Going without health insurance can be a costly gamble with your finances and health. Here are five big, but common mistakes people make about health insurance. See how a better understanding will help you protect your most valuable asset, your health, and save money too.
When you get health care without insurance, you will be charged retail prices by the providers of health care. People in the U.S. tend to forget that health care is private business and providers set their own retail charges. However, if you buy health insurance, you benefit from the steep discounts off retail that health insurance carriers negotiate with providers of health care.
Even worse, if you are not insured and you have an emergency, your medical bill will be far higher than if you are insured. A recent national study examining hospital Emergency Room charges (JAMA Internal Medicine, May 2017) showed that hospitals typically charge uninsured patients four times what they’re willing to accept from Medicare and double what they charge for the same services performed in other parts of the hospital. Uninsured patients can get stuck with enormous medical bills under collection they are personally responsible for paying that can also mean financial risk to a small businessowner.
Emergency room care is extremely expensive and if you are in a serious car or motorcycle accident or injured while hiking, running or snowboarding, you are going to want immediate medical attention. Medical bills are the leading cause of personal bankruptcy in the U.S. Don’t let an unexpected injury from your favorite activities cost you your financial security because of large, uncovered hospital and medical bills.
With health insurance, you get the carrier’s re-priced discounts on the care you receive. Providers agree in advance contractually to accept lower carrier-negotiated prices, rather than their retail charges for uninsured patients. The difference, especially among hospitals, is large.
So, even if you buy a plan with a higher deductible – meaning you choose to self-insure your health care expenses up to the dollar amount of the deductible you select and in return you get a lower monthly health insurance premium – you still get the benefit of re-priced discounts on both your co-payments and the charges allowed and paid by the carrier.
It’s smart financial management to get an affordable health insurance plan that protects you and your business from the major personal health and financial risks of going without coverage.
For a moment, think about your car insurance. Unlike health insurance, car insurance is mandated coverage. For most people, it has become routine to annually or semi-annually check on car insurance rates. The car insurance company will not send you a refund at the end of the year for coverage you don’t use.
Health insurance should be viewed the same way with an annual check-up. Why spend more than you need to for coverage that does not fit? If you want your auto insurance to pay for every little ding and scratch, get the lowest deductible and pay a higher premium. Or you can “self-insure” the routine stuff and lower your premium by raising your deductible.
Likewise, health insurance design features–such as low deductibles and low copays for prescriptions and doctor office visits–hide from you the true cost of these health care services and allow the insurance company to charge a higher premium. By considering your routine medical needs and a matching deductible, you can make your health insurance plan more affordable and a better fit for you. In effect, you take your “refund” in advance by paying a lower monthly premium and at the same time protect your health and finances from major health risks of emergencies, serious illnesses and hospitalizations.
A tax credit, or subsidy, is available to low-income households to help pay for individual/family qualified comprehensive major medical insurance plans. Check to see if you qualify for a tax credit by using the Dealer Benefit Program’s private health exchange. Many employee households qualify for a subsidy on a sliding scale.
Congress set the income threshold at a level that most business owners can’t get an individual premium tax credit. But Dealer businesses can take advantage of tax credits available with Group and Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Account (ICHRA) plans for their health coverage. Get a quote and discuss it with your tax advisor.
Not true. You are not required to use the public exchanges created under the federal health reform law. You still have the private option. For over two decades, the Benefits Program for Authorized U-Haul Dealers has provided a national private health insurance exchange for U-Haul Dealers and business employees. It is your choice. Just go to the Health Benefits//Insurance tab and see how easy it is to shop and compare the top-rated, qualified major medical plans and enroll right online. We even help you determine if your household qualifies for an individual health plan premium subsidy (IRS tax credit) for low-income families. During the federal enrollment periods, we provide easy access to individual/family qualified comprehensive major medical plans meeting all the minimum essential benefit requirements of the federal government and your state.
Outside the federal enrollment periods, so you do not have to go uninsured, we provide U-Haul Dealers with industry-best Basic and Supplemental Health plans and Short-Term Medical plans that cover you temporarily (availability and duration varies by state, up to 12 months).
Most Dealers want to provide traditional group health insurance to their employees their own family.
If you were previously covered as an employee or dependent under the medical insurance of a large employer, you know how nice it is to have someone else paying the premiums. But when you set up your own business and you’re no longer eligible for a large employer’s plan, or you’ve gotten a COBRA notice, you know the true cost. That’s when the Dealer Benefits Program can really help with health plans designed for small businesses, like a traditional group plan or the new individual coverage health reimbursement account (ICHRA) plan.
We offer high-value, comprehensive health plans for small businesses in most states. You need at least 3 W-2 employees covered to qualify as a group under most state insurance eligibility regulations. Group plans are especially attractive in states having few carriers offering individual health coverage or having few competing state-approved plan choices. Individual coverage health reimbursement account (ICHRA) plans are more flexible and available down to one person.
Important: These health plans cover pre-existing conditions. Also, they come with significant tax advantages to the business which help offset the cost of providing comprehensive health coverage. We find most Dealers make too much money to qualify for the federal premium tax subsidy for low-income households on individual health plans.
With the cost of health insurance going up, the business health plans available through the Dealer Benefits Program warrant a fresh look.
Get a quote on our private exchange and then review it with your accountant or tax advisor.
Do not get tripped up by simply assuming your doctor will take your health insurance. In most cases, they will. But physicians (like hospitals, pharmacies and labs) join networks of providers organized by health insurance companies.
Some networks, like PPOs (preferred provider organizations) offer a broad choice of providers both in- and outside the network. Other networks, like EPOs (exclusive provider organizations) and HMOs (health maintenance organizations) only provide care within their network, except for emergencies. Networks require providers to charge the network-negotiated rates, which are typically much lower than their retail rates for people who do not have health insurance or who get care outside the network that can result in “surprise” health care bills.
Networks are also important because they require providers to adhere to industry quality practices and medical standards to help safeguard consumers. But doctors may drop out of a network without notice and no longer take a specific health insurers plan, so it is wise to check the network directory when enrolling and ask your doctor’s office if it takes your health plan.