You have six days to cover your assets

Whether you are a 28-year-old triathlete or a 90-year-old retiree with special medical problems, you are both in the same boat this week.

The health insurance hunting season ends next Monday.

Doing nothing is not a good option.

Picking the best plan, for you, could save you thousands next year in premiums and out-of-pocket costs. And protect you from bankruptcy in the event of a catastrophic illness or accident that could happen to anyone anytime.

Premiums are going up an average of 7-plus percent. Right now, for the first time, couples and single parents with one dependent child have the option to chose a self-plus-one plan.

Walton Francis, editor of the Consumers’ Checkbook Guide to Health Plans for Federal Employees and Annuitants says that while the FEHBP plans are good-to-excellent, some are better than others. For you. But it’s a tailor-made deal. What might be the best plan for a friend, coworker, even your identical twin, might not be the best fit for you. Which is why you need to shop.

Francis says too many feds, and most retirees, are in the wrong plan. Because they are paying too much (in premiums) for what they are getting. He recommends that lots of people downsize. Move into a plan with lower premiums although benefits are just as good as your current, more expensive, plan. Case in point:

Blue Cross-Blue Shield. It’s highly rated. The most popular plan. But the premium difference between the self-only basic option (you would pay $1,780 next year) and the self-only standard option ($2,600) is significant. The self plus one basic premium is $4,180 vs. $6,010 if you pick the standard option. Same for the family plan differentials. Big difference.

Francis recommends that most people at least check out the HD (high deductible) and the CD (consumer driven) plans which, in some cases, will pay your premiums for you. Or allow you to accumulate a substantial tax-free nest egg (using the plan’s money). He calls it a “Roth IRA, on steroids.”

Francis will be my guest this Wednesday (10 a.m. EST) on our Your Turn radio show. You can listen at www.federalnewsradio.com or catch us at 1500 AM in the D.C. area. If you have questions for him, email them to me: mcausey@federalnewsradio.com.

Meantime, good hunting!

Nearly Useless Factoid

By Michael O’Connell

Actress Fay Wray was offered a cameo role in the 1976 remake of “King Kong”. She turned it down because she didn’t like the script.

Source: IMDB

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