BENEFITS? - Posted by JT-IN
Posted by JT-IN on December 14, 2004 at 20:11:37:
Jon:
You purchase a high deductible, low cost plan with catastrophic coverage. 5K or 10K deduct, with NO Dental or Vision. The cost of this plan will be minimal, and you are self insuring for the smaller risks, and paying premiums for the catastrophic risks. Providing that all in the family are relatively healthy, you should be money ahead with this approach… Also consider a plan that offers the Medical savings acct as an option, so that that fund can c/f those smaller expenses.
Regardless of which way you go as an individual, or small company, you are saddled with the issue of medical underwriting in order to qualify for a plan. If you would happen to have someone in the family unit that has a health problem, obtaining coverage at all, can be a nightmare… For those situations, it almost forces someone in the unit to be employed/insured with a larger employer… if even part time, to obtain guaranteed issued, non-underwritten coverage at standard or group rates. For this very reason, my wife works 20 hrs per week… for those 20 hrs per week, she is paid 25 per hr in benefits… as the best quote that was able to be obtained for us was 2K per month for maj med coverage. (and neither of us have any serious med issues)
Some of the other suggestions are good, with the use of several different entities paying bens for you, but the core issue is if you are now healthy enough to buy insurance, and if you will be healthey enough next year, to keep you insurance… These are major, major risks to a small group, small business. They are experience rated each year… hence, if you have a bad claims year, your next years premium is rated based upon this years claims history. A catastrophic illness in a small group can price you right out of your coverage in a year or two… Few folks truly understand these risks…
Wish you luck on finding the program that works best for you… Hate to lay the heavy news out there, but this is part of assessing your risk and asset protection, so best to understand the true risks posed before you as a small business person…
JT-IN