion has succumbed.

If covered by insurance, then this means that the animal will receive treatment more quickly. This is because the cat owner can immediately take action by getting the animal to the veterinary pet office, when there is an indication of illness or in the event of injury. Unfortunately, some pet owners must delay veterinarian visits because of the financial aspect of the office call.

With feline insurance coverage in place, you will not need to delay the visit and can relax knowing that the majority of the costs will be taken care of by the pet health insurance policy. The ability to quickly get the animal in to see the vet can make the difference between a quick and full recovery, or possible long-term health problems and even death.

In the worst case scenario, when a pet owner does not have insurance to help with the high expenses of animal care, it could mean having the cat put down to sleep. This occurs when there is simply no way that the family can bear the cost of expensive veterinary pet treatment or surgery that might be needed to extend the life of the animal. While pet health insurance cannot guarantee that your cat will never succumb to a fatal illness, the best pet insurance benefit is knowing that your pet will be guaranteed proper treatment.

There are many options that you can choose from regarding cat health insurance, which will have a direct impact on the cost of the pet insurance premium you will pay. You can choose a policy that will cover wellness care and preventative health care procedures, such as vaccinations and routine health screenings.

You might choose a form of cat insurance that only covers veterinary pet treatment for times of illness or to cover diseases and injury. This approach will help to reduce the cost of your premiums, but means that you would need to pay for preventative care out of your own pocket. Many times your veterinarian can guide you in making coverage decisions because they can provide insights about your family pets based on the animal’s health history and age.

Harris R. Sherline asked:


How many people do you know who think their Congressperson has the answers to providing health care in America?  Or, their Senator?  George W. Bush?   Barack Obama or  Hillary Clinton?  Or, for that matter, any politician?  Do they really have the answers?

 

If they can’t do it, then how about the politicians in Canada, or Great Britain?  Have they solved the problem in their societies?  Some people believe they have.  However, in England, where the private practice of medicine was outlawed when socialized medicine was first established there, they were eventually forced to reverse their policy and permit the public to go outside the government’s system to obtain health care from private physicians. 

 

In Canada today, the story is much the same.  Many Canadians come to the U.S. for emergent needs, such as bypass surgery, because the waiting time in Canada is interminable, often many months before their citizens can get life-saving treatment when they need it.  

    

State-Run Health Care

All state-run health care systems have one thing in common: rationing.  Not necessarily involving the use of ration cards, but rationing nonetheless.  Rationing of resources.  The cause is a devilishly simple principle that’s present in all nationalized health care programs.  That is, it’s free, or so low cost that it’s almost free.  Basic economics clearly demonstrates that whenever something is free, the demand quickly becomes unlimited.  The lower the price, the greater the demand.  Give something away and you can “sell” everything you have and more.

   

However, the flip side of unlimited demand is a shortage of supply.  And, not having enough doctors, nurses, or expensive equipment, such as CAT Scans and MRIs, eventually leads to rationing.  Without enough health care to go around, rationing becomes a necessity.  That has been the failing with nationalized health care in England, Canada, Germany, Japan, the former USSR, everywhere it has been tried.

    

So, if there are no politicians who really know what should be done to solve our health care problems why do we keep expecting them to come up with the answers?

   

Just exactly what are the problems?  Too many uninsured?  Too high cost?  Poor quality?  Lack of availability?  All of the above?  Do you know or think you know?

    

What have been the government’s (read politicians’) solutions to date?

 

Health Care Policy

National health care (socialized medicine) in one form or another is the primary health care policy that is gradually being adopted in America.  And it is slowly but surely lowering the quality of the health care we are getting.  Talk to any doctor you trust and see if they don’t agree.  They will tell you that they are working much longer hours for far less money, that many physicians are retiring early or converting to “concierge” practices because they are fed up with the government and insurance company bureaucrats telling them how to practice medicine.  Consequently, there is a growing shortage of doctors and nurses.

    

But, you may say, we don’t have socialized medicine in America!  Perhaps not yet, but we’ve been moving in that direction for some time, and we seem to be going further down that path as the years progress.  It’s a slippery slope.   For example, consider Medicare. 

   

But, Medicare is not socialized medicine, you may insist.

    

Unfortunately, it is, or is headed that way.  Why?  For one thing, it’s a system that’s based on price controls. 

    

Price Controls

Price controls have never worked, ever, in any society at any time in history.  They were tried as early as 301 A.D. by a Roman emperor, Diocletian (243-316 A.D.) who implemented price controls under penalty of death.  But, even that didn’t work, and it hasn’t worked since.  What price controls do is cause shortages, increased costs and disrupted markets.

    

Look at what has happened to the Medicare program since 1984, the year the government changed its method of paying for hospital services from a “cost plus” to a system called DRGs (Diagnostic Related Groupings).  DRGs are a method of classifying illnesses and assigning a comparative value and a specific authorized payment to each.  At that point, many hospitals began to lose money because the government started dictating the prices that are paid for inpatient care.

 

As much as 70% of many hospitals’ patients are seniors, whose bills are paid by Medicare.  The Federal Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) determines, in its sole discretion, the prices that can be charged for seniors’ inpatient hospital care, and then pays only 80% of those amounts.  The differences between a hospital’s standard fees for service and the amounts that Medicare pays must be written off.  They cannot be collected from the patient.  That’s price control.

    

Furthermore, because Medicare payments are determined solely by the government, annual cost of living increases are limited, generally to between 1-1/2% and 2-1/2%, in spite of the fact that hospital costs have been rising for years at an annual rate of anywhere from 6% to 14%. 

    

Another little known fact about Medicare is that seniors are prevented from seeking care outside the Medicare system, even if they are willing to pay the bill themselves.  Any doctor who accepts payment directly from a senior who is covered by Medicare is automatically disqualified from providing care to all Medicare patients for a period of two years.  This is especially important in situations where a patient wants a second opinion and would like to see another doctor.  That type of regulation is certainly an element of socialized medicine.

    

Many Hospitals Lose Money

Between health insurance contracts (HMOs) and Medicare limits on their charges, hospitals generally collect only about 50% of their total billings.  The rest is written off.  The result of all this is predictable: many of them are losing money.  About one-third of all hospitals in California are currently operating at a loss.  With a national health care plan, at some point, many hospitals would either be closed or services curtailed.  That’s been the pattern in every country that has nationalized its health care.  Nonetheless, that seems to be where we are headed, in spite of compelling evidence that it doesn’t work. 

    

Like the proverbial frog being cooked in a pot of cold water, Americans are gradually becoming aware that the quality of their health care is declining, even as costs continue to rise.  It just hasn’t sunk in yet.  When it does, they will undoubtedly be led into believing the government has the answers and demand more government control, regulation and oversight.  And, our politicians will be only too willing to oblige. 

    

Nationalized Health Care

Nationalized health care in America is gradually overtaking the free market, and we are all being slowly cooked in the pot of government intervention.   So, don’t be surprised at the type of health care program we get as time progresses.  Whatever your own conclusions, remember one thing: that our politicians won’t have to rely on whatever health care plan they establish for everyone else.  As usual, they will have their own, superior plan.  And, it will not be a part of the nationalized health care system that the rest of us will be required to use.  If you doubt that assertion, just look at the health care plan that our Federal legislators and government employees have now. 

 

In the interest of full disclosure, I’m one of those seniors who has Medicare health insurance coverage and I ran a hospital for about seven years.

 

© 2008 Harris R. Sherline, All Rights Reserved

Cristian Stan asked:

It seems that cats have become a common fixture in our household. Many people own one, and in fact, having cats as pets has been a practice for over thousands of years.

Just like dogs, though not as many, cats also have numerous breeds, but the popular ones are Siamese and Persian. If you plan to get one for a pet, there are factors you have to consider, and among these is the cost.

Just like owning any other pet, it will cost some money to own a cat. Of course, you will need to buy food, medicines, clinic visits, and also a litter. The basic essentials you should have are: food plate, water plate, and a litter box. Additionally, cats love to play so buying toys would be recommended. Other paraphernalia you will need: cat collar, bed, carrier, and scratching post.

Feeding Your Cat

The kind of food and frequency of feeding vary with age. When a cat is still very young- a kitten- he will need to be fed several times a day; as he grows older, you can feed him twice daily, or even with one big meal. To be more specific, before he reaches 12 weeks, you will have to feed him at least 4x daily; when he reaches 3-6 months, feeding is lowered down to thrice daily.

Dos and Don’ts

Never feed him food that has been left out for more than half an hour. Canned food can be given, but these can be expensive. For some reason, cats love canned meals but these do not really have any advantage to dental health in the way that dry meals do. So you might want to consider giving him dry food too. When giving dry food, see to it that your cat gets sufficient water intake on a day to day basis. When buying dry food, make sure that you look at the nutritional value it offers and not buy it because it is cheap. Usually, generic food does not contain enough nutrients that your cat needs. Kittens should only be given kitten food, and do not feed yours with adult cat food. Do not keep on giving your cat milk. They love milk but it causes diarrhea. Do make sure to wash his plate everyday. When giving treats, keep it to a minimum as this will make your cat fat. You can feed your cat human food occasionally but still mix it with his regular food. Brush their coat once daily to avoid hairballs, and at the same time, it helps keep their coat shiny and clean. Clean their litter box at least once a week because cats **** it when their litter box is dirty. Take regular visits to his vet, and make sure required shots are given.

Well, if you may have noticed, owning a cat is not always that easy as they require maintenance and care. But cats are wonderful, loving creatures who will keep you company for many, many years. In the end, it is going to be worth it.