When you have a husband and wife who are fully employed and have benefits from each employer, coordinating those coverages is very important. This is especially true when it comes time to have children. It is an important task, but it can also be a little tedious.
Every health insurance plan has so many variables such as:
- Costs
- Coverage options
- Enrollment periods
All these factors need to be coordinated, particularly if you’re also trying to coordinate flexible spending accounts or maybe a health savings account. All of these factors need to be taken into consideration to develop your best plan for health insurance coverage.
Make a Cost Comparison of Plans for Self, Spouse and Family
You will need to do a cost comparison or calculation that takes into account how much your employer is going to charge you if you’re the only one covered or if you add your wife or all your dependents. Some employers have differing costs for enrolling a spouse, children or whole family. You need to compare different deductibles, what each plan covers and which network of doctors you’ll have access to. In this way, you can determine which plan has a better value for you.
If one of you is possibly thinking of no longer working, that’s another thing to take into consideration when you are coordinating coverages. When children are about to be born, your coverage will need another review.
Make a Review of Health Insurance an Annual Event
This coordination of coverages is going to need to be talked about on an annual basis. Every employer has a typical open enrollment and you need to coordinate this discussion with those open enrollment times.
I know that sounds like a lot of complications. It is a little homework. Our agency helps our clients walk through this review, helping them complete these comparisons. We also help them coordinate life insurance coverage or disability or dental coverage. You have many options available to you.
Contact us before you come up to your open enrollment time so we can help you structure your best health insurance. Call us at (314) 544-5400.
