I'll be the first to tell you, I do NOT like hassles. And I don't particularly like confrontations either. So when the Explanation of Benefits form (you know, that "This is not a bill" thing from your insurance company) for my husband's recent annual checkup arrived showing several segments of the claim denied, I cringed. Before long, the bill from the doctor's office arrived, showing a balance due. Yuck.

In all honestly, I was sorely tempted just to pay it and be done with it! But then I real...
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A few weeks back we hosted our annual New Year's Day brunch for a few neighbors. The recent experience of one of my neighbors pointed out that even when an employer is picking up most of the tab for your health insurance premium, a pricier plan doesn't always turn out to be the best choice. Here's Joanne's (not her real name) story:

Joanne had opted for what she thought would be the best coverage her employer offered: one with a deductible (for the "big" things) and copays for certain services...
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I frequently hear from small businesses owners who are pondering offering group health insurance. Since I only work with clients who buy their own insurance, I usually refer them on to Jacqueline Habenicht of Benefit Empowerment, who focuses on that area of expertise. She does a really good job of laying out what putting in place a group plan entails.

While there are some really good reasons for an employer to have a group health plan (for attracting and retaining employees, for example), from...
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More often than you would think, I come across potential clients who tell me they can't afford health insurance - or who don't come out and say it, but they just never seem to get around to applying for coverage.

Now, these are seldom people whose premiums for a basic policy would be $1200, or $800 or even $500 a month. I "get" that that could put a serious dent in a budget. (Although, I can say with 100% certainty that here in the Nuttall household even those kind of numbers wouldn't stand i...
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On my way home from a BCBSNC meeting today, I stopped to indulge one of my guilty pleasures, eating at McDonald's, and a less-guilty pleasure, reading the Charlotte Observer. I practically choked on my chicken strip when I came upon this letter to the editor on the Forums page:

In response to "Health care insurers' profits up 56% in '09" (Feb. 12):
Huge profits to health insurers while uninsured die? Shameful
So health care insurers made a 56 percent profit in 2009, and there's no chance for red...
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It didn't occur to me until just recently (um, like yesterday) that the way I do business nowadays is WAY greener than it used to be. How so, you ask? Well, let me iterate some of the "old" ways:

1. Everything used to be on paper. Everything! Paper brochures, paper contracts, paper rate sheets, paper marketing materials, and on and on.
2. All that paper stuff changed constantly and so was delivered to me regularly in (you guessed it) paper envelopes and cardboard boxes.
3. All that paper and cardboard st...

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A short-term, or temporary, health plan might be just what the doctor ordered for some situations. If you'll have a coverage gap of of just a few month until other coverage (employer-sponsored, Medicare or an individual health plan) is set to begin, it can be the perfect filler.

I usually don't recommend that short-term coverage be used in place of a regular major medical plans because of its limitations. Pre-existing conditions and annual physicals are not covered. However, in those situatio...
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Health insurance rate increases happen - no big news there. And sometimes, they're either just too big to swallow or they're the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back. But it really concerns me when I have a client who lets their policy lapse without ever having contacted me and who doesn't reply to my calls or emails.

There are almost always alternatives to just dropping health insurance coverage altogether. Even if you're healthy and "never" go to the doctor, going without coverage is...
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