A number of insurers offered several versions of their policies — some with lower premiums but also with fewer doctors and hospitals. Average premium increases vary a lot by state because competition and insurers’ claims costs vary. A study of nine state exchanges by Avalere Health found average premiums for silver plans increasing by as much as 16% in Indiana but just 2.5% in Rhode Island. You can purchase health insurance directly from an insurance company or broker.
- To find a good broker, she advises, “go through either Healthcare.gov or your local state department of insurance to find somebody that’s licensed and in good standing.”
- For example, 85% plan to offer nurse coaching, and 71% plan to offer self-service decision support tools to help you choose the type of care you need.
- Or the prescription drugs you need to take for a chronic illness costs more than you expected them to.
- Still, picking health insurance can be hard work, even if you’re choosing a plan through your employer.
- Lower out-of-pocket costs and a primary doctor who coordinates your care for you, but less freedom to choose providers.
- You can ask your doctor which insurance companies they work with.
- If you have insurance at work, don’t let inertia take over during open enrollment.
How do you choose a health insurance plan from an employer?
Rates are for a 40-year-old choosing a Silver health insurance plan. HDHPs are the only plans that qualify you to open a health savings account (HSA), which is a tax-advantaged picking the best health insurance for 2015 account you can use to pay health care costs. Many employers also contribute to employee HSAs as an incentive. If you’re interested in this arrangement, be sure to learn the ins and outs of HSAs and HDHPs first.
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After a year of huge changes in the health care world, now is your opportunity to step back and figure out whether you made the right choices. Bronze plans cover the smallest percentage of your health care costs (60%), while platinum plans cover the largest (90%). If you qualify for extra savings, you’ll be required to enroll in a Silver plan to get those savings. The National Business Group on Health’s survey of large employers usually provides the first glimpse of changes employers will be making to their health insurance plans for the coming year.
- There are trade-offs between the two options, and you’ll have to decide if it’s worth it to you to pay more for the flexibility of a PPO.
- Choose, instead, a policy with premiums you can pay comfortably without any complications.
- Some companies encourage their customers to keep fit and healthy by offering incentives.
- A larger network is especially important if you live in a rural community, since it’ll give you better odds of finding a local doctor who takes your plan.
- Many insurers, such as UnitedHealthcare, have created tools that break down your medical expenses throughout the year.
- Don’t pick a policy just because of the freebies; instead, look at the policy as a whole.
If you earn more in 2015, you may have to pay back some of the extra subsidy when you file your 2015 tax return; if you earn less, you may qualify for a larger subsidy. The size of your subsidy is likely to change anyway because it’s based on the premiums for the second-lowest-cost silver plan in your area, which is generally a bit different than it was in 2014. You can use the calculator at the Kaiser Family Foundation to estimate your after-subsidy costs based on your age, zip code, family size and income. But you’ll need to go to your state’s site to change the income you report to the marketplace. Compare the levels of coverage for the health insurance plans that your job offers. Most people should get a midtier plan that balances the cost of the plan with its medical coverage.
These offers are often not even free, since you end up paying for them in other ways. Don’t pick a policy just because of the freebies; instead, look at the policy as a whole. Make sure your preferred choice of healthcare providers are among the approved providers. If you don’t have any preferences, consider the providers’ specialties in terms of your family needs and proximity to your home in case of an emergency.
Why does the network matter?
Take time to read through each and every clause in the insurance policy and make sure you understand all of them. If you struggle to understand any of them, ask for clarifications. Every company will do what it can to put its best foot forward, but you will want to know about all the negatives before you decide to sign up for one of their policies. Learning about the experience of their customers will help you identify companies that come through in emergencies and provide their clients with a high degree of satisfaction. Company rankings are based on customer satisfaction, affordability, the quality of medical care and the rate of complaints.
Summary: How to choose health insurance
Though signing up for health insurance can be confusing at first, it’s also very important — for your wallet and your health. Hang in there — and know there are people out there eager to help you make sure you get covered. There is free, impartial professional help available to help you choose and enroll in a plan. Just put in your zip code at Healthcare.gov/localhelp and look for an “assister” — a person also referred to as a health care navigator on some state websites.” Then there’s Medicaid, the health insurance program for people with low incomes, that covers around 80 million people — nearly one in four Americans.
Still, picking health insurance can be hard work, even if you’re choosing a plan through your employer. There are a lot of confusing terms, and the process forces you to think hard about your health and your finances. Plus you have to navigate all of it on a deadline, often with only a few-week period to explore your options and make decisions. More provider options and a primary doctor who coordinates your care for you, with referrals required to see a specialist. Lower out-of-pocket costs and usually no required referrals, but less freedom to choose providers.
Data sources include the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), AM Best and the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA). Other types of plans, such as EPOs and POS plans, are sometimes available, but they’re less common. You can ask your doctor which insurance companies they work with. Figuring out the right plan for you doesn’t have to require a huge time commitment, he says.
The biggest surprise many people had as they started to use their policies in 2014 was that their doctors weren’t included in the plan’s network – even if they were covered by the insurer in the past. Many insurers had several versions of their policies on the exchanges, some with lower premiums in exchange for smaller provider networks, a trend that is likely to continue for 2015. After you’ve narrowed your options, contact both the insurer and your doctors to make sure they’re in the plan’s network.
Generally, employers will cover part of your health care premiums and you’ll pay the remainder with pretax money. The employers surveyed expect their health insurance costs to rise by 5%, on average, in 2015 (about the same as the 2014 increase). They’ll cover some of that increase themselves, but they’ll continue to pass along some of the extra cost to employees through higher premiums and deductibles and increased cost-sharing. The median deductible for 2015 will be $1,000 for employee-only coverage and $2,325 for family coverage, and employees will pay a median of 20% of the premiums for themselves and 23% for their families.
Your health insurance “network” refers to the medical providers and facilities your health plan has contracted with to provide your care. We tell you how to pick the best health insurance – whether you get coverage through your employer or on your own – and offer strategies to hold down your out-of-pocket medical costs. Open enrollment for individual insurance – whether you buy a policy on or off the exchanges – runs from November 15, 2014, to February 15, 2015, for 2015 coverage.
