Stitches

Stitches

About a week and a half ago I was sitting in the urgent care waiting to have my right hand looked at. I had cut it fairly bad, lots of blood and the whole 9 yards. I had been changing a timing belt on my car (I do most of my own auto work) because I didn’t want to pay a mechanic $95hr to do it for me. My hand slipped while wrenching down a bolt and lucky me the blood followed.

Being an insurance agent, the first thing I started thinking was “how much is this going to cost me”. Then I remembered my accident policy I had set up with my high deductible, health plan and I suddenly felt better. Keep in mind my hand was still bleeding.

Yes we are a weird bunch, us insurance agents but very practical when it comes to insurance strategies.

These days with the economy still not back to what it once was and people more budget minded than ever; high deductible health plans with lower premiums are becoming more common. I always recommend that the client pair it with an accident plan that can help with these unpredictable costs should they arise. It is almost always the lower cost route to have a high deductible and an accident plan together than a $500 or even $1000 deductible, co-pay plan that you may not use much. The larger medical bills usually come hand in hand with accidents not your typical flu or strep throat visit to the doctor. If you haven’t reviewed your plan lately then let me do that for you. We may find that there’s a savings to be had and we can get those stitches covered with little to no office visit cost should the occasion arise.

Health Insurance and kids update

Last week the Utah Insurance Department made changes to the emergency rule under the Affordable Care Act that applies to children under age 19. As a result children that were previously at a loss of coverage due to one or both parents being “uninsurable” will be able to move forward with a plan of their own. As it stood, a child could not be issued a policy unless a parent was on the policy with them. This change by the UID, will allow children in this position to apply to the Utah HIP, from there, if they do not qualify for HIP Utah, they will be issued a “certificate of insurability” that they can use to apply for their own plan with any commercial carrier in the Utah market.

This will certainly affect many families and their children as we have already encountered applicants with ineligible parents whose children are now with out insurance.

www.insuranceslc.com

 

Accident Insurance

What is accident insurance and how is it different than my major medical insurance?

Accident insurance covers things…..that’s right…..related to accidents. Typically that includes cuts, burns, breaks etc. An accident insurance plan can be a great side dish to your health insurance policy. Kind of like ketchup to french fries. You can eat the fries plain but they’re better with ketchup (or fry sauce if you live in Utah). Accident plans are also ideal for those with a high deductible on their medical insurance as they would help cover those unexpected big doctor or ER bills while you meet your up front, high deductible.

I’m finding people with families who are typically healthy, don’t want to spend a ton on monthly insurance premiums but want to have some up front benefits other than preventive care, go for the accident plan. As well as athletes such as skiers, mountain bikers etc. The majority of people rarely hit their medical deductible whether it be a $500 or $5000 dollar annual deductible. An accident benefit paired with a slightly higher deductible health plan could and usually is a lot cheaper than the low deductible plans out there and gives you a greater up front benefit for when you do have that sudden mishap. The trend we are seeing with health insurance and it’s rising costs are this: high deductible health plan + accident plan = lower cost, better all around insurance.

So how much do these cost? For an individual, around $12-$30 and families $48-$100+ per month.

 

Health Care Reform and HSA

If you own a Qualified High Deductible Health Plan (QHDHP) also known commonly as a HSA Health Plan, then you should be aware of some new changes taking place. The changes affect how and what you can use your HSA or Health Savings Account money for. You will no longer be allowed to purchase over the counter medications with a few exceptions being you have a prescription for that medication. One example is cold sore medication. If you have a doctor’s prescription then you may go use your HSA money, if not use your regular checking account or you could get dinged by uncle same. Your HSA money will still cover most of the qualified expenses it did in the past but it’s best to check out the IRS website for up to date info: http://bit.ly/yWlDx

One thing to keep in mind is that early with draw penalties for non qualified expenses are up from 10% to 20%, but you shouldn’t concern your self with that as long as you’re not buying flat panel tv’s or getting your nails done courtesy of your Health Savings Account.

All in all, HSA qualified/QHDHP are gaining more popularity as people realize that they have the potential to keep more of their money in their pockets when it comes to health care costs. In a nut shell if used properly, you will give less to the insurance company but still have major medical coverage for those unexpected and financially devastating medical emergencies.

One more thing, if you never use your HSA money by age 65, just think of it as an additional retirement savings.

Health Insurance and your Kids

Last month as of September 23rd, the new law prohibits health insurance companies from denying children health insurance due to pre-existing conditions. This was a welcome to many families who have had trouble finding or affording coverage in the past. With this new law passing there are a few things to keep in mind that I’ll touch on.

If you are a family wanting to get your child an insurance plan, “child only” plans are no longer available. The children must be on a policy with mom or dad or both. Select Health will accept new applications at any time but both parents must also be applying (except for cases of single parents). Rate increases can reach as high as 120% for the policy depending on the child’s health history. For example if applying for a family policy that cost $400 and there is significant health history in the child’s past or ongoing, then that policy could jump up to $880.

Regence Blue Cross of Utah will offer “open enrollment” periods where families may apply for insurance with their children during January and July.

Altius and Humana will both accept “partial family” applications. Fore example, if mom wants to apply with the kid’s and leave dad off of the application then that is ok. This could change in the future so now is a good time to get an application in.

Currently I don’t have any rate increase information on Altius in regards to children but with Humana, I’m told that in Utah, the maximum rate increase would be 46% for that child, not the whole policy. This way if the rest of the family is healthy, then they would not be penalized with a rate increase.

Keep in mind that this information is relevant in Utah and may be different in other states so be sure to check with insurance carriers in your home state in regards to applications with children.