When it comes to taking care of work-related business, most of us fall somewhere between the indifferent-to-incompetent range. We do our jobs, but often don’t know or do much about our side benefits. So are you a cougar (not that kind) or a couch-potato? Take this simple test:

• Have you been comparing plans and premiums? Have you checked with your doctor’s office to make sure he or she will be in you plan’s network next year? Have you checked its catastrophic coverage? Do you know what catastrophic coverage is ? Which makes you a hunting cougar. Or …

• Have you done nothing? Like last year and the year before? In the end (in this case by COB on Dec. 14) is your master plan the fact that you have no master plan? Are you, for example, going to stick with your Blue Cross-Blue Shield standard option plan when its basic option could save you lots of premium dollars? Do you know the difference in coverage between the two? What’s the difference between GEHA, Blue Cross, Kaiser and Aetna? Why should you check out the scary-sounding HD (high deductible) plans?

Walton Francis, who writes Checkbook’s Guide to Health Plans for Federal Employees and Annuitants, says the brand new self-plus-one (S+1) option could be a game changer. He suspects that many will switch to it. The key point, he says, “is that you can’t get the S+1 option sitting on the couch. You actually have to sign up for it on Employee Express, or with your HR folk, or for retirees at retireefehb.opm.gov.

“Since you have to make a positive change in your enrollment category to get the new self-plus-one option,” he said, “and save $100 to $200, why not consider changing plans at the same time and save an extra $1,000 to $2,000 next year in premiums?”

What he suspects, however, is that “half a million or more couples or single parents will not make that change, and will leave $100 or $200 on the table.”

Want to go from couch potato to cougar? If so, listen to today’s Your Turn radio show at 10 a.m. EST. Walt Francis is our sole guest. He’ll walk you through the process, list some best buys and tell you why. He’ll also discuss several options where he says they will pay your premiums and which have a feature that is “like a Roth IRA on steroids.” Immediately after the show Walt and I will join you (if you are signed up) for an online chat and answer questions you may have on the best buys for you.

Nearly Useless Factoid

By Michael O’Connell

Plus One, the American Christian pop boy band from Tennessee, formed in 1999. The band broke up in 2004 but reunited in 2014.

Source: Wikipedia

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