Evaluate your health plan premiums every six months!

“My health plan premium was just increased by 20% and I’ve only been enrolled for 7 months.” Sound familiar?

If you are enrolled in private or group health insurance then you know all about rate increases. It doesn’t matter if you are a new client or if you’ve been with the company for years. As you get older your health plan premium will continually increase until the age of 65 when you’re eligible for Medicare. Even then you will have to evaluate your Part D or Medicare supplement coverage annually because of the entry and exit of new plans.

The fact of the matter is, you should call your broker and evaluate your health plan at least once per year. I recommend you do it at least every six months.

With all of the new plans available and the drastic rate increases you never know what you could be missing. In an effort to remain competitive, companies are offering new plans with new premiums most every year. If you feel that you’re not getting the most from your medical insurance dollar then check with your broker. If you have been on a plan that provides prescription drugs and routine office visits to your primary care doctor, but you no longer use them, substantial savings could be realized by switching to a high deductible plan.

A real life case that just came across my desk today was unbelievable. One of our small business owners wanted to, “see what other coverage was available.” When we switched them from their current small group plan to a new one for a 05/01/2009 effective date, the monthly premium went from $1,017.00 to $565.00. And guess what, their new plan was identical to that of their old one.

This savings was substantial and more then worth the time that it took to switch this small group to another insurance carrier. It’s important to remember that not all companies or individuals will save this much from a plan change but it goes to show you that it’s possible. Depending on what your needs are and how much deductible you are willing to take on, savings could be around the corner.

JC Lewis Insurance Services