Health Insurance FAQ #6 – Will my health insurance cover me while traveling?
November 30, 2009
It is holiday season! Many of us will be hitting the road to visit family and friends who live long distances from us and the big question is: If I get sick while away from home, will my insurance cover expenses for my care? Without more details, I can’t be 100% accurate with my answer, but the answer may be NO. It all depends on where you are, what you need treatment for and what type of insurance you carry. Many insurance plans will cover the cost for treatment of LIFE THREATNING emergencies outside of your home neighborhood and even your home state — but sometimes not if you are out of the country. Other insurance plans may cover more minor illnesses and injuries while you are away (typically only within the U.S.) as long as you visit a doctor they have contracted with. The moral of this story is — be prepared. Know your coverage and supplement with additional insurance should you need to. Travel insurance plans are short term (a couple of days to 12+ months,) very inexpensive, and a necessity for those wanting to have all their bases covered. There are different plans depending on your circumstance (whether traveling in or out of the U.S.) and there are even travel health plans for your family and friends planning to visit the U.S. from their home countries. By inexpensive, I mean – you may pay more for a meal in the airport or to check your bags on a flight than you would a travel medical plan.
If Safeguard can help you, please call us at (925) 627-1800.
Health Insurance FAQ #5 – Cal COBRA Subsidy, Who Pays What?
November 18, 2009
There has been a lot of talk about the COBRA subsidies that seemed to only affect the ”big guys” — large companies, who arguably, could afford the extra cost and could appreciate the write off. This is the COBRA premium reduction that required employers to pick up 65% of the COBRA premiums, allowing (eligible) employees to continue their medical benefits by paying only 35% of the total COBRA premium.
Now, there is a Cal COBRA subsidy that affects the smaller companies in California. For those employers who provide health benefits to fewer than 20 employees, involuntary layoffs and terminations could be hitting the pocketbook hard! This same split is now in place for Cal COBRA eligible employees and smaller companies don’t always have the deep pockets that the bigger companies have. When it comes to the Cal COBRA subsidy, who is on the on the hook for the 65% of Cal COBRA premiums? The answer may surprise you! While most posts and articles claim that the employer will be picking up the tab for this 65% of premium, in actuality, the health insurance companies may be lending a helping hand.
There is a lot at stake when “messing” with COBRA/Cal COBRA rules and guidelines, and by this I mean – hefty fines!!! If you are an employer, you will want to be EXTRA sure that you are dotting all of the “i’s” and crossing all of the “t’s” when it comes to your COBRA responsibilities, but don’t panic about the 65%…it might not be you paying.
For more information about COBRA rules and guidelines please visit the department of treasury website at www.dot.gov or your state’s department of insurance website.
If Safeguard can help you with your insurance needs, please contact us at (925) 627-1800 or online at www.safeguardfinancial.com
Health Insurance FAQ #4 – How Much Will Premiums Increase in 2010?
November 11, 2009
It isn’t easy to give a quick answer to the question I get most frequently these days – How much of a premium increase am I looking at in 2010? The real answer is, every carrier, every plan, each age category, and all counties/zip codes have their own rating criteria and therefore different rate changes. With all these factors in the mix, there is no perfect answer to this question unless we have your specific plan details in front of us and have the time to do a little bit of research. The truth is, your carrier will send you warning of your rate increase and as I blogged about before, you should receive this info in plenty of time to make a plan change should you wish to dodge the higher premiums this time around.
Being that all carriers make different rate decisions, I can only give ballpark guesses at what rate changes you might see. Oftentimes, carriers fall in line with the increases they see made by other companies so it could be fair to say plan on rate increases anywhere from 2%-15% in the coming year. If you recall from an earlier post — don’t forget to account for age increases too. These rate increases I am speaking of are simply higher rates for the plans, period. Taking into consideration any big birthdays you have coming up, you will have to do on your own.
For illustrative and informational purposes only, here are some numbers that were published by Blue Shield relating to the average percent increase for California small group plans in 2010.
HMO and POS plans increasing approx 4.5%
PPO (non-HSA-compatible) increasing approximately 2.2%
PPO (HSA-compatible) increasing approximately 15%
If we can help answer questions or can be of assistance as you shop and choose your next health plan, please give us a call (925) 627-1800
Health Insurance FAQ #3 – Low Cost Health Plan Options? Do they exist?
November 4, 2009
With health insurance premiums rising as much and as frequently as they have recently, finding ways to decrease health care costs and ultimately decrease health insurance premiums has become a top priority for many people, families, and businesses. As much as we love to hate the health insurance companies, they have answered the call for lower cost health plan options. Many companies have introduced new plans that achieve the lower premium goal but be careful that you know what you are getting and ultimately, what might be missing from these plans. Obviously, in trimming the costs of these new plans, there has to be some change to the benefits offered. In many cases, plans change by only 1 factor (most commonly, increased deductibles) while in other cases, the plans may have been trimmed and/or padded slightly in several different benefit areas to package a plan that suits the needs, requests and preferences of the many who have spoken up. Benefits to watch: maternity, prescriptions and doctor office visits. While these plans can save you a LOT of money, if you need the benefits and services that have been limited or eliminated, you might be best to keep shopping.
Because of higher health insurance premiums, high deductible health plans (HDHP) and HSA-compatible plans have become very popular, and quite honestly, more the “norm” than ever before. The days of no deductible or even $250-$500 deductibles are nearly extinct. We are seeing that even long time HMO plan members are looking into deductible plans to save their premium dollars.
Saving money is the “name of the game” for most people right now. And, there are a lot of ways to achieve this with a simple change of your health plan. Though some do choose the higher deductible options, you don’t have to face a $10,000+ deductible to save money on your monthly medical premiums. There are many new and improved plans that may surprise you. You just might find that there is a plan out there that covers all the things you want and need while keeping a manageable deductible. How does a $400, $900, or $2,900 deductible sound? Simple changes can save you significant amounts of money.
Click Here to run a free quote to see if there are better options out there for you!
If Safeguard can assist you with your health insurance needs, please don’t hesitate to contact us at (925) 627-1800
