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11 04 24 MJ Insurance's Courtney Hutchison talks about insurance open enrollment
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Benefits open enrollment under way for many employers and employees and of course for the state as well as you just heard in our headline segment that time of year to take advantage of your company's benefits plans and find the right coverage for you and your family. Joining us now on the K-way Comm is Barrett Health Hotline to talk more about it is Courtney Hutchinson, Colorado market president for the MJ companies. Courtney, thank you so much for your time this morning. Good morning. Thank you both. Let's start with the basics. What are some of the things that listeners should keep in mind when they're selecting their insurance and their benefits during this open enrollment period? Well, thank you for the question. So I like to say there's probably three key things you should be thinking about. First and foremost is what are the needs of your family or yourself as you're not covering family members particularly from a cash flow perspective? What that means is do you like to pay more money and premium so that when you go to the doctor you pay less or do you like to pay as low as possible and premium but when you go to the doctor you'll pay a bit more. There's no right or wrong answer. It all depends on the needs of your family. Also, don't forget to add the two things together. Think about what you're going to be paying out of your paycheck if you're working for an employer and what you're going to be paying and co-pays and deductibles at the time you see care. Those two numbers added together should be the basis for your decision that you compare plans. Lastly, please don't forget to use the tools that your company or the exchanges provide for you. They're very helpful in helping you answer questions to think about those needs as you make your decision. Courtney, when people evaluate insurance should they always look at the cost piece first, the coverage piece first because just because you're getting what you think is a better deal and the long may not be better coverage or better cost. Those are the details I really have to look at. As I mentioned, really looking at the two together, if you just look at the premium, you might pick a plan that doesn't work for you when you actually go to use it. Conversely, if you just look at the coverage, you might be overpaying for coverage that you don't even need. The key is really to look at the two things together and anticipate what you're going to spend in total throughout the year. Let's look at a couple different savings accounts that we talk about as well, differences between an FSA, HSA, and who should generally look at one or the other. Great question. So, the simple answer is an HSA or a health savings account is really only an option for individuals who are first choosing to enroll in what's called a high deductible health plan. You have to be a high deductible health plan and a few other limitations in order to contribute to a health savings account. So if you're not picking a high deductible health plan, you don't have to worry about a health savings account that won't be applicable to you. But if you are picking a high deductible health plan, a health savings account is a great way to set aside pre-tax money to save for expenses you may have during the year or save for the future too. Also, make sure you know if your employer is going to contribute to that health savings account for you in addition. Now, if you're not enrolling in a high deductible health plan, you more than likely have the option to enroll in an FSA, which is a flexible spending account. It works similarly in that you can set aside money on a pre-tax basis to reimburse you for expenses throughout the year. The big difference though is those expenses don't necessarily roll over, so you have to use them before the end of the year, unlike KHSA. We're starting to see this trend, Courtney, and I don't know if it's necessarily new, but in the verbiage, I guess, is working spousal surcharges or conversely working spousal spous exclusions this year. Explain what that means, and if I'm right, would I get a benefit if I don't enroll my spouse on my plan? Do I get some sort of kickback or some companies do that for you? Yeah, so this has become a very popular trend that we're seeing a lot of company-based health care plans put into place, and there's a difference between a working spousal exclusion and a working spous surcharge. What it means is if you want to cover your legal spouse, some companies say you can do that here, but you're going to pay more in premium if your working spouse chooses to enroll here versus do their own individual and employer-based plan. The exclusion says you can't cover your working spouse here at all, and the key word there is working spous. So if you have a spouse that doesn't work or doesn't have access to employer-based health insurance, then those exclusions and surcharges typically don't apply to you. But if your spouse does work and does have access to employer-based insurance, you're encouraged, and in some cases required, to have your spouse take the coverage through their own work. It's really designed to help employers minimize the expenses and really only cover expenses for the employer to work for them, and of course, children and spouses who are not working. And to your question, Marty, about rewards, there used to be sometimes some rewards for covering yourself elsewhere. Unfortunately, we're not seeing those anymore. It's really the exclusion or the actual penalty if you do cover them, but no reward if you choose to enroll them elsewhere, unfortunately. And this is becoming very, very popular across a lot of our consumer clients. Courtney, like you mentioned in the beginning, there's a lot of different options, options very based on what employees are looking for. But if there was one thing that you would recommend for pretty much the average Colorado generation of what they should look at for in this open enrollment period, what should they change, what should they adjust, what should they look into? I would say start with health insurance. It's the biggest, most expensive portion of your coverage, most likely. And what you needed and had coverage for last year, more than likely, is not what you need in the future here. Think about your upcoming healthcare needs. Think about the changes your company is making. There's likely a good chance they're making changes. So, don't assume that what you had last year is aimed the same. And don't assume that what you had last year is what you're going to need this year. So, really focus on health insurance first with you, my recommendation. Final question, Courtney. If you do have a spouse that also works and is offered a health plan, should you sit down and look at both plans from both employers that are being offered to take advantage of what both plans offer? Because I know what is the other thing? It's a co-management, co-mingling of benefits, something like that when you actually come to use it. I'm working out of my space, it's language I have heard as you understand for a variety of reasons. But is that a good comparison and strategy as well if you have somebody else in your family that has the benefits? Most definitely. And you're referring to coordination of benefits. Thank you. Yes. Yes. Two working spouses should absolutely sit down and compare what each is offered and doesn't make more financial sense to cover both spouses on one plan, both spouses on another, split it up, which plan covers the children if there's children in the picture. Do the math because there are multiple different combinations that you can do as a family. And definitely do the math and pick the one that makes sense for you. With the latest advice during this open enrollment period, it's Colorado Market President for the M.J. Companies, it's Courtney Hutchison. There's only one feeling like knowing your banker personally, like growing up with a bank you can count on, like being sure what you've earned is safe, secure, and local. There's only one feeling like knowing you're supporting your community. You deserve more from a bank. You deserve an institution that stood strong for generations. 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You can get $100 off any cocktail maker or cocktail maker bundle when you spend $400 or more. So if the cocktail lover in your life has been good this year or the right kind of bad, then Bartetian, at the push of a button, make bar quality cosmopolitans, martinis, manhatans and more, all in just 30 seconds, all for $100 off. Amazing toys aren't just for kids. Get $100 off a cocktail maker when you spend $400 through Cyber Monday. Visit Bartetian dot com slash cocktail, that's b-a-r-t-e-s-i-a-n dot com slash cocktail.