Open enrollment season is here for both the National Health Insurance Marketplace as well as for employers.
A recent UnitedHealthcare survey indicates that only 7% of respondents understood the four basic healthcare terms: plan premium, deductible, co-insurance and out-of-pocket maximum.
Matt Milam, Executive Director for UnitedHealthcare of Nebraska, says it’s important for people to review health plan options and look for ways to save money.
"Looking at programs that potentially meet the needs of what you anticipate your healthcare situation is going to be. For example, within my own family, we look for programs that actually reward us with some form of an incentive for activity. Now, at UnitedHealthcare, there are premium incentives or reductions if we participate in a health risk assessment and a biometric screening.”
Milam says doing those things allows his family to have a price reduction.
He says if your employer offers a Health Savings Account, you would be smart to take advantage of it. Milam says this personal bank account is specifically for health-related expenses and offers tax advantages as well.
Premiums are dollar amounts that come out of your paycheck to pay for cost of health plan benefit coverage. The deductible is my cost share before other benefits kick in.
For more information, the website is UHC.com/healthcareABCs.