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Payment Protection Insurance
In today`s challenging work environment and due to the global economic downturn, there is a real concern for many people regarding the security of their job with the threat of being made redundant ever increasing. The biggest fear for many is that they may struggle meet mortgage payments or pay other financial commitments should they be made redundant. As people try to protect themselves against loss of income, they may opt for cover in the form of the controversial Payment Protection Insurance (PPI). Payment Protection Insurance is there to cover you should you fall ill, have an accident so you are unable to work or lose your job. Although this type of insurance can offer you the necessary cover you require there have been many instances where people have been mis-sold the insurance cover. This had lead to complications when trying to claim against the policy and has also left people paying far more for their policy than they should. Following this, it has recently been announced that people who believe they have been mis-sold Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) have now been given extra time to take their cases to the Financial Services Ombudsman. This specifically applies to people who have had a complaint rejected by the firm that sold them the loan, meaning they now have upto six months to take their complaint to the Ombudsman. At its peak, nearly 150 people a day registered official complaints regarding PPI with almost a third of the total number of complaints relating directly to controversial insurance payment product.

In the early 1980`s Medicare started using a system called the diagnosed related group of guidelines for advance payments to hospitals. This has really given hospitals authority and incentive to discharge patients very soon after admission to the hospital.

The hospital gets paid the same whether the patient is in 3 days or 6 days. So the hospital can make more money if they free up the bed space for the next patient. The problem this has caused is that nursing homes have become the recovery place for these patients that were not ready to go back to their homes. The problem with this is that Medicare only pays up to 21 days of skilled nursing care. Therefore, if a patient is not recovered after the 21 days in the nursing home, then the funds come out of the patients estate, provided they have one. Needless to say, it does not take long to eat up one`s estate at the nursing home rates.

Insurance companies have just in the last decade recognized this problem and now are offering Long Term Care Insurance. The long term insurance rates vary by geological location, as well as state and local regulations. The premiums are costly, however, a person has to weigh out the advantages and disadvantages to purchasing long term care insurance.

Many people assume that their healthcare provider will cover long term care. Unfortunately Health care insurance covers medical bills, hospital bills and some prescriptions. They do not cover nursing home expenses. The same rule applies for Medicare. Medicare will pay for skilled nursing home care only for patients that are able to fully recover from their injuries or illnesses. Then the myth is that a person can always fall back on Medicaid, but Medicaid is for the people who fall under the low income guidelines and have little or no assets.

If a person can afford long term care insurance, it is highly recommended that they purchase it when they are young, as the rates are substantially lower.

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