This monthly newsletter contains information about medical cost sharing programs as well as health insurance plans offered through insurance companies that promote healthcare cost transparency. It provides information about tools designed to maintain or regain your health, articles on health and wellness, and information on complementary and integrative health. It also contains information on other cost-transparent products and services you can purchase or utilize to supplement either your medical cost sharing program or your insured health insurance plan.

Open Enrollment for Affordable Care Act plans starts today and ends December 15 for a January 1, 2019 effective date. If you're health-focused, concerned about the cost (or non-availability) of an ACA plan and want to reduce the cost of your health care, you should consider enrolling in Health Excellence Plus. 



Enrollment can occur at ANY time of the year and if you enroll before November 20 you can elect the plan to start either on December 1 or January 1. (If you enroll between November 21 and December 20, you can elect to have your plan begin January 1, 2019.)

Depending on the age of the oldest member, monthly share contributions can be 30% to 90% lower than with conventional insurance, depending on which of the five plan options you select.

The penalty for not having a plan that complies with the Affordable Care Act will NOT apply beginning January 1, 2019.  If you’ve had a plan that complies (or is exempt from) the Affordable Act for all of 2018, you won't incur a tax penalty if you start your plan as early as December 1, 2018. (If you applied between September 21 and October 20) you could have started your plan as early as November 1 and avoided any tax penalties.)

You can choose a self-directed plan or, if you participate in a plan with a direct primary care physician, one that supplements that doctor’s services and provides protection against major medical expenses. Both of these versions include preventive care services only for colonoscopies, mammograms and childhood immunizations and vaccinations (note that direct primary care doctors provide most other preventive care services as part of their offering).

There are also three other plans that include full, ACA-mandated preventive care services:

You can learn more about these plans by going to our new website at www.controlyourhealthcarecosts.com . We encourage you to read this website and then enroll directly from the site or call us at 877-734-3884 if you have any questions or need help in deciding which plan is most appropriate for your needs.

The Provider-Directed Healthcare option is a good fit for busy professionals who don’t have time to go to the doctor or need help in finding a healthcare professional OR for individuals who are looking for the lowest cost alternative that also provides full preventive care benefits.

Members call an 800 number (in either English or Spanish) to access care on a 24/7/365 basis. About 75% of all calls can be resolved over the phone by talking with a healthcare professional. Otherwise, you’re referred to a local professional to treat your condition. The plan includes $0 chiropractic and primary care office visit calls with no-pre-existing condition requirement (both for preventive care and treatment of medical conditions), as well as preventive care medications and lab tests included in a listing published by Redirect Health. Medical cost sharing and the full array of the program’s services included in the other options are also included.

Learn more about this option by clicking here.  You can enroll directly from this site OR, after learning more about the plan on the site, call us at 877-734-3884 for any answers to your questions and help in enrolling.

PLANS FOR SMALL MEDICAL EXPENSES

If you just want a program to cover you for small medical expenses and are not concerned about hospitalization or catastrophic expenses (note, however, that in many states you can supplement these plans with low-cost accident coverage, critical illness protection, or hospital indemnity or sickness insurance plans that pay part of your hospital expenses).

Learn more about the self-funded options by clicking here. Click here to learn more about the optional plans you can add on to a self-funded plan—or that you can also buy on a stand-alone basis.

If you’re interested in this type of approach to help pay (or reduce) your medical expenses, please look at the links included in the above paragraph. (Cost information for each of the three self-funded plans is included in the description of each plan.)

Call us at 877-734-3884 for more information and for help in enrolling.