Health Insurance

Every health insurance plan includes a number of variables, so just looking at the monthly payment, or premium, doesn’t tell the whole story.

When browsing through the different Medicare plans available in North Carolina or Michigan, it can be difficult and overwhelming to find the one that meets your needs and budget. With so many health insurance solutions available, how are you suppose to know if you’re eligible for a particular plan or if a particular Medicare health insurance solution will meet your needs? Don’t worry though, we can help you navigate the waters at Advantage Insurance Advisors.

Open Enrollment runs from Nov. 1st – December 15th. This the absolute best time to shop your coverage and evaluate what s the best option for you for the upcoming year. 

You won’t be able to sign up for coverage if you miss open enrollment unless you qualify for a special enrollment period.

Here is what might trigger a special enrollment period:

• Divorce
• Marriage
• Birth or adoption of a child
• Death of a spouse or partner that leaves you without coverage
• Your spouse or partner, who has you covered, loses his/her job and health insurance
• You lose your job and with it your health insurance
• Your hours are cut making you ineligible for your employer’s health insurance plan
• You are in an HMO and move outside its coverage area

You have a choice of four levels of individual/family health insurance plans Plans in the health insurance marketplace are divided primarily into four categories:

• Bronze – highest out-of-pocket expenses for services (lower premiums)
• Silver
• Gold
• Platinum – least out-of-pocket expenses for services (higher premiums)

The average premiums for individual coverage by metal level health insurance, according to eHealth, were:

• Bronze — $440
• Silver — $481
• Gold — $596
• Platinum — $706

For family health coverage, the average monthly premiums were:

• Bronze — $1,080
• Silver — $1,179
• Gold — $1.426
• Platinum — $1,460

The most popular plan in the individual market is Bronze. Forty-one percent of people with plans have a Bronze plan. Silver is second with 35%. Thirteen percent picked Gold plans and only 2% chose a Premium plan

Which plan is right for you depends on how much you’ll need healthcare in 2020. If you go to doctors frequently to help manage a chronic condition, you likely want a plan with lower copays and deductibles. If you’re pretty healthy, you may be better off signing up for a plan with lower premiums but higher costs when you use your insurance.

Short-term plans were once limited to young people or those who couldn’t afford any other coverage. However, the short-term plans are now available to all. 

Short-term plans have low premiums, so you pay little upfront. Just keep in mind most short term plans do not cover pre-existing health conditions.  

That means they’re not required to cover pregnancy and newborn care, prescription drugs. You may find a short-term plan that covers some or all of those benefits. Those plans will likely cost more than a regular bare-bones short-term plan. 

Short Term Care-Short term care isn’t short term any longer.
You can now keep a short-term plan for a year and renew them twice. In effect, that means short-term plans can now last three years. These extensions from previous regulations gives short-term plans a more even playing with regular health insurance.