The Mom Kind Caring for your family’s health can seem like a battle between two different nightmares. You dread the possibility of anyone you love getting sick or ill and suffering, but you also likely cringe at the thought of paying for expensive health insurance. Fortunately, there are family hacks for a better health insurance policy that help you keep everyone healthy and take advantage of the healthcare system without watching your bank account gets drained.
Knowing what these hacks are don’t just impact your family’s physical health then, as they can also improve your household’s financial health.
Family Hacks For A Better Health Insurance Policy
Any health insurance coverage is usually better than nothing at all. However, whether you’re starting coverage from scratch or just trying to improve what you have, there are certain things you should do for the sake of your family.
Know When You Can Make a Move:
Many insurance plans have annual open enrollment plans. Many of them do this in the final quarter of the calendar year, when you can elect the coverage you want for the coming year. This is the case for the ACA and many employer-sponsored plans. Some temporary or short-term plans might be available in the interim, but the coverage might not be nearly what your family needs. Learn what qualifying events might let you switch or change plans outside open enrollment.
Know Where to Look:
This is something that NPR advocated for. Many Americans still get their health insurance through employment, but that’s not always the case. You can also explore government programs at the federal level for all Americans. Many states have a variety of choices, too. You can also buy health insurance as a private citizen regardless of employment status, whether you do it through the Healthcare.gov marketplace or just as general business.
Avoid Analysis Paralysis:
The number of options and the details included within them can get overwhelming. As mentioned earlier, balancing your family’s financial and physical health can be a crossroads of two potentially huge problems. However, a great approach is to consider what might be the most predictable about your family’s health. You can’t see the future in total, but you can find plans that best meet your anticipated needs.
Get Help:
Someone in your family physician’s office might be able to point you in a good direction. Your HR office at work might be a source of help. The ACA marketplace has “navigators” who can help you choose great plans.
Knowing Your Coverage
Getting family health insurance for a better cost is always a great move. However, you might also have to look into what your insurance covers. For instance, depending on the specific conditions people in your family might be suffering from, you might wonder, “How does Medicare cover life vest defibrillators and other equipment?”.
Many people who Medicare covers might be at risk of cardiac arrest. That’s why a life vest defibrillator might be something they need. This device is a wearable version of a cardioverter defibrillator that is intended to minimize the risk of suffering sudden cardiac death in people known to be at risk of undergoing cardiac arrest.
The vest was approved in 2001 by the FDA and continues to be the only wearable defibrillator. It has three parts. Two are worn underneath clothing and garments, the halter and electrode belt. The other part, the monitor, is worn over clothes.
Even though this device is called a life vest defibrillator, it’s not a life vest. Many of the electrical components are not water resistant at all. You can wear such a vest in all dry conditions, but you can never submerge it in water, swimming, showering, or bathing.
You may have someone in your household using such devices. These types of devices can be prohibitive, and maintenance costs alone could cause you to hang your head in frustration. It’s essential to decipher how you could save money and take advantage of any rebates, subsidizations, or medicare coverage you can.
Government Options
While saving money on private insurance can give you a great deal on health insurance for your family, it’s far from the only option. Depending on where you live and your specific qualifications, there might be any number of government programs available to you.
Medicare:
This is a federal-level health insurance program for three groups of people. The first is anyone 65 or up. The second is specifically younger individuals who have functional disabilities. The third is those with end-stage renal disease, which is permanent failure of the kidneys where a transplant or dialysis is necessary.
Medicaid:
This health insurance program helps out needy individuals and people with low income using a combination of municipal, state, and federal funding. That might include the disabled, the aged, children, and those who are blind.
CHIP:
The Children’s Health Insurance Program offers low-cost health coverage to families with kids if the families earn too much income for Medicaid qualifications. Some states cover pregnant women with CHIP coverage.
Affordable Care Act:
Through the marketplace of Healthcare.gov, this program offers tax credits to those who qualify so they can get subsidized health insurance from many different companies. Choose from Bronze, Silver, and Gold plans to cover yourself or your whole family.
State Coverage:
Every state handles health insurance differently, but a handful has a universal cover because they want to ensure no one slips through the cracks.
Protect Those You Love
Health insurance for your whole family allows you to keep everyone healthy because it’s more affordable. You’ll still have to pay your share, but you should also be able to avoid skipping doctor’s visits and medications simply due to expense. As much as you cover everyone in your family with health insurance, ensure you take care of yourself. If you let your own individual health or insurance coverage slide, you won’t have anything to give your family.
The Mom Kind
Alicia Trautwein is an Autism advocate, writer, motivational speaker, and dedicated mom of four. Alicia’s desire to advocate for Autism comes from her own autism diagnosis and that of her three children, niece, and brother. Her life’s mission is to educate on autism acceptance and change the world for future generations of autistic individuals.
