Patient and Visit Characteristics of Families Accessing Pediatric Urgent Care Telemedicine During the COVID-19 Pandemic
During the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, pediatric, urgent care telemedicine encounters in our sample increased by 172% from 2019 baseline. This surge in patient volume highlighted differences in patient demographic characteristics among telemedicine users during the pandemic era. Unique changes were observed across two U.S. regions during the study's timeframe. In Florida, significant increases in use of subsidized health insurance for telemedicine and changes in patient ethnicity were observed. In DV, a slight decline in rural patients utilizing telemedicine was observed, approaching statistical significance. In Florida and DV, increased linguistic diversity was observed, underscoring a pragmatic need for language services that optimize patient access, care, and quality.
Telemedicine utilization increased by roughly 8% points among Medicaid users in Florida during the pandemic. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention noted that increased telemedicine visits during COVID-19 may be related to policy changes and regulatory waivers from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.3 Increased utilization of telehealth by the Medicaid population in Florida coincided with the 2020 enactment of the Families First Coronavirus Act (FFCRA).24 Under FFCRA, states received a temporary increase in the federal matching rate for the emergency period if they provided continuous eligibility for enrollees in Medicaid/CHIP through the end of the month of the emergency period.25 Performance indicators demonstrated increased Medicaid enrollment after the FFRCA enactment.26 This rising enrollment may have contributed to increased Medicaid utilization on the NCC platform in Florida, highlighting the influence of governmental support and policy change to enhance telemedicine access during a crisis.
Tips For Choosing The Right Health Insurance Coverage
Health insurance is a subject of great discussion and debate due to the significant role it plays in virtually everyone's life. Education is key when it comes to securing the best possible coverage and using it effectively. Putting the tips and advice in this article to work for you is a great way to do just that.
If monthly costs for health insurance are a concern, look a higher deductible plan. This option allows for you to handle smaller out of pocket costs as needed and the need for a deductible is only necessary when a more catastrophic event occurs. The minor incidents are easier to budget and allow you to save monthly dollars for your day to day life.
If you don't have health insurance or enough coverage to take care of your medical bills, some credit card companies have special plans specifically for health care. These cards can be used to pay your providers as needed and then you make monthly payments to the credit card company. Be sure to read the fine print, as some have introductory offers that may end before you pay off your debt.
Ask your doctor to prescribe you generic drugs if one is available. Your co-pay will almost always be less for a generic drug than for a name brand. The effects are the same, you just won't be paying an extra surcharge for the branded medicine. Save yourself the money if possible.
Stay in your health care network, or be prepared for frustration. Health insurance companies sometimes provide strict limits on which doctors you can see and when. If you go outside of their network, to a doctor they do not have listed, they may refuse to pay for it. If they will pay for it, it may be a fiasco to get them to.
Plan for the worst when taking out a new health insurance policy. Health insurance can be expensive. However, even the cost of health insurance is pocket change when compared to the astronomical cost of some health bills. Take out a policy that won't leave you completely bankrupt if an emergency hits.
Make sure that you're always reading the fine print of any health insurance policy. The last thing you want, is to suffer some type of illness that the insurance company doesn't have to cover. And if the company doesn't have to cover it by contract, you better believe that they're not going to volunteer their services.
Don't let your old policy expire before you get a new one. If you have a group insurance plan that is going to be terminated, you also have the option of the COBRA Act, which is short for Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act. You should consider this before getting a new policy.
When choosing a health insurance policy, look into the quality of the company. The company that holds your policy should be able to back it up. It is good to know if the company you have chosen will be around to take care of any claims you may have.
In case you are interested in changing your health insurance policy, make sure to determine how many regular routine doctor visits you go to annually. Add their costs with the co-pay if they're covered and view the amount they'd be without insurance. Ask your doctor about their visit fees if you don't know how much they are without a policy.
Your employer may provide you with a list of health insurance providers to choose from. It is a good idea to ask your co-workers, but also doctors and nurses you know, which one they have had the best experience with. It's not just what is written in your policy, but how it is implemented that matters!
If you want to have a large choice of hospitals and doctors to go to, you should apply for a PPO plan. PPO plans are more expensive than HMO plans and have higher deductibles. But with an HMO plan, your will be limited to certain doctors and hospitals. If you can afford a PPO plan, you should apply for one and keep your options open.
Keep an itemized list of all your medical expenses and health insurance payments. Even if you're not self-employed, you may be able to deduct at least some of them on your income tax. Co-payments, dentist visits and treatment, deductibles, premiums and uncovered health spending, can all be deductible, so be sure to check with an accountant.
It's really not hard to see how the tips in this article will help you stop worrying about your health insurance, and get started using this practical advice to find the right plan that fills your health insurance needs. Using these common sense tips will make the process a lot easier.
Use These Tips To Get The Best Health Insurance For The Best Price Possible
Health insurance is something that can pay for itself over time. Maybe the first few years you don't use your policy, but perhaps you will later on. It never works to take a gamble with your health. Finding the right health insurance for you will always be a tough decision filled with compromises. The article contains some great tips and advice below to apply in your search for the perfect health insurance.
Health insurance may not completely cover the cost of birth control or well-woman visits with your physician. An alternative to a regular gynecologist is Planned Parenthood, which offers exams, counseling and birth control on a sliding scale, meaning the amount you are charged is based on your ability to pay. County health clinics may also offer these services.
When considering a health care insurance plan from your employer, be sure to not forget about possible favored doctors and if they will be included in your plan. This is especially important to consider with an OB/GYN, dentist, or long time family doctor. Sometimes it may be more important to pay more for a different plan than to abandon your favorite doctor.
If you are a person that is looking into personal health insurance, and you maybe go to the doctor once or twice a year, you should look into a Health Savings Account. It's kind of like a insurance that has a low premium but a high deductible. The money that you didn't spend on a premium would go into an account pre-tax to use when you have unexpected medical expenses.
In order to reduce your health insurance premium, think about buying catastrophic rather than comprehensive coverage. Unlike comprehensive insurance, catastrophic coverage has less coverage for routine care, and will only cover "big ticket" costs.
Never go without health insurance. While a few people never get sick or injured, the chances that you will not get sick, are astronomical. Protect yourself from falling into medical debt by getting insurance, even if it is only the bare minimum. You do not want to be left untreated just because you can't afford it.
Thoroughly read your entire health insurance contract, and ask for clarifications and explanations for things you do not quite understand. Your insurance agent should be ready and willing to explain every bit of your contract to you, should the need arise. If he or she give you an answer that you don't like, you may want to find a different policy.
When shopping for health insurance, check to see if your favorite doctors - from general practitioners to specialists - are included in each provider's network. While some providers will allow you to see out-of-network physicians, you will often pay far more for those visits than you would for visits to in-network practitioners.
Preemptive care is perhaps your best bet if you hope to save money on your health insurance policy in the long term. If you think you're coming down with any serious illness, it's better to go get checked out beforehand than to wait until it happens. A lot of illnesses out there can be treated in their early stages a lot more effectively.
With an employer-sponsored health plan insurance plan, your company has to accept you, despite your health status or pre-existing conditions. Without one, you have to seek private policies, which means your health will be rigorously evaluated. Many states have private health insurance policies that are underwritten about your medical history, smoking status, weight, and age.
Even if you have a pet that lives indoors, it is still a great idea to get them pet health insurance. There are still many accidents that can happen in the home, such as your pet eating some poison, falling in the house or getting outside - then anything can happen. Your pet can break teeth, break bones or get sick inside, too!
If a representative from an insurance company asks you a question you do not know the answer to, you should refer them to your medical record. Do not guess an answer or provide an incomplete one. Chances are, your approximate answer will not match what your record says, and here you will get in trouble when your insurance company notices it.
In summary, you want to do all that you can to learn about health insurance. There is a lot of information available, but we have provided some of the most important tips. Hopefully, we have provided you with enough information, to not only give you a solid background, but also further spark your interest for becoming an expert in it.
CONTACT:
PDQ Urgent Care & More in Orange
Email: [email protected]
Phone: +1-714-287-0459
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7630 E Chapman Ave Suite B
Orange, CA 92869
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