How to Choose A Group Health Insurance Plan for the Lowest Cost and Greatest Coverage
The first chart at the left shows you the monthly rates for groups of three or more employees. The chart beneath it shows you the rates for groups of one or two employees.
If we focus on the Gold and Silver plans, you will notice that the difference in price for an individual is about $110 a month and $550 for a family (the savings are equally dramatic for groups of One or Two) .
If you use the Plans & Pricing button at the top of this page and look at the plan differences, the most obvious one is the deductible. Keep in mind that the deductible has nothing to do with office visits. With either plan you can still go to a primary physician for $30.
For most of you, the deductible will never come into play. But, if you were admitted to the hospital with the Gold Plan, you would be responsible for a $500 admission co-pay. This is paid each time you are admitted.
With the Silver Plan, you have a $1,000 deductible and up to $2,000 in co-insurance for a total out of pocket of $3,000 for a hospital admission. A difference of $2,500.
Before you draw any conclusions I want you to remember that on an individual basis, you will pay $1,320 a year more in premium for the Gold Plan. Even if you are as healthy as a horse, you still fork over this money each and every year in additional premium.
Now let's really compare the cost difference. If you factor in the $1,320 extra for premiums, your out of pocket difference on a hospitalization is only $1,180 ($2,500 difference in out of pocket expense minus the $1,320 extra in premium you paid to have a Gold Plan). So, you now have a choice:
1. You can take the Silver Plan knowing that after two years on the plan you would have saved the difference by having lower premiums. Or
2. You can buy a hospital supplement plan that will pay you $1,050 on a hospital admission. The cost will vary by age, but for an individual it will be under $25 a month and under $50 for an entire family. By the way the premium savings for a family is $6,600 a year between the Gold and Silver Plans.
Bottom Line
You can just take the higher deductible Silver or HSA Plan and save the premium. Or, for a very small monthly payment, you can use a hospital indemnity plan to make up the difference and still be way ahead.
Call us for detail on these supplemental plans and exact pricing.
Our plans are currently available in 16 states (AZ, CA, CO, CT, FL, GA, MD, MS, NE, NV, NJ, NY, PA, TX, VA and WV). But, if you are not in one of our covered states and like our rates, let us know. We will be expanding to more states very soon.
Call us at 800-272-0512 Mon - Thurs 9 am to 8 pm EST and until 6 pm on Friday or click here to send us an email