What does $9.95 buy in 2019?

By Marc Manor

I was thinking of what I subject I should tackle on this blog and just like a gift from

heaven above, it fell right into my lap.  The TV was on and I heard a familiar celebrity

making a pitch for Life Insurance. His contention was that “price” was the most

important aspect of this guaranteed issue Life Insurance product for which you

“could not be turned down.”  Every example he gave came with a monthly premium

of only $9.95.

Courtesy of pexels.com

I thought this would be a good subject

because, I have had many people trying

to get Life Insurance to cover final

expenses and they are shocked when

I tell them what their monthly premium

would be for $10,000 to $20,000 of

insurance.  Some will say, “I think I’ll

look elsewhere. Mr. Celebrity said

I could get insured for only $9.95”. So, I

decided to run a quote on their website

to see what $9.95 would buy me (using

my age and zip code) to protect my

family in the event of my demise:

$1,214.00 of insurance!  Yes, I would

only have to pay $9.95 but how far would

that $1,214 go?

Let’s take a look at average funeral expenses

according to the National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) for 2017:

Avoiding the Pain of Healthcare Privacy!

By Marc Manor

Everyone loves the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), right?  I say that with a little more than a tinge of sarcasm because we all know that HIPAA is a necessary evil when it comes to protecting our privacy and, in many cases, our identity.

HIPAA seems like such a necessary requirement that I am dumbfounded it was not enacted until 1996!  I clearly remember the days early in my military career when we routinely plastered our social security number on everything we owned as a means of identification!  What were we thinking?  To think of all the sophisticated computer hacking that is done to steal someone’s information these days, while for many years, all someone had to do was pick through the garbage!  But I digress! 

Courtesy Pexels.com

HIPAA is an essential part of the healthcare industry as well as affecting everyone who uses any healthcare service.  These regulations were enacted for your protection, and they are interpreted with only the slightest variation among healthcare providers and insurance companies.  Almost all err on the side of caution and interpret HIPAA with strict adherence.  Those who fail to comply with HIPAA guidelines are subject to fines of up to $50,000 per violation with a maximum $1.5 million annual ceiling. While this measure ensures compliance, sometimes it can make it difficult to have someone else act on your behalf with doctors, hospitals, or insurance companies.