Yes, you read that right. You could potentially be saving thousands of dollars per year on your family insurance premiums by switching from a traditional health insurance plan to a catastrophic health insurance plan.
Catastrophic health insurance plans cost so much less than traditional health plans for two reasons:
They have higher deductibles than traditional plans. This means that you agree to pay more of your medical bills before your coverage kicks in. The good news is, if your family stays relatively healthy each year, you keep the premium savings.Office visits and prescriptions are covered after you have met your deductible. If you don't meet your deductible for the year, you simply pay for office visits out of your own pocket with a portion of the premium dollars you saved.Catastrophic plans aren't the best solution for all families. Here's how you can determine if it's the right financial move for yours.
Does your family have expensive prescriptions?Does anyone in your family have costly chronic medical conditions?Does your family visit urgent care centers and doctor's offices more than four or five times per year?Does your family utilize their health benefits often?If you answered "no" to most, or all of, the above questions, this could be a valuable money-saving solution for your family!
An Added Benefit
In addition to saving thousands of dollars per year on premiums, if the catastrophic plan you buy is a "qualified high deductible health plan," you'll be eligible for specific tax benefits. You'll be eligible to open a health savings account that will allow you to deposit pre-tax dollars to use to pay for qualified future medical expenses, completely tax-free. An HSA is simply a financial account (similar to a checking account) that is held by a third party trustee (like a bank or a credit union).
Some common expenses that are eligible are:
Hospital expensesPrescriptionsOffice visitsUrgent care visitsPsychologists & psychiatristsPhysical therapySurgeries and more!There are a large number of expenses that are eligible to be paid for with pre-tax dollars through your HSA.
You can further determine whether or not this solution is a good fit for your family by reading a little more about how it works, finding out which companies offer plans in your local area, and discussing your family's specific situation with a local agent. An agent's services are typically included with the cost of your insurance plan, so it makes sense to take advantage of this valuable resource.
Explore this possibility further by visiting our catastrophic health insurance resource and find out how much you could be saving!
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