Saving Yourself from Rising Health Care Costs with Open Enrollment

This is the season where many employees have to make the decision if they want to change their current insurance plans or coverage, otherwise they’ll have to wait until this time the next year to make changes. This season millions of Americans will adjust their coverage, add more, switch plans or reduce coverage based on their personal situations. Those who miss open enrollment this year will have to wait for a life changing event such as a divorce, separation, or the birth of a child.

There are many things to think about when considering making a change to your current coverage. If you have a family, your options may need to be revised based on the age of your kids or if you have had a new addition to the family. If you don’t have a family, you’ll want to take a look at the current cost of your plan and make sure that it makes sense financially. With the recent economic downturn, everyone is concerned with how things are going to affect their pocketbook.  According to recent surveys most people don’t even consider the cost of their health coverage into their monthly expenses. This is especially the case for those who receive health care through their employer. Since they never directly see the money they spend on coverage it never occurs to most how much they spend until they have to deal with monthly premiums or the cost of a deductible.

The fact is that health insurance is an expense that everyone should consider, and in our current situation, this year’s open enrollment is better than ever to make sure that you’re getting the coverage you need while not breaking the bank. Chances are this year the cost of benefits will be going up and it’s important to review your current plan, and where you are in life to make sure you’re not spending too much. Or in the versa, make sure you have the right coverage to suit your current needs.

With the advent of the internet age, there are better options for reviewing your benefits and completing open enrollment. Companies like Aetna are now using self service applications online where customers can login, review their current benefit packages and make changes, all on a personalized web page. Aetna is leading the insurance industry in a new direction in that it’s allowing its customers to not only just enroll online, but putting them in a more proactive stance and awareness about their benefits. Letting the user control their enrollment process from either work or home makes it more convenient for busy schedules and allows them to directly access the information they need. Rather than receive a large benefits package to have to go through. Another plus is that you are able to access, and view your coverage information throughout the year or make updates, like if you move or change names.

How Open Enrollment can Lower your Health Care Costs

The cost of healthcare is always changing year after year, and on the average, the costs are on the rise. This year health care premiums are expected to rise over a staggering 10% for 2009. The estimated average for healthcare cost according to Hewitt Associates is $3,826, up 8 percent from 2008, and that’s including out of pocket costs and including employee contribution. Keep in mind the 3.7% average inflation and expected salary increase, healthcare costs are almost double. Even with these rising cost, most employees forsake an active role in their benefits costs and just pay the higher rates without customizing them to their needs. This is where open enrollment comes in handy, it gives you the chance to review your current plan, how much the premiums are increasing, and to actively make changes so you don’t have to pay higher costs if you don’t have to.

Simple Steps to Getting Lower Health Care Costs

There are a few simple steps you can take when enrolling this year that can help you save.

• Take a look at which plan you are on, on the average HSA’s instead of other plans, employees paid an average of $2,330 for family coverage versus $3,340 to $3,730 of other plans according to Kaiser.
• You’ll want to take a look at your options for doctors in your area of coverage, are you going to be going out of this coverage area? If so a PPO or POS might not be what you’re looking for.
• Writing out each part of your health plan that you consistently use and marking the key costs you spend on the average for prescriptions, what counts towards deductibles, maximums, and coverage networks.

All of these factors will help in ensuring that you make the most of this open enrollment season this year, and that you don’t get caught in the rising health care costs for 2009.