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Mental Health Insurance and Health Plan

admin — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 14:32:56 +0000

There are many facets to the world of mental health, especially when it comes to health insurance and finding adequate coverage for a variety of afflictions and disorders. We’ve put together some answers to some of the more common questions revolving around these topics for you below.

Do most health plans include mental health coverage? The answer, simply put, is yes. The vast majority of insurers and health plans cover at least a limited amount of mental health care.

According to a recent employer survey published in the journal Health Affairs: •91 percent of small firms (10-499 employees) and 99 percent of large firms offer mental health and substance abuse coverage in their most used medical plans. •Mental health and substance abuse coverage was included in 87 percent of indemnity plans, 88 percent of HMOs, 97 percent of Point of Service (POS) plans and 93 percent of Preferred Provider Organizations (PPOs).

It is commonly acknowledged today, in 2006, that most employees who have employer-based health insurance have access to mental health coverage, and many of the employees who don’t have coverage have simply chosen not to join an employer’s plan that includes mental health services.

Does mental health coverage cost more? Yes, this is generally the case. There are limits to mental health coverage and the reason why most employers impose limits is due to cost. Estimates vary widely of how much more mental health coverage costs. Here are some results from some studies:

•A 1998 study sponsored by National Advisory Mental Health Council (NAMHC) Parity Workgroup, a division of the federal National Institute of Mental Health, estimated that mental health services would add less than 1 percent to the cost of a health insurance policy for an HMO.

•A 1998 study by Mathematica estimated a 3.6 percent increase across all plans, with a range of 0.6 percent increase for HMOs up to a 5 percent increase for fee-for-service plans.

•A 1997 analysis by the actuarial firm Milliman & Robertson for the National Center for Policy Analysis, examining the cost of a typical mental health mandate (not specific legislation), concluded that mental health services parity legislation tends to drive up costs by 5 percent to 10 percent. With regard to mental insurance in general, how do insurance companies treat mental illness? Insurance companies tend to be somewhat wary of mental health claims due to the increase of fraudulent claims. When Medicare looked for fraud in the community mental health centers last year, it barred 80 of them in nine states from participating in the program.

The Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA), which administers Medicare, knew something was amiss when the average yearly cost for each senior getting mental health services jumped from $1,642 in 1993 to more than $10,000 by 1997.

Medicare administrator Nancy-Ann DeParle contended at the time that 90 percent of the patients had no mental illness serious enough to qualify for special treatment.

That being said, it’s straightforward to understand why there is trepidation on the part of health insurance providers.

What mental conditions are typically covered, and not covered by health plans? Generally speaking, a health plan pays for only those services included in the plan’s list of covered services. In the case of mental health services, inpatient and outpatient treatment are most often covered by health plans.

However, there is a continuum of services between inpatient (mental health clinic) and outpatient care that effectively treat many mental disorders and are often more cost-effective than inpatient care at a mental health clinic.

These intermediate services include nonhospital residential services, partial hospitalization services, and intensive outpatient services such as case management and psychosocial rehabilitation. Psychosocial rehabilitation includes pharmacologic treatment, social skills training, and vocational rehabilitation.

Such services are covered by approximately half of employer-sponsored health plans. Prescriptions. Are they covered? Coverage of prescription medications is also important in providing access to treatment for mental health disorders. And, on a positive note, Prescription medications are nearly always covered by health plans (U.S. Department of Labor, 1996; 1998), but this coverage is sometimes limited by formulary restrictions.

Check with your healthcare provider for the exact details on what applies to you and your family with regard to your specific circumstances.

The Women Health Test is There an Early Signs of Menopause Test

admin — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 07:22:40 +0000

Yes, there is a free online women’s health test from a leading women’s health clinic. Why? As early as in their 30’s and 40’s, many women begin experiencing symptoms that make them wonder – can these be early signs of menopause?

What are common early signs of menopause? The most common symptoms include PMS, insomnia, fatigue, weight gain, loss of sex drive, hair loss or unwanted hair growth and fibroids. Some women have one or two of these symptoms while others may experience several symptoms at the same time. The result can be mildly irritating or it can be exhausting and overwhelming.

Menopause itself is not an illness but a natural process for a woman’s body. There are normal changes in the reproductive system and cycle and ultimately, the reproductive system will cease to function. That is normal. However, certain menopause symptoms are indications of underlying hormonal imbalances or damage from poor eating habits, stress and other factors. And you may feel like you’re the only woman to experience symptoms, but millions of women in the industrialized countries are going through the same experience many years before the average age of menopause, which is 51 years of age.

What happens so frequently is that women put enormous demands on their bodies ï¿½ much more stress than it was designed to handle ï¿½ and then do not give it the support it needs. Women likely have demanding and stressful careers. Women have families to take care of on a daily basis. The relationship with one’s spouse or partner may not be the best. Aging parents may require help. These and other responsibilities add up in the toll taken on a woman’s body.

And at the same time, the woman’s body may not be receiving the support it needs to function as it was designed to do. Poor eating habits, lack of exercise, excess caffeine and alcohol add to the problem instead of helping the body cope with the demands placed on it.

This lack of balance between the “demands made” and “support given” is what gives rise to many symptoms. And are the health problems you are having related in any way? Very likely!

When taking the women’s health and early signs of menopause test, here’s what should be considered:

1. Which symptoms do you have? Certain symptoms are related to each other and are related to the same underlying causes. Knowing which symptoms you have is important information.

2. How mild or severe are your symptoms? Perhaps a symptom is “mild” and it’s not a big deal. It may be “moderate to severe”, meaning you can deal with it but it is a real problem. Or you may consider it “very severe”, in other words, you can barely function because of it.

3. What are you demanding of your body? Are you frequently under stress? Do you not always eat when you should? What prescription drugs are you taking? What about the consumption of caffeine and alcohol?

4. What kind of support are you giving your body? What do you eat, do you exercise and are you taking a high-quality nutritional supplement?

5. What is your age? Your age is important, because you need to compare your health with other women your age.

By taking the online women’s health test, you can find out more about your health, symptoms you may have, what those symptoms mean and what you can do about improving your health.

Tips to Help You in Purchasing Healthy Products

admin — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 09:37:18 +0000

If you have a great willingness to lose your weight, it is recommended to consume products of Herbalife which are proved as the right option for weight loss program. The presence of those herbalife products will give the best method to make success the process of weight loss so you will be able to take benefits from them.

If you are interested to purchase them, you can do browse online in order to get the right distributors which sell those products. After finding the distributors, it is your time to ask something about those products so you know what kinds of products they sell. In this case, it is your turn to order the supplements that are useful to help you in losing your weight. Here, you will find the best products that will give the best results for you.

Besides for weight loss program, you can choose the products for your skin and hair. In choosing the right products, you must know the ingredients and functions for your needs. By knowing the information about that, you can determine whether they are good for you or not. So, it is advisable to know more about useful ingredients that are usually in the products of healthy.