Whenever an election is approaching, politicians talk about America’s “looming health care crisis” as if they actually plan to do something about it if and when they are elected. Experts who study the cost of health care say it is one of the most serious problems the country faces in terms of cost and quality of care.Who Provides Health Insurance?The GovernmentFederal, state and local governments insure 39 million workers (including military), 39 million Medicare recipients (a number destined to increase as the first baby-boomers turn 65), and 41 million on Medicaid. Of course, governments do not generate any revenue themselves. It all comes from one place: taxpayers. With an average of 7 health insurance and pharmaceutical lobbyists for each Congressman, it’s easy to understand why legislators drag their feet when it comes to improving health care for their constituents. (Anyway, they all get free health insurance for life. They’re probably saying “What’s the big deal?”)EmployersEmployers offer health insurance to 120 million Americans. Those who choose to accept the insurance have hundreds of dollars a month deducted from their paychecks as their share of the premium their employers pay to health insurance providers. In 2005, the average worker paid over $2700 for his or her share of group insurance provided through an employer. That doesn’t include annual deductibles and co-pays for visits to doctors, prescriptions, hospital stays, surgeries, and so forth. The National Coalition on Health Care reports that employee’s insurance premiums increased by 73% from 2000-2005. Compare that to a cumulative inflation rate over the same period of 14%, and a cumulative wage boost of 15%. Obviously, that 1% difference doesn’t come anywhere near meeting the 73% premium increase.Of course, the employers’ share of premiums is increasing too. In fact, the NCHC web site relates this troubling information: “Health insurance expenses are the fastest-growing cost component for employers. Unless something changes dramatically, health insurance costs will overtake profits by 2008.” Since the whole point of being in business is to make a profit, employers have some choices: (1) pass part of the additional premium on to employees; (2) pay new employees less and give smaller raises to others; (3) charge more for their products and services, and/or (4) stop offering employees health insurance all together.Even if you get your insurance through an employer, you have to be very careful that you read and understand the fine print. Don’t see a doctor without prior authorization. Don’t see one out of the “network” without expecting to pay a good portion of the doctor’s fee yourself. Do you need to go to a hospital? Let’s hope you’re conscious and thinking straight, because you may need to call the health insurance company from the car or the ambulance to get their OK. We’ve all heard the horror stories of people who rushed someone to the “wrong” hospital in an emergency and were denied coverage by the insurance company because it didn’t have “an agreement” with that particular hospital.What about “the uninsured”?You might be thinking there must be “some program” to help the uninsured. The fact is that if you have an income, you don’t qualify for a “program.” Even if you’re a single mom making only minimum wage, you can’t qualify for Medicaid. People without insurance who do see a doctor often can’t fill their prescriptions, or they take less than the amount prescribed. When they get sick, they simply hope to get better, and often the condition spirals into something more serious and more expensive to treat. That’s where the emergency room comes in. The costs for the slightest problem are mind-boggling-over a thousand dollars to stitch up a cut, for instance. The hospital will try to collect. If you can’t pay, your credit rating could be affected.In October of 2006, over 46 million Americans had no health insurance. Eighty percent of these are working people and their dependents. Some work for an employer who offers no insurance plan, or they make so little they cannot afford to buy into the program. Many are self-employed, and feel they simply cannot afford the unreasonably high premiums for individual insurance, or they have pre-existing conditions and the only policies they can get exclude those.What You Can Do1. Make a Choice.The health insurance crisis is a real and growing problem. You can choose to believe that the government or your employer will cover increasing costs or not hit you too hard for your share of the premium, or you can choose to go uninsured and hope that you and your family will stay well. It is not an issue where you can take an ostrich attitude and put your head in the sand. You need to make a choice.2. Set Up an Emergency AccountMany uninsured workers have made the choice to take control of the problem themselves by setting up their own medical savings accounts. Instead of paying $600-$1200 a month in individual-policy insurance premiums, they choose to deposit the money in an interest-bearing account, CD, or other “sure money” account. The funds are their own, whether they are needed or not.3. Find a Way to Fund ItIf you decide to set up a medical savings account, you’ll want to deposit as much money as you can as quickly as possible so it can go to work for you making interest. Even if you work for an outside employer and have group health insurance, that extra money in your medical savings account will give you the security of knowing that you’ll be able to meet deductibles, co-pays, and other expenses your policy deems “not covered.” Many have discovered that a great way to do this is to open a home-based business. You can work your own hours and be your own boss as you accumulate your medical-savings nest egg. You just may find that you can also open another account-one you might label “things we’ve always wanted” or “savings for trips.” A home-based business may very well be your personal answer to the health care crisis. For additional free information, simply contact Dr. Sran.Wishing You Life’s Best,Dr. Sran MBA, PhD[http://www.yoursuccessdoctor.com-] Tired of Tiny Checks? This Secret is Your [email protected](877) 978-6742 (Direct)
Commercial Refinancing Or Commercial Modification – Which is Best?
You just must go searching whenever you are driving around town to see all of the For rent signs up inside windows of commercial buildings to understand that the economic meltdown has hit the commercial building sector in a difficult way. Homeowners usually are not the only ones worried about losing their properties nowadays, landlords and commercial property owners are having quite a few in the same headaches, but on a bigger scale. A bad economy has created a lot of corporations close branch operations or otherwise consolidate operations and personnel, and quite a few other firms have had to stop doing enterprise altogether due to poor sales and revenue. Several organizations have had to close their doors and declare bankruptcy. It really is a virtual epidemic across the country. When corporations close it really is not just the company proprietor that suffers but also their landlord.Newspapers have reported that commercial foreclosures have increased dramatically inside past year and that they will continue to raise over the next year, even if the economy improves. Quite a few commercial building owners are seeking methods to save money and improve cash flow and they’re increasingly searching at commercial refinancing or commercial loan modification.If a building proprietor loses a tenant it can mean tens of thousands of dollars in lost revenue. Attracting a new tenant could take months or even years in today’s tough financial situation. Lenders are watching closely as much more and far more building owners default on their commercial loans. These loans are commonly between 7% to 10% interest and created for five to ten year terms, with interest only payments along with a big balloon payment due on the end. The primary difficulty with commercial refinancing on the present time is that banks are very tight with lending any money proper now and usually are not expected to change for the foreseeable future. When lending requirements are this tight it means that the building proprietor will discover it very much additional complicated to obtain the commercial refinancing that he is applying for, even if he has excellent credit and excellent equity.A greater method to enhance cash flow is to apply for a commercial loan modification rather than commercial refinancing. You will discover various reputable commercial loan modification corporations available that specialize in negotiating with commercial lenders. This can be a very sophisticated and specialized negotiation practice and it truly is remarkably suggested that building owners appear incredibly carefully at third party negotiators and their experience and credentials previous to deciding on one.As soon as the application is complete, a number of reports have to be completed including capitalization rates from the building, debt servicing, and also a commercial appraisal (which may be extremely high-priced). Developing owners will have to become prepared to pay these third party costs directly to the vendors prior to the loan modification package is submitted. As soon as the negotiations begin nevertheless, the method is significantly faster and a lot more efficient than a residential modification since the negotiator is usually dealing with a professional manager on the lender, not an inexperienced individual.
How Do You Get A Loan For Your Small Business?
Where can I get loans for my small business?Funding for small businesses is often done through loans and equity. Equity is that part of the capital or money required for the business that you put up from your own pockets and the rest you take from outsiders in the form of loans. There are various sources like banks, venture capitalists, insurance companies, private individuals and organizations like US Small Business Administration that provides you loans for your small business.What are the banks going to ask me?Getting loans is not always easy and there are a host of questions to which you must provide answers before being considered by a bank or any other financial institution for a loan.10 questions that the banks will ask before lending you money:1.Can the business that you are considering to enter into generate enough money to pay off the interest on the loan?2.If the business fails then do you have the capacity to pay off the interest yourself?3.What is the history of the business? The lending institutions will be interested in how the business has evolved over the years and how well it has been performing in the past. The past is considered to be a good indicator of the future and chances are that if your business has done well in the past you will find it easier to obtain the loan.4.What is the background and history of the managers and how committed are they to the business? The one criteria that makes or breaks a business is whether the management is committed and capable enough to steer the business in the right direction.5.Are the sales growing? It is important for any business to grow its sales and especially a small business where the base is smaller and the lenders are certainly going to pay attention to the growth rate of the past few years and the future outlook.6.How profitable is the business? While you may think that the lenders are only interested in getting their repayments their success is dependent upon your success and to that extent the profitability of your business is crucial.7.What is the competition like? Lenders would not like to loan out to a small business which has bigger and more intense competitors with deeper pockets.8.Is the industry itself growing? If you are operating in a profitable and growing industry then the chances of your getting a loan also increase that much.9.Is the cash flow smooth? Cash flow is to business what blood is to the body and you should have a smooth cash flow to pay all your bills on time, pay your employees and keep the ball rolling.10.The banks will also look at your past credit history and how you have performed with the loans that you may have taken in the past.What are the things for which I will get the loan?There are many aspects to a business even a small one and you get different types of loans tailored to suit each kind of need. For instance you get loans for working capital, buying capital equipment, expansion programs, installing new machinery and computerization etc. You get loans for almost any type of needs that arise provided you have a good case for it.What is the amount and rate of interest of the loan?Different institutions have different ways of evaluating the amount that they will pay you. Indeed in cases of venture capitalists entire 100% is also funded for your small business. If possible it is always better to have as much equity as possible in your business for two reasons. One is when the prospective lenders themselves see that you are putting your money in the business their confidence in you increases and secondly your interest outgo also reduces making your profitability that much more as your interest expense is lowered. The interest rate hovers but if you take the loan from the US Small Business Administration it will range somewhere between 8 and 13%.There are various means and ways of getting loans for your small business and you must persevere at getting the right loans that suits your needs and gives you the best interest rates and repayment terms.