Georgia health insurance

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High Deductible Health Plans / Tools You Can Use

The trend towards higher deductible health plans has been forced upon us. With extremely high rate increases, employers and individuals have turned towards high deductible health plans as a way to mitigate costs.

I read an article today in Consumer Reports that provides statistics to show this trend is growing rapidly. However, the real take-away is at the bottom of the article in the “What You Should Do” section. This section references two helpful websites that allow consumers to compare prices for healthcare.

Short-term Medical Can be a Good, Money-saving Strategy

Short term major medical insurance, also known as temporary insurance, is a product worth considering for people who don’t have a good group plan available to them. Short-term medical provides coverage up to one year.  However, in Georgia, there is only one decent carrier that offers this type of insurance for up to one year.  There are a few carriers that offer coverage up to six months.

This type of coverage is not ACA-compliant (Obamacare),

Open Enrollment Season — Dependents Can Save 25 – 50%

It’s open enrollment season for Employer Health Plans (not to be confused with Open Enrollment for the Exchanges).  Most medium to large businesses have open enrollment this time of year and employees have to make a decision about their plan choices.  The trend lately has been for employers to cut back on their contribution towards both employee and dependent premium.  Many employers don’t pay anything towards dependent coverage.

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) doesn’t address the high costs of dependent coverage.  

Best and Worst Rated Hospitals in Georgia — a New Report

Consumer Reports rated hospitals across the nation and the results were somewhat surprising.  You can read an article about this report here.  As a subscriber to Consumer Reports, I checked out the results for Georgia and didn’t find any shocking news.  However, I am mostly familiar with the hospitals in the metro Atlanta area, not other parts of Georgia.

This report is significant because there really isn’t a lot of data available to compare hospitals.  

Preparing for Health Insurance Changes in 2014

Changes are coming and they’re just around the corner.  The major provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) go into effect in 2014.  All health insurance plans must be ACA-compliant at some point in 2014. This means big changes for many people. Whether you have employer-sponsored coverage or a personal plan (or no coverage at all), there are important things to know — and do — in preparation for the changes ahead.

In this post,

How Much Does Your Health Insurance Really Cost?

Do you know how much you pay for your health insurance?  Almost all of my clients know very well the cost of their health insurance, however, people who work for large companies are usually unaware of the total cost of insurance.  They know how much comes out of their paycheck each pay period, but that’s about it.

This year — as a result of the Affordable Care Act — employers with 250 or more employees are required to disclose the total cost of health insurance on W2s,

Free Prescription Drug Cards in Georgia

Most people have a major medical plan with prescription drug coverage.  So, why would someone want a free Rx card?  Well, it is becoming more common for insurance companies to exclude coverage for pre-existing conditions.  When this happens, the carrier won’t cover any doctor visits or drugs related to the pre-existing condition(s).  A lot of money can be saved by someone who has a discount Rx card in this situation. 

If someone does not have any major medical coverage,

Federal High Risk Pool — Now Available in Georgia

Over the past couple of months, several people have asked me about the new Federal High Risk Pool that was created by the new health care reform law.  For people in Georgia who have been declined coverage in the individual market and can’t qualify for the Georgia Assignment System or Enhanced Conversion option (after COBRA is exhausted), this was great news.   For someone with significant pre-existing health conditions who has been declined coverage or had certain conditions excluded, this new option could be a life saver …