Volume 2, Number 6
Monthly News On Products Promoting Healthcare Cost Transparency And Healthy Living Tips
IN THIS ISSUE...

  • EXPEDITED ENROLLMENT PROCESS INTRODUCED
  • PARTIALLY SELF-DIRECTED HEALTHCARE
  • DOES OPEN ENROLLMENT APPLY FOR MEDICAL COST SHARING PLANS?
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.
EXPEDITED ENROLLMENT PROCESS INTRODUCED
The new website that outlines Health Excellence Plus and medical cost sharing is operational and is located at www.controlyourhealthcarecosts.com .  

You can go to https://www.controlyourhealthcarecosts.com/enrol l to use our new, simplified,integrated enrollment platform to enroll in the program of your choice. 

The enrollment page also includes a “sales funnel” that contains videos and program information. You can choose to view the sales funnel before making your final decision and enrolling. If you feel you understand how the plans work and don't want or need any additional information, you have the option to enroll directly without viewing the sales funnel.

Health Excellence Plus offers both an Association plan as well as plans for employer groups (primarily groups of less of less than 50 employees but plans can be designed for larger groups).

With the Association plan a prospective member becomes a member of the MPowering Benefits Association, which is an association that promotes healthy living and living a healthy life style. As a member of the Association, you are eligible to join one of the five programs that are outlined on the website.

When you visit the site before enrolling, we suggest you read the home page at https://www.controlyourhealthcarecosts.com/ .

The five steps of the plan strategy—avoid, prevent, manage, mitigate, and contain –are explained at https://www.controlyourhealthcarecosts.com/plan-strategy .
 
Prospective members can choose between five different programs:

Self-Directed

Partially Self-Directed

Co-Pay Network

Direct Primary Health Care
 
Provider Directed

Each program includes a choice of five different unshareable amounts--$500, $1,000, $1,500, $2,500, or $5,000. Monthly share contributions are based on the age of the oldest member, family size, and smoking status. You can use this calculator to determine your months share contribution for each of the programs: ( https://www.controlyourhealthcarecosts.com/enroll ).

There's also an initial membership fee of $125 and an annual membership fee (beginning after one year of membership) of $25.

Please call us at 877-734-3884 if you have any questions once you review the website.
PARTIALLY SELF-DIRECTED HEALTHCARE
The Health Excellence Plus Partially Self-Directed Healthcare option is the ONLY medical (healthcare) cost sharing program available that permits you to establish a health savings account.

Traditional health care sharing programs that are exempt from meeting the requirements of the Affordable Care Act ARE NOT ELIGIBLE to offer health savings accounts. However, as an Association product that offers a plan of minimum essential coverage, Health Excellence Plus COMPLIES with the Affordable Care Act and IS able to offer you the ability to establish a health savings account if you select the Partially Self-Directed Healthcare option. 

The Partially Self-Directed Healthcare option accomplishes this by combining all ACA-required preventive care services with a high deductible health plan that meets the requirements for establishing a health savings account. The program is designed so you will not have to pass expenses through the high deductible health plan because large expenses are shareable under the medical cost sharing portion of the program.

The Partially Self-Directed program is the most popular of the five optional programs (see above article) and, although recommended, you are not required to establish a health savings account if you elect this option.
DOES OPEN ENROLLMENT APPLY FOR MEDICAL COST SHARING PLANS?
Open Enrollment restrictions do not apply to medical cost sharing plans. Accordingly, individuals can enroll in Health Excellence Plus on a year-round basis without the requirement to have a qualifying life event (e.g. marriage, moving between counties or states, etc.) to enroll.

Individuals who enroll by the 20 th of a month can have an effective date the first of the following month (or they can elect a future first of the month effective date).

Those who have Affordable Care Act plans should enroll by December 20 th to have a January 1, 2019 effective date and avoid the possibility of losing continuous coverage. 

Likewise, those with short term health plans should elect to enroll on a date that minimizes days without having coverage. For example, a person who has a short term plan that ends on December 26 should enroll by December 20 for a January 1 effective date and will only have lack of coverage for 5 days.

A person who has a short term plan that ends sometime in 2019 can elect to enroll as of January 1 or as of the first of the month in which he or she loses short term coverage and this person will not have a gap in coverage. Contact your short term carrier to determine cancellation provisions and discover whether you will inclur any additional short term policy premiums if you cancel your short term policy before the end of the policy period. Call us at 877-734-3884 to discuss and to determine how enrolling before the last day of your short term coverage affects your cost for the short term plan.
About Paul Cholak
Paul Cholak is the Principal of Control Your Healthcare Costs, LLC (dba Control Your Healthcare Costs) and is an endorsed vendor of the Free Market Medical Association, which promotes transparency in healthcare costs and programs. He's also a Partner/Supporter of the Direct Primary Care Coalition, which promotes the direct primary care provider concept.

He constantly seeks to find new and innovative products that incorporate transparency and focus on reducing costs of the total healthcare bill.

He's a National Healthcare Advisor for  M Powering Benefits , a Certified Affiliate with Sedera Health, and is also appointed by insurance carriers who offer insured products that promote healthcare transparency (for example Health Indemnity insurance).

He offers or refers you to medical cost sharing and insured healthcare products on either an individual, association, or group basis, as applicable, that promote healthcare cost transparency and can result in significant overall healthcare savings to participants. He guides you through the steps of obtaining membership in the applicable program and is always available to help you both BEFORE and AFTER you've enrolled.
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Contact Us
Local: 561-734-3884
 Toll-free: 877-734-3884
pcholak@controlyourhealthcarecosts.com