Money, taxes and insurance · 10 guides
Health Insurance: problems and fixes, explained by Rex
Rex Slover is the only health insurance member of BNI Preston Center. These guides are written for a Dallas–Fort Worth reader who has the problem right now: what is happening, what to check, when to call, and what it costs.
- You lost your job and your health plan with it: the options and deadlines, in order Losing a job starts several clocks at once, and the health insurance one is the easiest to miss. Here is what happens to your coverage, what each option is good for, and the order to work through them. What happens to your coverage, and your main optionsFirst week: find out exactly when your coverage endsCOBRA: same plan, full priceTexas state continuation for smaller employers
- What it costs a small business to offer health insurance, and what moves the number There is no single price for a small-group health plan. The cost comes from a handful of choices you control and a few facts about your team you do not, and knowing which is which is how you set a budget. The short answer: it depends on six things, and you control threeFacts about your group that shape the quotePlan design: the biggest lever you haveNetwork type changes the price of the same benefits
- The fall coverage checkup: what to review before open enrollment closes Health plans change every January whether you change yours or not. An hour each fall, with the right checklist, catches most of the surprises before they reach your mailbox as a bill. What to look at every fall, in one paragraphStart with the letter most people throw awayRecheck your doctors as if you were newRun every prescription through next year's drug list
- Still working at 65 with insurance through your job: do you need Medicare now? Some people working past 65 can safely wait on Medicare Part B, and some need it the month they turn 65. The difference usually comes down to how many people your employer has. It mostly depends on how big your employer isYour first window opens three months before your birthday monthEmployer with 20 or more employees: what usually happensEmployer with fewer than 20 employees: why waiting is risky
- Seven health plan mistakes I see every enrollment season, and how to avoid them Most bad health plan choices come from a short list of mistakes and a few stubborn myths. Each one is easy to avoid once you know to look for it. The short listMistake 1: treating the lowest premium as the cheapest planMistake 2: assuming your doctor is in networkMistake 3: skipping the prescription check
- Medicare Advantage or a Medicare Supplement: how to choose the one that fits you Neither option is better for everyone. One trades freedom for structure and extras, the other trades a higher monthly cost for predictability, and the timing of your choice matters more than most people are told. The honest answer: it depends on how you use careHow each path works, in plain termsThe differences that matter, side by sideWhen Medicare Advantage tends to fit
- Does a Texas business have to offer health insurance? The rules and the real reasons Most small Texas businesses are not required to offer health insurance. Many do anyway, and the ones that do take on a few rules worth knowing before the first enrollment meeting. Most small Texas businesses are not required toThe federal line: 50 full-time employeesUnder 50: optional, but rarely a neutral choiceOnce you offer coverage, continuation rules apply
- Buying your own plan on HealthCare.gov: when to do it alone and when to get help Plenty of Texans enroll on HealthCare.gov without help and do fine. Others pick on premium alone and find out in March that their doctor is out of network. Here is how to tell which side you are on. Yes, you can, and for some people it is the right callSituations where going it alone usually worksSituations where help pays for itselfFive terms to understand before you compare anything
- Before you trust a health insurance broker: the questions that sort good from bad A broker can save you hours and real money, or steer you into the plan that pays them best. A few direct questions tell you which kind you are talking to. Eight questions that tell you most of what you needAgent, broker, captive, independent: what the words meanAsk how they are paid, and listen for a straight answerQuestions about how they compare plans
- Your group health renewal came in with a big increase: what to do before it takes effect The renewal letter is not the final word. Here is how to read it, what alternatives exist for a small employer, and how to run the comparison without it costing you anything. The renewal letter and the number that made you sit downWhat is actually behind the increaseWhat to pull together before you talk to anyoneWhen accepting the renewal is fine, and when to shop it