Posted on Thursday, October 8, 2015

Should You Sign Up For Your Company’s Wellness Program?

Could healthy habits save you money?

If you work for a large-scale corporation there’s probably a good chance you’ve encountered a company wellness program. If not, it’s likely that you’ll encounter one in the near future. Corporate wellness incentive programs are increasingly popular among companies that offer health insurance coverage, in part, due to the roll-out of the Affordable Care Act.

The idea behind wellness programs is to promote healthy habits. Theoretically, healthier employees—those who don’t smoke, exercise regularly, etc.—are less expensive to insure. Should you opt-in to your company’s wellness program? Here are some things to consider:

Pros: Requirements like quitting tobacco products or exercising regularly could pay off for your overall wellness and longevity in addition to monetary incentives from your employer.

Cons: Opponents of wellness programs argue that the policies are often far too invasive and coercive, asking staff members questions about family planning and alcohol use. Those who opt-in may also be required to submit to extensive medical tests. Even more concerning, economists have found that wellness programs rarely reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke within a company’s population.

Still, the American Heart Association recently revealed its own set of standards based on scientific evidence that should guide more corporate wellness programs towards reducing health risks among employees. While it’s ultimately up to the individual to opt into a wellness program, the real question is why not try to improve your personal health?

Are you deciding whether to use your company’s health insurance, Obamacare, or some other plan? Enrollment for most plans is in November. Join my free webinar “4 Insider Tips for Choosing the Right Health Plan” to learn which plan is right for you. REGISTER NOW

Posted on Monday, July 13, 2015

Divorced? How your kids get health insurance

How do your kids get health insurance after your divorce?

This is a question that every parent asks when going through a divorce. The answer is it depends. There is no one-size-fits-all answer.

As many of you know, I got divorced when my daughters were 18 months and 3 1/2-years-old. Of course, it was a very frustrating time with many things to worry about. Where will we live? How will I pay the bills? But one of the things I didn’t think about was how my children would continue to have health insurance.

In my case, I was lucky. I worked at a hospital and my employer provided me with health coverage for my children so my girls could continue on my current health plan.

However, if your children are currently covered by their father’s health plan, how will they continue to get their insurance coverage? In most states, the answer will be in your divorce decree. The Judgement of Divorce states who must provide the health insurance for the children and who will pay for any health costs. This includes any deductibles or co-pays. Also, the Divorce Judgement will state how much each spouse will have to pay for any healthcare services that aren’t covered by insurance.

It might be a good idea to request that your spouse pay a certain amount of healthcare costs every month so you do not have to keep fighting over repayment. This is especially true since most doctors will require that any healthcare costs not covered by your insurance plan be paid at the time of the service. It is rare for doctors to agree to bill for those services later.

It is always best to try and come to a reasonable agreement about who will be responsible for the health coverage in advance. It is also important to specify what will happen if the spouse who is currently covering the children’s health insurance loses their job or their health coverage.

Have you had any problems getting your children health coverage after a divorce? How did you resolve it? We’d love to hear from you!

Check out how more information on insurance in our new book, Easy Healthcare: Choose Your Health Insurance.

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Posted on Monday, June 22, 2015

How to Find Medical Bill Errors

Many people get medical bills from a hospital stay and don’t know what to look for to determine if the bill is correct. Here is some of the things you should look for:

No “Balance Billing”: You should make sure that if you went to a doctor who is in your “network,” you should not receive a charge for the visit (other than a possible co-pay). When the doctor charges you the difference between their normal charge and what the insurance company will pay for the service, this is called “balance billing.” You should not get a bill from the doctor if you went to doctor who was “in network.”
Check Quantity: If you were in the hospital, you will want to check the quantity of items and services you are being billed for. For example, look at medications and the amount of days you were in the hospital. Hospital billing departments often make mistakes.
Duplicate Charges: Make sure you were not billed twice for a procedure or a lab test.
Upcoding: Many healthcare services have levels of care. For example, you can go to the ER for something simple – which should be billed at the lowest level of care or for something very complex – which will be billed at the highest level of care. You should look at the bill to see what was charged.

Looking closely at your bill can save you money.

Tell us whether you have had any problems with your medical bills? We’d love to hear from you!

MyHealthSpin helps you Spin Your Healthcare Your Way!

Check out how more information on insurance in our new book, Easy Healthcare: Choose Your Health Insurance.