Shopping for health insurance
As mentioned earlier, my new employer currently does not provide any insurance benefits, so I was forced into having to look for an individual health policy to cover my own needs.
In the past I always had the luxury of being able to sign up with an employer-sponsored group policy and very rarely utilized the plan. Because of this I never really gave much thought about medical coverage options.
Initially I looked into continuing my existing coverage via COBRA or signing onto my wife’s plan at her work, but both options proved to be very expensive. I knew I could do better on my own.
Since I would be doing the necessary leg work to find the best deal I first needed to educate myself. The vast amount of information found on the Internet was more than adequate. I quickly got up to speed on all the lingo and educated myself on the different plan types.
Then I happen to stumble across a little-known hidden gem - Health Savings Accounts (HSAs). My oh my, why aren’t people talking about these? I guess they’re still relatively new, so many may not know about the incredible benefits these types of accounts provide. I’ll leave this topic to my next post.
A coworker at my new job referred me to ehealthinsurance.com which proved to be helpful for my case. Using their service I was able to narrow down my search to a low-cost, high-deductible plan which better suits my needs. I ultimately decided to go with BlueCross BlueShield’s BlueEdge Individual HSA Plan VII. The policy will cost me $74 a month and provide for the type of coverage I was seeking.
In the past I always had the luxury of being able to sign up with an employer-sponsored group policy and very rarely utilized the plan. Because of this I never really gave much thought about medical coverage options.
Initially I looked into continuing my existing coverage via COBRA or signing onto my wife’s plan at her work, but both options proved to be very expensive. I knew I could do better on my own.
Since I would be doing the necessary leg work to find the best deal I first needed to educate myself. The vast amount of information found on the Internet was more than adequate. I quickly got up to speed on all the lingo and educated myself on the different plan types.
Then I happen to stumble across a little-known hidden gem - Health Savings Accounts (HSAs). My oh my, why aren’t people talking about these? I guess they’re still relatively new, so many may not know about the incredible benefits these types of accounts provide. I’ll leave this topic to my next post.
A coworker at my new job referred me to ehealthinsurance.com which proved to be helpful for my case. Using their service I was able to narrow down my search to a low-cost, high-deductible plan which better suits my needs. I ultimately decided to go with BlueCross BlueShield’s BlueEdge Individual HSA Plan VII. The policy will cost me $74 a month and provide for the type of coverage I was seeking.
posted by Brian at
5:29 PM
4 Comments:
Hi Brian,
You mention you got your HSA insurance plan at ehealthinsurance.com. I was wondering if you ever ran accross HSA for America while you were shopping for your high deductible plan. We compared both services and found HSA for America to have far better services when it came to everything about Health Savings Account.
By
Anonymous, at 5/12/2007 12:01 PM
Sorry, here is the correct link:
HSA for America
By
Anonymous, at 5/12/2007 12:08 PM
Brian,
My wife has an HSA through her employer, AT&T and I do agree that they are awesome. However, as an individual you can't deduct your premiums from your federal income taxes. So, even though your wife's plan may have appreared more expensive for you to join, in your now higher tax bracket, it may have been a better after tax option than a health savings account. I estimate you are in the 25-28% marginal federal tax bracket with your new higher income.
Also, her plan probably provides much more comprehensive coverage. This is why I have my plan through work, even though it's $125/month for a single plan. None of it is taxed as income, so I prefer it over a similar plan on the private market with far less coverage than I get through my work coverage.
By
Eddie, at 6/08/2007 1:11 PM
Thanks Eddie, you're right on the money. One of these days I need to sit down and do the necessary calculations to find the best fit for the both of us.
By
Brian, at 4/23/2008 8:08 AM
Post a Comment
<< Home