October Is Open Enrollment Season for Your Health Insurance

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Each year in October, employers provide open enrollment for the health insurance plans they provide.  It is important to review the offerings, find out the changes and what it will cost you in the long run.  Failure to do this will place you on the company default health insurance plan which may or may not be what you want.

Some helpful information:

• Co-pay is a fixed amount that you pay when you receive health care services.  You are expected to pay this with each visit.
• Co-insurance is percentage difference between what the health insurance plan pays and the health care provider charges.  For example, Medicare pays 80 percent of the negotiated health care charge and you are responsible for the remaining 20 per cent.
• The new health care law now extends health insurance coverage of dependent children to age 26.  It now includes insurance coverage for annual physical examinations and some preventive services.  It also lifts lifetime coverage caps.
• Check out any changes in premium structure for family plans.  Instead of a single premium for a family plan, some health insurance plans may charge individual premiums for the employee, the spouse and dependent children.  
• Review your health service utilization in the last year to see how much to add to your flexible spending account (tax free savings plan for eligible health care expenses such as co-pays, deductibles and other health services not covered by your health insurance plan.)
• Weigh your health services utilization against the value of signing up for a higher deductible and putting away the money saved.  For instance, healthy young persons may opt for a higher deductible premium, saving the difference and using their flexible spending account for deductibles.
• Maintain a healthy lifestyle.  Most health  insurance companies offer incentives for weight reduction, smoke cessation and other preventive practices.