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Please Note: The resource section is not intended to be a substitute for an appointment with your physician. Your specific clinical and diagnostic medical questions should continue to be directed to your physician. This resource center is provided as a resource for you to become a better informed decision-maker on issues related to your health.

 

Disclaimer: These Internet sites may have additional information on health topics of interest to you. However, we do not sponsor or endorse any of these sites, nor can we guarantee the accuracy of the information contained on the sites. These links are provided for your general information and education only, and should NOT be relied upon for personal diagnosis or treatment. If you have questions, please contact your health care provider.



Buy-Sell Agreement

 

Good fences make good neighbors, and a road map for unwinding jointly owned ventures and for otherwise dealing with foreseeable contingencies -- death, disability, retirement -- is essential to the most modest of business undertakings. The issue is neither the dollar volume of the business, nor its value nor the number of its employees. The issue, rather, is the importance of the business to the financial stability of its owners. All business owners die. Many, indeed, a substantial minority, quarrel with their partners, and need a set of rules for resolving disputes and, if necessary, for ending the relationship. 


Having said how important buy-sell agreements are to any business with more than one owner, the frustrating truth is that there are no well-drafted buy-sell agreements. Buy-sell agreements address problems for which there are no fair, all-purpose solutions. For example, in providing for the estate of a deceased owner to sell the interest to the surviving owner at fair market value, how is fair market value determined? Do you use an objective measure, such as a multiple of profits or revenue, or do you take account of the loss of services, expertise and contacts of the deceased owner? Fair market value, moreover, can mean different amounts for different purposes, even for a stable business that has not suffered the loss of a key person. 

 

A buy-sell agreement might also trigger rights in the event of the disability or other departure of one of the owners. Who is to determine disability? Who is to determine that a departure has taken place in the case of quarreling owners who refuse to cooperate with each other? Settling on a useful buy-sell agreement requires selecting from a menu of less than satisfactory choices. 

 

Here are some key issues, some typical provisions in a buy-sell agreement for dealing with those issues, and a critique of those solutions. 

 

One owner wishes to sell out. 

 

Solution: Right of first refusal in the non-selling owner. 

 

Difficulties: Undermines marketability and can be used as a tool of harassment.

 

Owner deadlock over governance issues. 

 

Solution: "Put-call" provisions, where one party names a per share price, and the other owner or owners have a right to buy or sell at that price. 

 

Difficulties: "Death sentence" remedy may be too draconian for the dispute in question.

 

Death of an owner. 

 

Solution: Either a put, the right of the estate to force either the company or the other owner to buy the interest, or an option entitling either the company or the surviving owner to buy the ownership interest of the deceased owner. 

 

Difficulties: Valuation formulas, lack of liquidity (which, however, can be ameliorated by life insurance).

 

A co-owner quits or is disabled. 

 

Solution: Trigger a shift in control, so the active owner can continue to run the business and make decisions. 

 

Difficulties: Defining whether someone has quit or has been fired and whether a disability has occurred. Also, in the event of a disabled owner, there are no life insurance proceeds with which to purchase the interest, if that is what the parties agree to.



COBRA

 

"COBRA" stands for Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985.

 

COBRA is the federal health care continuation law. COBRA requires that if an employee or other "qualified beneficiary" loses employer-provided health coverage due to termination of employment or another specified "triggering event," the group health plan must offer continued health care coverage to the qualified beneficiary. The qualified beneficiary may be (and typically is) required to pay the full cost for the coverage.

 

COBRA coverage has limited duration. In most cases, the maximum COBRA period is 18 or 36 months from the date of the qualifying event.

 

COBRA effects groups of 20 OR MORE EMPLOYEES. Employee count includes all full and part time employees on the payroll.



Eye Care - Providers

 

Ophthalmologist

 

An ophthalmologist is a medical doctor (MD) or osteopath (DO) who specializes in the treatment of the eye and visual system. In addition to providing routine eye care, ophthalmologists can diagnose and treat eye disease using medical or surgical techniques.

 

Optometrist
An optometrist is an eyecare professional who has completed four years of optometry school after graduating from college. Optometrists specialize in examination, diagnosis, and treatment of conditions of the visual system, including prescribing and fitting eyeglasses and contact lenses. Optometrists are not authorized to use surgical techniques to treat eye disease.

 

Opticians

  • Dispensing optician
    A dispensing optician helps the patient with the selection of frames, and also measures, adjusts, and fits eyewear using prescriptions supplied by an optometrist or ophthalmologist.
  • Laboratory optician
    A laboratory optician can manufacture eyewear using prescriptions supplied by an optometrist or ophthalmologist.
  • Optometric technician
    An optometric technician performs the same duties as a dispensing optician, but has also had two years of formal training or has passed the National Optometric Registration Exam for technicians.

Dispensing location
Optical facilities that have the capability to dispense eyewear are commonly called dispensing locations. Some dispensing locations have on-site manufacturing capabilities, but the majority of dispensing locations use offsite eyewear manufacturing facilities.

 

DPA certification
Diagnostic pharmaceutical agent (DPA) certification is granted to optometrists who have demonstrated capability to diagnose eye disease. State licensing agencies serve as the certifying body for DPA certification.

 

TPA certification
Therapeutic pharmaceutical agent (TPA) certification is granted to optometrists who have demonstrated capability to diagnose and treat eye disease. In addition, TPA certified optometrists can prescribe certain medications to treat eye disease. State licensing agencies serve as the certifying body for TPA certification.



Health and Wellness 

 

These sites are not maintained by WebAgencies.com.  Internet links are being provided as an additional source for consumer information. Inclusion of a link in our website does not imply an endorsement of the outside site.


HMO plans
 http://www.healthinsurancefinders.com/hmo_plans.html

 

American Association For Cancer Research 
 http://www.aacr.org

American Heart Association  
 http://www.americanheart.org/

 

Bloodless Medicine and Surgery Network provides information, links, stories on bloodless medicine and surgery
 http://www.noblood.com

 

CancerGuide is dedicated to helping you find the answers to your questions about cancer, and especially to helping you find the questions you need to ask. 
 http://cancerguide.org

 

CancerNet - The National Cancer Institute's gateway to the most recent and accurate cancer information.
 http://cancernet.nci.nih.gov

 

Coronado Skin Medical Center - home of the internationally acclaimed cosmetic surgery team of Drs. William and Kim Cook
 http://www.coronadoskin.com

 

Health A to Z - a family health site
 http://www.healthatoz.com

  1. provides eHealth solutions to healthcare institutions, corporations and websites
     http://www.healthgate.com

InteliHealth - health information made accessible to the widest possible audience
 http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH

 

Mayo Clinic Health Oasis - reliable information for a healthier life  
 http://www.mayohealth.org/index.htm

  1. - health and medical information center 
     http://www.medexplorer.com 

Mental Health Net - the award-winning guide to mental health, psychology & psychiatry online  
 http://mentalhelp.net/

New England Journal of Medicine
 http://www.nejm.org/content/index.asp

 

PubMed - National Library of Medicine
 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed

 

RxList - The Internet drug index  
 http://www.rxlist.com/

The Teen Files 
 http://teenissues.com

Wellness Web - the patient's network
 http://www.wellweb.com



HIPAA

 

HIPAA stands for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. Passed by Congress in 1996, HIPPA helps to protect your rights to health coverage during events such as changing or losing jobs, pregnancy, moving, or divorce. It provides rights and protections for employers when getting and renewing health coverage for their employees.

 

The following information highlights the scope of HIPAA in the broadest sense.  Keep in mind HIPAA is not an insurance policy.

HIPAA provides rights and protections for both group health plans and individual coverage. These rights and protections address:

  • Portability - Whether you can get new health coverage if you want to change coverage

  • Availability - Whether health coverage must be offered to you and your dependents

  • Renewability - Whether you are able to renew health coverage

Who does HIPAA protect?

HIPAA might protect individuals who experience the following life events:

  • Have lost or are changing jobs
  • Are recently married or divorced
  • Are gaining new dependents through birth or adoption
  • Are moving from one State to another
  • Have preexisting conditions or other health factors that make it difficult to get health coverage
  • Have had health coverage and are now being denied coverage
  • Want to renew your health coverage
  • Are a small employer and want to buy health coverage for your employees
  • Are an employer and want to renew health coverage for your employees

What does HIPAA NOT do?

HIPAA does NOT:

  • Require employers to offer health coverage
  • Regulate the cost of health coverage
  • Regulate the types of benefits that must be offered
  • Provide protections when you wish to change from one form of individual coverage to another

HIPAA and Group Health Plans

Important HIPAA rights and protections for group health plans include:

  • Limits on preexisting condition exclusions
  • Prohibition of discrimination based on health factors
  • Requirements for special enrollment opportunities for people who lose other group health coverage or gain new dependents, such as a spouse or a child
  • Requirements for certificates of creditable coverage
  • Guaranteed availability of group health plans for small employers
  • Guaranteed renewal of all group health plans at the option of the employer

HIPAA and Individual Coverage

Important HIPAA rights and protections for individual coverage include the following:

  • HIPAA-eligible individuals are guaranteed the right to purchase individual coverage
  • Preexisting condition exclusions are not allowed for HIPAA-eligible individuals
  • Certificates of creditable coverage are required
  • Individual health insurance coverage is guaranteed to be renewed
  • Comparable coverage issued through a state high-risk pool

To learn more about HIPAA and other government legislation and programs related to health benefits be sure to go to the Health Care Financial Administration website. If you would like to understand the terms used in the HIPAA legislation like "HIPAA-eligible", certificates of creditable coverage, state high-risk pool or even how HIPAA defines group health plan vs. individual coverage, click here.

 

For more detail explanations from an employer or employee's perspective go to HIPAA Online.



Links - Life & Health

 

Source G. Barry Klein, CPCU, CLU



Links - Property / Casualty

 

Source G. Barry Klein, CPCU, CLU