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Catastrophic Coverage: Get It or Else
What are your odds of making it through next year without a financially catastrophic illness or accident in your family? Check out today\'s Federal Report for y...
If you are still shopping for a health insurance plan be advised that, although the open season ended December 8th, federal agencies are accepting belated enrollments through the end of January.
If you are one of those shoppers, keep in mind that the main reason people buy health insurance is to protect themselves from staggering medical bills that could result from a catastrophic event. Suppose you, or someone in your family, next year is involved in a serious car crash. Or has a stroke, gets cancer or needs major heart surgery?
What are your odds? Turns out they are not all that great.
For the average individual, there’s a five percent chance your medical bills will exceed $25,000. Make that 10 percent for a family of three, and then 15 percent for a family of five. Those numbers come from Walton Francis. He’s the author of CHECKBOOK’s Guide To Health Plans.
One of the primary things to look for in a health plan is its catastrophic-coverage. That is how much you would have to pay out of pocket next year before most other bills were covered. That limit can range from a low of around $6,000 to a high of $14,000. It pays to shop around.
Francis says that all of the plans in the federal employee health benefits program (FEHBP) are good, but some fit your needs better. For example, is your doctor (or doctors) in their network? Do you like the freedom of a nationwide plan, or do you prefer HMOs with their emphasis on preventive /managed care?
Finally, can you afford the premiums? Next year, the premium for the very popular Blue Cross-Blue Shield standard option (which covers about 40 percent of the FEHBP population) will go up just over 13 percent. What to do? Francis says you can switch to the BC-BS Basic Option which has a lower premium and similar benefits. He also suggests people check out the APWU, Mail Handlers and GEHA plans, as well as HMOs like Aetna, United, Kaiser, Coventry and CareFirst.
Nearly Useless Factoid
Researchers have found evidence that in certain people sneezing can be triggered by sexual fantasy. Then again, it might just be hayfever.
Happy holidays from the NUF-desk! We’ll be closed for reflocking until 1/5/09.
To reach me: mcausey@federalnewsradio.com
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