Money Management

It’s that time of year again: picking a new health insurance plan. Keep reading for a few pointers to survive open enrollment. 

Open enrollment is upon us. In most states, this period lasts from Nov. 1 to Jan. 15 or 16, and you must have coverage in place by Dec. 15, 2023, to be insured starting Jan. 1, 2024. If you’ve had a qualifying life event (like getting married, having a child, or changing your employment situation), you can make changes to your coverage at other times of the year. But for the rest of us, this is the time to upgrade (or downgrade) your health insurance plan.

I’m a full-time freelancer, and I’m gearing up to pick a new marketplace health insurance plan that will start Jan. 1. I was unsatisfied with the plan I selected for 2023, and I intend to upgrade my coverage for 2024. So if you have questions about open enrollment, or just need a little reassurance, read on. We’ll tackle this potentially stressful situation together.

How does open enrollment work?

Before we move on to the tips, let’s take a little time to discuss the details of open enrollment. There are four ways to get health insurance coverage in the U.S. If you are over 65, you qualify for Medicare, and if your income is below a certain level, you qualify for Medicaid.

For the rest of us, you can get coverage through your employer, or if you’re self-employed, you can turn to the healthcare marketplace at HealthCare.gov, or through your state’s health insurance portal. Marketplace plans are regulated by the Affordable Care Act (or ACA). And these plans are going up in price for 2024 (big surprise there). Data from Peterson-KFF notes that marketplace plan premiums are expected to increase between 2% and 10%, or a median of 6%.

Here’s what to think about if you’re choosing new coverage through your employer or the marketplace.

1. Consider your budget (and who you’re covering)

Unfortunately, our personal finances have to loom large when we make decisions about health and well-being, but these are the waters we currently swim in. When you look at available plans, you’ll see a breakdown of four different metal levels: Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum. The lower the metal level, the cheaper your premiums (the amount you pay every month) will be.

Make sure you check policy prices and deductibles based on the people you’re insuring. Is it just you, or do you have a spouse, children, or both to insure as well? Note that if you pay lower premiums, it generally means that your deductible (the amount you must pay before your insurer picks up the tab for care) will be higher.

Depending on your circumstances, this may not be a problem. Signing up for a high-deductible plan might be a good move, especially if you can save money in a health savings account (HSA) to cover the cost of care not paid for by insurance. But if you’d prefer (and can afford) to pay more in premiums in exchange for receiving fewer bills for lab tests and procedures, you might instead decide to opt for a higher metal level. That’s what I’m doing for 2024.

2. Assess your health needs

It’s best to think about your medical needs and preferences when you’re choosing a new plan, too — these matter just as much as the financial considerations. For example, if you have a chronic illness and tend to seek medical care often, it might be worth the higher upfront costs of a higher-level plan, if only so you can visit doctors and not receive huge bills after the fact.

If you see a lot of specialists and don’t want to get a referral from your primary care doctor every time, again, a higher-level plan could help you out here. But on the other hand, if you’re a pretty healthy person, rarely see a doctor, and don’t have kids to worry about, a high-deductible Bronze plan could be just the ticket for you.

No matter your health needs, if you have current medical care providers who you want to keep seeing, ensure they’ll still be in-network for your new plan — or that you can afford any extra cost out of your checking account for an out-of-network provider.

3. Ask for help

Finally, if all this open enrollment business is just too much for you to sift through on your own, there is help available. You can check out the Find Assistance section of HealthCare.gov and find a local insurance navigator to contact, or you can submit your contact information, and a broker will reach out to you. Health insurance is complicated, and there are many factors to weigh when picking coverage, so you’re definitely not alone if you’re confused.

I hope my tips help you pick new coverage and that you end up reasonably happy with your health insurance in 2024. No matter what plan you end up with, it’s worth saving as much as you can in a high-yield savings account so you can cover copays and any other medical expenses that pop up throughout the year.

Our best car insurance companies for 2022

Ready to shop for car insurance? Whether you’re focused on price, claims handling, or customer service, we’ve researched insurers nationwide to provide our best-in-class picks for car insurance coverage. Read our free expert review today to get started.

We’re firm believers in the Golden Rule, which is why editorial opinions are ours alone and have not been previously reviewed, approved, or endorsed by included advertisers.
The Ascent does not cover all offers on the market. Editorial content from The Ascent is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team.The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

 Read More 

Are you making the most of your health insurance? Read on to see why you might be passing up an important opportunity to tend to your health. 

Healthcare is an expense that can eat into your savings account balance at any age. So if you have health insurance, it’s a good idea to take advantage of any free benefit you might be entitled to.

It’s common for health insurance companies to offer enrollees one free physical or wellness exam per year. In this context, “free” means an exam that isn’t subject to a copay or a deductible. By contrast, when you see the doctor for a sore throat, you usually have to pay into your deductible, and if you’ve met it, there’s often a copay involved for treatment.

During a physical or wellness exam, a doctor will commonly run bloodwork to make sure nothing is amiss, check for signs of physical illness, and ask questions to potentially uncover lurking medical issues. To put it another way, these annual exams tend to be pretty comprehensive, and they have the potential to flag a host of health issues.

But in a recent survey by HSA Bank, only 58% of respondents say they participate in an annual exam. This means 42% of Americans may be missing out on a crucial health benefit.

Don’t put your health at risk

There’s a reason health insurers offer a free annual physical. They want enrollees to get ahead of health issues before they escalate. And often, having an annual exam is the ticket to doing just that.

Let’s say your blood work reveals that you’re pre-diabetic. From there, your doctor can work with you to manage your condition so it doesn’t worsen. But if you don’t have that exam and get that blood work, you won’t know to take action.

This is just one example. The point, though, is that catching health issues early can often lead to better outcomes. So it pays to schedule an annual physical if you haven’t done so this year.

Don’t rack up a huge pile of bills

Health insurers don’t just offer a free annual exam out of the goodness of their hearts. These companies are in the business of trying to spend as little as possible on healthcare to pad their bottom lines. It can be cheaper for health insurers to screen for certain conditions and treat them in their early stages rather than let them worsen.

Once health issues escalate, they can become more expensive to treat not just for your insurer, but for you as well. Remember, even once you meet your annual deductible, you may be still responsible for copays and/or coinsurance, which can really add up.

It’s in your best financial interest to have an annual physical. Doing so could potentially save you money on treatment that’s deemed necessary based on what your doctor finds and help you avoid medical debt.

There aren’t many benefits that health insurers offer for free. So it pays to take advantage of your annual physical or wellness exam, since the only thing it’ll cost you is a bit of your time. And by carving an hour or so out of your schedule, you might spare yourself a string of costly bills while protecting your health at the same time.

Alert: highest cash back card we’ve seen now has 0% intro APR until nearly 2025

If you’re using the wrong credit or debit card, it could be costing you serious money. Our experts love this top pick, which features a 0% intro APR for 15 months, an insane cash back rate of up to 5%, and all somehow for no annual fee.

In fact, this card is so good that our experts even use it personally. Click here to read our full review for free and apply in just 2 minutes.

Read our free review

We’re firm believers in the Golden Rule, which is why editorial opinions are ours alone and have not been previously reviewed, approved, or endorsed by included advertisers.
The Ascent does not cover all offers on the market. Editorial content from The Ascent is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team.The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

 Read More