2nd infant dies at Corpus Christi hospital - Houston Chronicle

Wall Street Journal Blogs

2nd infant dies at Corpus Christi hospital Houston Chronicle - 1 hour ago 2008 AP CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - A second newborn has died at a Corpus Christi hospital where an investigation is under way into overdoses of the blood thinner heparin given to as many as 17 babies. Heparin Overdoses Hit Babies in Texas Hospital Wall Street Journal Blogs Spohn Hospital Officials Issue Statement, Autopsy Performed On Infant KRIS-TV KIII TV3 - FOXNews - Food Consumer - Los Angeles Times all 157 news articles

Fidelity, (IAC) has a health plan that offers the customer a new way of insuring himself and the family. The deductible is a daily deductible of either $250 or $500 per day -- you choose. With the average stay in the hospital of two to three days, your out of pocket expenses are much less! If you compare this with the standard policies that typically have a $2500 or $3500 deductible PLUS a coinsurance amount of about $3000, you will see that paying the daily deductible really makes sense.

Let's take an example: You need to have your appendix removed. You are in the hospital for two days. (This operation usually runs a little over $20,000.) You have chosen the $250 daily deductible policy. You will have to pay $500 and you are done! They pay 100% of all the other allowable charges after you have paid your daily deductible. This plan probably sounds too good to be true . . . It isn't.

Now, let's look at the traditional plan with a $2500 deductible. You will have to pay $2500 on that same appendectomy operation, plus your coinsurance of $2000 on an 80/20 plan or $3000 on a 70/30 plan. You are out of pocket $4500 to $5000 and then the insurance company covers 100% of all allowable charges.

There are skeptics out there who are thinking, "Yes, but what if I am in the hospital for longer than two to three days?" That is a good question, and here's the answer. You would have a limit on the number of daily deductibles you would be responsible for. The stop loss is at $4000. If you look at the number of days, it would take you sixteen days to get up to $4000 if you had a $250 deductible. If you had a $500 deductible, it would take you eight days to get to your maximum of $4000.

Let's see, 16 days or 8 days as compared with 1 or 2 days with a traditional deductible plan -- I think I will choose the daily deductible.

What about copays?

• Doctor visits - $25 copay with no limit on the number of visits
• Specialists - $25 copay with no penalty for going to a specialist. You do not have to be referred.
• Urgent Care Centers - $25 copay for weekends and late night minor emergencies.

There is much more to this plan:

• It is backed by a company with the top rating tier of "secure".
• The IAC policy has the largest network of doctors and hospitals in the nation. Fidelity has multiple networks (60) to provide strong selection.
• Each person is covered with a $5 million lifetime maximum and $1 million per person per year maximum.
• Prescription coverage is such that you get a discount over the first $500 and then $10 for generic, $40 for a preferred brand name drug and $60 for a non-preferred drug.
• The IAC $250 and $500 plans are priced a little better than high deductible plans from the other major carriers. (The $250 plan, for example, is $72 per month less expensive than the BCBS A34 ($2500 deductible plan)
• Mammography - No deductible and no copay, 100% coverage

If you live in Tennessee, I suggest that you take some time to get some quotes this new plan. You will probably save money and decrease your overall risk.

Richard Day has years of experience finding the exact plan that will buy bulk dl malic acid his client's needs. For more information concerning the Get a quote on the IAC Daily deductible plans General Information about health insurance eHealthInsuranceSource Blog. Comments are welcome.