NGPF Activity Bank

Budgeting #6

COMPARE: Select a Health Insurance Plan

With the somewhat recent passing of the Affordable Care Act, more Americans are covered by health insurance than
ever before. That said, the ACA has also necessitated an even better understanding of how plans work and how to make
informed decisions regarding your health care. Each row of the chart below represents one of four options. Follow the
directions for each separate option to complete the chart.

Option Name of the Plan Monthly Monthly Copay Total Estimated

You’ve Chosen Premium Deductible Annual Cost
(assume 3 copays
per year, unless
you KNOW you’ll
use more)

(1) Employer --will depend on your $310.09 $164.59 $22.80 $3789

Based Coverage employer--

(2) Remain on n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a

Parent’s
Insurance

(3) Buy Directly Core Bronze HSA – 18 $215 $459 $0 $2580

from a Health Kaiser Foundation
Insurance Health Plan of
Company Washington

(4) Buy from the Ambetter Balanced Care $256 $437 $15 $3117
Health Insurance 4 (2018)
Marketplace

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Part I: Compare Your Healthcare Options

Option 1 -- Opt for Employer Based Coverage

As you saw in the Forbes article, author Carolyn McClanahan suggests taking advantage of Employer Based coverage.
Look back at your Student Activity Packet for the resource Health Insurance at What Cost? Based on that infographic’s
data on yearly costs, complete the chart above for monthly costs, rounded to the nearest whole dollar.

2) Option 2 -- Remain on Your Parent’s Insurance

As you saw in the WebMD FAQ section, the Affordable Care Act allows you to remain on your parent’s insurance policy
until your 26th birthday. If you think that could be an option for you, find out from your parent how much they
currently pay per month for you to be covered, plus the other details for the chart above, and fill them in. For this
example, we’re going to assume that once you’ve graduated, they’ll make you chip in for your portion of the costs.
Now, answer these questions:

A. Would might be potential benefits of remaining on your parent’s health insurance as long as you’re able to?
Can save cost for the premium.

B. What potential downsides can you see to remaining covered by your parent?
For someone below age 30, you may miss an opportunity to buy cheap catastrophic health plan.

C. Is remaining on your parent’s insurance something you would potentially be interested in? Why or why not?
No, because by buying my own insurance I would gain more experience in handling insurance which very
important in the future when you are living independent from your parent.

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3) Option 3 -- Buy Directly from a Health Insurance Company
According to HealthCare.gov, another possible way to obtain health insurance is to buy directly from a health insurance
company. The federal government’s website offers this Plan Finder to help you locate private insurance plans you can
purchase. Use that website to explore possible plans to meet your post-graduation needs. Remember that you should
use the future conditions you predict for your life, such as your future state of residence, projected income, etc.
Exception: It most likely won’t allow you to put a date 4 years in the future (if you’re planning to attend college);
instead, use a start date during this year. When you find a plan that will work for you, record the information in the
chart above. Then, answer these questions:

D. What features or costs of the various plans did you prioritize in making a decision on a plan?
Premium and deductible

E. What was the most difficult aspect to choosing a plan?

Balancing the premium and deductible. Because the coverage of all the plans listed is pretty much the same,
especially for single man.

F. If available in your state, find a dental plan, too, and list the relevant cost details about the plan.
There are monthly premium and maximum benefit. Yet, the maximum benefit is far huge than the annual
premium. The dental plan that find cost monthly about $25.64 and has a maximum benefit of $1000.

4) Option 4 -- Buy from the Health Insurance Marketplace

The Health Insurance Marketplace pulls information for the marketplace plans available in your specific city or county
and state. Answer the questions asked on the federal site and then your state site (if directed there next) to find a
variety of plans on the Marketplace. After reviewing the plans, choose the one that looks best for you, and record its
costs in the table above. Then, answer the following questions:

G. Based on your projected income, would you qualify for premium tax credits to offset the cost of your
Marketplace insurance?
No.

H. Does your plan include dental insurance? Does it cost extra? Note the details here.
No, it will cost extra around $30 for dental insurance and important take note, the dental insurance provider
is different from the health insurance.

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 I. How do you personally weigh the costs of premiums, maximum out-of-pocket expenses, deductibles, and
copays? What do you value in terms of your health insurance spending? Why?
Cost of premium and deductible. I would have preferred low premium and good amount of deductibles,
because I find myself sick rarely, and I am using health insurance as a hedging tool if something major
happened to my health that hindered me to work and live comfortable.

J. What could be a potential downside to the plan you’ve chosen?

If I have sickness that didn’t cost a lot such flu, fever and cold.

Part II: Choose a Health Insurance Option

Based on the four options you’ve got listed in your chart, which health insurance plan would you choose for your post-
graduation self? Justify your answer with cost data for the plan as well as other considerations relevant to the decision.
Write at least 5 sentences.
For my post-graduation self, I would have preferred to find my own insurance, as it maybe hard for me to
negotiate a good amount of salary and insurance with my employer. Between Kaiser and Ambetter, I would
choose Kaiser. Although the cost of both insurance in term of financial is somewhat the same, but because
the purpose of my insurance is for the worse case scenario, I preferred the leisure to go all over the country
to find the best doctor for me. Ambetter is a HMO plan, thus I would not have that leisure.

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