ORANGE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--According to a survey last year by a national health care consulting group, just one in three consumers gave the healthcare system a favorable grade of A or B. And although it marked a 12% increase (to 34%) from the prior year, the low percentage reflects a significant dissatisfaction with healthcare providers and costs. So, how can you avoid wasting money on the wrong coverage? Consider these suggestions.
Don’t Choose Coverage Based Just on Cost
It’s easy to understand why premium is the basis on which many make their health plan choice. But what are you getting? Is a low-cost plan good for treatment of all your health conditions? Or, does a low-cost plan offer dread disease or specialized treatment only? Generally, condition-specific policies are not the best value for your premium dollar.
Don’t forget, too, the premium is not your only cost. You should also consider plan deductible and co-pays. These can add up if you visit the doctor often. If your spouse and children will receive treatment under your plan, don’t forget to consider their needs, too – and their deductible and co-pays.
Don’t Overlook Plan Providers
Are your “preferred” doctors and hospitals participants in your selected plan? If so, great. If not, can you visit your preferred specialist if the need arises – and, if so, at what cost?
Don’t Forget Insurance Company Ratings
An often-overlooked consideration is health plan or insurer ratings – from other consumers (like yourself) and from independent analysts like A.M. Best or J.D. Power.
You can compare your options using a plan comparison site like HealthCompare.com. By providing basic information – like your ZIP Code, age, tobacco use, and student status – you can view details on dozens of plans in your area, including commercial plans and plans offered through Federally Facilitated Exchanges. (A recent comparison for a suburban Denver family resulted in information on 302 plan choices.) And you can sort your unbiased HealthCompare results by deductible, premium, or carrier. That makes it easy for you to find the plan best suited to your needs and budget.
Don’t wait. Act now to research and compare plans, so you’re ready to enroll before the end of the year or early in 2014.
About HealthCompare® and The Word & Brown Companies
HealthCompare® helps individuals, families, and those eligible for Medicare easily research, compare, buy, and enroll in the right health insurance plan at the right price. Through the HealthCompare.com and Joppel.com websites, consumers have easy access to side-by-side plan comparisons for hundreds of individual and family plans and Medicare Advantage (Part C), Medicare Supplement (Medigap), and Prescription Drug Program (Part D) plans from insurers nationwide. HealthCompare is part of The Word & Brown Companies, which provide insurance services through more than 50,000 brokers to hundreds of thousands of consumers and approximately 60,000 employers with nearly 6.5 million eligible employees.
For more information, visit www.wordandbrowncompanies.com.
