The time has arrived! Tis the season of gathering documents and choosing a health plan for 2021! Starting November 1st, millions of Americans will be choosing a health insurance plan for next year.
1. Know WHEN & HOW to enroll in a health plan
Depending where you live, you can either use the federal exchanges on HealthCare.gov or your state’s marketplace to shop for insurance. In the state of Florida, we use the federal exchange that runs from November 1st through December 15th. Outside of these dates, you can obtain insurance through only a special enrollment period with a qualifying event: Marriage, divorce, loss of a spouse, birth or adoption of a child, loss of a job, change in citizenship, or moving from one city to another. This means it’s important to do your homework early and get insurance during the Open Enrollment Season!
2. Even if you like your current plan, review other options.
If you love your current health insurance plan, congrats! However, it’s really important to review your current plan annually and check to see if there are others that can give you better value. Every year insurance companies are looking for a cutting edge and can offer you different things. Or sometimes your situation changes. For example, I’m expecting my first child this year! I was happy with my current plan, but now my needs have drastically changed to say the least! It’s tempting to avoid doing the legwork of looking for and comparing different plans, but do not skip this step. It’s always worth checking if you can get more bang for your buck, or in this case more coverage for your buck!
3. Estimate your annual costs, not only the monthly premiums.
We have a tendency to look at our budgets and costs on a monthly basis. With health insurance, it’s helpful to look at yearly costs in addition to monthly premiums. It’s important to obtain a plan that you can actually pay for every month, but you have to be sure you can handle the annual costs too. How can your yearly costs be different than your monthly premium? Three words: Deductible, coinsurance, and co-payments.
When looking at a plan, what you see first is the monthly premium, the amount you pay each month for the plan. The other numbers you need to evaluate is the plan’s:
Deductible: how much you have to pay out of pocket until your insurance starts covering costs.
Coinsurance: The percentage of costs you pay after you’ve paid your deductible. For example, the insurance will pay 60% of your hospital bill, but you are responsible for the other 40%.
Co-payments: A set amount you pay for services you receive, after paying your deductible. These are usually for doctors’ visits or prescription medications.
Consider each cost when calculating which insurance is best for you. If you frequently go to the doctor, maybe a low deductible with low co-pays will be best for you. If you have a health condition which requires frequent hospitalization, lower deductible and coinsurance might be more important than a low monthly premium.
4. Consider how much health care you use
Before choosing a plan, analyze your health care needs. Questions to ask yourself:
- What are my current medical issues? High blood pressure, diabetes, cancer, etc
- What are future issues I anticipate? I know I need knee surgery next year, or I’m trying to have a baby
- Do I have a doctor I really like and am not willing to change? Make sure you know which insurances they accept
- What prescription medications am I on that I need covered?
- How often do I go to the doctor or am hospitalized?
The last question is a difficult one but necessary. Are you more comfortable choosing a more affordable insurance according to monthly premiums but that has a higher deductible, co-pays, and coinsurance? Or do you feel more comfortable paying more each month with the promise of lower out-of-pocket expenses, resulting in a lower annual cost? This is something very specific to each person according to their budget and healthcare needs.
5. Beware of too-good-to-be-true plans
During this time of scouring the internet for the best plan, beware of some “good deals.” There are plans that are advertised as health insurance plans with very affordable monthly premiums that are not ACA plans. Some of them may be short term plans or GAP plans, which don’t offer the ACA’s ten essential benefits.
When viewing plans, just make sure to read the fine print and look at all the facts. Take all these points into consideration and choose what is most important to you and choose a plan based on your specific needs.
Get FREE help from a Pro
Still feel like you could use some more help? Talk to a pro! Health insurance is an often confusing and frustrating subject. Let us turn the process into a simple and dare I say pleasant one! We can help you compare plans, make sure they are all actual ACA plans, and help you find the best one to suit your specific needs. Click below to either view plans or schedule a free consultation with us- the pros!
Picking the right health insurance involves a lot of legwork, but we can do all the heavy lifting for you. Our best advice is to not miss your chance! Open Enrollment is fast approaching, get the coverage you need!
