Today, we had a company that had two single employees (26 and 29 years old) on their health insurance spending $13,000 per year.  Business is a little slow and they needed to cut some expenses.  In addition they are both very healthy,never use the plan but know they need to have it.

We immediately told them that they needed to look at a high deductible plan.  The best way to explain a deductible plan is to list what is covered without any deductible being applied:

    1. prescriptions (co-payment)
    2. emergency room (co-payment although some companies do apply a deductible)
    3. Annual well care physicals (no co-payment–free)
    4. routine office visits to your PCP and Specialist (co-payment)
    5. Annual mammogram OBGYN

Everything else applies to the deductible including the following:

  1. Hospitalization
  2. Day Surgeries
  3. MRI-CAT-PET scans
  4. x-rays
  5. Services outside a normal visit to your PCP or Specialist like blood work and diagnostic testing

You exposure is limited to your deductible for the 12 months of your plan; for example, you start a plan in September, 2014, with a $2,000 deductible.

  • December, 2014, you have a MRI that costs $1,200, you pay the entire cost.
  • March, 2015, you have a hospitalization that costs $20,000, you pay $800 and max out your deductible.
  • You will not have any deductible for the rest of the plan year which end August 31, 2015.

Our client was not sure about a $2,000 deductible and wanted to look at the $1,000 and $500 deductible as well.   Here are the monthly rates for these two single plans for all 3 options:

  • $500     $1,099.12/month     $13,189.44/year
  • $1000    $973.04/month      $11,676.48/year
  • $2000    $853.76/month      $10.245.12/year

We recommended that they should go with the $2,000 deductible and save $2,944.32 in premiums.   The added exposure by going from $500 to $2,000 for two singles was $3,000.  In a worst case scenario they break-even.

In addition, we recommended that they add the Healthy Actions Rider that would increase their annual premium by approximately $60 annually.   Each employee could eligible to earn $300 individually, if they met the certain “Healthy” standards set by Blue Cross.  If both employees completed Healthy Actions, their company participation would be 100% and they would get a 5% return of the annual premium at the end of they year.

If all goes as plans

  • annual premium for two singe $2,000 deductible plans =$10,300
  • both of them received 300 each= -600
  • 5% return of annual premium =  -500
  • net total cost will be a little over $9,000 for the year
  • projected savings of 30% or $4,000

Each company is different.  If you would like a free review of your health insurance plan, send us an e-mail today.  We represent all the major health insurance companies.

Lastly we go direct to the carriers so there are no annual membership fees.  Nothing to lose and everything to gain.