Assess Your Health Insurance Needs

When making a major purchase, such as buying a new car, you assess your needs. Do you need transportation primarily for yourself or will you be carting around school-age children and their friends? Do you live just down the street from your workplace or do you have a long commute? If you belong to the child-toting, long-haul group, then a two-seater sports car with a gas-guzzling engine just doesn’t make practical sense for you.

The same is true for purchasing health insurance. Even if you’re healthy, it would not be a wise financial decision to join a high-deductible catastrophic health plan with no maternity coverage if you plan on having a child within the next year.

While you may find that all the homework and preparation that goes into finding the right health care coverage is an unpleasant task, there is no way of getting around it if you don’t want to sabotage your financial goals. Think about it. The lowest premium doesn’t always signal the cheapest plan and even good coverage at a moderate price can have big loopholes.

What if you regularly take an expensive medication for high-blood pressure and one of the plans you are thinking of choosing doesn’t cover prescription drugs? Can you consistently afford to pay for this medication out-of-your-own pocket? You must assess your needs and use these results to compare your health plan options before you enroll. Otherwise, when you seek treatment, you may be in for a nasty surprise. (See Health Plan Comparison Worksheet.)