Posts Tagged ‘health’

Cobra Payments Adjusted – Check with your Former Employers

Friday, February 27th, 2009

I’ve been talking to a lot of people and the rumors are true. Companies are now getting in compliance with the new stimulus package and they are adjusting their Cobra payments down in some cases from something like $1000 for a family of three to $350. That is great news for families who are Cobraed. If you aren’t covered by Cobra don’t fret. I think there are provisions to allow you to rejoin and get your lost medical coverage at the lower rate – and the lower rate is something like 65% lower so it is a good deal.

Don’t skimp when it comes to medical coverage unless you are in superb tip-top health and your family is the same way. If you haven’t been getting letters, call your Human Resources Dept and ask them about it. They should send out a new form to sign-up with the different rate plans and you can add or delete the options as you see fit.

For those of us with kids who have braces, people with medical conditions or just playing it safe in case you break an arm, medical coverage is a good thing to have.

The stock market was up today but financial stocks were down on the news from the government. It looks like Citibank may get another infusion of cash and General Motors may get the same treatment. Pundits are saying that we may be in for a downslide of 15% then the markets will roar to have a drop-off like a diver from a cliff flattening everything. Pundits have been right and wrong before so just act accordingly and keep an eye on your money. Be very careful if you are shorting stocks. You can get nailed in a rebound rally or news bounce on earnings just as easily as the stocks can continue to drop on bad news (or news that business thinks is bad).

Stay safe everybody.

Interested in any of my books?  You may want to make a stop over  here. Please click through to purchase my books and some other interesting items that actually ARE on sale.   Have you read my book, “Bad Tax Idea, Good Tax”?   Please order it today.  The tips inside can save you hundreds if not thousands of dollars!

 If you are looking for a day job, part time work, suggestions for saving money or investing, please check out my book listed below.  Part of all the proceeds from the sales of that book  go  to Rett Syndrome research.  One girl is born with Rett Syndrome worldwide every fifteen minutes.   My daughter Arianna has Rett Syndrome and we are working to do all we can to make her life easier and find a cure in her lifetime.  Boys born with the Rett gene generally die at birth.

  Practical Money Making-Surviving Recession, Layoffs, Credit Problems, Generating Passive Income Streams, Working Full Time or Part Time and Retirement

Kim Greenblatt

 

Cobra Payments Adjusted – Check with your Former Employers

Was Mom Right After All About You At Least Still Having Health?

Thursday, February 26th, 2009

Ahhh, remember when Mom or neighbors would say if you lost some money or if you had some misfortune, “Ah, at least you got your health.”  Is Mom right in terms of business and money or is she just being mom and being polite and loving?  The answer is she was very right.

The cost of health can’t be measured until you start having bad health.  All of a sudden, and this rings true for people with disabilities and special needs, there is money that you need to come up with to get tools or equipment or services that can help you or your family.  You will find that simple inexpensive items have their prices jacked up if there is insurance reimbursement and it pays to get both the over-the-counter-price for medications as well as the insurance price to compare.  Go generic if you can.

Once you have health issues things that you would take for granted are roadblocks to earning a living, to even getting up in the morning sometimes.  Let’s take something as simple as breaking an arm – something I did rather stupidly a few years ago.  My emergency room visit came in at around $9,879 and my co-pay was only $100.  That covered x-rays, drugs to keep me from screaming like a mainiac and some bandages.  I had pain killers and antibiotics that would have run me about $400 and I only paid $50 for them.  I had therapy that was out of pocket $25 a visit an my insuance picked up the rest.

I didn’t have the cash to pay for the whole thing out of pocket but if I was out of work and didn’t have insurance back then I would have had to pay for all of that or go around in pain with one good arm and one broken arm.  If I had to set it myself I probably could have and then I would have had a healed arm that wouldn’t look right.

Like any other business, you pay for the professionalism and quality of service that you would expect from doctors and hospitals.  It isn’t cheap though.  Preventive medicine and good health, diet and exercise, as simple as they are to talk about, are what it is all about in trying to avoid hospital visits.

People who are out of work cannot afford to drop money like that and it is a good thing that the Cobra benefits will be continued and hopefully partially picked up by the Federal government.  It turns out that not only was Mom right, Mom had the right idea about keeping us healthy and trying to teach us good hygiene and health information.

Thanks Mom and thanks readers.  Stay healthy so you can get back to being wealthy.

Interested in any of my books?  You may want to make a stop over  here. Please click through to purchase my books and some other interesting items that actually ARE on sale.   Have you read my book, “Bad Tax Idea, Good Tax”?   Please order it today.  The tips inside can save you hundreds if not thousands of dollars!

 If you are looking for a day job, part time work, suggestions for saving money or investing, please check out my book listed below.  Part of all the proceeds from the sales of that book  go  to Rett Syndrome research.  One girl is born with Rett Syndrome worldwide every fifteen minutes.   My daughter Arianna has Rett Syndrome and we are working to do all we can to make her life easier and find a cure in her lifetime.  Boys born with the Rett gene generally die at birth.

  Practical Money Making-Surviving Recession, Layoffs, Credit Problems, Generating Passive Income Streams, Working Full Time or Part Time and Retirement

 Kim Isaac Greenblatt

Was Mom Right After All About You At Least Still Having Health?

Don’t Get Sick Over Money

Thursday, October 9th, 2008

We all go through this, especially during economic hard times.  You worry about money.  About not having enough of it.  Not being able to pay bills.  Not being able to earn money.  Worrying about if our families have enough money.  In the news you hear depressing stories about people taking their families lives and their own from frustration.

Try to maintain a sense of balance through this.  It may take deep breathing, it may take seeing a counselor.  It is important that you make money but man and womankind have survived with less for millenia.

If your health goes because you are worrying too much about money you won’t be in any shape to help anybody.  Take care of yourself first.  Take some time to relax.  Enjoy the outdoors, go for a walk.  I am big on physical exercise because it gets you out of your head.

It may take some time, but financially things will get better.  You will need patience, if you have savings, you will need that and more to try and stay profitable.  Keeping your money and priorities straight is very important.

Don’t let the little things get to you.  Be thankful that you have you are alive.  There are people who are in worse shape than you.  There are people who don’t understand how they have gotten into the situation that they are in. 

As I’ve stated in the beginning of one of my books, “We are all in this together”.

Talk to politicians, talk to clergy and above all keep communication open with family.  If you have children explain to them what is going on without going into graphic detail.  Kids are generally pretty smart and can figure things out if you get them away from video games.

Above all, watch your health because once that is gone, it is sometimes hard to get it back!

Be healthy, be profitable and of course, be happy!

Kim Isaac Greenblatt

 

Kim Isaac Greenblatt advises you to don’t get sick over money.