Medical Resident Disability Income Insurance - Protecting Your Cash Flow

As a medical resident, how long can you afford to be without a paycheck because you can't work due to illness or injury? Can you afford to literally burn through the majority of your savings over a period of months?

Disability insurance is often the last thing on a medical resident's mind. Long, arduous shifts tending to the needs of countless patients can leave little room for anything else.

Unfortunately, this lack of foresight can lead to real problems in a short period of time.

As with other Americans, medical residents have a 1 in 3 risk of being out of work for at least 90 days due to an illness or injury and a 1 in 5 risk of being out for a year or more. Because of the daily proximity to disease, the odds may even be higher.

Because medical residency is a crucial period in a doctor's career, lost time during this phase of professional development can set a resident back months, if not longer. In addition, the loss of income realized during such an event can have ramifications that are felt far into the future. Loss of income during residency can lead to foreclosure and even bankruptcy in a matter of months, especially for the resident with a family. The inability to work plus the amount of time needed to focus on personal affairs can even lead to loss of position within a residency program.

Fortunately, medical residents have proactive options to protect their income. Disability income insurance provides coverage for a portion of lost wages in the event you cannot work due to illness or injury. Several different types of income insurance are available depending on need.

Short Term versus Long Term Disability Insurance

Short term coverage generally provides benefits for up to 6 months. Keep in mind that benefits do not generally start until after the policy's elimination period, usually 30-90 days after the disability occurred.

Benefits from a long term disability insurance policy kick in after the short term benefits period has expired. Long term benefits can last from as short as 2-5 years or until age 65. Some policies even last a lifetime.

Supplemental Disability Insurance

Residents may work for an employer that offers group disability insurance coverage. This type of policy generally advertises to cover up to 60% of regular salary if you're unable to work. Benefits from such policies, however, are taxed as regular income, dropping actual take-home cash flow to closer to 45%. Group policies are also commonly riddled with exceptions and limitations that constrain when benefits will be paid and for how long.

Employer group coverage is a good start, but relying on it alone can lead to a not-so-happy surprise later.

Supplemental disability coverage exists to very affordably plug the holes in group coverage. A supplemental policy can extend income coverage up to 100% and benefits from a supplemental policy are not taxable. This extension of coverage can also be crafted to cover conditions specifically limited in the group policy, such as nervous or mental-type disabilities.

Catastrophic Disability Insurance

While other types of disability coverage protect a medical resident's income stream, catastrophic disability insurance covers the cost of at-home or facility care during an extended recuperation period. Oftentimes, such care is left up to the spouse or other family members, which can put further financial and emotional strain on an already difficult situation.

While this type of coverage is generally thought of as being for those over 60, more than 40% of beneficiaries of catastrophic coverage are between 18 and 65.

Benefits from a catastrophic coverage policy are usually paid on a per day basis (i.e., $125/day). Common options include inflation protection (where the daily benefit increases annually with inflation) and reducing the elimination period to start benefits sooner.

When is a Medical Resident Disabled?

A critical component of any medical resident's disability income policy is the Definition of Total Disability. It is important that medical resident income coverage be defined as "Own Occupation". With this definition, disability is recognized when, due to illness or injury, the insured is unable to perform the duties of his/her regular occupation. Other definitions may only pay benefits when the insured is unable to perform any duties in any occupation.

The Own Occupation definition ensures a medical resident receives benefits until able to practice medicine again.

Take the Time to Protect Your Income

Grueling hours and high expectations often distract us from the minute details of life. But protecting your income is one necessary diversion from the day to day grind. Without it, a sudden inability to work, even for a short time, can lead to life-changing consequences.

Social Security & Disability Insurance

Social security disability insurance is an assistance scheme meant for providing a steady income for people who find it difficult to earn for them due to some adverse medical condition. The support is granted till such time the disability continues. In cases of chronic severe physical problems, it will continue till the time of death.

The funds are garnered by way of income taxes from employees and federal insurance programs of the United States government and managed by the Social Security Administration. Finding out the really needy and helping them out is a problematic field, by the administration is doing the job well in providing timely assistance.

Some people shy away from for the Social security disability insurance programs in the wrong belief that it is a welfare measure. It also seems that there is an undercurrent in the society against such running after such free welfare measures. However, the benefits are allotted only after a long drawn process where it is doubtlessly proved that the aspirant is truly disabled and cannot subsist otherwise.

To qualify for this insurance, the applicant should be in a mental or physical condition which hinders gainful work fit enough to help the person sustain. This state of affairs should continue more than one year or till death. Applicants who are under sixty five years of age and had worked for at least five years in the last ten years only will qualify. People who become disabled before attaining the age of twenty two need not fulfill this work period criteria. They can draw benefits from work credits of their parents, but it is to be said that parents does not loss benefits when their own turn for disability benefits comes around.

The most important documentary evidence required for determining eligibility of the applicant is the medical evidence for proving his or her inability to work. A lot of factors including the age, work history, educational qualifications are also taken into account.

The process is a time consuming procedure, sometimes taking up to eight months depending upon the load of work on the agencies. But once you are considered eligible, a monthly payment, which also takes into account inflation and rise of living costs will come to you. After receiving the benefits for two years, you will be made eligible for collecting medical care too.

French Wine Country

French wine country refers to all the places within the entire French countryside, where the vineyards are cultivated. It has become a popular tourist destination attracting people from all over the world. Of course, it is also an educational place for wine lovers, who get an opportunity to increase their knowledge about the different kinds of French wine.

Travel agencies within France offer specialized wine tours, taking the tourists on a trip to a particular region or regions within France, wherein they can visit exotic vineyards. The agencies may even offer different kinds of wine tours. Corporate wine tours mainly cater to corporate companies dealing with wine, and prove to be quite helpful when the company wants to know more about a particular kind of wine or wishes to invest in it. Then, there are private wine tours as well. These are quite expensive and meant exclusively for real wine aficionados. Travel agencies also offer wine tours for tourists who have interest in wine and vineyards. These are also highly priced but not as much as the private wine tours.

Most of the vineyards offer free tasting of their various wines to the visitors. The visitors can also enjoy conversations with wine experts, thus deepening and enhancing their knowledge of wine. Those who cannot afford the wine tours, can straight away head to the French wine country and visit the villages themselves. Many villages within the wine country have tasting rooms where samples of the different wines are kept. Sometimes, there is a small charge levied for the tasting.

It is however, advised to go on a package tour as the tour guide may help you overcome the language barrier and provide you access to many places within the wineries which may not be otherwise open for individuals. The best time to visit the French wine country is usually between April and May, also the harvest time from mid to late September could be worth every penny spent.

China's Wine Industry Development and Import Analysis

Bright prospect for China's wine market

China's wine industry is still in its infancy. The current per capita wine consumption is 0.38L, while urban per capita consumption is 0.7 L, which is far behind the global per capita consumption of 6L. In terms of China's beverage consumption mix, wine is only 1.5% of total annual alcohol consumption.

There are two reasons for China's low wine consumption level: One is the short introduction period, and the other is low income level. So population income growth as a result of economic growth will be the basis for high wine consumption growth in the future. Take the example of Shanghai. As the most prosperous and highest income city on China's eastern coast, Shanghai's wine consumption level is very high, with per capita consumption of 2.5L back in 2001. In 2006, per capita GDP in Shanghai reached US$7000, while per capita GDP nationally was only US$1700. It is obvious that income difference is the main reason for consumption difference in China, so rapid economic growth and population income improvement in the future should ensure the long term prosperity of wine industry in China.

China is the world's fastest growing wine consumption market. Consumption level in the world's traditional consumer countries have remained flat in the last 10 years, with the Chinese market being an exception. China's wine sales continue to increase, leading to a stampede from global wine producers.

Research data from British research institute ISWR / DGR showed that by 2010, total global wine consumption will reach 240 million HL (100 L). Among them, Chinese wine consumption will reach 5.58 million HL. Experts have long estimated that from present to 2010, China will be the world's most active market with a 36% growth. Over the same period, total global consumption is expected to grow at only 9.15%.

Status quo of China's wine industry

China's wine industry entered a smooth development period in 2006. The industry maintained its fast growing trend, with revenue of US$1.7 billion, up 25.04% on pcp, and profit of US$180 million, up 18.4% on pcp. Wine output grew 14.1% from 434,000 KL in 2005 to 495,000 KL in 2006.

From Jan to May 2007, national wine output and sales income were up 15.3% and 18% on pcp respectively. The industry had maintained its high growth rate, average gross margin and profit before tax grew 1.6% and 18.4%. Although imported volume increased significantly, import of small package wine was still less than 7% of total domestic output.

The wine industry in China is more concentrated than the beer and distilled spirit industries. The 3 biggest brands Chang Yu, Great Wall and Dynasty control 50% market share and 67% industry profit share. The 3 brands have been expanding through multi-channels such as supermarkets, and reached dominant positions among consumers. So these top 3 leaders have been fully enjoying the benefits of industry growth.

Key aspects for developing China's wine industry

Grape supply. Wine brewing has long been called "70% ingredients and 30% techniques", which means grape ingredient largely determines the wine quality. Grape growing areas in China mainly concentrate in Shandong, Hebei, Ningxia and Xinjiang provinces. China's grape ingredient supply is relatively scarce, which has created a high entry barrier for the wine industry, so only companies with strong resources can achieve stable developments. Similar to international (such as French) wine development experience, China's wine companies are mostly located close to grape supply areas. Among the top 3 Chinese wine brands, Chang Yu has 71,000 acres of vineyard in Shandong Province and 30,000 acres in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. Chang Yu can satisfy 80% of its ingredient needs, being one of the most self-sufficient companies in China.

Control of sales channels. Chang Yu has been implementing a vertical distribution system since 2002, in order to address the previous problems of low income growth and high bad debt levels arising from powerful distributors. The vertical distribution system has broken the dominance of distributors and returned the control of channels to Chang Yu, achieving an effective result. The vertical distribution system breaks the control of sales terminals by large regional distributors, and instead sends regional representatives to major sales regions. It actually weakens the power of distributors and makes them smaller. As the system is perfecting, Chang Yu has basically achieved the control of terminal sales networks, with decreased account receivable outstanding days and improved sales growth rate.

Wine belongs to fast moving consumer goods, with little differentiation between product features, attributes and techniques. Therefore marketability and distribution channels have become key success factors, especially channels. Consumption channels in China are broadly divided into hotels/restaurants and retail chains. From industry statistics, restaurants capture 51% market share, while the other 49% belongs to retail channels. In the retail channel, 55% goes to supermarkets, while the remaining goes to convenience stores, specialty shops and independent food shops. Among the top 3 domestic brands, Great Wall and Dynasty use restaurant channels for over 55% of their products, while Chang Yu goes through retail markets for 55% of its products.

From the perspective of operating expenditures by the top 3 companies, they have all invested heavily in recent years. Their sales expense amounts to 60% of total industry sales expense, creating strong positions in channel areas, and proving the competition philosophy of "channel is king".

Enjoy Italian Wine From Home

For people who are planning to travel to Europe or have always wanted to travel to Europe, there are so many different reasons why this area of the world is so inviting and many people believe it to be the exquisite dining and the even better wine. If you have never tasted a wine directly from Italy than you cannot call yourself a wine lover and you are missing out on one of the greatest Italian delicacies. When you are sitting in a road side café or bistro, sipping a glass of wine, this is one of the Italian experiences that cannot be compared with the wine or dining experiences found in the USA or anywhere else in the world.

As a wine lover, whether you have been to Europe or not you need to experience the sensations of Italian wine and today you can do this from your own home. There are many different wine making supplies which you can brew and create without any professional assistance. As these kits and wine making supply companies are becoming more and more popular throughout North America you can begin to see that many people are finding the results successful and even going back numerous times for more kits and more supplies to keep their new favourite wines always at their disposal.

For people who love wine, they become very particular about the wines they drink and it can sometimes be very difficult to find that one bottle of wine which you want to stick with. You can find these wine making supplies and kits for many different types of wines not only Italian but Australian, German, France, Chile and more. Anywhere which wine is popular and a delicacy you can find the wine making supplies to re-create this delicacy from your own home.

Once you have decided that making wine would be a great Sunday afternoon task or a new hobby, it is time to find out where to find the best supplies for your new wine project. As this hobby is very popular today, you will find dozens of companies within your area and online. What is important is to take the time to do the research to find out which companies are reliable and have the best products so in turn you can have the best wine. You will also find online that you can actually order the wine already made directly from Italy, which many people do to ensure they are getting exactly what they want. If you are looking for a little more fun and adventure, the wine making kits you can find online are usually the most reliable.

Within your city or location you will find some make it yourself wine retailers as well. These are shops which allow to go in and they assist you in creating your own wine of any culture and taste. You do the bottling and everything and they are there to guide you. If you are new to wine making, this may be a great option to get a feel for the process and ensuring the final product is sensational.

California Wine Gift Baskets

Wine gift baskets are an ideal gift for the boss. They also make a romantic impression since wine today spells more than just the good times and friendship; it also spells healthy living. Wines are often contained in attractive, mostly handmade baskets.

Sending wine as a gift is not a complicated task, but it is still best to keep in mind the purpose of sending it. Red, white, and sparkling wines best serve specific occasions. You can also give them in assortment.

The California Wine gift basket, however, has its own character and has its large share of demand in the United States. People send California wines in baskets to please and to thank someone. However, should you choose to send wine baskets as a gift through a company that does this for you, it is only legal to do so in AK, CA, DC, HI, ID, IL, IA, LA, MO, NE, NV, NM, ND, OR, WA, WV and WY.

Wine gift basket sales and orders are most profitable are during Thanksgiving, Christmas and Valentine's Day. There are several companies who accept your order and offer a wide variety of basket designs and arrangements to choose from. You choose to include one or two bottles of either red wine, white wine, or both in the wine gift baskets. You can even choose to substitute private label wine in any basket. The prices depend on what you choose. Wine gift baskets may also contain special cheese and nuts. They are the usual companions in the baskets because they normally don't spoil during shipping or delivery.

A normal price for a wine gift basket with delivery will cost at around $65 to $100, and these services are already available online. There are many promotions and discount packages available there, too. Before sending wine-basket gifts, check out the information provided by the wine companies, free of charge.

How Drinking Wine Can Lead to Optimum Health

Researchers report that a natural substance found in red wine, known as resveratrol, may offset the bad effects of a high-calorie diet.

Their report implies that very large daily doses of resveratrol could offset the unhealthy, high-calorie diet thought to underlie the rising toll of obesity in the United States and elsewhere.

Resveratrol is found in the skin of grapes and in red wine and is conjectured to be a partial explanation for the French paradox, the puzzling fact that people in France enjoy a high-fat diet yet suffer less heart disease than Americans.

Scientists have long known that a moderate intake of alcohol, and red wine in particular, is associated with a lowered risk of heart disease and other benefits. More recently, scientists began to suspect resveratrol had particularly powerful effects and began investigating its role in lifespan.

Information about resveratrol's effects on human metabolism should be available a year or so. Therefore, having another glass of pinot noir is has far as it should be taken right now.

Researchers also said that people should wait for the results of safety testing. Substances that are safe and beneficial in small doses, like vitamins, sometimes prove to be harmful when taken in high doses.

Many companies sell the substance, along with claims that their rivals' preparations are inactive. One such company sells an extract of red wine and knotweed that contains an unspecified amount of resveratrol. But each capsule is equivalent to "5 to 15 5-ounce glasses of the best red wine," the company's web site asserts.

Other companies have developed several chemicals intended to mimic the role of resveratrol but at much lower doses. One has begun clinical trials of one of these compounds, an improved version of resveratrol, with the aim of seeing if it helps control glucose levels in people with diabetes.

Behind the resveratrol test is a considerable degree of scientific theory, some of it well established and some yet to be proved.

Your health really does matter!