It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year! Insurance Re-Enrollment
October brings lots of warm and cozy feelings. Pumpkin spice lattes, buffalo plaid prints, cooler nights, and looking into your insurance benefits for the following year to make sure you are getting enough coverage. Is it just me looking at insurance benefits? Anyone else? Well, you should be!
Many companies will have a Re-Enrollment Period where you look at your current insurance benefits to see if what you currently have fits your family's needs. This is a great time to assess what you have been dealing with medically during the current year and see if you need to reduce or increase your coverage.
What are some things you can change?
Deductibles - This is the amount you have to pay to your providers until your insurance starts paying anything towards your visit. I've seen as low as $150.00 and as high as $15,000.00! Would a lower deductible be more practical? You might pay a little more out of your paycheck, but if you have a lot of medical appointments, you'll reach your deductible sooner. Then your insurance will cover your appointments in full, or you'd only have to pay a co-insurance (a percentage of the contracted rate).
Visit limits - Ask your HR department about getting the most out of your policy. Can you get a better policy that will give your child more occupational therapy visits this next year? Many plans allow 20 visits on a basic plan; see if an upgrade will allow 60.
CoPay - Is a plan with a copay an option? Paying $30.00 per visit is a little easier to deal with than $80.00 per visit.
HSA (Health Savings Account) - Does your employer offer an HSA? These funds are not subject to federal income tax at the time of deposit. This account also will roll over to the next year if you don't use all of the money in your account.
FSA (Flexible Spending Account) - Similar to an HSA, however, these funds will not roll over to the following year. You might find yourself buying all the band-aids at Walmart to use up your money. There is also a website you can go to, and most everything should be an approved purchase. Check out www.fsastore.com for more information.
There might not be much you can do in the immediate future since many factors are out of your control. Larger employers are almost always going to have better benefits than smaller employers. I would encourage you to call your HR department and ask what options you have for the following year. If you feel the available policies meet your needs, set up a meeting with someone in that department to explain what would help. You're paying for this policy, and they want you to get the most out of your benefits.
