30 Jul How to shop for health insurance – Part I
By Grant Dattilo
The “Star-Tribune” writer, Chris Snowbeck, wrote an article titled, “How to shop for health insurance.” Snowbeck asks the question that Dattilo Consulting, Inc. answers for you each day.
Snowbeck’s readers include a broad range of individuals, many of whom purchase individual health plans. DCI does provide individual insurance enrollment services, but our primary mission is to serve employers with their benefits package, but key to it is their medical coverage.
Snowbeck’s article looks at health insurance in the simplest way possible, starting with common categories of concern – i.e., premium, out-of-pocket costs, prescription drugs, and such.
The premium
In this article we discuss “the premium.” Snowbeck notes that it is a key decision-point for folks with individual coverage. At Dattilo Consulting, Inc., we also know it is a critical decision point for employers and employees as well.
“Where can we get the richest, fullest coverage at the lowest possible premium?” That is a question DCI answers at every renewal.
Employers are keenly aware of how much the health plan costs the business, but just as importantly, how much each employee and/or their families will need to pay each month. It is a balancing act in that the premium must be affordable and, at the same time, provide the richest plan possible within the employer’s benefit’s budget.
DCI created tools many years ago to allow us to shop for coverage from multiple insurance companies whenever it is necessary. We continually review the available health plans available to employers to know which companies are improving their offerings, and which seem to be pulling back. Insurance companies are quite sensitive to trends in medical spending, and constantly tweak their plans to stay competitive.
Our services, however, include far more than helping you choose a medical benefit plan. We provide many back-room support services to reduce your stress and improve your employee’s experience and satisfaction.
Regarding premium, DCI starts with your current insurer. If they are doing a great job for you, and their rates stay relatively flat, we together can choose to stay with them for another year. If, however, you are unhappy with the insurance company or their rates increase too much, we can shop your coverage to other companies.
If your employees and you are comfortable with your current plan, although the premiums seem too costly, we will help you explore more affordable options.
Premium reduction strategies
At DCI, we can design optional strategies that allow you to retain the coverage you prefer while possibly reducing the monthly premium cost. These strategies use various tools the federal and state government allows. We stay on top of new plan designs that might be a better fit for your medical benefit budget and yet offer the rich coverage you desire. We are happy to discuss these with you at any time.
What are the other factors that affect premium?
In upcoming articles, we will consider other questions, such as how do providers set their prices and what does that have to do with your premium cost? What about patient’s choices that both reduce or increase premium expenses? How does finding the right providers affect your premium?
Feel free to send us your questions about insurance premiums.
