Health Savings Accounts and High-Deductible Plans in 2014

Many people are at least somewhat familiar with HSAs (health savings accounts).  These tax-advantaged savings vehicles are coupled with high-deductible health plans (HDHPs).  In order to open a health savings account, one must have a qualified HDHP (sorry for all the acronyms!) Whether you have a personal plan or an employer-sponsored plan, the HSA plan option has probably been offered to you sometime in the past several years.

For the most part, folks tend to stay away from HSAs because they are unusual and seemingly present a much higher out-of-pocket risk. 

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What Do You Know About Health Care Reform?

If you read the news, then you might or might not be up to speed on Health Care Reform — or what is often referred to as the Affordable Care Act (ACA).  Well, don’t feel bad if you have read a lot of stories, but you are still confused. You’re not alone!

Most people in Georgia know that we opted not to set up and run our own state exchange, but instead defaulted to the federal exchange.  

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Health Insurance for Children in Georgia

If you need health insurance for your child, then there is good news and not-so-good news.  The good news is that child-only policies are available again, as of January 2013.  Carriers had discontinued these policies shortly after the Affordable Care Act was enacted.  Since carriers were required to cover all children, regardless of their pre-existing health conditions, they decided to minimize their liability.  Carriers decided that children could only apply with an adult family member.  This changed in January —

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Health Insurance Premium “Rate Shock” in 2014

On January 1, 2014, the most far-reaching provisions of the Affordable Care Act go into effect.  Insurers will be required to accept all applications. This means that no longer can an individual be declined or “rated-up” for pre-existing health conditions in the personal health plans market.

Open enrollment for the exchanges (new health insurance marketplace) begins on October 1, 2013.  However, we are still aiming at a moving target.  Nobody knows exactly what the plans will look like.  

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Traditional and Non-traditional Use of Long-term Care Insurance

In my last post I explained the basic differences between long-term care (LTC) insurance and disability insurance.  For most people, LTC is associated with elderly people in nursing home care. We tend to think of adult children helping their elderly disabled parents find appropriate care. These are typical scenarios since many elderly people need a high level of care that is difficult for family members to provide. *[In case you are wondering if these policies really pay claims,

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The Difference Between Disability Insurance and Long-term Care Insurance

I find that many people do not understand the key differences between disability insurance and long-term care (LTC) insurance.  The most common misconception is that long-term care insurance is strictly for seniors and disability insurance is for everyone else. While there is some truth to that generalization, there are plenty of exceptions — where one product is a better solution than the other irrespective of age.  Approximately 40% of those receiving long-term care are between the ages of 18-65 —

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By Far The Most Popular Medigap Plan In Georgia

The most popular Medicare Supplement (Medigap) plan in Georgia — and nationally — is Plan F. So, why is it the preferred choice of so many?  Well, it is the most comprehensive plan offered by Medigap carriers.  There are several standardized plan options, ranging from plan A to N, and insurance carriers will only offer some of the plans available.  However, almost all carriers offer Plan F.  Basically, Plan F pays whenever Medicare Parts A and B have gaps in coverage.

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People Overlook This Important Factor When Selecting A Medicare Supplement Plan

Making the Right Decision about Medicare Plans

I recently spoke with my friend’s dad who is 72 years-old and recently purchased a Medicare Supplement (Medigap) plan and Part D (prescription drug) plan. We’ll call my friend’s dad “Roger”. So, Roger had been on a retiree group medical plan for several years and was told last year that he had to purchase a Medicare plan through his company’s preferred agency.

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A Story About Life Insurance Saving Lives

term policy

I read a powerful article that someone recently wrote.  You can read it HERE.  This is a story of a young family whose lives were affected by cancer.  This article was written by a widow and she describes how they tried to get her husband life insurance coverage after he was diagnosed with cancer.  They tried multiple times and were finally able to get coverage nine years after the cancer diagnosis.  Then, not long after he got life insurance coverage,

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My Client Saved $7950 On His Life Insurance Policy!

When my clients save a lot of money, I am happy!

Recently, a client, who is in excellent health, applied for a 15-year term life insurance policy.  He had some past medical issues that were a potential obstacle, so I checked with several carriers to find out which ones would offer him the best underwriting classification.  We decided on a very strong A+ rated carrier that offered him their best rate contingent upon a review of his medical records,

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