Health Insurance for the Legal System: Call Your Lawyer Every Day!
Forty years ago no one would think about prepaying for medical care. You went to the doctor and paid a fee for whatever ailed you. Some people didn’t have enough money for certain procedures so they let it go until it became a big problem or even life or death. Then along came medical insurance. You paid a monthly fee and you could go see the doctor for anything that came up. We became healthier because we took care of little things before they became big things.It was slow catching on at first and now it is becoming the law. The same can be said for the legal profession.
Today, if you have a small legal issue it is not worth it to pay $200 to $600 per hour to have it taken care of. So you let it go until it becomes a big issue that you have to take care of because you have been named in a lawsuit or you have to bring a lawsuit. In fact, studies have shown that we are nearly twice as likely to end up in court than a hospital. But what if you could pay a monthly fee and could talk with an attorney for an unlimited amount of time without worrying about paying any extra fee for any subject? That would change everything.
The fact is, 80% of Europeans already have this and have had it since 1907. In the U.S. there are companies that are providing these services. Since this is a kind of insurance many insurance, some are insurance companies are offering these services. There are other non-insurance companies that offer the service but may be regulated as insurance companies in some states. Most insurance companies only allow you to get these services through an employer. Others allow you to get it through an employer, as and individual or for your small business. If you get it through work and leave that employer, some of them allow you to take with if you leave or get fired, so it is portable.
In 2008, the National Association of Attorney Generals joined with the American Bar Association to support prepaid legal plans for low and middle income families. There are also two types of systems to provide these services: The closed-provider plan and the open-provider plan. The closed provider plan has a designated law firm that provides all the legal services you need. The advantage is that quality of service is monitored and controlled to provide uniform dependability and service. The open provider system allows a choice of the lawyers you can use but dependability and quality are not as assured. Both systems strive to bring access to the legal system for more people.
