If you have read the about me section, you’ll know I spend my days advising clients on all things financial. This typically includes reviewing investments, planning for retirement, and discussing goals for a clients estate. I also spend time reviewing health insurance options for clients when both spouses can elect coverage for the family, or when retired clients try to make sense of medicare.
Today I spent time “advising” myself. My company is rolling out a new option that includes a larger deductible, but much lower premiums. Due to the lower premium component, I thought that it could be worthwhile to compare keeping my single coverage, or moving to Family coverage and having my wife drop her plan. Sounds simple right? Do some basic math, consider a few scenarios, and choose. Hey, the Steelers are the late game, so I’ve got time right?
So I set out like I would for any other client: I made a spreadsheet. I took a look at the two status quo options, along with changing my plan to add children, or to add the whole family. I had columns for annual premium cost, deductibles, out of pocket costs, and for the 3 types of prescription coverage. I researched what doctors where in each plan, and the current meds we take for projected costs. As you might expect, this all took well over an hour.
After calculating, cursing, and breaking for lunch, you want to know what I figured out? That by moving the whole family to my plan I’d double both the premium cost, as well as prescription co-pays.
Premium costs were the FIRST column in the spreadsheet!
Heres hoping that my inner financial geek who thought the spreadsheet was the way to go, will yield next time, when keep it simple stupid would be more than good enough!
