Success Stories

 

Real People, Real Savings

See how they SAVED BIG on health insurance

So you can JOIN IN THE SAVINGS...

These are all true stories that show everyday people “winning the health care lottery.”  Sure, the cost of health insurance is going up, but that didn’t stop these folks from shaving hundreds or thousands of dollars off their annual cost for health insurance -without even sacrificing health care.  From widows with children to small business owners, there are plenty of savings to go around.  Here’s how they did it…

SAVING NEARLY $12,000 on Premiums in a Single Year

Darren Jefferies was paying way too much with a monthly premium of $1,380.  Now his premium has been slashed to less than $400.  He’s saving over $980 every month for a grand annual savings of $11,760!

Starting this year, Darren could switch from a co-pay plan to a plan with a deductible without sacrificing recommended preventive health care.  A co-pay plan covers most health care after you pay $25 or $35 to see a doctor or get a prescription filled.  People like knowing that they won’t have to cover the rest of the doctor’s bill, but these co-pay policies often come at premium prices.

High-deductible plans are well known for having low premiums, but people used to worry that they might not get all the care they needed from them.  They’d have to pay for some of their health care out of their own pocket until they met the deductible.

That’s different now!  Switch to a high-deductible plan this year and you can get 100-percent coverage for recommended preventive care as long as you see in-network doctors.  You don’t have to meet a deductible for well-baby exams, annual exams for adults, vaccinations, and many different types of screening procedures to catch cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, and more. That made Darren feel safe about moving to a much less expensive health plan.

In case anyone in his family needs to see a doctor for something that his plan doesn’t cover, he’s investing what he saves on premiums in a special account.  Known as a Health Savings Account, an HSA gives triple benefits over typical savings accounts.

1. Darren’s savings grow with tax-free earnings whether he invests in an interest-bearing account, bonds, mutual funds or stocks.
2. He can withdraw HSA money to pay for his family’s health care and still not pay taxes on it.  He can spend his HSA funds to go to the chiropractor or the dentist.  HSA funds can also be used for acupuncture, aromatherapy, homeopathy, nutrition consultation, medical massage, traditional Chinese medicine, and more.
3. Even if Darren doesn’t need his HSA funds for health care, he gets to take his entire deposit as a deduction to lower his taxes and he doesn’t even need to itemize deductions.

Got Insurance to Pay Bill AFTER CLAIM WAS DENIED

Our customer service can save you money even after you buy!  We know health insurance, inside and out.  That’s how we helped this couple stop making payments to the hospital and got the insurance company to pay for their C-section.

In talking to Bryan and Sarah Crisp, we learned that Sarah had recently had a baby via an unplanned C-section.  Their health plan didn't have maternity benefits and the claim had been denied.  The hospital set up a payment plan and Bryan and Sarah had already started making payments.

We knew that complications of pregnancy had to be covered under all plans and we reviewed all of the hospital bills.  We asked the insurance company about many billing errors and requested that they cover the C-section. 

The insurer did pay for the C-section so Bryan and Sarah didn’t have to make payments.  When they saw how valuable great customer service can be, Bryan and Sarah bought accident, health and life insurance with us.

Never Had to Pay EXPENSIVE COBRA PREMIUMS

When James Kennerly sold his auto mechanics shop, he found that COBRA premiums would cost $800 per month. That’s when he went shopping for a better alternative.

James has a family of five who rarely require medical care, so he chose a plan with a premium of just $254 a month.  Instead of giving an extra $546 to an insurance company every month, he invested in their future with a health plan that let him start a Health Savings Account or an HSA.

An HSA Plan covers preventive health care like annual check-ups and vaccinations with no out-of-pocket costs.  In order to get low premiums, he selected a plan with a $10,000 deductible on other medical treatment. If his family needs health care that’s not covered, he can withdraw money from his HSA to cover it.

If they remain healthy and don’t spend their HSA, they can build up their account with tax-free earnings.  They can also reduce their taxes by the amount they deposit in their HSA, and use those savings to grow their account even faster.  Their HSA balance will just roll over each year and continue growing with tax-free earnings like an IRA, so they’ll have savings for their retirement.

Got Insurance even AFTER APPLICATION WAS DECLINED

Doug Maier left Glaxo-Smith Kline after 14 years to start his own consulting firm. Facing COBRA premiums of approximately $900, he applied for a plan with a $2,000 deductible for his family of four that only cost $407 a month.

His application was declined due to medication use, but we know how to work with insurance underwriting departments.  We can reach department heads that the general public never knows about and after several phone calls and e-mails, we were able to get Doug approved for coverage. That saved him $493 a month, or $5,916 a year.

At that point, Doug asked if there was anything that could be done about an exclusion that had been placed on treatment for his daughter’s allergies. We intervened again and that exclusion was removed, leaving his daughter with full coverage. 

SAVED 56% with Annual Comprehensive Policy Review

We offer all of our clients a free Annual Comprehensive Policy Review.  When we compared Candace’s existing coverage to other plans that were available, we found a way to almost cut her premiums in half.

We helped her move from a co-pay plan that was costing her $408.10 a month for benefits she wasn’t using.  She decided to switch to a Health Savings Account Plan with a $240.30 premium that meant cutting her premium by 41%.

In a 28% tax bracket, Candace could contribute to her HSA to reduce her taxable income and lower her taxes.  With those savings, her net premium fell to just $181.97, which represents a whopping 56% savings over her previous premium.

Turn High-deductible Plan into NO DEDUCTIBLE COVERAGE

As a widow with three children, Chris Krupinski ran her own business for many years.  She was troubled by premium rate hikes about every 18 months until she found a way to make a high-deductible plan seem like coverage with no deductible.

Instead of Chris’ money winding up in the bank account of an insurance company, now it either takes care of her deductible or builds her a retirement account.  Either way, she’s way ahead with her Health Savings Account Plan, commonly known as an HSA.

She saves enough on premiums that she says, "Every month, I put about $350 into my HSA and pay $350 for the premium.  That HSA is my money, and yet I am still paying less per month than I was under the old policy. As far as I'm concerned, I look at my deductible as a 'no-deductible' plan.”

Since annual check-ups, vaccinations, mammograms, colonoscopies and other forms of preventive care are not subject to a deductible with plans purchased this year, Chris may not need to meet a deductible.  Even if her family requires heath care that’s not 100-percent covered, she won’t have to come up with any new money.

Rather than let an insurance company pocket her high premiums, she’s been earning tax-free interest on the money she saves with her low-cost plan.  If she never needs her HSA funds for health care, she’s got a retirement account.

Chris says: “The beauty of this is that if I have anything left over at the end of the year, that money is mine. It gives me options, and it is much better financially. Before, when I wrote those premium checks out each month, that money was just gone."

Individual Coverage BEATS GROUP PLANS

As the owner of a small company with less than 10 employees, Ron Emge found the rising cost of health care made it virtually impossible to maintain the level of benefits he’d offered his staff in past years.  With premiums exceeding $4,000 a month, Ron began an exhaustive search for a better way.

Ron used a Health Savings Account Plan to cut premiums down to just over $14,000 per year. The savings were so great that Ron could not only continue offering coverage to his employees, but to their families as well.  Even with the extra coverage, his business saved over 70% on annual health care costs.

Invest in Your Future - NOT AN INSURER’S BANK ACCOUNT

As a father of four children, Mark Pung says he would never dream of going without health insurance. Yet he and his wife Dana paid for the births of their two youngest children out of their own pocket to the tune of $3,600 for each healthy baby girl.

Even though their insurance has a $5,000 deductible, they actually save money every year because their premiums are so low. They only pay $2,160 for coverage annually now, but previous plans had run between $800 and $1,400 every month.  That’s at least $9,600 a year for premiums alone.

In a worst-case scenario now, they could have up to $7,160 in out-of-pocket healthcare costs for the year. That’s still at least $2,440 less per year than they spent on their old plans.  If they have no out-of-pocket costs, it’s a lot like winning the lottery.

Mark says, "I felt more exposure, but it wasn't enough to stop me from doing it because I could run the numbers and see how much sense it made."

Even if you have a chronic disease, paying for part of your health care while reeling in big saving with low premiums can put you way ahead at the end of each year.  Now, add on the tax savings and tax-free interest that can be yours with a high-deductible plan that allows you to start a Health Savings Account. The numbers just do not lie!