DETROIT (WXYZ) — Now is the time of year that people across the country are signing up for healthcare, kicking off open enrollment season.
7 Action News spoke with employment expert Justin Hadley, Director of Employees Benefits at Gallagher. He says the good news this year is employers are offering more options to employees, including options with a lower deductible.
“The employers are offering plans that have lower deductibles, lower co-pays but it may cost employees more out of pocket from a paycheck perspective to participate,” said Hadley.
He says over the past decade or so employers have been steering away from only providing options for a high deductible paired with a Health Savings Account or Flexible Savings Account.
For those still taking advantage of an HSA in 2020, the max for an individual plan will be $3,550. For a family plan, it will be $7,100.
For FSA, it will be a max savings of $2,750, only a $50 increase from last year. Remember, if you plan on taking advantage of an FSA, you must spend it all before the end of the year. Typically money in a HSA does roll over to the next year.
Hadley says when picking an option for health care keep in mind what might be down the road in 2020.
“If you have known prescription drugs that you are going to be taking or you have upcoming surgeries or anything you can plan for in 2020, that will be part of the driver terms of what plans you choose,” says Hadley.
That stands true not only for you, but what will be happening medically for spouses and children on the same healthcare plan.
Also, take advantage of online tools through your healthcare provider. Hadley says many companies let you shop the costs of surgeries and prescriptions online, applying how your coverage will determine the cost.
“I think that is going to continue to actually be a positive for employees and individuals going forward there is going to be more data and more information available for them to purchase healthcare,” said Hadley,
Hadley encourages people with questions to take advantage of Human Resources, and go to any open enrollment meetings to get educated on any changes in your current plan.
