Finance Tips

When you take the opportunity to insure your life you will have to go through a thorough medical examination. The main reason for insurance providers to require a thorough medical check from their customers is to determine how much to charge for their services. If you have a high risk of death at an earlier stage then the company will charge a higher premium in order to collect more money for the service while you are still around. If the risk is low they will put a lower premium because you will be considered a lower risk that isn’t likely to require death benefit payout anytime soon.

Insurance providers use two main factors for defining how it is likely that their client will cease to exist: longevity charts and medical examinations (including history as well).

Longevity charts represent a statistical interpretation of mortality rates across different demographical groups. In other words, by using these charts the insurance company is able to learn how it is likely that a person will die at a certain stage of life and in a certain region. This is crucial for determining how much of a risk a person is when they come to the insurance company’s office. For example, the longevity chart shows that a man of 50 years old is much likely to decease than a woman of the very same age and living in the same area. Taking this into account, the insurance company will charge a man with a higher rate than a woman because the higher is the risk, the higher is the premium paid. That’s why older people always have higher life insurance rates than children, because they represent a higher risk to the company.

Medical examination and medical history give a more personalized and in-depth understanding of the customer’s risk potential to the company. In most cases the examination is undertaken directly at the office or at your home, unless your life insurance provider requires a more thorough examination of any particular system or condition. The following are the most common things you will be asked about when getting your life insurance quotes:

1. Personal medical history
2. Family medical history
3. Your primary physician’s contact information
4. Lifestyle factors (drinking, smoking, substance abuse)
5. The amount of insurance coverage you want to get

The following procedures are very common for the medical exam held by your insurance provider:

1. Height and weight measurement
2. Blood pressure and pulse measurement
3. Blood and blood vessel condition (lipids, glucose, hormones, viruses)
4. Urinalysis

After you pass the medical exam the insurance provider will analyze the results and set a corresponding premium according to the state of your health. Sometimes it takes up to a couple of months to analyze this information. In case you feel that there was something wrong or the company refused you, it’s better to ask the insurance to send you a copy of their final conclusion to you and your doctor. This might be very important especially if you want to get cheap health insurance from another company.

A career as a medical assistant will give you a job that is not likely to be affected by fluctuations in the economy. That’s because healthcare is something that will always be needed. As a medical assistant, you will help a doctor to care for his or her patients. In that role, you are likely to perform routine treatments, do lab tests and help to maintain the office records.

The actual duties you will perform as a medical assistant will vary by state law. In some states medical assistants who have specialized training are allowed to draw blood or take x-rays. In most states, the assistant is expected to take a patient’s medical history, record his or her weight, the pulse rate, and blood pressure. They are entrusted with explaining to patients what the doctor is about to do, and answering any questions the patient may have about the examination. During the exam, assistants hand the doctor any medical instruments or medications. They may also collect lab specimens, and instruct patients about how to take their medicine and how to stay on special diets. After the exam, the assistant tidies up the room, disposing of used materials, arranging equipment and sterilizing any instruments that were used.

In some jobs, assistants may also have clerical responsibilities, like answering the phones, greeting patients, taking them to the exam room and updating their medical records. Many assistants fill out insurance forms and schedule appointments, arrange for hospital admissions and lab services.

Some assistants are brought on board to handle billing and bookkeeping for the doctor. But this will really depend on the size of the doctor’s office you work for. If it is a large office, the medical assistant will usually spend only a small amount of time on clerical duties, which may not be true in a smaller office of let’s say three people. Medical assistants are always supervised by doctors, other health workers, or office managers.

Some of the titles that you may have include Clinical Medical Assistant, an Administrative Medical Assistant, a Medical Receptionist, a Medical Insurance Biller, a Medical Bookkeeper or a Laboratory Assistant. You might work in Physicians’ Offices, Offices of Health Practitioners or Outpatient Care Centers.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that medical assistants held about 417,000 jobs in 2006. About 62 percent worked in offices of physicians; 12 percent in public and private hospitals, including inpatient and outpatient facilities; and 11 percent worked in offices of other health practitioners, like chiropractors, optometrists, and podiatrists. There are also medical assistant jobs in outpatient care centers and nursing and residential care facilities.

The future of employment is bright for medical assistants. Projected statistics show it is expected grow 35-percent from 2006 to 2016, much faster than the average for other occupations. Technological advances in medicine and the growth and aging of the American population will see an increased need for all health care workers.

Gain the skills you will need to enjoy a long career as a medical assistant assistant with a Medical Assistants Degree

If you see yourself and are described by friends as a multi-tasker, a person of many talents, who can stay organized, can communicate well and use your hands equally well, a career as a medical assistant may be for you.