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A12 HEALTH
Wednesday 18 OctOber 2023
Millennial Money: The questions you

aren't asking (but should) during open

enrollment

By KATE ASHFORD
of NerdWallet
Open enrollment is no
one's idea of a good time,
but health coverage is a
crucial part of your finan-
cial health. Whether you're
getting insurance through
an employer or the Af-
fordable Care Act market-
place, it's important to ask
the right questions before
you choose a health plan
for 2024.
Here's how to weigh your The HealthCare.gov website is photographed in Washington,
options. Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2018.
ARE YOUR DOCTORS IN Associated Press
NETWORK?
Plan networks change from of Health Advocate, which expert and president of
year to year. If you love provides integrated health employee benefits com-
your doctor or specialist, advocacy and health ben- pany Rubicon Benefits. The
make sure they're still in the efits programs. best thing, he says, is to
network of the plan you're WHAT ARE THE OUT-OF- look at your current claims
considering for 2024. POCKET COSTS? information and imagine
You should also consider Every plan has set costs, like that the next year will be
whether you want the op- the monthly premiums, plus identical. On which plan
tion to go out of the net- the costs of care, which in- would you be better off?
work — which you can clude the deductible and "It's the best predictive
usually do in a preferred any copays and coinsur- modeling you can do at
provider organization, or ance. Comparing plans this point," Rosenfeld says.
PPO, plan, although it will means estimating how IS A HIGH-DEDUCTIBLE
cost more. Health main- much health care you'll use PLAN RIGHT FOR YOU?
tenance organizations, or next year. A high-deductible health
HMOs, tend to be cheaper On the one hand, you plan, or HDHP, in 2024 is de-
but lack the out-of-network have the costs you'd pay fined as a plan with a de-
flexibility. if you don't use the plan ductible of at least $1,600
ARE YOUR MEDICATIONS much beyond preventive for individual coverage
COVERED? care. On the other hand, or $3,200 for family cover-
If you're on prescription you have the maximum age, with out-of-pocket
medications, check plan amount you could pay in maximums of no more
formularies to make sure each plan if you're a heavy than $8,050 or $16,100,
you understand how your health care user. You can respectively. HDHPs usu-
drugs will be covered in easily compare these situ- ally have lower premiums,
2024. Drug coverage can ations. and sometimes companies
change from year to year, There's a squishy middle kick in a contribution to a
even if you stick with the ground, however, where health savings account, or
same plan. the best plan for you de- HSA, to help cover the de-
"Even if you were in an Aet- pends on the amount and ductible.
na plan before, and you type of care you'll need An HDHP can be an appro-
say, 'Well, I'll stay with Aetna next year. priate plan for people in a
again,' you still want to look "The tricky part is we nev- variety of health situations,
and make sure the medi- er really know how much as long as they're prepared
cation you're taking is still we're going to spend in a to pay the deductible if
on the formulary," says Ab- given year if we're in the they need health care.
bie Leibowitz, chief medi- middle," says Adam Rosen- "The question is, 'Can you
cal officer and co-founder feld, a health care benefits afford it?'" says Adria Gross,
an insurance broker, con-
sultant and founder of
MedWise Insurance Advo-
cacy, which helps clients
and attorneys with medi-
cal claims issues. If you're
healthy, Gross says, go for
the HDHP. But in the case
of a bad accident, you'll
want to make sure you
have the means to pay the
full deductible.q