Understanding COBRA Health CoverageWritten by Tony Novak
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DIRECT CONVERSION of your medical insurance is available with most insurance companies regardless of whether you use COBRA or not. If you are on a group insurance policy, simply call your insurance company and ask them if you can convert to an individual insurance policy. Do this as soon as possible after you know that you are being laid-off. Sometimes this option is less expensive than COBRA and may give you access to a wider range of plan options like low cost, high deductible catastrophic coverage. But also be aware that many auxiliary benefits like dental insurance will not be available. SHORT TERM MEDICAL INSURANCE is easy to purchase in most states. This is usually much less expensive than COBRA but it does not cover expense for any pre-existing medical condition. It would not be appropriate, for example, if you were pregnant. Most of these policies today are purchased directly on Internet. www.MedSave.com offers short term medical coverage to residents of 46 U.S. states and foreign countries. Despite name “short term”, you can usually re-apply for this insurance when it expires and thereby continue to do this for as long as you need it. For INTERNATIONAL COVERAGE, you need a separate type of policy since most U.S. policies do not provide significant coverage overseas. This coverage is also inexpensive and easy to buy online. You can specify your departure date and return date so that you pay for only coverage that you need.
Tony Novak, MBA, MT is a writer and financial adviser in Narberth, PA focusing on tax and employee benefit issues. His businesses www.MedSave.com and Freedom Benefits Association provide online benefits enrollment for thousands of individuals and businesses nationwide.
| | HIRE AND HOPE . . . IS THAT YOUR PLAN FOR GROWTH?Written by Mason Duchatschek
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·Employee turnover ·Excessive overtime costs (caused by absenteeism and tardiness) ·Fraudulent workers’ compensation ·Employee theft ·Lost clients due to incompetence ·Negligent hiring lawsuits ·And more . . . Option B sounds a bit unrealistic, if not radical, given these challenging times. Or does it? Who says that employers can’t compete for applicants in same way they compete for new clients? Who says that employers can’t work as hard to keep employees as they do to keep customers? Just like Option A, this approach would obviously require additional work and investment. However, quality always costs less in long run. For a fraction of headaches and costs associated with hiring mistakes caused by Option A, companies could: ·Invest more in recruiting (promote company, available positions, and benefits). ·Invest more in selecting best candidates (use preemployment screening and skill, attitude, and personality testing, etc.). ·Invest more in retaining employees. The clock is ticking. What are you going to do?Copyright 2001, Mason Duchatschek
Mason Duchatschek is the president of AMO-Employer Services, Inc., in St. Louis, Missouri, and co-author of the book Sales Utopia: How to Get the Right People, Doing the Right Things, Enough Times. His phone number is 1-800-245-0445, and his company’s website is www.amo-es.com.
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