I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting (#MC) for Aflac. I received a promotional item as a thank you for participating.
This past month, I received a memo from our payroll secretary at work letting us know that the open enrollment period was taking place. For those of you who don’t know what this means, it is a period during which a health insurance company or HMO is statutorily required to accept applicants without regard to health history. As many of you know, I am a six year Leukemia Survivor so being proactive about my health and educating myself about health insurance is very important to me.
Choosing the right health insurance is probably one of the most important decisions that you can make for you and your family. It is crucial that you choose the right policy that meets your health needs and make sure that all of the insurance costs that you are responsible for are within your budget. Costs to consider include deductibles and out-of-pocket costs for health care services and pharmacy purchases. The worst thing that could happen is finding out during a health crisis that you do not have the kind of coverage that you need.
After reviewing the Aflac Open Enrollment Fact Sheet, I was surprised to find out the following statistics:
- 50 percent of employees agreed that $25 is the maximum increase to their monthly health insurance premium that they are able to cover financially;
- 83 percent of workers are only willing to spend up to $1,000 for their health insurance deductible each year.
- 4-out-of-10 employees will have to cut expenses elsewhere to cover the difference if monthly premiums increase; and
- 20 percent will trade down on their benefits package, accepting decreased coverage to get a lower premium
- Nearly half of employees surveyed (46 percent) have less than $1,000 in savings for medical expenses.
It was shocking to find out that so many employees really don’t know what their insurance plans actually cover and fail to carefully review policy changes each year. As a Survivor, I cannot begin to stress the importance of being prepared for a health emergency ahead of time. Believe me, I never expected to find out I had Cancer when I was thirty years old. Additionally, don’t make any assumptions about your coverage and make sure that you check your own and your spouse’s benefits package yearly. You should examine your premium costs carefully and consider supplemental insurance to help reduce rising health care expenses.
You can stay informed about your health insurance policy by talking to Human Resources at your place of employment and by reviewing your policies regularly. Educate yourself on all aspects of your major medical plan so you know what is covered and what isn’t. Check out Aflac’s Open Enrollment Resources to get key tips and messages to help you make better informed benefits decisions. One day, your life and health may depend on it…
Let’s Discuss: How informed do you think you are about what is covered under your health care policy?
Disclosure: This is part of a compensated campaign with Mom Central Consulting for Aflac. However, all opinions expressed are my own. I only recommend products or services I use personally and I believe will be “family friendly.” I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.
© 2013, Tough Cookie Mommy. All rights reserved.
I have military insurance so don’t really have to worry about any of this. I remember when I lived in NY I had to go through finding an HMO, I hated it because so much stuff wasn’t covered by certain ones. 🙁
Those Federal and State exchanges are very confusing!! I am attempting to wade through it now as my insurance expires on 12/31 and under the new law I am required to have it or pay a penalty. These plans are not the best and although I will be paying less–the deductibles will be higher–it is a lose lose situation as far as I can tell–of course the ins I have now is no better in reality—I still won’t actually be able to go to a doctor when I really should due to a lack of funds (I am now semi retired on a fixed income.)
I have never had to do this, but I have no insurance right now so I will be looking in to it!
Insurance can be really confusing at times and it doesnt surprise me that so many are in the dark
That is such a good question and such an important topic. You inspired me to review our policy today!
I know I am NOT well informed on our heath coverage. It came with my Hubs job. I know whenever we are having anything major done, we have to call and get permission which is a royal pain.
Oh good lord, I have no idea what is and is not covered under my health insurance. I know that’s so sad. I think I just assume everything is, but then I always end up with bills for 30% or something like that.
I have insurance, but I try not to go for medical help unless it is absolutely necessary because it is so expensive. We have a $60 co-pay and the first $2000 is out of pocket.
Every year my husband and I crunch the numbers with our insurance plan and other options. It always amazes me on how much he doesn’t understand what is covered and how. I think I have the leg up here because I used to sell health insurance, but if my smart husband doesn’t understand… maybe most people don’t. –Ashley Gill
I need to jump on this and get myself more informed! THanks for sharing these interesting tip and facts.
Insurance in general always seems so complex, and it’s great to help each other by sharing information.
Open enrollment in Aflac sounds like something that can benefit a lot of people. “Choosing the right health insurance is probably one of the most important decisions that you can make for you and your family.” – Well said, I couldn’t agree with you more. Great stuff here thanks for sharing.
When I was first employed in a “real job” at 22, I thankfully had a great HR representative who walked me through everything about my benefits package and made sure to drive home how important it was for me to be informed about my benefits. Ever since then, I have made sure to understand exactly what’s covered. Your experience with cancer is proof of how important it is to understand your coverage; that’s not something you want to have to learn when you get sick. Thanks for sharing your experiences!
Those statistics are shocking. I do think that most people like to hope for the best and then allocate their money to other things that have a more immediate impact on their daily life. I suppose this is one of the reasons that medical expenses are the most claimed reason that individuals file for bankruptcy. People just don’t prepare for that possibility.
We have participated in open enrollment for several years. I think this is a wonderful resource because our daughter has major health problems and they have to accept her. Yay!
I love Aflac so much. I have used them for many years
It’s really important when choosing an insurance, especially for sickly people like myself.
I know from experience it is so important to know what is and is not covered. I love Aflac!