Insurance for the disabled
This is a subject I’m working on now. Insurers have no problem writing life and disability policies for healthy people. However, getting insurance for someone who starts as disabled (e.g., autism, brain injury) is a challenge. Certain states make that even more difficult. For example (thank you Governor Christie),...
Read moreHealth Insurance: the Uniquely American Jungle
To paraphrase a quote from a friend, it doesn’t matter who helps you with insurance until it does. There’s no single policy or company that provides “complete” health insurance in the US. Truly complete coverage involves stitching together policies from multiple sources while keeping costs manageable. It’s the insurance...
Read moreDrug Price Reform — When, Not If
Brand name drugs are expensive. They’re more expensive in the US than elsewhere, but they’re still expensive, regardless. Prices are based on a number of factors, including what manufacturers think they can get insurance companies and governments to accept. List prices are paid by consumers without health insurance. Insurers...
Read moreC-Section Cons and Pros
The C-Section rate is an important criteria in selecting an obstetrician. Neither the decision to do the procedure nor the choice of doctor are trivial, but they are related. The C-Section is the most common surgery performed in the US. The primary factor determining whether this procedure is performed...
Read moreWarning regarding Wellness Plans that offer “tax free” incentives to participants
Quoting from a statement issued by Aflac, 9 May 2016: “Aflac has been approached by companies such as Cypress, Inspired, Traverse, and Bene-Fit regarding wellness programs that claim to provide tax-free payments to employees who participate in the wellness program. The core elements of the wellness program involve a...
Read moreSanity, Finances and Supplemental Insurance
Realistic thinking and an ounce of prevention can give you a happier life. If it sounds simple, it actually is. It’s harder to change one’s mindset than it is to take the actions that are needed. Most Americans, and certainly older ones like me, grew up with several assumptions...
Read moreBoomers: Living Longer but with Poorer Health
In the past, living longer was associated with having better health in one’s older years. A new study by researchers at the University of Southern California indicates that this relationship is no longer true. The study analyzed the increase in life expectancy among Americans between 1970 and 2010. In...
Read moreRetirement: the Fading Dream
Most Americans today will never be able to afford to retire. Period. Retirement was a concept basically created in the 1950s, and a number of factors have come together to end the dream for the great majority of Americans. The end of the dream in turn necessitates changes in...
Read moreSkateboards and Emergency Rooms
YouTube is populated with skateboard bloopers, and with good reason. According to researchers from the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, skateboards put 176 users into emergency rooms in the US every day. (OK, before we get into the “guns don’t kill people argument,” it’s...
Read moreMission
I’m Victor Crain. I am an independent agent representing Aflac, VSP Vision, Delta Dental and Mutual of Omaha insurance. The purpose of these policies is to help consumers minimize costs associated with using medical services and to meet living expenses while ill or injured without draining savings or investments. ...
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