Whether you freelance full-time or part-time, it’s not uncommon for you finances to fluctuate occasionally. You may go through seasons that are financially lucrative. At other times, the amount of money in your bank account might be downright scary. No matter where you're at in your career, having adequate access to healthcare is usually at the top of the priority list for most people. But, if you’re forced to choose between paying for rent, food, or your health, healthcare often gets put on the back burner. If you have a chronic health condition or you just need to get something checked out by a doctor, adding an extra bill can put some serious stress on strained resources. These five tips will help you manage your healthcare on a …show more content…
Like previous years, if you choose not to enroll in an insurance plan, you’ll be subject to a penalty for every month you remain uninsured, which will be due at the time you file your taxes the following year. If you’ve never looked into insurance coverage through the ACA, now is the time to do so. For many freelancers, having an insurance plan through the Affordable Care Act can be the saving grace of having healthcare in case of an emergency or illness and going uninsured. 2. If possible, use an urgent care clinic instead of an ER. Many urgent care clinics accept a wide array of insurance plans, and your copays are typically far less than emergency room visits. Urgent care clinics are equipped to handle a variety of non-life-threatening issues like skin rashes, bronchitis, urinary tract infections, colds, and flu. Some clinics have the diagnostic capabilities to treat fractures, strains, sprains, lacerations, and other injuries. If you need medications, some facilities stock a supply of regularly prescribed drugs at a reduced cost to patients. Additionally, many clinics will offer discounts to people who pay for the appointment out-of-pocket. Before you go to the clinic, check the urgent care’s website as well—Some clinics maintain an online listing of prices so you can plan for the cost. 3. Shop around for your prescriptions. Did you know not all pharmacies charge the
Q2-Evaluate Vegemite’s brand image based on the social media research undertaken by Talbot and his team .In light of these historic factors, Why did Talbot want to revitalize the brand?
Inventory decisions – The minute clinics are a new way to see patients that may have less urgent needs such as; sore throat, pink eye, minor cuts and burns, or chronic diseases that may need monitoring. The clinics offer walk-in services to anyone, and they have the ability to look up patient records through Electronic medical records (EMR) leaving no paper record needing to be stored. Centers are being staffed by nurse practitioner and physician assistants with assistance of proprietary technology designed to help diagnose and
Having access to quality healthcare is major part of one’s life however the cost of care has been on the rise over the past decades and continue to rise every day due to many situation such
“For 2016, the penalty is $695 per adult and $347.50 per child under 18 (up to a maximum of $2,085 per family), or 2.5% of household income, whichever is greater. In other words, the $695 amount is a floor for individuals, not a ceiling. You must make a payment for each household member who you claim as a dependent. The penalty amount will be indexed for inflation each year starting in 2017. For prior years, the penalties are:
Many urgent care facilities are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, so if your child is injured or gets sick on a weekend, you don't have to wait until your doctor's office is open to have them treated. You can take them to the facility and have their illness diagnosed or injury accessed right away. The quicker that your child can be seen will help them feel better sooner and recover
The pediatric clinic provided well check-ups, sports physicals, vaccinations, sick visits, referrals. These services are by appointment, if a walk in comes in they will schedule them for an appointment or recommend going to the urgent care. When a patient called with a child running a 103 degree fever the nurse recommended to go to St. Fancies children’s hospital Emergency room.
The major provision of Obamacare is that most U.S. citizens must enroll in a health insurance plan for the entire tax year or face a penalty. Employers with more than 50 employees must offer workers a health insurance plan, and low-cost insurance exchanges have been set up so that employers and people without coverage can compare plans and buy insurance that meets the following levels of coverage:
Healthcare spending growth rate trends show astounding estimates. Since 1960, spending has risen from $27 billion ($143 per capita, 5.1% pf GDP) to amazing $1,678.9 billion ($5,670 per capita, 15.3% of GDP, 2003 data) (HHS, 2005). Recent research estimated that by 2013, healthcare spending will be as high as 18.4% of the Growth Domestic Product. It is important to note that the gradual move from hospital to ambulatory setting has resulted in much higher spending on outpatient hospital services and prescription drugs. The spending growth for these two trends is much higher than the overall healthcare cost growth, which, in fact, increases faster than such important economic indicators as GDP growth, inflation growth, and population growth rates.
Urgent care clinics are for individuals seeking non-life threatening treatment. These clinics provide another level of care to the community and the intentions of urgent care are not to replace emergency
The ACA requires insurers to accept all applicants, cover certain conditions, and charge the same rates despite one 's sex or pre-existing health status. There are ten provisions that make up the ACA which were to be implemented over time, from 2010 through 2020. The first provision is individual insurance, which prohibits insurers to deny coverage based on one 's pre existing health conditions. States were also required to make insurance available to children who are not insured through their families. Medicaid was also expanded to include individuals and families with an average income of thirty thousand dollars a year. This mandate will not cover those who are illegal immigrants, eligible individuals who choose to not be enrolled in medicaid, those who choose to pay the penalty, individuals whose insurance would cost more than 8% of their income, and those who live in states that opt out of the medicaid expansion.
Since 2014, hospital chains and insurers have merged and acquired urgent-care centers with the express purpose of taking advantage of this new business venture. There are many reasons for this endeavor and one of them happens to be the rise in active patients aged 50 and over who opt for convenient care for illness and injuries at the same time appreciate being connected to a bigger system where their primary doctor may practice and where urgent visits can become part of their medical record.
Nonetheless, in the last couple of years, urgent care centers have begun to emerge once again. Approximately two new urgent care centers open in the United States each week (Stern, 2005). The reemergence of the centers is due in part to the incremental growth of the variance between the scope of care of the primary care physician and that of emergency departments. Additionally, the influx of urgent care centers is due to the restoration of the primary care physician shortage. Furthermore, many hospitals and health care systems have begun to incorporate urgent care centers into their repertoire of services. Therefore, the opposition that such centers faced in the past has begun to diminish as it has been realized that the strategic alliance of hospitals and urgent care facilities is beneficial for both parties.
In a Cochrane Review article, the authors assess the quality of care provided by walk-in clinics compared to the care of physician offices and emergency rooms (Chen, Hu, Chen, & Mehrotra, 2015). As you mentioned above, they found that walk- in clinics are very useful since they do not require any advance appointments and offer a more convenient experience in terms of location and community settings (Chen, Hu, Chen, & Mehrotra, 2015). However, walk-in clinics only provide acute treatment for minor conditions such as infections that do not require IV antibiotics or advanced laboratory and imaging for diagnosis or procedures for treatment, hypertension, common coughs and colds (Chen, Hu, Chen, & Mehrotra, 2015).
Hospital and Urgent care center: In an emergency, it would usually not be necessary to call the hospital or the local urgent care center, but having the address and phone numbers of these facilities could prove to be very useful. Those living in larger cities with multiple hospitals and care centers would be wise to note which hospital would best serve their needs in an emergency and which urgent care location could provide appropriate care in case of a non-life threatening occurrence.
But being insured, doesn’t necessarily guarantee you’ll have enough money to pay doctor, hospital, pharmaceutical and other medical bills. Insurance is supposed to protect people financially from the costs associated with everything from hospitalization to prescription drugs. But out-of-pocket spending for even those with employer-provided health insurance has increased by more than 50 percent since 2010. In fact, a 2015 poll by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health found that 26 percent of those surveyed said medical bills severely damaged their financial bottom line.