Missing Health Insurance Open Enrollment
12:42 AM
So you missed your company's health insurance open enrollmentwhat next? Unfortunately, there is not much you can do, especially when you want to implement some changes to your health insurance. If you miss it, then you lose your chance this year. You will have to wait for next year's health insurance open enrollment. You will end up being enrolled in the previous year's health plan.
The downside is that your medical needs might have changed already. Only life-changing events will allow you to change your health plan, such as birth, adoption, marriage, divorce, a dependent child going over the age of eligibility, or a change in employment/employment status for you, your spouse and/or your dependents. Otherwise, you are stuck with a similar plan like last year's that may or may no longer meet your needs.
You can prevent this from happening by paying attention to your company's health insurance open enrollment period. It is that time of the year, usually around fall, when eligible employees can change their health plans. Remember, when you require changes to your health plan at this time, you do not need to provide evidence of insurability. Even pre-existing medical conditions will not be a cause to deny you enrollment because you cannot be denied enrollment during health insurance open enrollment. Note your company's health insurance open enrollment period in your work calendar. If you do not know, ask your company's benefits coordinator. Evaluate the health insurance plans available to you and weigh one against the others. Monitor your current coverage. If possible, examine your current coverage and compare it against the previous years' coverage. That way, you get a clearer picture of your health plan needs that will help you get coverage that fully meets your needs.
Keep in mind that staying with your current health insurance provider is not necessarily the cost-effective way to do things. You will still see higher premiums, higher deductibles, higher co-pays and higher co-insurance. The level of flexibility among preferred provider organizations (PPOs), health maintenance organizations (HMOs), point of service plans (POS), and fee-for-service plans (FFS) is one of the factors that determine the pricing strategy for each type. You never know, but you might actually end up saving more money once you take stock of your health insurance needs, instead of leaving it well enough alone.
Remember, the best health plan is not automatically the cheapest plan. Do not hesitate to increase or decrease your coverage during health insurance open enrollment; enroll in a different health plan; or even opt out of health insurance coverage entirely.
The downside is that your medical needs might have changed already. Only life-changing events will allow you to change your health plan, such as birth, adoption, marriage, divorce, a dependent child going over the age of eligibility, or a change in employment/employment status for you, your spouse and/or your dependents. Otherwise, you are stuck with a similar plan like last year's that may or may no longer meet your needs.
You can prevent this from happening by paying attention to your company's health insurance open enrollment period. It is that time of the year, usually around fall, when eligible employees can change their health plans. Remember, when you require changes to your health plan at this time, you do not need to provide evidence of insurability. Even pre-existing medical conditions will not be a cause to deny you enrollment because you cannot be denied enrollment during health insurance open enrollment. Note your company's health insurance open enrollment period in your work calendar. If you do not know, ask your company's benefits coordinator. Evaluate the health insurance plans available to you and weigh one against the others. Monitor your current coverage. If possible, examine your current coverage and compare it against the previous years' coverage. That way, you get a clearer picture of your health plan needs that will help you get coverage that fully meets your needs.
Keep in mind that staying with your current health insurance provider is not necessarily the cost-effective way to do things. You will still see higher premiums, higher deductibles, higher co-pays and higher co-insurance. The level of flexibility among preferred provider organizations (PPOs), health maintenance organizations (HMOs), point of service plans (POS), and fee-for-service plans (FFS) is one of the factors that determine the pricing strategy for each type. You never know, but you might actually end up saving more money once you take stock of your health insurance needs, instead of leaving it well enough alone.
Remember, the best health plan is not automatically the cheapest plan. Do not hesitate to increase or decrease your coverage during health insurance open enrollment; enroll in a different health plan; or even opt out of health insurance coverage entirely.
About the Author:
Enrollment insurance is one option everyone should consider when looking at insurance. Open enrollment for insurance can help to avoid a lot of insurance struggles with in families or businesses. It is worth looking into.
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