Don’t Forget Your Annual Health Insurance Plan Checkup

It will be 2012 soon and I always encourage clients to drill down and look at their specific situation with regard to health insurance. Confirm that your health insurance program continues to meet your needs and is financially efficient for you based on how you use the system. To get a good result from the review it is important to look at your total program and all related costs (not just premium payments). 

These are some suggestions on items that should be reviewed at least annually or when you are up for renewal.

1. Look critically at your renewal premiums and any changes to the plan it pays for. Are any coverage changes coming from your carrier? How does it affect your out of pocket costs?

2. Any drug formulary changes that affect you? Drugs are always coming off patent and new generics are being approved. Remember; always check with your doctor and pharmacist before approving generic substitution.

3. Healthcare can be our largest expense. Have you looked at your costs financially? A great exercise (also needed for the tax man) is to list all of your health related payments including premiums, copays, coinsurance, deductibles paid (direct expenses), and any other qualified health essentials. You may find you need to consider changes in deductible, actual plans/coverages, or even carriers if your favorite doctor decided to change their network affiliation. How does this project into your 2012 plan?

4. When you get a total for these expenses it should lead you to either a confirmation that you have the right program or maybe it’s time for a plan review. It may lead you to consider Health Savings Account qualified plans depending on your situation. Looking at total health costs can be eye-opening. If you have a Health Savings Account, did you get a doctor’s prescription for even your over-the-counter medicine so you can pay for it out of your Health Savings Account? Have you made the maximum contribution to this account for the year?

5. If you have a small business are you receiving renewal notices with significant rate increases? Have you considered changes to plan design or even Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRA) that can help you control these costs, fit your budget, and allow you to continue these benefits?

Most important for individual’s is that as long as you pay your premium, your plan must be guaranteed renewable (under most conditions). That means during your review, always keep what you have until you find a program you like better and the carrier has granted you this contract.