Megapolis Insurance

If you have a bill in collections, track down your original creditor to pay your bill and work on improving your credit. When a debt isn’t repaid, it can move from one collection agency to another while employees attempt to collect a portion of the debt. If you need to speak to the original creditor, find out their contact information and make the call. Original creditors may not be able to get the debt back from the collection agency it was sold to, but you can find out how legitimate the debt is by speaking with them.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. • 1Check your credit report for a list of your debtors. Contact information, including addresses and phone numbers, is included. You can view a free copy of your credit report once each year at AnnualCreditReport.com.
   • 2Call the creditor. Give your name and information they need to look up your debt.
   • 3Ask if they are the original creditor or a collection agency.

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Health Savings Accounts are attractive because contributions to these accounts are tax deductible on federal income tax returns. The choice of making Health Savings Account (HSA) deposits deductible on state tax forms is left up to each state. Almost all states have chosen to follow the federal example on this and Wisconsin is the latest state to adopt that legislation beginning with the 2011 tax year.

Individual coverage health plans that can be combined with an HSA have a deductible of at least $1,200. Family HSA plans have deductibles starting at $2,400. These high-deductible plans usually cost much less than co-pay plans, which don’t require policyholders to meet a deductible.

Once Health Savings Accounts are funded, they can be used to cover the deductible. Since HSA contributions are tax deductible, both the premium and tax savings can be channeled into the HSA.

Forty-seven states allow residents to take a state tax deduction for a Health Savings Account.

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You will need your Social Security number to process your award letter request.

SSI, or supplemental security income, is income provided by the Social Security Administration for people with low income who are blind, disabled or over the age of 65. Your SSI award letter — also known as a proof of income letter — is a letter stating what your monthly SSI benefits are. You can use your SSI award letter as proof of income when you are applying for services in which eligibility is based on income, and you can also use it as proof of disability.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. • 1Go to the Social Security Administration benefits verification website to request a copy of your SSI award letter. Click “Start” at the bottom of the page to begin.
   • 2Enter in the information requested such as your Social Security number, name and date of birth, then click “Continue.”
   • 3Indicate what information you would like to include in your award letter.

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A new report from the Commonwealth Fund shows 600,000 young adults benefited by obtaining health insurance in 2010.

Twenty nine percent of young adults had no insurance coverage in 2001. In 2010, 45 percent of youth age 19 to 29 lacked insurance coverage, highlighting the need and value of provisions under the Affordable Care Act.

Commonwealth Fund Vice President and lead report author, Sara Collins said, “This is not an easy time for young adults—they are struggling to find employment in a difficult job market, and are among the age groups hardest hit by rising health care costs.”

The Affordable Health Care Act allows college graduates to remain insured under their parent’s plan until they find employment with health care coverage – something that has allowed the 600,000 young adults to obtain prescriptions, doctor visits when sick, health testing and follow-up visits.

The Commonwealth Fund’s 2010 Biennial Health Insurance Survey, the report, Realizing Health Reform’s Potential: How the Affordable Care Act is Helping Young Adults Stay Covered found 40 percent of young adults had difficulty paying medical bills and debts related to health care costs. Others

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