Julie’s Got You Covered

Confidently Choose Your Health Plan with Julie Sears

• Julie Sears • Episode 8

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What’s The Best Way To Compare Different Health Insurance Plans To Make An Informed Decision?

Get educated on the secrets to navigating the maze of health insurance with us on Julie's Got You Covered. What if choosing the right plan could save you thousands while ensuring peace of mind? Join Julie Sears, a seasoned expert with over seven years in the industry, as she demystifies the complexities of health coverage. Together with co-host Sophia Yvette, Julie offers a treasure trove of insights, from evaluating your typical medical needs to understanding the true cost of high deductibles. Learn how to avoid unwelcome surprises and make informed decisions that bolster your financial well-being.

This episode focuses on practical strategies to help you choose a plan that aligns perfectly with your medical necessities. Julie shares invaluable tips on how to ascertain that your insurance covers essential prescriptions and specialists by utilizing effective tools and resources. From understanding out-of-pocket maximums to comparing plans using user-friendly websites, you'll gain the knowledge needed to confidently select the best coverage for you and your family. Tune in to transform the way you approach health insurance, ensuring you not only save money but also secure the right care when you need it most.

To learn more about Integrity Health Insurance Advisors visit:
https://www.IntegrityHealthInsuranceAdvisors.com/
Integrity Health Insurance Advisors
469-348-4066

Speaker 1:

Welcome to Julie's Got you Covered, the podcast where Julie Sears, founder of Integrity Health Insurance Advisors, takes the fear out of finding the right health insurance. With seven plus years of experience, she's here to make finding the perfect coverage a breeze. Stay tuned for details on how you can snag a free 30-minute consultation.

Speaker 2:

Feeling overwhelmed by the endless maze of health insurance options? Let Julie Sears, founder of Integrity Health Insurance, break it all down in an easy, step-by-step guide to help you confidently find the perfect plan. Welcome back everyone. I'm Sofia Yvette, co-host, slash producer, back in the studio with Julie Sears. Julie, how's it going today? Good, how are you? I'm good. So, julie, what is the best way to compare different health insurance plans to make?

Speaker 3:

an informed decision. Usually when I'm helping anyone go through and decide what the best fit is for that next year, we go over what their typical usage looks like. So if you're going to the doctor for those frequent visits or if you tend to hit your deductible going over those bigger things like what your normal usage is, so that we can see where the most savings is going to be If you go frequently, we want to make sure we have a reasonable copay and some plans don't have a copay. They have a deductible that has to be met. So just kind of going down what your normal day-to-day looks like or that week-to-week so that we make sure we've got the right fit, so you don't have any surprises along the way. Obviously we can't predict the future, but if we can at least minimize that impact, then that's the best way to do it. It's just kind of trying to get to that apples, apples, even though there's a whole lot of like oranges and pears and weird bananas all in the pot now, instead of just comparing apples.

Speaker 2:

Most definitely. What key factors should I focus on when evaluating health insurance plans?

Speaker 3:

Typically what I look at is that worst case scenario. What is that out of pocket going to look like in the event that I really truly had to use my insurance, so that I know what that impact is going to be on my bottom line for the year? So deductible and out of pocket are going to be the two biggest factors in your plan on what that looks like for you. You so want to make sure that first, you can actually afford that's a loose term now afford your deductible and that out-of-pocket maximum in the event it is used. Obviously, you can make payment arrangements so that you know, if you do have to use it, you get the care that you need, but without making a huge impact to someone's bottom line.

Speaker 3:

We need to know what that worst case scenario looks like. You know, as a general rule, most of us aren't hitting that number, but you need to be aware of what that is. A lot of people want that high deductible so they can get those lower premiums without really understanding what that looks like in the big financial scheme. You also don't want the stress of that $10,000 hanging over you if you were trying to recover from some type of medical emergency.

Speaker 2:

And so how do I ensure a plan covers my specific medical needs, like prescriptions or specialists? Is there a certain number I want to look for?

Speaker 3:

Is there a certain number I want to look for. Really, it's just plugging in the information into search engines that I have to make sure that the doctors are covered or in network so that you don't have any surprises there. Plugging in prescriptions there's a lot of resources for prescriptions so we can absolutely help you find a good fit to make sure that those prescriptions stay affordable. Sometimes it is less expensive to go outside insurance, but again, just plugging in all of those data points to see what matters most to each individual. So you know, oftentimes everybody's figuring out the prescription game pretty easily at this point. Everybody kind of utilizes a lot of those other resources but obviously our doctors are usually more important. We want to make sure we keep them and we don't have to make a change and that could be pretty detrimental to the budget if you do have a doctor that's out of network and therefore costing you more out of pocket.

Speaker 2:

And are there tools or resources that we can make plan comparison more straightforward?

Speaker 3:

There are some sites out there that can help you kind of search those a little bit easier. Healthsherpa is a good spot that can help you kind of compare side by side. But that's what I'm here for as well is really kind of breaking down, because in some areas there's 50 plus plans with very slight differences in each. I just know the questions to ask to eliminate plans faster, to get you down to where you need to be, where you can make an informed decision with a fewer, smaller batch of items to go through.

Speaker 2:

Okay, julie. Final question Is there such a thing as a health plan that doesn't leave me questioning my life choices at tax time there?

Speaker 3:

isn't anymore. They're all going to have pros and cons. There's no unicorn plan out there that you can get unless you work for some really top, large, large corporations that have blessed their employees with amazing coverage that they're just covering 100% completely. There's going to be a pro and con with every single plan out there, and it's just my job to make people understand what each of those are so that they can sleep well at night knowing that they've got the best protection available and they're at least prepared in the event of the what if?

Speaker 2:

Love it, julie. We'll catch you in the next episode. Have a fantastic rest of your day, you too.

Speaker 1:

Thanks for tuning in to. Julie's Got you Covered. Ready to say goodbye to insurance stress Head to IntegrityHealthInsuranceAdvisorscom or call 469-348-4066. That's 469-348-4066 to book your free 30-minute consultation With Julie. Health insurance doesn't have to be scary. She's got you covered.