Health Ins.? Benefit Solutions Group?
- Thread starter mouse549
- Start date
Hi, this is really davekc's wife. Finally got him off the computer long enuf to enjoy EO myself. 
I wish some one had responded to your post. Health insurance is a major concern of mine and would really like to know if what you have is better than what we've got with MegaLife. Anyone with experience with Mega, please post too. Fortunately, we've never needed to use it, but the grey hair seems to be winning and I'd like to get a more comprehensive policy.
When I was in the 9-5 world, insurance was a given and very affordable at that. Prices for insurance for a self-employed family was one of the hardest obstacles to overcome I faced when I joined Dave in trucking. Love the life on the road but wish it came with a few more options regarding health insurance.
I'd also like to know if anyone has had success setting up a Health Savings Account. I've heard about them and they sound like something we'd really be interested in, but so far, no one has returned our e-mails, so I'm not sure how to set one up.
Hope someone else shares ours concerns.
I wish some one had responded to your post. Health insurance is a major concern of mine and would really like to know if what you have is better than what we've got with MegaLife. Anyone with experience with Mega, please post too. Fortunately, we've never needed to use it, but the grey hair seems to be winning and I'd like to get a more comprehensive policy.
When I was in the 9-5 world, insurance was a given and very affordable at that. Prices for insurance for a self-employed family was one of the hardest obstacles to overcome I faced when I joined Dave in trucking. Love the life on the road but wish it came with a few more options regarding health insurance.
I'd also like to know if anyone has had success setting up a Health Savings Account. I've heard about them and they sound like something we'd really be interested in, but so far, no one has returned our e-mails, so I'm not sure how to set one up.
Hope someone else shares ours concerns.
We had Mega Life for a while and the agent flat out lied to us.He said that there was a $3,000 deductible which I felt was reasonable but what he didn!t say was that this deductible was for each occurrence.I was under the impression that it was a calender year deductible. So we dropped it,I can and do use thje VA system which is good for preventive care and prerscription drugs.I also carry through OOIDA a Catastrophic policy that has a $5,000 deductible then pays 100% of anything over that.
Some years back I tried to get a Medical Savings Account now known as a HSA but if you are over 40 forget it. Maybe that has changed. We are a S Corporation so my wife still has a HMO with Atena, but the premiums are brutal,I had to drop out as it was going to cost us about $1,000 per month for both of us ,and we are in reasonably good health. John Kerry says he has a plan to help us, remains to be seen.
Some years back I tried to get a Medical Savings Account now known as a HSA but if you are over 40 forget it. Maybe that has changed. We are a S Corporation so my wife still has a HMO with Atena, but the premiums are brutal,I had to drop out as it was going to cost us about $1,000 per month for both of us ,and we are in reasonably good health. John Kerry says he has a plan to help us, remains to be seen.
Disclaimer: I work for the Internal Audit dept of an insurance company and Medicare subcontractor, but I am not here to sell insurance.
With respect to Health Savings Accounts, the IRS website has good information -- www.irs.gov -- if you search on the site for "health savings", Publication 553 that explains tax law changes for 2004 will be the first "hit".
There is quite a bit of information about the Health Savings Account concept. First, you have to have a "high deductible" health insurance policy -- which is very specifically defined. Then, you can put away cash in a trust account (again, the criteria are very specific) to use to pay for those first dollar amounts that your health insurance policy will not cover due to the high deductible.
The idea of this plan is that it is a win-win...you save money on the policy because of the high deductible, and you save money on the HSA because it is done with pre-tax dollars. Finally, the HSA is not a "use it or lose it" account -- it rolls over from year to year, until you need it. Likewise, the plan is a win for the insurance company, too. They are spared processing and paying for several small dollar claims so they can sell you the "big dollar" protection for a more reasonable premium.
How to figure out what you should do:
-Shop for the insurance policy first -- use the High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) buzzwords like in the IRS publication -- try both large and small, well-known and obscure health insurers (find out what the going price for the insurance is in your particular circumstances)
-See if your state has an insurance pool for self-employed workers as a comparison
-Consult with your bank's trust department to see if they have an expert on Health Savings Accounts (get advice)
-Find out from your state's insurance commission any information you can get about the rating of the proposed insurance company...compare ratings with premiums; your state may also have statistics on the performance of the insurance company...see if that seems reasonable (do they pay their claims, how timely, what is the reserve requirement, is the company meeting that, etc?)
Then, make your decision. You are trying to minimize your risk to tolerable levels; so is the insurance company. The government is trying to sweeten the pot by making your contributions to the savings tax free and portable. Remember that the Health Savings Account does not pay the insurance premiums themselves.
Hope this is helpful to you.
Jane
With respect to Health Savings Accounts, the IRS website has good information -- www.irs.gov -- if you search on the site for "health savings", Publication 553 that explains tax law changes for 2004 will be the first "hit".
There is quite a bit of information about the Health Savings Account concept. First, you have to have a "high deductible" health insurance policy -- which is very specifically defined. Then, you can put away cash in a trust account (again, the criteria are very specific) to use to pay for those first dollar amounts that your health insurance policy will not cover due to the high deductible.
The idea of this plan is that it is a win-win...you save money on the policy because of the high deductible, and you save money on the HSA because it is done with pre-tax dollars. Finally, the HSA is not a "use it or lose it" account -- it rolls over from year to year, until you need it. Likewise, the plan is a win for the insurance company, too. They are spared processing and paying for several small dollar claims so they can sell you the "big dollar" protection for a more reasonable premium.
How to figure out what you should do:
-Shop for the insurance policy first -- use the High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) buzzwords like in the IRS publication -- try both large and small, well-known and obscure health insurers (find out what the going price for the insurance is in your particular circumstances)
-See if your state has an insurance pool for self-employed workers as a comparison
-Consult with your bank's trust department to see if they have an expert on Health Savings Accounts (get advice)
-Find out from your state's insurance commission any information you can get about the rating of the proposed insurance company...compare ratings with premiums; your state may also have statistics on the performance of the insurance company...see if that seems reasonable (do they pay their claims, how timely, what is the reserve requirement, is the company meeting that, etc?)
Then, make your decision. You are trying to minimize your risk to tolerable levels; so is the insurance company. The government is trying to sweeten the pot by making your contributions to the savings tax free and portable. Remember that the Health Savings Account does not pay the insurance premiums themselves.
Hope this is helpful to you.
Jane
Jack Jackson
Expert Expediter
>Disclaimer: I work for the Internal Audit dept of an
>insurance company and Medicare subcontractor, but I am not
>here to sell insurance.
>
>With respect to Health Savings Accounts, the IRS website has
>good information -- www.irs.gov -- if you search on the site
>for "health savings", Publication 553 that explains tax law
>changes for 2004 will be the first "hit".
>
>There is quite a bit of information about the Health Savings
>Account concept. First, you have to have a "high
>deductible" health insurance policy -- which is very
>specifically defined. Then, you can put away cash in a
>trust account (again, the criteria are very specific) to use
>to pay for those first dollar amounts that your health
>insurance policy will not cover due to the high deductible.
>
>The idea of this plan is that it is a win-win...you save
>money on the policy because of the high deductible, and you
>save money on the HSA because it is done with pre-tax
>dollars. Finally, the HSA is not a "use it or lose it"
>account -- it rolls over from year to year, until you need
>it. Likewise, the plan is a win for the insurance company,
>too. They are spared processing and paying for several
>small dollar claims so they can sell you the "big dollar"
>protection for a more reasonable premium.
>
>How to figure out what you should do:
>-Shop for the insurance policy first -- use the High
>Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) buzzwords like in the IRS
>publication -- try both large and small, well-known and
>obscure health insurers (find out what the going price for
>the insurance is in your particular circumstances)
>-See if your state has an insurance pool for self-employed
>workers as a comparison
>-Consult with your bank's trust department to see if they
>have an expert on Health Savings Accounts (get advice)
>-Find out from your state's insurance commission any
>information you can get about the rating of the proposed
>insurance company...compare ratings with premiums; your
>state may also have statistics on the performance of the
>insurance company...see if that seems reasonable (do they
>pay their claims, how timely, what is the reserve
>requirement, is the company meeting that, etc?)
>
>Then, make your decision. You are trying to minimize your
>risk to tolerable levels; so is the insurance company. The
>government is trying to sweeten the pot by making your
>contributions to the savings tax free and portable.
>Remember that the Health Savings Account does not pay the
>insurance premiums themselves.
>
>Hope this is helpful to you.
>
>Jane
>insurance company and Medicare subcontractor, but I am not
>here to sell insurance.
>
>With respect to Health Savings Accounts, the IRS website has
>good information -- www.irs.gov -- if you search on the site
>for "health savings", Publication 553 that explains tax law
>changes for 2004 will be the first "hit".
>
>There is quite a bit of information about the Health Savings
>Account concept. First, you have to have a "high
>deductible" health insurance policy -- which is very
>specifically defined. Then, you can put away cash in a
>trust account (again, the criteria are very specific) to use
>to pay for those first dollar amounts that your health
>insurance policy will not cover due to the high deductible.
>
>The idea of this plan is that it is a win-win...you save
>money on the policy because of the high deductible, and you
>save money on the HSA because it is done with pre-tax
>dollars. Finally, the HSA is not a "use it or lose it"
>account -- it rolls over from year to year, until you need
>it. Likewise, the plan is a win for the insurance company,
>too. They are spared processing and paying for several
>small dollar claims so they can sell you the "big dollar"
>protection for a more reasonable premium.
>
>How to figure out what you should do:
>-Shop for the insurance policy first -- use the High
>Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) buzzwords like in the IRS
>publication -- try both large and small, well-known and
>obscure health insurers (find out what the going price for
>the insurance is in your particular circumstances)
>-See if your state has an insurance pool for self-employed
>workers as a comparison
>-Consult with your bank's trust department to see if they
>have an expert on Health Savings Accounts (get advice)
>-Find out from your state's insurance commission any
>information you can get about the rating of the proposed
>insurance company...compare ratings with premiums; your
>state may also have statistics on the performance of the
>insurance company...see if that seems reasonable (do they
>pay their claims, how timely, what is the reserve
>requirement, is the company meeting that, etc?)
>
>Then, make your decision. You are trying to minimize your
>risk to tolerable levels; so is the insurance company. The
>government is trying to sweeten the pot by making your
>contributions to the savings tax free and portable.
>Remember that the Health Savings Account does not pay the
>insurance premiums themselves.
>
>Hope this is helpful to you.
>
>Jane
Jack Jackson
Expert Expediter
I have had very good service with our HSA thru Golden Rule Insurance Company. In the two years since I have been with them, my health deteriorated and have had 1 major operation and 2 minor operations. They paid everything above the yearly deductable without question.