Heath Insurance Book, Chapter 1, Section 5
J ust like your body, your health plan also needs an annual checkup. You have to investigate and manage your health plan on an ongoing basis – not just once. Particular times to check:
- After you get a rate increase.
- After you change age (usually in 5 year bracket – 40, 45, 50, etc.).
- When you add or remove dependents.
- When your health changes (for the better or worse).
Although managing your own health plan may seem like a lot of work, it does allow you the flexibility to buy and pay for only what you need. It ultimately gives you control over how you spend your money with regards to your health. For example, you can change plans when you need to, you can cover family members individually, and you can take advantage of the constantly changing health insurance plans available to cut your costs.
Unlike an employer’s group plan, in many cases as an individual you can change coverage or insurers anytime in a year. This means you have control over how you are covered – and as new products come out on the health insurance market, you can be first in line to buy them.
| You can insure different people in your household on different policies for different coverage or rates. Sometimes it doesn’t make sense to put everyone on the same plan such as when one family member’s health is poor, but the rest of the household is healthy. Instead of lumping everyone into a higher-premium plan, shopping around for coverage separately in addition to investigating health insurance for the entire household may save you significant money over the course of a year. |
You can mix and match insurance policies for different household members. For example, put the healthiest on one policy and those with a medical condition each on their own separate policy. |
New companies, products, and approaches are appearing to satisfy the new needs and desires of those buying health insurance. If you aren’t thrilled with the options available, keep shopping and new options will open up. For example, when I first left my job I went with the COBRA option, and checked with that insurer for any individual policies. There weren’t any. But as I am doing this research, well over a year later, it is possible to obtain insurance through this company – as part of an association. This makes it a very appealing option, since the network, doctors, and policies appear to be very similar between the plan available through COBRA and through the association plan. You’ll want to read Chapter 6 about association insurance and whether it’s the right choice for you.
If you find yourself traveling to different locations, whether frequently or for short or long periods of time, make sure that you investigate plans that provide you and your dependents with coverage where you go. Some HMO/PPO plans have nationwide networks, some have only local networks. With some it doesn’t matter who you see (traditional indemnity insurance), and coverage outside of the U.S. varies, with a majority of plans not covering anything but an emergency. Additional international policies may be found, you could self-insure for trips, or you could look into short-term health coverage at your destination when traveling outside your main plan area.
Check into the available healthcare in the places that you will frequent. If you spend most of your time at home, but have a national network in a PPO, you’ll be able to get covered healthcare when you are away from home on travel. If you travel internationally, you can either use a plan with built-in international coverage, or get a short term international policy.
If you move to a different part of the state, or to a different state, then you may not be able to keep your current health insurance coverage. If you have any significant medical condition, it may make sense to reconsider a move, or at least maintain residency in the location of your current health plan to avoid major increases in premiums when shopping for a new plan, or outright denial of coverage. The place to start for your annual health insurance checkup is with your agent, web sites in this book, and www.BestHealthInsuranceBook.com.
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