Whether you are seeking health insurance through your employer or on your own you will be offered a variety of plans. In order to make the proper decision about which plan is right for you it is important to know the basic characteristics of the most popular types of health insurance. After this it is wise to get many quotes on health insurance and compare them. This is a free way to compare plans and prices.

Fee for service

For many years the fee for service plan was very popular and widely used type of health insurance. The insured pays a monthly fee. A deductible is applied to the cost of the services. Some services related to healthy living or emergency services may be exempted from the deductible. Once the deductible has been met the insured and the insurance company share the cost of services. For most companies the split may be 80/20 or 70/30. The company pays eighty or seventy percent, the insured pays twenty or thirty percent. There will be a cap on the total amount of money the insurance company will pay in a lifetime.

Health Maintenance Organization (HMO)

HMOs have become increasingly more common in the last decade. Again, the insured pays a premium which makes him/her a member of the HMO. As a member of the group the member is entitled to visit any of the doctors who are part of the group. These doctors may all work together in an HMO facility or may work in individual clinics as part of a group of doctors under contract to the HMO. Members may have to pay what is called co-pay when they visit the doctor. No paperwork is necessary to validate the claims of an HMO member; however, members may wait longer for non-emergency appointments than they would with a fee for service insurance program. An HMO generally requires its members to have a primary care physician who then refers the member to a specialist if needed.

Preferred Provide Organizations (PPO)

The PPO, a blend of the fee for service model and the HMO model, is a fast growing sector of health insurance. As with an HMO there is a network of doctors from which the insured chooses his/her physician. This physician is responsible for designating the need for specialized care. A co-payment will be required when an office or hospital visit is made. There will also be a deductible and medical expenses will be divided at an agreed upon scale between the insured and the insurance company operating the PPO. A person may choose to use a doctor who is outside of the network. Expenses incurred for medical care outside the network will make the patient’s share higher.

Please collect as many quotes as possible in order to compare services and rates. This is a free way to learn a lot about all of your options.

In baseball, it has come close (see 2005 San Diego Padres, 1973 NY Mets). In the NFL, only two .500 teams have made the playoffs since 1991 (1991 NYJ, 2004 STL). In the NBA, however, it has been the norm to find teams with a losing record compete in late April and into May.

Below, a table of the number of .500 win percentage teams, the number of first round games they have won, and the number of series they have gone on to win.

First Round Playoff Stats Last 10 Years
Year Teams at .500 or under Total first round games won Series Won
1996 2 2 0
1997 3 2 0
1998 1 2 0
1999 1 1 0
2000 0 0 0
2001 1 1 0
2002 0 0 0
2003 0 0 0
2004 4 4 0
2005 0 0 0
2006 3
Courtesy: Basketball-Reference.com

Parody just hasn’t existed in the NBA playoffs. These 15 teams in the last 10 years have combined to win just 12 playoff games and have never advanced. In 2004, four teams in the East had the shot and surely one could pull off the upset? Not even the four vs. five could do it.

The last time a team with a losing record entered the playoffs and won a Series was 1988. Then, the Seattle Supersonics boasted a 39-43 record as the 7-seed and made it all the way to the conference finals. They upset both Dallas and Houston, before being swept by Pat Riley’s Los Angeles Lakers. Since Seattle, a total of 31 teams have entered the playoffs with a record at or below .500. And these teams are 0-31 in playoff series.

So, how good of a chance do Milwaukee (40-42), Chicago (41-41) and Indiana (41-41) have this year? I’m not going to say “none,” because that’s why they play the gamebut let’s delve into these match-ups.

(1) Detroit vs. (8) Milwaukee
One-seeds haven’t lost since 1999. But there was a technicality about that year: First, 1999 was the NBA lockout year, and only 50 regular season games were played. Second, three other teams had the same 33-17 record, but Miami won by a tiebreaker.

In a full 82-game season, it was the 1994 Denver Nuggets who upset the top-seeded Supersonics to advance to the second round.

With Flip Saunders at the helm, we’ve seen the Pistons play looser offensively, but still maintaining impressive defenseleading them to their best regular season record ever (64-18). Don’t worry about the nonsense concerning Ben Wallace not getting along with Flip: This team is focused when it comes to the playoffs.

Having said this, Milwaukee has their hands full. Let’s just look at player vs. player matchups.

Detroit Milwaukee Advantage

PG Billups Ford Detroit
SG Hamilton Redd Detroit
SF Prince Simmons Detroit
PF R. Wallace Bogut Detroit
C B. Wallace Magloire Detroit

Billups will substitute size for speed and can dominate Ford. Hamilton is a workhorse. Prince is undoubtedly better than Simmons. And I’ll just point out the experience from the front court to suffice my argument for the Wallaces.

To make matters worse, the only type of success they had against Detroit was when they played Toni Kukoc at the three. Kukoc is already banged up and will miss the first game, so his health will be a definite factor.
Prediction: Pistons in a sweep

(2) Miami vs. (7) Chicago
Chicago is the hottest of the East’s bottom-3, finishing 12-2 in their final 14 to slip into the show. They had a similar run in the final month of the season last year, winning 15 of their last 19 games. The Bulls’ only win against the Heat in the regular season came back on April 15 when the Heat rested most of their stars.

In the playoffs, it comes down to defense and though the “Baby Bulls” are young, they do buckle down, leading the NBA for the second straight season in defensive field-goal percentage (.426).

Offensively, the Bulls’ patented “drive-and-kick” out game has given opposing teams a hard time. Ben Gordon ranks 2nd in the Eastern Conference, hitting 43.9-percent from 3-point land, and point-guard Kirk Hinrich has shot 42.9-percent from behind the arc in his last five games.

Although the Heat have been locked into the No. 2 spot since basically January, I don’t see them having trouble kicking into high gear. Even when the Bulls shut down Wade in their meetings this year (12.3 ppg), the Heat have found a way to win.

The Bulls have no answer for Shaq, who had 14 points and 6 rebounds in just 20 minutes of action on April 15.
Prediction: Heat in 5

(3) New Jersey vs. (6) Indiana

This might very well be the best shot for a team at the .500 mark in the regular season to win a Series. The Nets came from the weak Atlantic Division that sent no other teams beside themselves to the playoffs. The two teams have similar defensive work ethics, as they are 5th and 6th in points allowed, respectively, in the NBA. The interesting thing about this series is the way they view each other: New Jersey players have said the Pacers are a good transition and look to slow it down, while Indiana players have said the exact same thing about the Nets! Wow, this should be a fun series to watch!

Jermaine O’Neal looks to be healthy into the playoffs, having played 30-plus minutes in his final 11 regular season games, but I don’t foresee him being the difference. The difference must come from the defense side of the ball, in particular, the ability to stop Vince Carter.

Peja Stojakovic and Stephen Jackson must play top-notch to pull the upset.

I have a feeling this series will go seven. The Nets were 29-12 at home, fourth-best home record in the Eastern conference, so that’s the way I lean.
Prediction: Nets in 7

Bet the NBA Playoffs @ WagerWeb.com Sportsbook

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Contributing Writer

With many different credit cards offering alternate perks and benefits, credit card companies have become increasingly creative with their reward and incentive programs. Today, there are credit cards that cater to driving enthusiasts, food connoisseurs, music lovers and holiday makers to name a few specialties. Now, American Express has gone one step further with their IN:LA Card.

Specifically catered for people with good credit, the American Express IN:LA card is just one of the three American Express INSIDE Reward cards. Other cards in this product range include the IN:NY and IN:CHICAGO American Express cards.

The program awards one reward point for every dollar spent on general purchases. Purchases that include newspapers, magazine subscriptions, cable and dial-up ISP subscriptions, cell phone services and even movies and dining are aptly named ‘City Essentials’. For these purchases, double reward points are awarded. How fantastic is that? These points can then be redeemed for all kinds of benefits and experiences such as airline tickets, hotel stays and dining in Los Angeles, New York City or Chicago. The best part about these points is that they never expire and there are no yearly limits or maximum limits.

That’s not the end of it, though. American Express also offers members the Tuesdays IN:LA program, where cardholders are entitled to a 10% discount at selected retail outlets, spas and health clubs each Tuesday. What’s more, cardholders also enjoy the privilege of priority access and VIP room access at clubs along with lowered charges for museums and concerts. The card also has the standard gamut of benefits such as auto and travel insurance, fraud protection and the like.

While it may be the norm for us to expect some glaring disadvantages of a credit card that offers so many alluring benefits, this is not evident with the IN:LA Card from American Express. It is a surprise then that the interest rates are relatively low for a reward card with no annual fees charged. For the first six months of membership, there are no interest charges for purchases and balances transfers.

With all these perks, the American Express IN:LA Card is an ideal city-living credit card particularly for those who reside in Los Angeles.

For more information or to apply for the American Express IN LA Card, Eric Wasselman recommends Find Credit Cards.

Are you a mentor or a coach and would like to get more out of your activities? If so perhaps you should consider when someone asks you a question to syndicate the answer and therefore you have it available or can make it available to the world as well. This way instead of helping one person with a specific question, you can help 100s with the same question. And if you were to write it up in an article and place it online you could indeed make it searchable to the World using a quality online article submission website.

Consider if you will my position having founded a franchising company. Our company; CarWashGuys.com franchises; Mobile Car Wash Businesses; many people now contact me in my retirement to ask me questions about the mobile car wash business.

Here is a question for example; My name is Cheryl I am wondering if you know any one in the Chicagoland area who would be willing to mentor a young woman entrepreneur who wants to start her own mobile car wash business. I know you don’t know me but I am an honest hardworking woman who just wants to be her own boss.

Well indeed an up and coming entrepreneur should be assisted, it is good for our nation, the consumer and entrepreneurship and small business right? Sure it is and no doubt someone like this will indeed have lots of questions, which will take considerable amount of time right? So, why not answer those questions and turn them into bite size, easy to read articles which in-turn will help others you see? Consider all this in 2006.

Lance Winslow

China’s Chery Automotive Group is getting set to import as many as five vehicles into the US starting in the summer of 2007. These 2008 models are reportedly going to be cheaper than competing models in their respective classes, undercutting some models by as much as $10,000 per car. I have been doing a little investigating and have learned more about the Chery QQ, the three door compact that will retail for just $6995. Hold onto your hats as I read off the long list of standard features for its incredible, low price.

Just when you think you have seen everything, along comes the QQ. Reportedly, QQ stands for Quality and Quick as the car is made from remnants of destroyed Soviet tanks that battled with China during a protracted border skirmish in 1970. In addition, the car zips from 0 to 48 before the engine craps out. Oh, well zero to sixty would have been nice, but alas…

Standard features for the QQ will include:

Bumpers

Doors, hood, trunk and roof are all standard; body side moldings will likely be extra. Engine, transmission, radiator, exhaust, and countless other parts will also be included once they are removed from junked Yugos and retrofitted for the QQ.

Optional equipment will likely include a radio, comfortable seats, air conditioning, and perhaps even a rear window defroster. Oh, by the way, General Motors has sued and won a judgment against Chery declaring that the “Chery” name sounds too close to their Chevy name. Chery has agreed and will likely adopt the Forg name for all cars imported to the US. Stay tuned!

Copyright 2005 — Matthew Keegan is The Article Writer who writes on a variety of topics including: advocacy, automobiles, aviation, business, Christian themes, family, news, product reviews, travel, writing, and more. Samples from his portfolio are available right online.

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According to most people, there are two types of hard drives: those that have failed and those that will fail. But for folks who use Data Recovery Services, there is a third type of hard drive: one that does not fail.

A hard drive is the most vulnerable part of a computer; it has moving gears and is hence prone to wear and tear. So when you need hard disk data recovery, you must deeply consider the service and practice of the various repair companies in your area. A company that has been around the block more than a few times is ideal.

But more importantly, experts that ask questions and appreciate your situation are a necessity; companies that approach your needs in an impersonal way simply cannot diagnose your computer problems properly. For example, an expert who is on hand to ask specific questions about your hard disk will know whether or not to go about repair with mere software or through more professional means.

There are a variety of problems that lead to hard drive failure. If the hard drive is part of a mirror set, mirrored stripe set, or stripe set with uniformity, then all you will need to do is replace the drive - any lost data will mechanically regenerate.

A local service company can handle all your concerns though. Fixing a hard drive yourself is a tedious process, requiring lots of time and even research. Your next-door neighbor might be a computer geek, but that doesn’t mean his or her advice is remotely accurate. After all, a computer can fail for many different reasons and they are not always easy to pinpoint.

The ideal solution is usually to replace a failed drive and re-establish your backup. This does not always work though, as many people find the necessary backup is outdated or sometimes, non-existent.

If a hard drive is beyond repair, data recovery is obviously not an option. So prepare for unexpected charges; you might have to buy a whole new drive. In this case, just be careful when replacing it, as you don’t want to lose your data.

Stu Pearson has an interest in Business & Technology related topics. To access more information on data recovery or on file recovery, please click on the links.

The latest IDS figures for unemployment the claimant count measure of unemployment rose by 8,100 by April 2005 to stand at 839,400 (a rate of 2.7 per cent). Unemployment is unforeseeable, yet very prevalent. Job loss is one of the most trying time period of one’s life. Everybody has gone through that phase at least once. The one thing every unemployed knows is that unemployment doesn’t pay bills. It becomes more and more difficult to cope with unemployment with the increasing financial pressures. And financial urgencies are like right then and there, just waiting to pounce upon you at the worst time. Since all roads seem blocked, I would want to tell you there is still one road to monetary relief. Shall we walk on it? It is named loans for unemployed.

Your bills are continuously gyrating while some money requirement could be just waiting to knock on your door. It is a cluttered situation. Be realistic in estimating your job prospects and whether you are looking for a few months solution or a year solution. It will enable you to make a logical application for your unemployment loan. Loans for the unemployed are not that frequently laid down on a platter. Every loan eventually boils down to the question of repayment. Usually loans lenders take job as the criteria of your ability to repay loan without default. However, unemployed with substantial assets would find it fairly superior chance to qualify for loans for unemployed.

Loan lenders will make an offer to an unemployed loans borrower and won’t even press for documentation if the borrower makes a sizeable down payment. This down payment is usually 25% or more. A home equity line of credit can provide financial guarantee for the unemployed. There is two way to draw on the equity of your home. You can get a home equity loan which is a lump sum and paid back in some specified time.

Or an unemployed can take a home equity line of credit which is like a credit card with revolving balance. You draw against it when you want, like using a credit card, and as you repay the balance, the credit becomes available again. A home equity line of credit or HELOC’s can be very accommodating in case of periodic expenses. Basic necessities are easily fulfilled with the help of line of credit during unemployment period. This will enable the unemployed to get those increasing credit cards bills to rest.

Debt consolidation loans for unemployed are also accessible. Debt consolidation will make it easier for the unemployed to regulate their debts and also considerably lower the rate of interest. As an unemployed you can go to a debt management firm. Debt management firm can get your creditors to reduce your interest rates and also to relinquish any late fees. However, talk to more than one firm before you settle on which debt consolidation or management firm to settle. The debt management firm in question should be sympathetic to your unemployment status and ready to do the hard work for you.

Unemployed tenant loans are also readily accessible. Loan lenders are willing to give loan to tenants to those have little or no income. An unemployed who is on income supports, benefits, or disability allowance then this incomes will be counted as total declared income. A flexible unsecured loan would be appropriate for unemployed tenants. Flexible loans for unemployed would be ideal for they have stand by facility, holiday period or overdraft. This will ensure repayment to be made at later time without any severe penalties implemented against you. This is perhaps the last thing you would want in your already taut financial condition.

Student can apply for under the unemployed loans scheme. A recent survey has found that the people are more worried about their debt than about any other situation. Unemployed loans help college student to get ample money for their education requirements.

Personal loans for unemployed have both the ability and the proficiency to match their expectations and requirements. An unemployed consumer seeking a personal loan should search for a repayment plan that can be stretched out overtime. Opting for this type of loan can circumvent the chance of biting off more personal loan than one can afford while they are looking for a new employment opportunity.

Unemployment may be by choice but rarely economically rewarding. Nevertheless, it is a temporary situation. It won’t last. But without financial support how long can one survive unemployment? Loans can solve the problem of scarcity of funds. You can find a loan for every condition on the net. Undoubtedly, you can! And what do you type on your search page? - Unemployed loans.

Amanda Thompson holds a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce from CPIT and has completed her master’s in Business Administration

from IGNOU. She is as cautious about her finances as any person reading this is. She is working as financial consultant for
chanceforloans .To find a Personal loans,bad credit loans,Debt consolidation,home equity loans at cheap rates that best suits
your needs visit http://www.chanceforloans.co.uk

Remember the 80:20 rule? You may not get everything perfectly right, but getting
most right will be much, much better than the majority of your competition. These
Top Ten Tips for Customer Service will get you well on the way.

1. Be Your Customer
   Live the life of your customer and experience what they do. Stand in line, call
   your call-centre, soak up feedback.
2. Give Memorable Service
   Make the life’s mission of everyone (yes, everyone!) to be customer focused -
   even those seemingly out of direct line of fire.
3. Have Product Available
   Generally, you can’t sell it if you haven’t got it. Work your systems hard and
   focused to get product there on time.
4. Listen Hard to Complaints
   Complaints are a wonderful gift - it is feedback of the highest order. Enjoy
   them and learn fast.
5. Enable Your People
   Enable and encourage your people to give an immediate and generous customer
   response.
6. React Fast
   Make sure that you and your people work with pace and immediacy with customer
   issues.
7. Be Systems Focused
   Ask, ‘What would my customer think of this - would it give brilliant service?’
   If not, reshape the system fast.
8. Be Curious
   Encourage everyone in your team to overhear, be nosy, ask questions and feed
   back information from your customers.
9. Research the Marketplace
   Do more in your own business from what you experience as a customer elsewhere.
   Encourage your people to do this too.
10. Have Fun
    Have fun with your customers. It builds relationships. Relationships are
    business.

Ten Tips to success, in an easy to use framework. Will you take up the
challenge?

Martin Haworth is a Business and Management Coach. He works worldwide,
mainly by phone, with small business owners, managers and corporate leaders. He
has hundreds of hints, tips and ideas at his website,
http://www.coaching-businesses-to-success.com/delighting_customers.html
(Note to editors. This article may be edited for use in your publication or
newsletter as long as a live link to the website is included)

…helping you, to help your people, to help your business grow…