It’s the time of the year to get your document s and look for a health insurance plan for you and your family in 2021. If you are looking for a private plan the best option would be HealthCare.gov but there are also other exchanges that are open for enrolment.
The
marketplace is still vibrant and you can also get subsidies to bring your
insurance costs down. After a rocky start, now HealthCare.gov has gotten very
easy to use. For this year there are new things you should focus on before
deciding to buy a plan. But things are still hard when it comes to checking
costs and deductibles and finding out an insurance plan that works best for
you.
Many people
still pick the wrong plan and then end up thinking what did they do wrong.
Sometimes the doctors you want to see are not in the tier of your insurance
plan and sometimes there are other issues. Getting health insurance is surely a
complicated process but don’t worry we are here to give you few tips to help
you find what’s best.
1 – Decide when & where you need to enroll
There are
three places you can shop or get health insurance from.
Federal
Exchanges
State’s
Marketplace
HealthCare.gov
You can get
enrolled in federal exchange until mid-December. District of Columbia and other
12 states have their exchanges and if you live in any of these states you can
get health insurance from these exchanges.
2 – Always review plan options
Even if you
already have a health insurance plan that you are enrolled in, it is still
better to review all the available plans. The plans change every year, or some
new options come up, so you might be wanting to change something.
You should
also review all of your finances, income and your household and then decide
which insurance plan will be best for you. Cost of health insurance plans can
also change after a year.
3 - Compare estimated yearly costs, not
just monthly premiums
Keep in
mind that you have to look at the yearly costs of your health insurance plan.
Some people only focus on monthly premiums, but they can be misleading.
Deductibles and co-payments are some of the things that should also be
considered when choosing a health insurance plan. There is a tool available for
you for this very purpose, which is called “estimated
total yearly costs”.
4 - Consider how much health care you
use
There are
some other things that are important to keep in mind. You should think about or
guess how many health issues you are likely to have in the coming year. Like if
you will need more visits to a doctor, you should consider getting a package
for where you pay higher monthly premium but you get less out of pocket
expenses and vice versa.
5 - Beware too-good-to-be-true plans
When
looking at the health insurance plan always make sure you are looking at plan
which are authentic and provide full information. There are some plans where
you find low premiums but they don’t include the ACA’s ten essential benefits
in them. Parental care and mental health treatment are some of the benefits
that you might be missing on if you choose these plans.