Health Plans with Assured Access for Business Owners.
Transcript
Hi, my name is Christina Wyatt, I’m a certified financial planner with Bauld insurance, a locally owned and operated insurance provider. Today, I’m going to be talking about health plans for business owners, and locking in those health plans with Assured Access.
Picture this, you’re ready to follow your dream and become self employed, you’re leaving behind your employer, you’re also leaving behind that group plan that’s been providing your prescriptions and you know, medical benefits for the last while. You go out and you apply for a new health plan. You put in the application, only to find out that one of the prescriptions that was covered on your group plan is no longer going to be covered because they’re considering it a pre existing condition. Disappointing isn’t it?
The key with health insurance is to purchase it when you’re healthy. You want to purchase it when you do not have any medical conditions on file and you’re not taking any prescriptions. I was working with a business client on her planning and we were doing the protection planning portion, you know, going through making sure she had a health plan, critical illness, all of that great stuff. We got to the health plan portion. And she said, you know, Christina, I’m completely covered. We’ve got this great group plan for my family and my employees. We love it. I said that is great, perfect. What are your plans when you go to retire or when your kids have to leave that group plan? What’s the plan at that point?
The typical health plan without maximums will not cover you for any pre existing conditions. The typical health plan without maximums will not cover you for any pre existing conditions. This means if you’re on a prescription for something already need of medication, they’re not going to cover you for that condition. When you apply for that new personal health plan. You have no idea how many times I have had to talk somebody down for being very upset over finding out that their pre existing conditions not going to be covered under their new health plan.
Blue Cross offers a plan called assured access: It takes a snapshot of your health now and locks it in so that when you are no longer qualified for group benefits for whatever reason, retirement leaving as an employee, or a kid rolling off for university, you’re no longer qualifying for group benefit, you can roll into a comprehensive health plan offering you full coverage without any exclusions for pre existing conditions you may have developed since purchasing that assured access plan. The premiums are low and as a business owner, there are business expense for a low premium, you can actually protect yourself against very high medical costs that you could incur in the future.
An unforeseen dental bill like having to get a root canal or something like that it’s going to be painful, but it’s not going to bankrupt you right like that doesn’t cause 10s of 1000s of dollars to get done. But when it comes to prescriptions these days, if someone gets diagnosed with colitis or Crohn’s, there are some very expensive prescription drugs that need to be purchased when you are diagnosed with certain conditions. That is the coverage that you’re buying when you purchase a health plan. It’s not for the dental and the massage and that I know they’re great. But what you’re protecting yourself from is a $25,000 a month health bill prescription bill that you’re going to have to pay out of pocket.
Unfortunately, as we’ve talked about, once you’re diagnosed with a pre existing condition, they’re not going to cover it on a health plan. That’s why it is so important for you to purchase while you are healthy. So while you’re healthy now go out and get that health plan and lock it into place. For business owners health plans are a business expense, they’re going to come out of your corporate account, they’re going to be a business expense for you. It’s a no brainer. Sometimes business owners think they have to go for that big group benefits plan that covers all their employees. You don’t if you’re a sole proprietor, you just need coverage for your family. You can purchase a single family plan.
