Not to sound morbid but what would your reaction be to hearing someone tell your husband he has 6 months to live? This happened to me, your mind goes through so many things and health care is probably one of the least worries you have at that time but is probably one of the most important. In 2004 my husband was diagnosed with Cancer and given 6 months to live without chemo and radiation and a year with both.
Your life changes with news like this and in the beginning the cost of all the procedures don’t even come into play. Of course you are only worried about the person and the last thing you want to worry about is how much it will cost. You would literally give your right arm to make sure your loved one has everything that they need. But let me tell you that a good health care program is extremely important especially at a time like this.
We now have the Affordable Care Act, and the more you know about it the better prepared you’ll be to make smart decisions about your coverage. First, the ACA has raised the Medicaid limits in some states so more are eligible and is offering subsidies to eligible income levels above medicaid but still in the realm of struggling. Open enrollment is a perfect time to get the proper health care plan bought and set for your family. Find a plan between Nov 15 and Feb 15 to have coverage from the marketplace in 2015. There are certain qualifying events that allow you to use a special enrollment period. The exchanges or the marketplace is a website that allows you to compare plans from a variety of providers much like Travelocity. Go to either the government Healthcare.gov website or your state’s individual marketplace website. Watch this video for more info on the Why Health Care Reform matters.
OK, so now you know a little more about health care and why reform matters…now it is important to know what you are buying. Insurance companies of course want you to be healthy. My husband made me promise that I would go get a physical every year for the rest of my life before he passed. He said if I had done that maybe I could have caught this in time. That is why preventative care and other measures are being covered by insurance more often. Before purchasing a health care plan it’s important to look at deductibles, co-pays, premiums and maximum out-of-pocket as well as the what is covered. Think about your family and what kinds of things you see doctors for, get prescriptions for, or have operations for. Your health insurance costs can be greatly affected by how much coverage, deductibles, and co-pays you take. Once you decide on a health plan it is important to know that health plans are annual and there are only a few ways to switch. Ways such as when a major life event occurrs or its open enrollment time so it is important to get the correct health plan from the beginning. For more info on Shopping for Health Care check out this video.
On February 17th of this year, 2015 my husband will have been gone 10 years. We all miss him deeply but I am very thankful we had the correct insurance coverage through this very hard and stressful time or I could still be trying to pay off the debt. I didn’t have to put out any money for all of his procedures throughout the 14 months he was sick. So I am here to tell you having the correct health plan is very important and something we should all take our time investigating to insure we have the proper coverage for ourselves and our family.
Visit United Health Care for additional information
Do you think you have the proper coverage for you and your family?
