insurance Archives - Page 5 of 9

Employer Health VS Individual Plans: Which Should You Use

When you start a new job, you might be offered group health insurance. Employer health insurance is usually cheaper than an individual plan, which is why an attractive benefits plan is such a big deal.

However, the plans they offer could potentially cover less than what you need. In some circumstances, you can (and should) buy health insurance on your own. When making this choice, you have a lot to keep in mind, like what are their differences, and which one is better for you?

Individual Health Insurance Plan

When you look into individual or family health plans, you have the option to compare companies and their plans, then choose which one best fulfills your needs. With private insurance, you have more control over your options. These plans can be bought through the Marketplace, or directly from the insurance company via online, an agent, or broker.

The biggest advantage of an individual plan is its flexibility. This flexibility extends to your career too. You won’t have any formal insurance ties with your employer. That way if you leave or change jobs, you won’t have to worry about losing coverage.

The flexibility also goes with medical networks. You can choose a plan that includes your current doctors and hospitals. After you review your network, make sure you know when to renew or change your plan during the annual Open Enrollment period.

group of papers and folders for employer health — *Healthcare can take a lot of research to find the right plans. Lucky for you, EZ.Insure can do most of that for you!*

Employer Health Plan (Group Plan)

The biggest pro for employer health is how much they take off your hands. A company will do its own research, comparing the best plans in their area for employees. After purchasing a plan, the employer shares the premium cost with you. What this means is that they can get a better deal for group insurance and then help you pay for it.

As mentioned, this coverage will only be available to you when you stay with the company, so the moment you leave or are let go, the coverage ends. Also note that if their plan doesn’t include your usual doctor, you will have to choose between changing networks, or keeping your individual plan.

Other advantages of a group plan are as follows:

The company has done the research and picked the plan options already. Group health plans are guaranteed-issue, which means there is no medical underwriting.
Contributions toward your premium from your employer are not subject to federal taxes, and your contributions can be made pre-tax. This will lower your taxable income.

What It Comes Down To

Deciding whether to seek out your own individual family plan or go with an employer’s can be confusing. Your employer may not offer plan options that suit your needs. There are differences within the price, benefit options, and flexibility, not to mention the overall increase in insurance rates.

Over the years, employer insurance has seen premiums increase by about 3% for individuals and 5% for family plans, while individual health plans have increased by about 4%.

document with glasses for employer health — *Still confused about a policy type? After you gather your info, give us a call and let us help you find the best coverage.*

The average annual premium for an employer-sponsored plan is $1,242 for an individual. Compare that to the individual market, which has an average individual premium of more than $5,000 annually. This can be great (and saves you money), but there is a possibility you can find a plan for cheaper on your own.

Individual plans would be the way to go if you want to shop for the plan that exactly matches your needs. That way, you are in control of the costs and the coverage that you get. You will not have to worry about losing your plan if you lose your job or change jobs.

Group plans would be the way to go if you want to save money and are happy with the plan they offer. Their plans are also guarantee-issue, which is great if you have a pre-existing condition. If you seek an individual plan with a pre-existing condition, you can be denied, or it will be expensive. Some employers do offer incentives that lower premiums, such as quitting smoking or getting a gym membership.

All in all, the choice needs to be yours. What it comes down to in the end is what your needs are and the costs. While your boss could offer a plan that you think is too expensive, your individual plan may be even more costly.

Don’t stress out and overthink if you should opt for your employer’s plan or buy your own. If you want to seek what health insurance options are out there, EZ.Insure has your back. We will provide you with a trained agent within your region who can compare all available plans and their costs. This should make the process easier when it comes down to making a decision to go with your employers plan or not. For free quotes, enter your zip code in the bar above, or contact an advisor by calling 888-350-1890, or emailing [email protected]. Life is stressful enough, let us take some of the load off of you.

Why Work With An Insurance Agent?

The time has come to research insurance plans, whether Medicare, health, group, or commercial insurance. There is a ton of information on each type, and so many different options within. It can be very time consuming trying to compare plans, and determine which is the best for your specific needs.

But with such a time drain, why would people rather search for plans themselves than work with a professional agent?

The average answer is that the insurance-seeker is worried that a professional will view them as a wallet, only attempting to get as much money from them as possible. With overpriced plans and unnecessary options, it’s not hard to see where this view developed. However, searching on your own can lead to misinformation, and can cost you more money.

money in a pile saved by working with an insurance agent — *Who doesn’t want to save a little more green? With expert advice from an agent, you can!*

Save More Money

When you take matters into your own hands, you could find wrong information on these insurance plans, overlook different options, or even miss some altogether.

After purchasing the “perfect plan,” matching every need, your mailbox is suddenly swamped with unexpected bills, and you are left wondering why. The average person just isn’t trained to see the fine print in coverage options. Working with our agent eliminates the need to learn the complicated language of insurance coverage.

EZ.Insure’s experienced agents offer their expert advice on your best option, meaning the policy that will save you the most money while still covering your needs. Our agents acquire their licenses after many hours of training so they can sell insurance plans. In addition, they have up to date knowledge, sourced annually, that is not easily accessible to the public.

Easy Fast Quotes

Finding a plan on your own can not only be overwhelming, but it also drains your bank account We know everyone has specific needs, and our agents gather all the information to find a policy that suits you, freeing up your time. Besides this, using an agent allows you to negotiate prices as opposed to finding quotes online. Doing it alone doesn’t guarantee your price.

Don’t waste hours, days, and maybe even months searching. Our agent has access to industry tools and expert knowledge to quickly find, sift, and present your perfect insurance plan.

Your Best Interest

Agents have nothing but your best interests in mind. EZ.Insure doesn’t work with just any agent; ours are hand-selected. Our service is focused on supporting you on your journey, not to take advantage of your confusion with health insurance.

Our company does not make a profit on your choices, either through insurance companies or otherwise. We know how it is, so we want to help.

Better Explanation Of Coverages

As stated, nothing is worse than a surprise bill on a procedure you thought was covered. When searching, it’s easy to overlook words or even whole sentences in a plan. But as we know, every word is important in your policy explanations. An agent is a second set of eyes, ones that know what to look for. If you read explanations incorrectly, you want someone there to guide you and answer any questions you have. Insurance plans shouldn’t be a minefield of misinformation.

insurance agent giving a happy customer a thumbs up — *We assign you this agent, so you don’t even have to look for one yourself!*

EZ.Insure gives you instant telephone access to local expert healthcare representatives who can answer your questions, explain coverage and benefit options, help you compare different plans, and assist you in applying for coverage.

We offer more guidance than any other agency with our well-equipped agents. You never have to worry about being bounced around from agent to agent, or receiving subpar information. Be informed of the top plans for your circumstances with the best price. To get started, enter your zip code in the bar above, or to speak directly with an agent, email [email protected], or call 888-350-1890.

Trump’s New Plan To Strengthen Medicare

With all of the recent talk and debates about “Medicare For All”, President Trump has decided to take action. In October, Trump signed an executive order while visiting Florida, pertaining to the Medicare health program. His goal is to improve Medicare by giving seniors the ability to choose from more affordable plans.

Protecting and Improving Medicare for our Nation’s Seniors

Because Democrats are pushing to expand Medicare to everyone, Trump proposed this plan in response. He stated that he will do whatever it takes to prevent the “socialist” proposal of Medicare For All. Trump’s order is aimed to reduce regulations, curb fraud, and provide quicker access to therapies and medical devices.

trump and new medicare plan book on shelf — *Every president we have tries to improve our healthcare system. Let’s see how these changes work in the long run.*

The order wants Medicare to offer and use more medical telehealth services, in order to reduce costs to seniors. The more that seniors have access to their doctors through telehealth, then the fewer emergency room visits would occur. And in order to accomplish this, Trump proposes to get rid of regulatory requirements that prevent medical professionals from practicing at the top of their licenses.

This means that the focus will move from doing clerical tasks that don’t require a physician’s level of training to the patient’s care. For example, instead of filling out forms, faxing paperwork, and requesting medical records, the tasks can be alleviated by an assistant, freeing up the medical staff’s time to give more attention to the sick.

Allowing nurse practitioners and medical assistants to practice at the top of their license would “really enhance access to care, enhance provider availability for all Medicare beneficiaries, including in fee-for-service, and really help, especially with the rural healthcare crisis,” HHS Secretary Alex Azar said in the media call.

More Money Back To Seniors

The order directs Medicare to create a new payment model that adjusts Medicare Advantage supplemental benefits. The purpose is to allow seniors to directly be a part of any cost savings that Advantage plans generate. This will include any monetary rebates, and lowered prescription drug prices.

Azar stated, “The executive order commissions us to examine all practices, regulations, and guidance to just make sure that we are not steering people into fee-for-service as opposed to giving them a genuine choice of Medicare Advantage or fee-for-service.”

“We’re lowering the cost of prescription drugs, taking on the pharmaceutical companies. And you think that’s easy? It’s not easy… I wouldn’t be surprised if the hoax didn’t come from some of the people that we’re taking on,” Trump said. He was referring to drug companies that were backing the impeachment efforts in Washington. He believes they were doing this as a way to sabotage his efforts of making prescriptions more affordable to medicare recipients.

seniors with medicare holding their grandchildren — *As we age, we need healthcare. So, any insurance system that focuses on helping us as we mature should be improved.*

What Trump Is Pushing For

The order is undoubtedly a way to pushback against Bernie Sanders’ Medicare For All proposal, which would open the Medicare gates to everyone in America. Trump sees it as socialism, with the administrator of the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Seema Verma backing it up, calling it a “pipe dream” that would just lead to higher taxes.

Trump hopes that his proposal will be more beneficial to seniors, making Medicare a little more affordable, while at the same time condemning Medicare for All proposals.

Can Small Business Owners Afford Group Health?

Studies answer this question with a tentative “for now.”

Group health is the best option for the majority of Americans, with over 100 million covered. People list insurance coverage as a top priority when choosing an employer. However, the question on most researchers’ minds is how long will this be a reality? With healthcare costs increasing yearly, this coverage type is the only option for most Americans.

The Kaiser Family Foundation’s survey conducted over the past decade found increasingly worrisome data.

For Example

To make things simple, we’ll say in 2019, an average worker makes $1000 in one month. (This is excluding the half of Americans not making the average income, and thus not even qualifying for this breakdown.) Counting for inflation, the $1000 average is an adequate amount for this fictional example.

employees in their store working on how to afford group health — *When you’re working hard to keep your business afloat, it can be difficult to offer insurance to your employees. Thankfully, you have help.*

However, the premiums for a family are 50% more expensive than the average worker’s income. Meaning, in this example, a premium would cost $2000 per month. Factoring in a spouse, and the employer’s contribution, this should keep things down well enough for affordability, right?

Wrong.

Even with employer help, the 50% higher premium would bring the total up to $500 per month. That’s half or more of each monthly paycheck. On top of this, deductibles soar over 150%. So, in essence, if you make the fictional $12,000/year, you’re expected to contribute to $6,000 in premiums that year, and then meet a $2500 deductible on top of before insurance companies will offer you any assistance for medical expenses.

At $500 a month, you’ll be struggling to pay your rent, let alone medical bills. It paints a somber picture if you’re an average American.

What Can We Do?

This is easier for larger corporate employers who can afford to take more of the premium burden for their employees, creating a subset of people who are happy with their insurance. For these people, they have lucked out joining a business that can ease this healthcare burden.

However, for the rest, including small businesses, the struggle is much more apparent. Without the help of a larger group, it is difficult for legislation to help extend coverage. While the focus is on extending coverage, perhaps it would be more helpful to talk about lowering premium costs instead or extending other programs like HRAs. With lower costs for everyone, it would bring a greater impact. Both covered employees would be able to afford higher plans, and non-covered ones could actually purchase coverage.

computers to help afford group health for small business owner — *Start with EZ.Insure! Our agents can help find the best plan to keep everyone covered–and your bottom line met!*

There needs to be a balance, and it looks like the best option for that is to set legislation to lower insurance premiums. For now, Americans’ best choice for health insurance is Group with their employers, making it more important than ever to choose a solid policy.

For the best policy choice, EZ.Insure can help. Our agents are highly trained within your region on all group health insurance plans. When you use EZ.Insure, you will be provided with your own personal agent. Your agent will answer any questions you have, compare the plans available to you, and even sign you up when you are ready, free of charge. To get started simply enter your zip code in the bar above, or you can speak to an agent by emailing [email protected], or calling 888-998-2027. There is no hassle involved, and no obligation to buy, and no headaches. Just easy, fast, and free quotes.

6 Surprising Things About EZ.Insure

When it comes to getting insurance, all companies are the same right? Wrong. When we started EZ.Insure, we were sick and tired of watching people struggle with other companies. You reach out to them, and they treat helping you as a competition, with twenty agents calling you at once.

When you work with us, we make sure you’re dealing with one (and only one) agent handpicked by us based on your location and the products you are looking for. But that is not all we have to offer.

More Money Back In Your Pocket

When searching for a plan, the two main factors to look into are price and coverage. You might have a budget to stick to, or just want the most bang (coverage) for your buck.

person holding a bunch of money that EZ.insure helped them get — *Saving money is what we do best, that’s why we put it first on the list.*

However, there can be so many different plans to look through and compare. For example, let’s say there are 6 different insurance companies within your area, and each company has 4 different plans to choose from. That is 24 plans to have to compare, learning what is covered or not, whether your doctor is in-network, and all the costs (monthly premiums, deductibles, copays, and coinsurance).

Health insurance plans are regulated by the government. There is no negotiating prices or coverage on these plans. There is only one way to save, and that is by using EZ.Insure. We compare ALL the available plans in your area and provide you with all the information instantly. This way you can comb through the options and pick which best suits your budget.

Free Services

You read it right, free services. By answering a few quick questions, you will instantly get a list of insurance plans online to choose from. There’s no waiting, no delay, and more importantly, no fee.

We do not benefit from whichever insurance company you choose. Our main goal is to provide you with plans from financially secure companies that provide the best service to their members.

No Obligation

When using EZ.Insure, you can cancel your plan at any time. You can even cancel during the underwriting process, and up to 10 days after you receive your policy.

Insurance companies will not charge you until you are approved. Most importantly, you are not obligated to buy a plan until you are ready. With your personal advisor, you can ask as many questions as necessary, searching and comparing plans without any obligation to purchase until you are certain you found the right one.

Agents All Over The Country

Some agents do the bare minimum, take advantage of your confusion, or are just plain nasty. EZ.Insure does not stand for that.

Instead, we only work with highly trained, knowledgeable, and professional agents around the country. We treat you with the respect you deserve and expect nothing less from our team. The local agent we pair you with will have the ability to:

Compare plans, finding the one that fits your needs
Help leverage insurance companies to lower their prices
Assist you through the Health Plan enrollment process
Offer you support in the future with any Health Care issues you might encounter

woman looking for insurance on her laptop on EZ.Insure — *No more frustrating calls, searches that go nowhere or otherwise. With EZ.Insure, kiss those hassles goodbye!*

You Work With One & Only One Agent

We offer more guidance than any other agency with our well-equipped and informed agents. You will never have to worry about being bounced around from agent to agent, or receiving subpar information.

You will be given your OWN personal advisor to work with. This keeps your phone free for family calls or otherwise. Nothing is more annoying than constant ringing with insurance agents on the other side.

We protect your privacy. You will work with just ONE agent that you can call anytime you have questions, and to help guide you to plans within your price range. Your advisor will help you with whatever issues arise.

Instant Results

Have you entered your information yet? You could have been finished before you got to the bottom of this article! With our quote engine, we just need a few pieces of information to start your process of joining our EZ Family–all in the time it takes you to read five facts.

We have over 20 years of experience in the insurance market. So we make sure that we are up to date on all the new trends. This way we can save you money by giving you accurate information, plans, and quotes.

We offer instant results along with our custom service. As soon as you submit a form and reach out to us you will see a photograph of the agent we have chosen for you based on your needs, and you will have the ability to see online quotes that they offer instantly. If you are looking for free instant insurance quotes, enter your zip code in the bar above, or to directly speak with an agent specialized within your area, call 888-350-1890, or email [email protected].

Can You Lose Your Home To Medicare?

Everyone’s worst nightmare is losing their home. As you get older, you might find yourself needing extra care, thus moving into a nursing care facility. These facilities are not cheap, and you will need help paying for it. Sometimes if you owe a lot of money, the state or Medicare can step in and cease your home as payment. However, it doesn’t have to end up that way. Depending on your situation, you can avoid losing your home, but you have to know where to start.

Paying For A Nursing Home

Medicare covers many different expenses, but it doesn’t necessarily cover long-term stays in a nursing home. In order to pay for that kind of care, your own bank account will take most of the hit. Many people struggle with paying expensive bills like this, especially over time. As your savings dwindle, you could end up in a tough spot.

person using an exercise ball for their health paid by Medicare — *Nursing care is a safe place for some and a community for others, but it can get expensive.*

However, Medicaid offers a solution to this issue. Already, Medicaid beneficiaries have alleviated their payments using the program, and with great results for those with a fixed income. The only catch is that some nursing facilities don’t accept Medicaid, so it’s important to check before setting your heart on one home.

If this sounds good, the first step is to check if you qualify for Medicaid. One big requirement is that medical care is your biggest financial burden. Luckily, when you apply for Medicaid, their system doesn’t count your home as an asset. So, if you do need help in the future, they won’t come after your house.

When paying for a nursing home, the last thing you want is to gamble with your house. What’s more important, is that if you have a spouse or a relative living in the home, then you will definitely be better off.

So Can Medicare Take Your Home?

The state cannot take, sell, or hold your home in order to recover nursing home care payments.

There is a catch though.

The state paid for your benefits while in care, so they can try to recover those funds through your assets–like your home. If you’re worried about your relatives losing a place to live, then you must take precautions before moving to a facility.

Some of these include a relative or spouse living on the property. In addition, these are more valid options:

Transferring Your Home

Transferring is a great way to guard your property, especially if you transfer it to a relative like your child. Just keep in mind that Medicaid can penalize you for this action if it’s with anyone else, even rejecting you from their program altogether. The good news is, you won’t be penalized if your transfers are to:

Your spouse
A child who is under age 21
A child who is blind or disabled
A sibling who lived in the home already or has an equity interest (part ownership)

Lien On The Home

Another option is allowing Medicaid to put a lien on your home. This way, the program can earn back the funds they distributed in order to pay for your nursing home.

house with sunset behind it not taken by medicare — *Home is where the heart is. And the heart can be your family, your property, or your memories.*

If you sell your house, then you would have to pay the lien back to the state. There is an exception to this rule as well. If any of the above-listed individuals reside in said house, then you won’t have to pay the lien back.

Hardship Waiver

If a relative moved into your home prior to you leaving for nursing care, they might qualify for a hardship waiver. For instance, if your son moved into the house before you went to the nursing home, and had no other permanent residence, then they can avoid a claim against your house by Medicaid.

When Medicare Can Take It:

Recovery Of The Estate

One unfortunate downside to these loopholes hinges on your relative or spouse. If they die during this process, it puts your house back in danger. While hopefully, you will not run into this problem, it must be mentioned here.

Basically, if the person you transfer to passes away, the state can collect your home.

In order to protect your home, make sure that you are aware of the rules regarding Medicaid and nursing home payments in your state. Every state is different. While Medicaid is a great resource for assistance, you must be careful with your home. If you don’t take proper precautions, you could be betting your house on a roulette wheel.

Tag: insurance