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Thursday, July 2, 2009

Do Your Homework During Health Insurance Open Enrollment

By Bart Icles

Amidst the recession that is being felt all over the world today, prices have soared, making insurance a very good thing to have for anybody. It is a good thing that for those who are employed, health insurance is one of the benefits that they are enjoying.

A study released by Hewitt Associates predicts that workers in the United States who have health insurances as one of the benefits of their employers are expected to spend about 8.9 percent more on their usual insurance premiums.

Health insurance open enrollment occur yearly for almost all companies, and it is the only time wherein employees can make changes to their health plans if there are changes that need to be done right away to be able to avail of more benefits for the incoming year. The costs for it, however, have surged because of the rate of inflation, and not a lot of people, especially those who are unemployed, can afford to have themselves insured. It is estimated that almost US$2,000 will be paid or contributed in premiums per individual for health insurance alone.

Luckily for those who are employed, their health insurance is shouldered by their employers. All they need to do in order to be able to get their full benefit is to update their status if needed and to always check what types of health plans are available to be able to get maximum coverage during health insurance open enrollment. However, according to the study conducted by Hewitt Associates, more than 60 percent of employees stay with the plans that they had the previous year and do not really evaluate their options first. They could have gotten better plans and enrolled more dependents, but since a lot of them are not educated thoroughly about what they can get, they are not able to take full advantage of the benefit.

Because of the escalating prices of new technology and newly-invented drugs, along with additional health services, the cost of health insurance increases yearly and are manifested during health insurance open enrollment time. This is one thing that employees need to consider and to be aware of so as to be able to get maximum coverage. Another thing to consider is to check what they were able to take advantage of the past year and what they think are lacking in their coverage and try to get a plan that will be more applicable to them.

To be able to get full advantage during health insurance open enrollment time, you should do your homework. Doing so can make you avail of the best plan for you and your family.

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