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To answer this question it is important to understand what an experimental, technically called an investigational, drug is. The Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act is the United States of America law that assures “drugs and devices are safe and effective for their intended uses”.

To ship a new drug across state lines, without a federally approved ... Read Article

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Health Insurance Articles

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• Health Insurance Articles
  • Can my group health insurance carrier drop me from the policy?
  • Does medicare cover my health expenses while I travel in a foreign country or should I buy supplemental health insurance designed for travelers?
  • Does my health plan cover me while i’m traveling?
  • Dreaded disease indemnity policy: to buy or not to buy?
  • How does a new medical device become approved for use in treatment?
  • Insurance coverage of experimental drugs and alternative treatments
  • Medical evacuation health travel coverage: to purchase or not
  • My insurance isn't paying my claim because they say it's not a covered benefit. But my doctor says it's medically necessary. How can I force them to?
  • Out of network health coverage for diagnostic medical tests, Lab and x-rays
  Blue Cross of California Post Claim Underwriting Lawsuit
  • Post-claims underwriting by blue cross of california in health insurance may be bad faith

• COBRA and Health Coverage
  • COBRA and health coverage - qualifying events
  • Connecting COBRA to job loss and unemployment
  • I want to drop my insurance coverage and my employer will not let me. Can they do that?
  • My employer cancelled my COBRA because I was late with my payment. How can I get them to reinstate it?
  • What happens to my COBRA when my ex-employer goes out of business?
  Ways to Reduce Health Insurance Costs
  • What are the ways I can reduce costs on an individual health insurance policy?

Health Insurance Q & As

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• Health Care Reform of 2010 For Disabled Status
  • I work full time but am bipolar and a recovering alcoholic. My medications are very expensive and I just gave up going to psychological counseling because I couldn’t afford it. Will anything in the package help me?
  • I’m on social security at age 30 due to a disabling illness. How am I affected by the healthcare reform package? Will I be kicked off, Charged more, Or covered better?
  Health Care Reform of 2010 For Divorced Status
  • Does this healthcare reform package of 2010 let me stop paying health insurance for my ex-wife? She is still on my plan because she is not insurable.
  • I’m staying in a dead-end job because I need my health insurance for myself and my kids (who live with my ex-wife). Now that the health reform package of 2010 has passed, Can I quit?
  • Will the new insurance under the health care reform act pay for my dental work? After paying for my divorce, I cannot even afford to pay for my own crowns, Much less the cavities of my kids. We are healthy but our teeth need all my money!
  Health Care Reform of 2010 for Employed Insured Single
  • Believe in alternative medicine. Will I get anything out of this health care reform of 2010 at all?
  • I’m a fifty-year old single man (never married) and my income is substantially above the median. I carry my own health insurance because I don’t like the option given by my employer. Is there anything in the health care reform overhaul of 2010 for me?
  • I’m young, Single, And employed. How does the health care reform package affect my financial outlook?
  Health Care Reform of 2010 For Married Status
  • I got laid off and am on that COBRA subsidy. Now I find out that my subsidy is being cancelled because I can go onto my wife’s employer’s coverage. The difference in premium is substantial; on my own COBRA, My subsidized premium is $200 a month. My wife’s employer makes her pay for all of my coverage and the cost is $700 a month! Can I just keep on the subsidy and not mention that my wife could cover me?
  • I’m a 24-year old with no job, No money, A 3-year old daughter, A wife who doesn’t work outside of the home, And no health insurance. Did anything in this whole package help me?
  • My wife and I work together in our little store. We can pay for our own health care coverage but not our employees. If we have to start paying for our five full-time employees, We will just go out of business and onto welfare. What can I expect? Can we stay in business or should we look for a pacific island to move to?
  Health Insurance Decisions for Divorced Couples
  • My husband and I are legally separated and he says he will now drop me from his group/ individual health plan. Can he do that? Do I get to continue coverage by myself?
  Health Insurance Decisions for Domestic Partners
  • I see a category called “family” health coverage and the price is lower than the individual age-bracketed price. Can my domestic partner and I qualify as a family? Would it matter if we had a child too?
  • My domestic partner has a claim to turn in for a recent asthma attack, But i’m afraid the insurance company will cancel US if they learn he has an expensive condition.
  • My domestic partner is 55, And i’m 42. We have one 14-year-old child. Should we buy a family health insurance policy, Or all get our own policies?
  • My domestic partner moved out. She bought and paid for the individual insurance we had, But I was her dependent. Do I lose my coverage now?
  • My partner just lost his job. I was covered as a dependent on his health insurance. Will I be eligible for federal COBRA?
  Health Insurance Decisions for Married Couples
  • I am expecting a baby soon and I just found out that my doctor’s group left my medical plan. Do we have to get a new doctor to deliver our baby?
  • I just got married last week. When can I add my new spouse and step-children to my plan?
  • I’m self-employed and my spouse has the chance to put me on the group health insurance plan as a dependent. Is that cheaper than finding my own coverage?
  Health Insurance Decisions for Single Parent
  • I am covered by my employer but I just cannot afford to pay for my two kids. What can I do?
  • I have an hsa plan and my employer has put money towards my deductible. Can I spend any of that for my child (who is on an individual insurance plan I bought, Not the group plan).
  • My son has been genetically tested and he has a strong likelihood of developing the same congenital disease as did his grandfather and father. How can I protect his insurability?
  • My under-aged daughter is pregnant. Will my grandchild also be covered on my group plan?
  • Why won’t my insurance company pay for my daughter’s physical that she needs for summer camp?
  Health Insurance Decisions for Singles
  • I am trying to select an individual policy but the descriptions all seem to be written in some language other than English! Seriously, How on earth can I compare plans and avoid pitfalls? I don’t understand all these “initials”: HMO, PPO, EOB, EOC, Etc
  • I just got laid off and my insurance broker told me that I should buy individual coverage as soon as possible instead of COBRA because I have a history of cancer in my family. He said that if I develop cancer while on COBRA, I’ll never get coverage because of my pre-existing condition. True or false?
  • I see advertisements for health coverage for individuals and families and the price is under $100 a month. How come all the companies I look at are so much higher?
  • I’ve heard that insurance companies can cancel me or raise my rates if I have a big claim. True or false?
  • My insurance company doesn’t seem to ever pay what I think they are supposed to pay on my claims. My doctor just sends me a bill and I pay it. Help!
  Health Insurance Decisions for the Disabled
  • I’m collecting disability and my COBRA is running out. How can I get health insurance?
  Health Insurance Decisions for Widows
  • My husband had me on his group plan and just died. Help!
  • My wife had an accounting practice and I was her only employee. She just died. Can I keep the group plan? Do I get COBRA? What if we have individual, Not group, Coverage and she was the insured while I was the dependent?
  Basics
  • What is the basic difference between individual and group health insurance coverages?
  • What types of individual health insurance policies are available?
  • What types of group health insurance coverages are available?
  • How can I get health coverage?
  • What’s the difference between primary and secondary coverages?
  • Ways health insurance companies can mess with you
  • More ways health insurance companies can mess with you

• Considerations When Buying Health Insurance Purchase
  • What will determine my insurance premium?
  • What variables will affect my insurance premium?
  • Ways health insurance companies can use advertising to mess with you
  • More ways health insurance companies can use advertising to mess with you
  Typical Health Care Features
  • What services and items might be paid for under my health insurance?
  • What kind of exclusions and limitations might be in my health plan?
  • What are some common cost-containment procedures used by insurance companies?
  • What is the coinsurance clause in medical expense plans and how does it work?
  • What is the difference between coinsurance and copayment?
  Employer-Sponsored Group Policies
  • I just changed my coverage in december but I don’t like my new plan. I want to change again, As soon as possible. Can I do that?
  • Does my employer have to provide health care coverage?
  • What kind of health insurance might be offered through my employer?
  • Will it cost me anything?
  • My employer has a self-insured health insurance plan. What does this mean and is this a good deal for me?
  • My employer gives its employees each a medical savings account to pay for health insurance. What can I do with this fund?
  • Can you help me understand the cafeteria plan my employer offers?
  • Doesn’t my employer have to cover my spouse and children under my health plan?
  • I have health coverage through my employer but i’m leaving my job soon. Though I like my current coverage, I cannot carry it from job to job. What are my options?
  • What’s the situation with a spouse or child?
  • When does coverage end?
  • Since I work for a company that has less than 20 employees, COBRA is not available. But we do have group coverage. What are my options?
  • I’m also leaving my job where I have health coverage, But I have a pre-existing condition. What are my options?
  Individual Health Care Policies
  • My employer does not offer health insurance to its employees. What kinds of individual personal policies are out there?
  • I don’t want my policy. Can I give it back?
  • What if I have a medical problem or have had one in the past, How does that affect me for individual coverage?
  • I am self-employed. Is there a hope to find reasonably priced coverage?
  • I’m betweeen jobs. What are my insurance options?
  • I’m vacationing outside the united states for several months. What are my insurance options?
  • I will be graduating from college soon. What coverage should I be looking at?
  Managed Care: HMOS, PPOS, POS, And EPO
  • There are so many different health plans out there. What does all those letters – HMO, PPO, POS, Etc.—mean?
  Medicare, Medicaid And Medigaps (Medsupp)
  • I am turning 65 next month. Should I pay for medicare part b? What about a? Or should I buy prescription drug (part d)?
  • I do not understand the difference between “medigap” and “medicare advantage” plans. I just want to keep my own doctor and not pay much.
  • My husband and I spend five months each year in arizona and the rest of the year we stay in our michigan home. Why can’t I have a medicare advantage plan?
  • My insurance company dropped my most expensive drug from its preferred list. Can I change plans?
  • What’s the difference?
  Federal Laws Affecting Health Insurance
  • I have health coverage through my employer but i’m leaving my job soon. Though I like my current coverage, I cannot carry it from job to job. What are my options?
  • What’s the situation with a spouse or child?
  • When does coverage end?
  • I will be leaving my job where I have health coverage, But I have a pre-existing condition. What are my options?
  Underwriting Policies
  • What determines the cost of a health policy?
  Insurance Coverage And Major Disease, Illness, Substance Abuse, And AIDS/HIV
  • Overview
  • What about coverage for substance abuse and mental illness?
  • What factors should I be aware of in selecting coverage?
  Collecting Claims, Dispute Resolution And Denials
  • Can I sue an insurance company or HMO when it has refused to pay for treatment?
  • My insurance company failed to authorized coverage and treatment. Is there anything I can do?
  • But my plan is not protected by the state! Who do I appeal to?
  • How does the health care ombudsman role work?
  • Ways health insurance companies can mess with your claim for benefits
  • More ways health insurance companies can mess with your claim for benefits
  Glossary Of Health Insurance Words And Phases
  • Glossary of health insurance words and phrases