As a way to begin let’s define what I mean by traditional health insurance˳ The traditional health insurance policy is composed of:
The deductible – This is the amount that you have to pay for a medical event before your health insurance will start to pay˳ In today’s world that deductible is often $3000 or more˳
The coinsurance – After the deductible is met most policies require that the insured pay a percentage of all medical costs up to a maximum˳ Usually the insured pays anywhere from 20% to as much as 50% of every dollar billed˳
The copays – In an attempt to make routine health care accessible many policies include a copay for doctor visits and prescriptions in lieu of having to meet a deductible˳ An example of this is the $10 office visit copay˳
Maximum Out-Of-Pocket Costs – This is the most that an insured can expect to pay regardless of how large the medical bills are˳ As a general rule the maximum out-of-pocket costs for an individual are limited to around $7000˳ This can be a very misleading number because it assumes that all of your providers are in your network˳ If they are out of network your costs can be significantly higher˳
And finally the “Network” – Virtually every traditional individual health insurance policy is tied to a network of providers˳ The narrower the healthcare network, the lower the premium˳ There is too much wrong with “networks” for this article˳ Suffice it to say that “networks” are the enemy of the healthcare consumer (you)˳
The Problem Facing Working Americans
The problem is simple: health insurance premiums are too high for most working Americans in the absence of a subsidy and when combined with extremely high deductible and out of pocket costs, healthcare becomes unaffordable˳ Let’s look at a couple of examples right here in North Carolina˳
A non-smoking couple ages 62 and 63 find that their lowest premium option with BCBS of NC is $1999 a month for a $13,300 family deductible with no copays˳ A plan with a $7000 deductible and $25 office visit copays would cost $2682 per month˳
Assuming the least expensive plan the annual cost would be $23,988 annually˳ And if either person had a medical event such as cancer, the actual cost for healthcare would be $37,288˳ You have to ask: “Why even have health insurance?”
A non-smoking 30 year old couple found that the least expensive plan would cost $787˳84 a month for a $13,300 family deductible with no copays˳ The least expensive plan that included copays was $1056˳88 but had a $7000 deductible and the most restrictive network˳ Assuming the least expensive plan, should either member of this young couple have a medical event their total annual cost (deductible + premium) would be $16,454˳08˳ That is a devastating amount of money for a young couple˳
The simple solution to this problem is a Fixed Benefit Health Insurance˳ Unlike a major medical policy where the policy pays for all eligible expenses after the deductible and out-of-pocket maximum, a Fixed Benefit Health Insurance Policy states exactly how much will be paid for each specified service˳ Examples of specified services might include: daily benefit for in-hospital stay of 24 hours, specific dollar benefits for specified surgeries, a specific benefit for doctor visits and other specified charges˳ A great Fixed Benefit Health Insurance Policy will have very robust benefits, a wide range of specified covered charges, a very comprehensive surgical schedule and more˳ The most important service that Fixed Benefit Health Insurance Policy can include is medical bill negotiation, a service that can significantly reduce out-of-pocket expenses˳
What is really great about this type of policy is that empowers the insured to be a better consumer˳ Knowing how much your policy will pay you for a specified medical service allows you to better shop and negotiate the price˳ But the really great thing about this policy is the affordable premium˳
The couple ages 62 and 63 are an actual client of mine who had been uninsured for 5 years as a result of the high premiums˳ I was able to put them into a robust Fixed Benefit Health Insurance Policy with a $5,000,000 lifetime benefit for $683 a month˳ That is an annual savings of $15,792˳ As I explained to my client the Fixed Benefit Health Insurance Policy will do a great job of covering 70% to 80% of everything that can happen˳ If they actually saved the $15,792 difference in premium they would have incredible access to healthcare with very little out of their own pocket˳
Back in 2014 I was diagnosed with colon cancer and had a partial removal of large intestine (CP44205)˳ Back then I was covered on a traditional major medical policy˳ My total out-of-pocket costs were more than $7000˳ Had I had the Fixed Benefit Plan that I sell today not only would my costs have been zero but I would have received a check from the insurance company for $4619˳ Not every medical event would have resulted in a check and many might have resulted in out-of-pocket costs of several thousand dollars, but in general the savings would have more than offset those costs˳
So, before you choose to go without any health insurance I strongly suggest that you take a hard look at a Fixed Benefit Health Insurance Policy˳
Source by https://ezinearticles˳com/?The-Affordable-Alternative-to-Traditional-Individual-Health-Insurance&id=9998438
