Health Insurance is Confusing + Giveaway

2011 October 18
by Grace Boyle

So you know these grown-up things where you have a 401k or need to choose the appropriate health insurance, it involves money, and you’re not really sure what it all means? Yeah, it can be confusing. I can tell you this, it gets easier.

I realized there were certain things that were good to know and when the good people at NAIC reached out to me with their tips for health insurance, I liked it and thought it was pertinent to share.

Oh and psst. Scroll to the bottom for an awesome giveaway.

NAIC Health Insurance Tips

If you receive health insurance through an employer, consider the following before selecting coverage this year:

  • Do the math: To pick the best plan, calculate healthcare costs from recent years and try to estimate costs for the coming year; don’t assume you know what plan will be the most affordable.
  • Check out tax-free savings: Open a Flexible Spending Account (FSA) plan or a health savings account if that is available to you.
  • Look for wellness incentives: Find out if your employer is offering a wellness program or incentives for healthy behaviors such as exercising regularly or not smoking.

If you feel you can’t afford regular health insurance, a more affordable option you may want to consider is purchasing a high-deductible major medical policy that only covers very serious or catastrophic health costs. It will offer lower premiums than regular health insurance policies and help you cover bills for “major” medical events, like surgery, hospitalization or emergency room care. But it will typically not cover routine doctor visits or check-ups.

HSA: If you are convinced that you are generally healthy and have a healthy lifestyle and definitely do not want to pay (or can’t afford to pay) high insurance premiums, consider a Health Savings Account. HSAs can be set up individually or, increasingly, as an option through employers. They allow you to accumulate and spend pre-tax money for health expenses via an account that you own and can take with you should you change jobs.

If you are self-employed, you face some unique challenges in finding and keeping health insurance, but you have a range of choices. Tax laws may allow you to deduct the cost of health insurance.

  • Spouse plan: First, check about being added to your spouse’s or domestic partner’s employer plan.
  • Individual insurance: Consider shopping for private insurance. This option allows you to customize care to your lifestyle, health and budget. New Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plans could help if you have had trouble qualifying for coverage in the past

Doniree hosted an awesome post on insurance if you’re self-employed. Definitely worth a read.

If you are unemployed, you were likely forced to determine how, or if, to continue your health insurance coverage within the past year.

  • Now is a good time to review your decision and determine if your choice is still appropriate and if you or your family members might be eligible for Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program.
  • Some professional or philanthropic associations offer state regulated health plans. For a fee, you can join these organizations and have the ability to participate in their plan.

NAIC has a good list of additional benefits for all kinds of insurance (auto, health, etc.) here. I followed the one for young singles, as I am not married.

Giveaway:

NAIC has offered one Exercise heart-rate monitor from Timex to one lucky reader.

To enter, please leave a comment here stating your tip on health insurance purchases. If you don’t have a tip, ask a question in the form of a comment.

One winner will be announced on Friday of this week. U.S. only.

UPDATE: Congratulations to Richard Dedor the winner (picked at random) of the heart rate monitor. Thanks everyone for entering!

Disclaimer: Thanks to National Association of Insurance Commissioners for the tips and providing a heart-rate monitor as a giveaway to Small Hands, Big Ideas readers. My opinion, as always, is my own.

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from → Career, Community, Giveaway, Health and Science

  • http://jennbollenbacher.com/blog Jenn

    My best tip is definitely the flex spending. I have great health insurance benefits through my company, and when I started working there in January I passed on the flex spending/health savings account option.  But throughout the year I’ve kept track of my copays, prescriptions and vision expenses so I have an idea of what I’m going to need for the coming year and I fully intend on setting aside some pre-tax money!

  • Danielle

    I’ve been researching my options this year and I think I’m going to open an HSA. One note though, in order to open an HSA, you have to be enrolled in a qualified High Deductible Health Plan. HSAs are offered by many banks and credit unions.

  • Morgan Chandler

    I’ve been out of health insurance for about 5 years now, and it sounds like an HSA would be good for me, but if you already have to be enrolled in a High deductible plan I don’t see it being accessible to me. :( What would be a good option for me? 

  • Ali M

    Know your rights! 

    Each state has a mandate of basics that health insurance providers must cover. Do a bit of research ahead of time and know what you are entitled to by law. It’s your job to bring these things up when trying to find a provider. Make sure you are offered what you are entitled to. 

  • http://twitter.com/RichardDedor Richard Dedor

    When I moved to New York state earlier this year, I had to drop my employer program and because we were a small company, I was not eligible for COBRA. So, I researched my tail off, getting quotes and finding each and every option. I am a big believer in preventative medicine so that was a huge point for me. My advice in searching for insurance is simple: Ask questions. The representatives I spoke with while shopping were more than happy and one woman in particular was super excited to help me understand the plan I was looking at. So, ask as many questions as you can think of. They are really there to help you. Your health is at stake! 

  • http://twitter.com/ericaprather ericaprather

    I’ve found that if I am uninsured I’ve gone to sliding scale places. Should always have insurance, but just in case – a social worker will work with you in that situation if you get in a bad spot.

  • http://www.omvnation.com Brian

    if you are unemployed you can NOT afford health insurance in this country, you can not even afford the damn co-pay if you had one, I dont know where these insured unemployed people exist, it is not in America.

  • Beth Oppenheim

    I recently purchased health insurance for my husband because of the price being insanely high to add him to my own. A key for me was researching different individual plans both through websites and through bargaining sites (ehealthinsurance.com). We were also able to get a good rate by not including prescription drug coverage – which, albeit annoying, works for him since he has no regular prescriptions to fill. 

  • http://www.smallhandsbigideas.com Grace Boyle

    Morgan, try http://www.ehealthinsurance.com/. I’m no expert, but there are ways you can enroll in a plan then get HSA. The comments here are pretty helpful too :)