November 14, 2014
What Health Insurance Plan does a 30 year Veteran in Employee Benefits Have?
I don’t like paying health insurance premiums any more than anyone else. In fact, I want to pay the least amount and take advantage of the most deductions as possible. That is why I have a Health Savings Account (HSA) plan to take advantage of tax-deductible premiums and out-of-pocket expenses. In addition, we utilize Connect to a Doctor Plus for quick and easy access to doctors and prescriptions – usually within 15 minutes of a call we talk with a doctor and can get a prescription without any office copays or waiting.
The advantages of this benefit plan far outweigh a lower deductible plan with office copays and a prescription card. For example the HSA:
- Costs less than other plans – my family premium is only $350 a month!
- Only has one family deductible, then 100% coverage thereafter
- The Health Savings Account can be over-funded and grows tax-deferred to age 65 with unlimited roll over each year. (Individuals can fund $3,350 and families $6,650 in 2015. If you are over age 55 you can fund an additional $1,000)
- Benefits are never taxed for eligible expenses and funds can even be used for dental, vision expenses, and long-term care policies
The advantages that Connect to a Doctor Plus adds are, unlimited access to a doctor and quick prescription turn-around with 24/7 access. Here’s a quick video illustrating how easy this benefit is to use: http://vimeo.com/102886629
Of course, we pay the first $10,000 of expenses, but everything is tax-free and we really only need benefits for a catastrophic situation.Our actual costs run less than $6,200 a year on average which includes dental and vision expenses. Plus we get to deduct our premium and expenses, which saves an additional $1,800 in taxes, for a net cost under $4,500 year. As a comparison, if I select a Silver benefit plan through the federal marketplace, my monthly premium is over $1,400 a month and I cannot deduct my premium or out-of-pocket expenses, which results in a cost that exceeds $20,000 a year including the out-of-pocket exposure!
The bottom line is you still have to do the math for your own specific situation. We do have helpful tools on our website that can help you select the best option.
We can help! Visit us today at https://simplifihr-public.sharepoint.com/.