Health insurance is one hot topic!

I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting (#MC) for Aflac. I received a promotional item as a thank you for participating.

Health insurance is a hot topic right now in our country. Unless you live in a cave, you have heard a lot about it lately. It’s something I think a lot about, especially every October when my husband’s employer has information meetings about it during their open enrollment period. Fortunately for us, his employer is very good about getting all information about plan changes out to us. I am very thankful because the past couple of years there have been big decisions to make about coverage levels, premiums, deductibles, etc. and having all the info has been helpful. According to a survey commissioned by Aflac, 71% of workers surveyed said they only sometimes or rarely understand the changes that are being made to their health insurance program. Yikes! That’s a huge majority.

Some of the other findings of the survey mirror what’s going on with my family’s plan: 4 out of 10 employees say they will have to cut expenses elsewhere if premiums increase and 20 percent say they will trade down on their benefits package in exchange for lower premiums. Our premiums went up big-time last year, and this year during open enrollment we took a higher deductible to make the premiums more reasonable. Hoping that works out for the best…you just never know what’s going to happen with your family’s health!

One tip I have about dealing with changes during open enrollment is not to let yourself be overwhelmed by options and paperwork. Bobby gets all the info from meetings at work, and it’s typically a lot – but it becomes much more manageable when we put two sets of eyes on it. Also, we ask questions to his benefits administrator at work and she’s always very helpful. So don’t be afraid to ask questions so you can really understand what you’re getting when you sign up.

We’ve always had a fairly expensive plan because my husband is employed by a fairly small business. We’ve also had supplemental insurance for years because my husband doesn’t get “sick time”, so if he is injured or has a prolonged illness we are up a creek since I don’t work full-time. In the event of a big stretch of him being unable to work, disability or worker’s comp would not cover all our expenses (does it ever? I don’t want to find out!) So, for more than five years now, we’ve also had Aflac. Luckily, we’ve never had to use it for an emergency or serious situation, but the policy we have has a wellness benefit where we get paid for getting our yearly cancer screenings – so I get a check after my “yearly” at the OB-GYN! Let me just say that makes the whole experience much more pleasant when that check arrives. LOL.

Any time we’ve had to file a claim with Aflac, it’s always been very easy. Their forms are simple and their reimbursement is fast. We couldn’t be happier that we’re a customer of theirs and I imagine we will be for years to come.

Do you have any health insurance woes this open enrollment season? How have you handled them, and have you opted for supplemental insurance? I’d love to hear your stories in the comments.