FOR A BETTER INSURANCE EXPERIENCE…
Do yourself a favor and KNOW your insurance coverage. Not being fully informed can cost you hundreds if not thousands of dollars.
TO REDUCE INSURANCE PROBLEMS and MISUNDERSTANDINGS:
1. Have a copy of your insurance’s formulary.
What is a Formulary?
A formulary is a list of all the medication your insurance will help you pay for. This list does change over time, so make sure to have the most up to date edition. On a formulary, the amount you’re expected to pay is your co-pay.
Most insurance formularies are in levels or tiers.
EX: Tier 1 Generic Medication
Tier 2 Preffered Medication (Brand)
Tier 3 Non Preffered Brand Medication
Price generally escalates with increasing Tier position.
Also note that Tier 2 and 3 are both brand name medication. That is, there may be more than one brand name medication for the same condition. Your insurance may have a prefference.
So…
Ask your insurance to mail you a copy of your current formulary. You can also ask your insurance carrier where you can find a copy of your formulary online. If you have more than one insurance carrier, make sure you have access to each individual one.
ALWAYS go with a copy of your formulary to your Dr.’s office, or leave it with them. It will save you a potential headache and surprise at the pharmacy.
WHAT IF A MEDICATION IS NOT ON THE FORMULARY?
Don’t give up yet!! You can ask your Dr. directly, or your Pharmacy to conduct a Prior Authorization for you.
What is a Prior Authorization?
Usually in reference to non-formulary medication, but can also refer to non-formulary directions – For example your insurance carrier may only cover 30 pills of a medication within a 30 day period, but your Dr. prescribes it for twice a day (60 pills within 30 days).
If your doctor prescribes a drug that requires prior authorization for coverage, ask your doctor to call the number on your Prescription Insurance card to begin the authorization process. Your doctor’s office must complete a prior authorization form or call your Insurance at the number on your card to provide the necessary information.
And lastly, some insurance plans have preffered pharmacies. So make sure that your regular pharmacy is a participating pharmacy. This is usually not a big deal especially in regards to most retail pharmacies, but to be safe, call your insurance company to make sure. Getting medication filled at a non-participating pharmacy will cost you more!
For more Pharmacy Related Questions, please visit cvscustomers.com
Do you need to seek out chiropractic care following an auto accident? My answer is a resounding “yes!” Why is it so important? Why can’t you just rest and take the medications that were prescribed by your medical doctor? Is the insurance company going to give you a hard time about it?
The reason why chiropractic care is so important after an accident has little to do with you being in pain (although it’s good for that too). A vertebra that moves out of its normal alignment can wreak havoc on your neck and its associated nerves. You may not be in a lot of pain immediately following the accident, but research indicates that most people will experience a bulk of their symptoms after a few days.
Once you start to feel symptoms, this is a good indicator that something has moved out of place, and likely that you’re experiencing a sprain/strain kind of injury. Sprain and strain don’t sound horrible, but really they are describing tears of various tissues in your body. The severity of the tear will indicate the type of treatment you should probably consider first. The chiropractor can help make the determination.
Eventually, your body will heal with scar tissue. Scar tissue is more sensitive than the previously uninjured tissue that you had within you before. Once scar tissue sets up (this takes about 3 weeks following the trauma), it will become increasingly difficult to get you back to your pre-accident state. Receiving some chiropractic adjustments to your spine will help assure that your spine is in its best position as that scar tissue begins to form. The better your spine is when all of this occurs, the more likely you can return pain-free following your therapy and treatment.
So why can’t you just rest and take the medications? That may be your best first course of treatment for a couple of days following your accident, but certainly can’t be the best choice long term. The medications are there to help you with pain, to help you get through the difficulty of the initial phase of your injury. However, they’re certainly not fixing anything.
In addition to the chiropractic adjustment, you can typically receive additional therapies that will help your muscles and other soft tissue heal more quickly than just “resting” alone. The additional therapies also help with pain, swelling, and inflammation and can be a big help in the speed of your recovery.
Will your auto insurance or health insurance company give you any trouble? You have insurance for just this type of situation, when you need health care and you can’t afford to pay for it yourself. Your health insurance company may have issue if the accident wasn’t your fault and the other person should be paying for it (or their insurance), but otherwise you shouldn’t have trouble here.
Your auto insurance policy will determine the amount of coverage and just how much help the company has to give. Still, it’s your body and your health and you’ll need to make sure your injuries are taken care of following the accident. Where you will have trouble is if months have gone by and you haven’t gone to see any doctors, just hoping it will go away. Then you decide to tell your insurance company that they need to pay for it all. That doesn’t go over too well.
If you’ve been in an auto accident, it’s a good idea to see a chiropractor and do it as quickly as possible once you realize you’ve been injured. The faster you get some type of treatment, usually the better your results.
Everyone knows what insurance is, and how to get it. But what do you do with when you’ve got it? If you had to make a claim, would you know what to do? This 3 part guide covers what to do in the event of a claim, continuing with home insurance.
Home Insurance
Depending on the nature of the claim, there are certain things which you need to do. If you’re a victim of a robbery or vandalism, you need to first of all inform the police. Make lists of all stolen items and/or damaged property, as well as photographs or videos of the latter, with copies. When the police arrive, take their names and badge numbers for your insurer’s records. You will also need copies of your statement and any other police paperwork to give to your insurer, as well as copies for yourself.
If you or someone else is injured in your home, medical assistance should be sought as soon as possible. Keep all records of hospital visits, prescriptions and doctors notes, and provide copies for your insurer. Again, try to get relevant photographic evidence of injuries and the scene of the accident, and any objects which may have contributed to the injuries.
Another common reason for claiming on house insurance is renovations and/or decorating disasters. If you have hired professionals to carry out work in your home and they cause damages, they should have insurance which you can claim from. If you cause the damages yourself, you will need to claim on your own insurance, but this can be difficult. Before undertaking any work more complicated than painting or wallpapering, check your policy. You may need to inform your insurer of your intention to carry out work, otherwise a claim could be rendered invalid.
If repairs are needed for something like a leaky pipe or water damage, call your insurer before a repair company. Your insurance provider should be able to give you a list of recommended repairers which are available on 24 hour call-out.
In the case of a natural disaster such as a flood or hurricane, you will need to notify the insurer and possibly your local council if your property is damaged. The authorities may provide a safe house or other assistance if your home is severely damaged. If the natural disaster was anticipated through weather warning etc, there may be a contingency plan in place already to help victims.
In some cases, you may be able to afford repairs without claiming on your insurance. Do this if possible as a number of small claims will end cheap home insurance premiums. It’s worth getting both buildings and contents insurance if you’re a DIY fan!
