Keep your health plans from bankrupting the company.
If you own a company¹ and provide health care coverage for your employees, how can you choose good coverage, and yet not send your company to the poorhouse?
Have you ever considered a Health Savings Account-qualified plan? In recent years, many companies have moved to HSA’s to save money. This is a good thing, but what are they?
An HSA-qualified health plan is a high-deductible health insurance plan that is “married” to a bank account called a Health Savings Account. HSAs are owned, and funded by either the employer or the employee, but are always owned by the employee even if the employee changes employers. They provide tax savings for the employer and the employee. Sounds like a great arrangement, yes?
It is! Yet, there is kind of a drawback to them - sometimes employees fail to learn enough about how their HSA works to make good decisions when implementing them. They neglect funding their HSA and then, when they incur medical expenses, they have this (affordable) insurance plan with a high deductible, but no “savings” to pay their share of cost. Like any tool, if not used right, it won’t get the job done.
Please Note: HSA’s should not be confused with Cafeteria Plans (Section 125 or “Flexible Spending Account” Plans) where the employer controls the account. With these plans, an employee signs up for payroll deduction (limits set by the employer) and then has total access to annual funds for expenses at the beginning of the year. The employer advances any monies needed, but also keeps any monies not spent. These plans also have good use (and can be designed to offer child care, etc). They do not continue with an employee after termination.
If you are the employer, the course of wisdom is: when you provide an HSA-qualified medical insurance, ALSO make arrangements to educate your employees on how to fund the savings account necessary to make the program work.
I highly recommend for you and your employees the following:
- An HSA-qualified, high deductible, affordable, quality health insurance plan.
- A Health Savings Account that is funded regularly will provide outstanding protection for the employee.
- Thorough education on how these can be successfully implemented.
- And, additionally, adding another “layer” of voluntary coverage, benefits that cannot be matched by any other system I know of…
…all with tax savings and affordability for both the employer and employee.
Let me explain it more thoroughly.
Email me or phone me and I will explain how this concept can work for your company.
I will save you money. And just as important to you, I will educate your employees.
Michael Myers
CA License 0561502
¹ Or if you are the Human Resources Manager in charge of implementing health care plans.
Helping to avoid having medical expenses bankrupt you.
The news media informs us that many bankruptcies are a direct result of unexpected medical bills. Interestingly, those most often experiencing this tragedy are people that many consider financially ”well off” or in good occupations (and working!).
Three groups less likely to be affected by unexpected medical expense tragedy:
- The very rich.
- The very poor.
- The employed where the company provides good group medical insurance.*
What though, if a person is self-employed, or they work for a company who does not provide good medical benefits?
They are vulnerable.
Why is this?
Because most of us are ill-equipped financially to avoid ruin if we had even a moderate medical emergency. A serious one could ruin even those considered “well off” financially.
So how can this be avoided?
Short of becoming very wealthy (and most of these have insurance), or choosing to become very poor (who would do that on purpose?), this situation can be avoided by having a good insurance plan.
“But medical insurance is expensive!” you might say. This is true, but there are ways of avoiding financial ruin without buying expensive “traditional” major medical insurance.
A couple of suggestions …
- Decide what is the most you are comfortable with (or at least capable of) paying out in a medical emergency, then purchase a plan with that amount as it’s total out of pocket (including deductible).
- Even better, buy an “HSA” (Health Savings Account)-qualified plan and then pass any medical expenses (while “meeting” your deductible) through a special HSA bank account. This makes medical expenses tax deductible.
- Disablity insurance.
Just as important as medical insurance is providing for “living expenses” during a medical emergency. Many medical emergencies also lead to a loss of income because a person cannot work. Medical insurance does not protect against loss of cash flow, but a disability income insurance policy does.
So, what about the rest of us? What if this best alternative scenario (above) is not financially obtainable, or perhaps, based on health, unobtainable - what then?
For the first time in 25 years I am able to recommend a “limited benefit plan” that has enough benefits to make it, for many people, a reasonable option.
The term “limited benefit” is meant to imply that it is not major medical insurance. For instance, one of its drawbacks is there are not provisions for the so-called “miscellaneous” charges in a hospital. However, this can be somewhat compensated for by how one designs the other benefits.
On the other hand, not to be overlooked, it is also limited in other ways that are good for the consumer. Two ways that come to mind are …
- The surgical schedule allowed may be a very limited surgical schedule (yet the likelihood it will be accepted by health care providers is quite good) and,
- The provider list of hospitals and doctors have agreed to pre-arranged rates. This too will save you money, and in some cases — a lot of money.
If you would like more information, on the limited benefit plan (the only plan I consider good enough to feature on my site), check out the AIM Health Plans featured here.
If you would like more information on an HSA-qualified plan, or information on how to protect your income in a time of need, email me or call me. I will be happy to discuss these plans with you, and send you more information on them.
*The news article linked above highlights how some companies are handling this crisis, and choosing plans that leave their employees vulnerable. If you own a small company, look for my upcoming blog on how to avoid sending your company to the “poorhouse” over costs associated with your employee benefit plans, while at the same time not leaving your employees vulnerable.
Michael Myers - CA License 0561502
But I never get sick …
Sometimes I have people tell me, I don’t get sick. Well, some people just don’t get sick … until they do.
For these people I often recommend a high deductible health plan. Then they are covered if and when they do get sick.
But some people, although they “don’t get sick” worry about accidents.
For these ones, I say - “Buy a high deductible health plan and a very low deductible accident plan“. This way, you are covered for the small dollars if you have an accident, and you are covered for the large bills no matter what happens.
Click on accident above to see the accident plan, but please email me for a quote on the health plan. I will match it to whichever accident plan makes sense to you. Just click on my picture for my phone number and email addresses.
Michael Myers
Saving some real money on your Group Insurance …
There was a story on the PR Newswire dated August 18th that talked about the growth of CDHP’s (Consumer Driven Health Plans). These plans typically have higher deductibles, and are often put together with a health reimbursement account (HRA) or a health savings account (HSA).
Both of these stategies will help keep an employer’s costs down. However, this is not the only choice.
I offer both choices to my clients, but also another choice that is VERY COST EFFECTIVE and very popular with employees.
Let me show you how you can cut your medical insurance costs by 15 to 40 percent. Click on my picture to the right and then call me or email me off the links on my main page.
Michael P Myers
But what do I get out of term life insurance .. ?
You don’t usually think of Term Life Insurance as a retirement tool. We generally speak of this
as a means of having adequate protection during the raise-the-children years, or perhaps as a
tool for business, buy-sell agreements etc.
One of the downsides to term insurance is, … well, it’s for a term. Ten years, twenty years,
some fixed number decided by someone other than the person needing it. And then it’s gone, or too expensive to keep.
Another downside, to some, is you spend the money and it’s gone. You don’t get anything back,
right? It’s always been that way … until just recently.
What if I told you that you could purchase a term life insurance policy for the term you wish
it for? And what if I told you that you can have all your money back at the end of that term,
should you live?
Perhaps you are wondering, what does this have to do with retirement?
When people retire, they often have additional expenses initially. Perhaps they buy a retirement
home, or in some other way have some temporary expenses.
People often simply spend some of their retirement nest egg to do this, and of course once spent, this money is no longer earning them money for their retirement.
But imagine getting back every dollar you spend on life insurance? This is a win-win. If you die
pre-maturely, you have provided for your family, But if you live to enjoy your retirement (which we all hope to do), you win by having your life insurance provide you with a nice kick-off to your retirement.
Call me or email me and let me give you specific information designed for your age and circumstance.
Michael P Myers
209-390-1163
Why Disability Insurance?
Disability income insurance provides income for when a disability keeps one from doing their normal work load. It can be either personal, or business oriented. Many do not have disability insurance, either because they do not see the need, or they think it’s not possible in California to get adequate coverage.
I have known quite a few who did not, and then found out they should have. But rather than concentrate on the negative, I thought I’d share some stories with you about those who planned, and were very happy they did. Click here to read
If you’d like me to show you a plan that matches your need, call me or email me.
Michael Myers
Medicare Web Site
An article appearing yesterday, August 19, in HealthDay News reports that “a majority of seniors who visit the Medicare Web site find getting the information they need a frustrating experience.”
If this is true of you, I just want you to know that I am here to help you. Give me a call, or send me an email, and I will help you make sense of it all. Call me at 209-390-1163 or just click on my picture to the right and it will take you to my web site where you can email me.
Michael P Myers
What can I do for you?
Friends,
There are a lot of insurance agencies with websites up. All of them can and will sell you insurance. Why should you do business with me?
Let me tell you a little about myself. I kind of fell into this business. I was a project manager for a small to midsize General Contractor in Stockton CA. The money got tight, and the silent partners in major projects pulled out, and there was no money to build. I had an insurance license, but had frankly had fairly miserable experience and did not want anything to do with selling insurance. However, the money continued tight (this was in the very early 80’s) and I had a friend who was selling insurance. To make a long story short, we formed a partnership, that led to a corporation that led to … well, me leaving and working alone.
I have worked alone since, although I have many other agents I interact with. I do not have agents working for me. And the reason is very simple. I am absolutely fanatical that people asking questions of me, get an honest and straightforward answer.
Sometimes that means … not selling anything. But that is okay, because the clients that I have stay with me. They do not leave, because they know, I tell them the truth, … even if it’s not what they want to hear. My business philosophy is that it is better to not have the sale than to have the sale and someone suffers because of it.
So whereas this may make me a lousy salesman, it also means that I don’t tell you something unless I know it’s true. This is how I do business.
And the truth is, it is a rare occasion that I cannot help someone by improving their situation or saving them money. It’s what I do. I really look for ways to accomplish things that (most) other agents are not spending the time to learn about and share with their clients. It’s why my clients rarely leave me.
Call me, or email me with any question, and let me show you what I do.
Michael P Myers
College Planning …
Life insurance can be, and should be, an integral part of college planning. Life insurance may make possible, that which a person desires for children - whether or not they are still living to make it happen.
One of the biggest problems in doing this, can be money. “So, if I put money away for my child’s college education, where does the money come from to pay for life insurance?”
Well consider this scenario: A 35 year old mother with a one year old child is faced with just such a dilemma. But what if she were to purchase a policy, just for this reason, that
- if she died provides $200,000 of death benefit to help with college and living expenses,
- but if she lives, provides over $33,000 to assist with the other help she is giving?
And what if I told you that she was able to both put money aside and pay for the life insurance? Each person is different, but why not let me demonstrate how this will work in your situation? Call me or email me, and I will provide details of how this will work for your benefit.
So … what’s important to you?
As an agent, I get an incredible amount of email regarding legislation, proposed legislation, and people trying to get legislation introduced that will affect the cost of health insurance that you and I pay for!
The only thing clear to me is that nothing is clear. It seems to me that few of these people even understand what the effects of their proposals are. The alternative to this conclusion is something I would not publish.
But as that same agent, I wonder: What do you want?
And here’s my guess: You want to be able to get medical care when needed, and you want to be able to afford to get that care. You don’t necessarily want this to be someone else’s responsibility, but on the other hand, … you do want it to be affordable.
How close am I to what you want?
I want to tell you that whereas I can do nothing about what is done in the California legislature, or the US Congress, I can help you get what you want.
And one other thing: what you want may or may not be something you can find on any websites. I say that because some of the things I happen to like the best, I have no way to put up on my website. Perhaps soon, but not now.
So give me a call or shoot me an email. Let’s talk. I want to earn your business. So let’s talk and let me show you that I can help you get what’s important to you.
Michael P Myers
