Affordable Healthcare Insurance 

As a financial advisor and consultant, I strive to make sure you get a a good return on your money. Health insurance is one of the biggest, and maybe the biggest, cost we have in our monthly budget. It’s incredible to me that many people are paying more for their health insurance than their house payment. That’s nuts!

Many people get their health insurance from Obamacare (the so called Affordable Care Act), or from group insurance at work.

Obamacare is affordable if you are low income. In that case your premiums can be quite low and you may not even have a deductible. But if you are making over $50,000 a year or more, the cost and deductibles start to increase dramatically.

Let me give you an example of Obamacare pricing. Here are the parameters using my zip code in Alabama: 45 year old husband, 42 year old wife, two children 15 and 14, making $75,000 a year. The website says the family may qualify for a subsidy of $696 a year. There are six plans available ranging in price from $204.79 to $838.75 monthly. The premium depends on the deductible and level of care.

So you may think that $204.79, after the $696 subsidy, is great for a family of 4. Well let’s see. The deductible for the family is $12,900 for the year. In other words, the family pays for everything, even to see the doctor, to the tune of $12,900 before any benefits whatsoever kick in. As an advisor who has met with 1,000 plus families and individuals in my career, I don’t know too many that have $12,900 available to them for healthcare expenses. So this family pays $204.79 x 12 months = $2,457.48 in monthly premiums, plus $12,900 in deductible = $15,357.48, before they can receive any payment for medical cost. They pay for all their doctor visits, all medications, any visits to urgent care or the emergency room, anything and everything having to do with their healthcare until they reach the deductible. The deductible per individual is $6,450. How’s that working for you?

Yeah, only $204.79 a month, but not much use to the family on a practical basis. The family must have at least $6,450 in cash available to take care of whatever can happen to just one member of the family. This is truly catastrophic coverage and nothing more. Remember, this plan would cost $900.79 if this family didn’t qualify for the $696 a month in government subsidy. So if this family earned more, they’d pay more for the same plan.

Now this same family could pay $838.75 monthly to get the best plan with a $1,500 family deductible. But can they afford that much a month. NO. That’s a house payment for many. This same plan without a subsidy would cost $1,534.87 a month. That’s $18,418.44 a year! That’s ridiculous! But that’s Obamacare. And it’s not affordable healthcare insurance.

How about the physician network and facilities that accept Obamacare. Remember when they said you could keep your doctor? Not really. You have less choice with Obamacare.

Do I really need to show you what this would cost for families making $100,000 a year or more? That’s two people making just $50,000 each. Or a small business. Obamacare only works for people who make little income. The middle class is screwed. Wealthy people can pay it.

If you have Obamacare or any plan with a high deductible, watch this video to learn how you can save a ton on your out of pocket medical cost.

Any Alternatives to Obamacare?

Many people have coverage through their employers. They may have a few more choices when it comes to monthly premiums and deductibles. And they may have better physician networks. But these plans are still governed by Obamacare, and therefore still expensive. Many employees can’t afford their group plans. Or can maybe just pay for the employed spouse, and not the family.

Most families, individuals, and small business owners believe these are their only choices…Obamacare and group insurance. There’s good news. There are other viable alternatives to Obamacare that can work very nicely.

There are three alternatives to Obamacare: Short Term Medical Plans, the Indemnity Medical Plan, and Medical Cost Sharing Plans. None of them are guaranteed issue. Let’s briefly describe them.

Short Term Medical Plans: These are regular health insurance plans you get for one to three years. In other words, if you buy a three year plan, it expires after three years and you have to re-qualify for the plan. They work just like regular health insurance. You have a deductible and co-pays. After meeting the deductible, the plan kicks in to pay for healthcare. You may also have doctor visits and wellness included that you don’t get with Obamacare. Short Term Medical Plans are not guaranteed plans.

This can work well for people who have a short term need. They know they will have group coverage somewhere in the near future. Or they are 62 years old and have to wait three years to get on medicare. So they may purchase a three year plan, if it’s available in their state. These plans will also be much less expensive than Obamacare.

What’s the draw back? If you have medical issues you’re dealing with when the plan expires, you’re stuck. Your plan goes away and you are now looking at paying everything out of pocket. You then have to make it until open enrollment to get a new plan with Obamacare. And as you have seen, that may not be much help.

Medical Cost Sharing Plans: These plans are Christian based. You must profess you are a follower of Jesus Christ to be accepted into the plan. These plans are not considered health insurance, so they don’t have to comply with Obamacare laws. The members of the group share each other’s medical expenses. So your monthly share payment (like a monthly premium) goes into a bank account, and that money is then used to help pay for the medical needs of a particular member.

There are several such medical cost sharing plans. Medi-share is the largest and oldest with close to 500,000 members. Medi-share works very similar to regular health insurance. These organizations can not guarantee that your medical expenses will be covered, or shared, by members. But they generally work very well. I’ve spoken to people using such plans, and they have been pleased with them. However, there are some people online who claim to have had negative payment experiences with medical cost sharing plans.

The monthly premiums are much better than Obamacare. You must medically qualify for membership. I am contracted with Medi-share if you’re interested.

Is There a Better Alternative?

There is an excellent alternative to Obamacare, expensive group plans, short term medical plans, and medical cost sharing plans. It’s called an Indemnity Medical Plan. I personally like this option the best.

An indemnity medical plan pays out a certain amount of money for your medical treatment. Hospital stays, surgeries, doctor visits, ambulance rides, lab test, etc. Certain amounts of money are paid out for each procedure or treatment. These plans are highly customizable  according to your budget. They are permanent plans. So as long as you pay the premiums, you’ll be renewed through age 65. This provides tremendous peace of mind.

The payouts are generous, and you actually get to choose how generous those payout are. Because it’s an indemnity medical plan, the payouts could actually be higher than the cost of your care. In that case, you receive the difference in a check to you. So if your plan pays $120 for a doctor visit, and your visit only cost $80, you get a check for $40. Or if your plan pays $40,000 for a surgery and that surgery ends up costing $35,000, again you get the difference in a check. When bundled with a catastrophic critical illness plan and a catastrophic accident plan, you end up with a great plan at a 40% to 50% discount over Obamacare.

I’ve saved the best part for last. The deductible only applies to hospitalization. There is no deductible for any outpatient care! You receive first dollar coverage for all your outpatient care. I really love this feature. Think how much money that will save you. Watch this video to learn how it works.

What’s My Next Step?

Here’s the bottom line folks. You absolutely need to have affordable healthcare insurance.  You should have a plan that provides coverage without having to pay thousands and thousands of dollars up front. That plan is now available!

GO HERE to arrange an appointment by phone to speak with me about this.

 

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Victor Cuevas

Skype: victorcue

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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