Taming the Cost of Health Care – How the Health Insurance Industry Fights High Costs

For many families, finding affordable health insurance is a task akin to the search for the Holy Grail. Depending on where in the country you live, a family health insurance plan can cost as much as $800-$1000 per month. Even when you split that cost between employee and employer, that’s a major chunk of nearly anyone’s monthly budget. And while it’s popular to swear under your breath at the greed of the health insurance industry, a look at the cost of medical care is an eye-opening shock for many people. The expenses associated with a broken arm, for instance, can easily mount into several thousands of dollars.The Health Industry has a stake in keeping people healthy.The high cost of health insurance is the direct result of the high cost of medical care. It’s a simple matter of economics. The more it costs to take care of each subscriber, the more the insurance companies have to charge all their subscribers. This cost/expense ratio is what has made most insurance companies embrace the idea of providing preventive care to their subscribers. It’s a simple matter of business sense – healthy people don’t cost the insurance companies a lot of money.Accidents may be the first type of medical need that springs to mind when people consider buying health insurance, the major insurance companies all agree that accidents aren’t the major cost drain on medical resources. That place is reserved for chronic illnesses like diabetes, heart disease, cancer and high blood pressure. Because of this, it makes good business sense for major players in the insurance industry to encourage their subscribers to adopt preventive health strategies. That pays off in special benefits for health conscious consumers. Preventive Health Benefits Help Keep Costs LowAmong the benefits that have become commonplace for major health insurance providers are routine physicals, medical screenings for all subscribers, discounts on health club and gym memberships, payment of dues for weight loss groups and lowered subscription fees for non-smokers.Some health insurance companies and HMO’s go even further in their preventive efforts. Because of the high risk of serious injury or fatality for infants in automobile accidents, Fallon Community Health Plan of Massachusetts has for years teamed with local organizations to provide free infant car seats to families with newborns. In the same spirit of prevention, many HMOs offer free stress management and stress reduction workshops to all subscribers because stress has been identified as a leading risk factor in nearly every major illness. Seeking a CureThe quest for affordable health care has also prompted health insurers and HMOs to help fun research and health initiatives all over the country. The industry underwrites millions of dollars of medical research annually in an effort to lower the costs of health care. Their dollars fund grants to enroll low income and other hard to insure populations, and to offer eye, dental and health care to inner city and poor rural populations. They estimate that routine preventive eye and dental care, as well as routine medical screenings and physicals can identify illnesses at early stages and prevent conditions and costs from escalating out of reach. Get the Most from Your Health InsuranceYou pay for it – you should certainly get the most possible benefit from your health plan. Here are some suggestions for ways that you can make your insurance plan work for you:
Join a gym.
Check the benefits that your HMO or health insurer offers. Chances are good that one of them is a discount good on membership at a local gym or health club. Get fit – it saves THEM money… but it saves YOUR life.

Lose weight.
Take advantage of nutritional counseling and memberships in weight loss support groups to get down to your ideal weight. Added bonus? Many insurance plans offer a lower tier cost for subscribers who are at healthy weights.

Quit smoking.
Non-smokers are another group that often enjoy lower insurance premiums. Many HMOs and health providers offer free smoking cessation programs to help you get smoke free and healthy.

Attend medical screenings and health fairs.
Many insurance providers sponsor ‘wellness fairs’ where you can have your blood pressure tested, get free medical screenings and learn about alternative medical techniques like massage therapy, acupuncture and yoga. Take advantage of special events to learn more and get healthy.
It may be popular to demonize the insurance industry, but today more than ever, these companies have a stake in keeping you healthy. Find out what your inusrance company has to offer you by visiting their web site, or calling customer service.

Here are Direct Marketing Ideas That Put Cash in Your Pocket

If you are giving your customers only what they expect, you’re in danger of being made redundant by the clever marketer who knows how to add value to his product or service. So here’s some direct marketing ideas to make sure this doesn’t happen.Or if you’re just doing enough in the way of service to get by, then lookout for the savvy entrepreneur who knows what we buyers really want. Here’s an example to illustrate my point.A couple of years ago my wife and I went shopping for swimming pools. I’d thought it would be easy. Go to a pool place, choose what I want and then they would take charge and get the job done. I had money burning a hole in my pocket and I was determined to spend it. Easy right? Wrong!You see, the pool place I chose did not offer installation of the pool. They only sold them. And what’s worse, I had to take care of delivering the damn thing myself. What?It was like I was caught up in some Twilight Zone movie where everything works back-ass-wards. I couldn’t believe what they were telling me.Did I buy the pool from these guys? What do you think?Look, I want things done for me. I don’t want to have to track down three different guys to do the one job. So let’s look at what these clowns wanted me to do. First, buy the pool off of them.Second, locate someone to install it. Third, locate someone to deliver it. Fourth, locate someone to put the fence up around it. Shit, these guys didn’t have a clue and they just blew a five figure sale.Here’s what should have happened.You buy the pool and they organise the lot. Delivery, installation and pool fencing included. The customer doesn’t have to do a damn thing. Just pay the money and then go swimming. Sheesh, how easy is that? So, think about this…What opportunities are you missing out on? What services and or products can you include to add value to your business and to make it easier for your customers to give you money?

How to Start Or Join a DirectMatches Network

Like most of the other neat services on DirectMatches that link back to your profile, Networks also do the same. It will link as both networks you mange and networks that you are a member of.So, how do you start and join networks?From you main page, you can access networks from the top menu bar. When you click on it and bring it up, you will have the option to create a new network or to join a network.Here’s an excerpt from the web site that explains the importance of networks and why you should create or join them.”Networks let existing organizations and communities use DirectMatches technology to connect their members with each other.When you create a new Network, you become the manager! Networks give you the ability to:* Manage and build your own private networking organization using DirectMatches technology.
* Approve and control who joins your private network.
* Maintain your own private forum.
* Maintain your own private group mail, including mass mailing your network.
* Post private events and functions.
* Keep your team informed with special announcements.
* Add sub-managers to manage groups within your network
* Market your own Network home page and Website URL.Networks give existing organizations more value by increasing their ability to communicate, be visible and help network with each other.”This is just another great way to build a list of people with common interests, promote your opportunity, join with others who are in your same opportunity, and offer advice to others that benefit both you and them.You have the option to search networks to find ones that best suit you. You can either enter in search terms or click through the pages 10 at a time. When you click on a network that you want to join, you will find a brief synopsis about the network, who created and moderates it, their picture (if they have one), most recent topics, special announcements, the option to join the network, and most importantly the option to invite a friend to join DirectMatches via that network.You will set up these same functions if you create and moderate a network. But, think of it this way, if you create one and the topic really grabs the interest of others, people will join your network. You can also go back out in the community on DirectMatches and promote your network by sending an email to your downline or sending out a group email. The possibilities are endless.Another neat function of the networks is that you can see who the members are and add them to your personal contact list, find out which forums they are attached to if any, see what events are taking place with that network or add your own events, manage network memberships, and allow or limit private networking features.Most of all, have fun with it.