Stop
right now!
There is
no such thing!
We will
have to wait until next year to know what you might have done differently.
What we CAN do right NOW is to work together to find the best value health insurance coverage in 2020, for you and your dependents, whether young or senior.
The ACA open enrollment (for most states November 1st to December 15th) is your opportunity to EXPLORE YOUR OPTIONS.
Firstly,
let’s start with some overall advice.
If your employment offers ACA compliant health insurance as part of your remuneration package, it is generally a good option to accept. BUT
Make sure
the terms offered meet your specific needs. E.g. Metal Tier, according to your
anticipated need for medical treatment and prescription drugs. If your spouse
also has group coverage you should consider which plan is more advantageous. It
often pays to split the coverage!
NOW let’s
consider how you can SAVE MONEY AND provide the lowest cost health insurance
that will meet your family circumstances.
Here are
5 things for you to consider.
- Shop on a Health Insurance Exchange, Federal, State or Private. Their advice and services are free to you AND by shopping through an exchange you can take advantage of TAX RELIEF on your monthly premiums and Cost Sharing Reductions (CSR)
• Over 80% 0f US citizens benefit from Benefit Tax
relief or CSR. Don’t miss out!
A private exchange will generally be able to consider a wider range of services such as ‘Eyes’, ‘Ears’ ‘Teeth’ and even ‘End of Life’ to help you to negotiate a ‘complete’ package
2. Don’t make any decisions without considering what actually happened in the past and what might happen next year.
For example, someone in your family may need regular prescription drugs, you may be expecting an addition to the family or planning medical treatment.
3. Don’t fall for the ‘cheapest’! ACA compliant BRONZE plans provide the security 0f the TEN ESSENTIAL BENEFITS and offer the lowest premiums BUT they come with a warning: ‘You will have to pay for the UNEXPECTED’
A single visit to the Emergency Room or an extended course of prescription drugs could easily outweigh your hoped-for economies
SILVER and GOLD plans may result in higher (predictable) monthly outgoings but set a predicable cap on the ‘out-of-pocket’ (unexpected) expenses
4. Don’t always opt for branded medications. Always ask if there are generic alternatives. A report published by AARP (American Association of Retired Persons) suggests that the cost of name branded prescriptions (patented medications) can be 18 times higher than non-patented (generic) equivalents
Remember,
you will pay a proportion of your medication costs. This is even more important
for individuals with chronic (long term) medication needs
5. Finally, always look at the options
a. Don’t expect the first quotation to be the best
b. Don’t wait to the last minute
c. Do check where the dollars went last year
d. Do estimate where you expect the dollars to go in 2020
e. Do use ‘Open Enrollment’ to explore
f. Do consult the Exchange
FOCUS ON
THE FUTURE
Photo by Alexander Mils from Unsplash
