Health Care Sharing Ministries: An Alternative to the Healthcare Marketplace

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has people and health insurance companies worried that their healthcare costs will go up. Historically, health insurance companies have been able to screen out those with pre-existing conditions or drop others who are costing them too much. With the ACA in place, they won’t be able to do that, so those paying for health insurance may pay more to cover sicker people who are now covered.This mindset about sharing healthcare costs grates against some but is wholeheartedly accepted by others. An alternative to purchasing individual health insurance, if you aren’t already covered through work, Medicare, the Indian Health Service or several other government programs, may be a “health care sharing ministry”. These are not health insurance plans. They operate more like co-ops and are based on the Christian philosophy that we should care for each other rather than depending on a large, faceless corporation. True health insurance covers guaranteed medical services and charges premiums based on the actuarial risk of people getting sick. Medi-Share states on their website, “Medi-Share is NOT insurance. It’s a New Testament way of thinking about healthcare, built on the principles of Christians bearing each other’s burdens.”In order to be exempt from the ACA the group must have been in existence since at least 1999 and must submit to an external financial audit each year. The groups are not regulated and have no obligation to pay for medical services. The three largest health care sharing ministries: Samaritan Ministries; Christian Care Ministries’ Medi-Share, and Christian Health Care Ministries. They have been providing medical coverage for their members since the 1990s.Members pay a “share” each month which is then directed to the members who need the money for medical services. In this way, the members share the cost of medical services among the entire group. One member says “We care and pray for each other as people, not as customers”. Members usually know who is receiving money each month and members are encouraged to pray for these members.There are some important caveats to programs like these. Members must be Christian and must commit to living a Christian lifestyle which usually includes no smoking, abuse of drugs or alcohol, extramarital sex or use of illegal drugs and may require attending church services. Teenagers must agree to the requirements to be covered.The benefit to the members is that they can trust that their fellow members are not putting themselves at risk for diseases due to behaviors which the members feel are immoral. Because members decide what medical services will be covered, services which the group does not agree with, such as abortion, are not covered. Medical care needs caused by smoking, drinking alcohol, drug use or promiscuous behaviors are not usually covered. Many preventive services and medical tests for adults aren’t covered and members pay for those out of pocket, although preventive care for young children is usually included.

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Guide and Tips For Loan Application

Loans for a home, car, education and construction or for that long awaited holiday are a must for many nowadays. With money being tied up in investments and bonds, very few have liquid cash on such large scales. In such cases, a loan is your best friend. All you have to do is decide the loan amount and discuss what rate of interest you are comfortable with.Here are some tips to help you organise the loan process. This is just an overview and you can get even more information from other websites or by contacting the financial institute itself, as terms and conditions vary from place to place.o See if you are eligible for a loan first. It is imperative that to apply for a loan in Australia you need to be an Australian Citizen or a permanent resident returning to Australia. There are also subclasses of Permanent Skilled migrants that can even apply. There are also provisions for foreign investors in real estate as well.o Determine the amount of loan you will require. Also, if your collateral property is worth $1 million, that does not mean you have to take up the whole amount as loan. Structure your commercial loan amount according to your requirements, only then is repayment easy.o When filling out the form, please read all terms and conditions in detail.o Compare the contract details with other financial institutions as well.o Take note of the control adjustment rate loans: life caps, maximum and minimum rates and adjustment frequency.o When calculating the total cost to you, that is, the lump sum, then consider initialising costs, down payments, discount point, and also the pre payments.o It is also advisable to compare loans at different times.o You could compare loans before and after tax.o Another way to compare loans at different times can be through:1. Current periodic payments,2. Total interest paid till date,3. Outstanding balance,4. Present cost, that is, the net value of all the payments made till date,5. Internal rate of return to date of interest or true rate.o There are four types of loan contracts, so study them well:1. Fixed rate2. Adjustable rate3. Balloon payment4. Buydown rateo Get all the info about the financial institution you are considering. Enquire if they are offering the best competitive interest rate.o Before signing the contract, make sure you agree with the interest rate, whether it is fixed or variable, when the arrears are to be paid. What is the term of the loan and
what is the final amount that has to be paid?This is just an overview of some of the things you should consider when undertaking a loan. The best way to put your doubts to rest is to ask questions and research, as this is your money you will be paying back. Fuss Free Finance is a company that can help you with all your financial queries concerning loans.

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Why Cloud Storage is a Better Idea for Small Businesses

Like big businesses, small businesses have varied requirements from infrastructure, IT deployment, daily operation, and manpower to data management. However unlike big businesses, small businesses have budget constraints that often limit their scope of expansion and expenditures in the needful projects. Despite the limitations it doesn’t mean that small businesses do not have options. In fact there is a plethora of options available for small businesses to fulfill their wide-ranging business requirements.One of such options is cloud storage, also called as online storage, for data management, which is the biggest need of small businesses. Cloud storage is an answer to all the prayers related to data backup and restore of small businesses which are more prone to data loss/damage as compared to large businesses. According to a survey, 70% of the small businesses shut down within one year of their operations after they suffer major data. According to a survey conducted by Sage North America, about 62% small companies do not have a proper disaster recovery plan in place for safety from catastrophic disasters, man-made debacles, accidental deletions, thefts, power outages, hardware failure. In the same survey, it was concluded that around 33% of the businesses do not have data backup and recovery plans in place because there hasn’t been observed any catastrophic disasters or emergencies in their areas while around 30% said that “have never thought about it”. Around 28% of the participants said that they regularly back up their data because they have major data losses in the past.This is the poorest scenario for any small business that needs to be able to run properly without facing operational hitches which may occur and recue in the absence of a proper data backup and recovery plan. If you run a small business from your home or office, you can understand how vital it is to keep your data organized and safe to be able to meet the tailor-made demands to your clients, protect your business ideas and information from competitors, and from employees who might take advantage of your personal or professional information for monetary purposes among other things.The question that arises here is ‘why small businesses do not pay attention to data backup and recovery plans when they cannot prevent a tornado or other such catastrophic disasters, accidental deletions, thefts, power outages, or hardware failure for that matter from occurring’? Small businesses may be taking this risk because data management is not affordable for them. Besides, regular data backups and recoveries on several devices involve lots of hassles that put them off from maintaining proper data management plans. However with the onset of cloud storage, it has become extremely convenient and affordable for small businesses to maintain data. Businesses can back up their data as many times as they want and access it anytime, anywhere from their computers, Smartphones, tablets, servers, and networks etc. connected to the Internet.Since your data is stored in a cloud server, which is the only place for all your digital possessions viz. emails, contacts, documents, images, family videos, music numbers, social network updates, and bank details etc., the cost of regularly data backups and recoveries drastically come down. It’s is because you don’t have to use multiple hard disks and/or USB devices to store your data. In the cloud server, your data is stored once and forever. You can access, add, delete, edit, re-edit, backup and restore your business data as many times as you want without going through the lengthy and cumbersome procedure.In fact the data stored in a cloud server remains protected and safe from the tactics of hackers. Besides, cloud storage services are scalable as you can store higher volumes of data according to your needs. With cloud storage, it only takes a computer, server or mobile device with an active Internet connection or Wi-Fi to be able to manage the data. Such a flexibility and convenience is absent from the external storage media on which the cost of backing up and recovering data is also very high, in fact the highest.Considering that cloud storage is the only contemporary, affordable, and viable solution for small businesses and users, several major tech giants including Microsoft, Amazon, Google, Netgear, and McAfee among others have come up with integrated cloud storage. Cloud storage is around 1,000 times more affordable than the external backup media whose reliability and safety are always at risk due to environment, physical conditions, catastrophic emergencies, accidental deletions, thefts, and other contingencies. Thus, if you own a small business, make sure that you cloud-power your data. It’s your choice to keep spending big money on the external storage media or spend only once and forever with a cloud storage services. It’s your choice if you want peace of mind or want to constantly run around losing business, clients, and money.

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