MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA–(Marketwire – Dec 19, 2012) – Today eHealthInsurance (www.ehealthinsurance.com[1]) ( NASDAQ : EHTH ), America’s first and largest private health insurance exchange, released its top five year-end health insurance tips for consumers.
For many consumers with health, vision or dental insurance, annual benefits and deductibles will reset on January 1, 2013. In the rush of the holidays, consumers may forget to take advantage of insurance benefits that expire at the end of the year. They may also fail to schedule their medical care in order to take full advantage of their deductibles, or to fully fund their Health Savings Accounts.
eHealthInsurance recommends that consumers take a few minutes each December to re-familiarize themselves with the details of their coverage and get the most out of their health insurance dollars.
Top Five Year-End Health Insurance Tips
Don’t miss out on calendar-year benefits – Some health insurance plans cover annual physicals with little or no out-of-pocket cost, and it’s nice to start the new year with a clean bill of health. Your eligibility for a dental checkup, a vision checkup, or vision hardware like contacts or a new pair of glasses, may also follow a calendar-year schedule. Check with your insurance company to see if you’re still eligible for services like these in 2012.
Work your deductible – Many health insurance plans come with a deductible that resets every calendar year. If you’ve already met your deductible for 2012, or are close to it, medical care rendered before the end of the year may be covered at a lower out-of-pocket cost to you. Conversely, if you’re a long way from fulfilling this year’s deductible but expect to have a lot of medical expenses in 2013, you may want to delay non-emergency care until early next year so that you can fulfill next year’s deductible sooner.
Be smart with FSA dollars – Funds in employer-sponsored Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs) don’t roll over from year to year. Check with your Human Resources department or FSA administrator to see if you have money left in your account, and make use of it before the end of December. If you’re a heavy FSA-user, note that the maximum contribution to an FSA is decreasing to $2,500 starting in 2013. If that’s not enough for your needs next year, consider switching to an HSA-eligible health insurance plan and opening a Health Savings Account.
Fund your Health Savings Accounts to the max – If you have a Health Savings Account (HSA) and an HSA-eligible health insurance plan, maximize your tax savings by fully funding it. As with FSAs, money can be saved in an HSA on a pre-tax or tax-deductible basis to pay for qualified medical care. Unlike FSAs, the money in your HSA is yours to keep and funds can roll over and grow year after year until retirement. The contribution limit for HSAs in 2012 is $3,100 for individual coverage, or $6,250 for family coverage.
Get a jump on healthy News Year’s resolutions – Check with your health insurance company to see if they offer discounts with local or national health clubs. Ask your employer or health insurance company if they offer special money-saving incentives or discounts for achieving specific wellness milestones. Staying healthy over the long term can improve your quality of life and help keep your medical and health insurance costs in check.
Additional Consumer Resources:
About eHealtheHealth, Inc. ( NASDAQ : EHTH ) is the parent company of eHealthInsurance, America’s first and largest private health insurance exchange where individuals, families and small businesses can compare health insurance products from leading insurers side by side and purchase and enroll in coverage online. eHealthInsurance offers thousands of individual, family and small business health plans underwritten by more than 180 of the nation’s leading health insurance companies. eHealthInsurance is licensed to sell health insurance in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Through the company’s eHealthTechnology solution (www.eHealthTechnology.com[2]), eHealth is also a leading provider of health insurance exchange technology. eHealthTechnology’s exchange platform provides a suite of hosted e-commerce solutions that enable health plan providers, resellers and government entities to market and distribute products online. eHealth, Inc. also provides powerful online and pharmacy-based tools to help seniors navigate Medicare health insurance options, choose the right plan and enroll in select plans online through its wholly-owned subsidiary, PlanPrescriber.com (www.planprescriber.com[3]) and through its Medicare website www.eHealthMedicare.com[4].
For more health insurance news and information, visit the eHealthInsurance consumer blog: Get Smart – Get Covered[5].
References
- ^ www.ehealthinsurance.com (ctt.marketwire.com)
- ^ www.eHealthTechnology.com (ctt.marketwire.com)
- ^ www.planprescriber.com (ctt.marketwire.com)
- ^ www.eHealthMedicare.com (ctt.marketwire.com)
- ^ Get Smart – Get Covered (ctt.marketwire.com)
Resources:
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Health Tips And Vitamins I Should Take Being A Growing Teen? Anyone recommend any daily vitamins i should take? please provide the store i can get em at and the price. what it does and all the details please. also any random health tips would be appreciated. thanks.
A multi vitamin suh as centrum is good. Flaxseed oil capsules are great as well.
What Are Some Basic Tips To Give To Kids About Staying Healthy? I’m trying to teach my 6 year old nephew how to stay healthy. I need tips from eating right, to being active and maintaining hygiene. Any health tips you expect a 6 yr old kid to understand.
You should tell them to eat lots of smaller meals and to eat slowly so that their bodies are more able to recognize when they are full. Also its important to drink lots of water and fruit juice rather than soda. Try and encourage him to stay away from junk food and eat fruit or something healthy when he wants a snack. Also teach him to be active, that playing sports and running around is good for you as well as fun. Also teach him the basics of hygiene like showering daily and brushing his teeth 3 times a day. Try and make it all fun for him though, as kids respond more to things that they find enjoyable.
Anyone Have Some Good Tips For A College Student Who Wants To Lose About 35 Pounds? Basically Im pretty lethargic due to the studying….I do a fair bit of walking and I dont eat fast food more than a coupla times a month, but I seem to keep gaining weight. Basically I need some health tips or some way of beginning to get rid of the buddha belly.
As a fellow student, I understand your struggle. My butt feels constantly glued to a seat and I don’t have the time or attention for planning healthy meals. It’s tough but I manage to control my weight and even lose weight every now and then with some pretty easy tactics. Since you want to lose it, you’ll have to get serious. I would highly recommend cardio workouts. Depending on your fitness level and personal tastes you could try at home workouts like Tae Bo or you can hit the gym (in which case walking or jogging on the tredmill mixed with weights would be effective). Basically, make yourself workout even when you feel tired from studying or a long day. Next thing you know, you’ll look forward to the stress relief. Remember to watch what you eat and consider counting calories…you may be surprised how much you eat daily! Get sleep. Lack of sleep stresses the bod out and you may compensate with food. And you definitely will have less energy for workouts. GOOD LUCK!
I’m Trying To Loose Weight, What Are Some Health Tips? I’m making a modeling portfolio, and I know I need to be slimmer. What are some health tips, such as eating veggies, and colors to dress in the make you look slimmer? What is skinny for height 5’8″? I am Indian (India) & German and I have blue eyes.
Unfortunately there are no easy ways to permanently lose weight and most people who lose weight regain it all.
A vegetarian or vegan diet for the rest of your life might perhaps be a good option as very few vegetarians or vegans are overweight.
If you want a life changing permanent weight loss you need to follow a maintenance diet for the rest of your life after you reach your target weight with one of the many diets you can choose from.
You can see further details in a web search for “how to lose weight and keep it off”.