Regardless of your political position on Health Care Reform (a.k.a. Obamacare), there is one thing that everyone can agree on – Arizona health policies for individuals are much more comprehensive today than they were a few years ago.  Before the new healthcare legislation, individual health plans were not required to include preventive care coverage.  They were also more likely to have lifetime maximums in place for major medical benefits.  While the Health Savings Account (HSA) predates the new laws, it seems that more Arizona health policies have paired this tax-saving account with their high-deductible health plans. 

A rapid rise in unemployment has caused more and more families to be uninsured or underinsured, which has created a greater demand for individual health plans.  This, plus a greater number of independent contractors have been a boon to the individual insurance market.  This greater demand for unbundled Arizona health policies has given insurance carriers an incentive to be competitive. 

In a recent article that appeared on this blog, “The Real Reason to Buy AZ Health Insurance Policies”, gives further evidence of this trend.  As healthcare costs continue to increase, families are more likely to purchase some kind of health insurance to offset the risk of going without health insurance.  Unlike most employer group plans, these Arizona health insurance policies are not designed to cover every doctor’s appointment and prescription, but they are a way to make healthcare costs more manageable while keeping families healthy.

Even the least expensive individual health plans are latching onto the “max out of pocket” philosophy, which basically tells the insured person up front how much they would need to pay in a worst-case scenario.  While few people actually incur enough healthcare costs to meet a $5,000 or $10,000 annual deductible, when they do it’s nice to know the rest is covered.  Ideally, after a few years of contributing to a Health Savings Account (HSA), there will be enough money to pay for the deductible without going into debt.

Some insurance companies, such as United Healthcare/Golden Rule, are offering a “disappearing deductible” incentive for members who don’t meet their annual plan deductible.  For example, if your deductible is $5,000 and you don’t meet it in the first year, it would be reduced to $4,000 in the second year. If in the second year it is still not met, it goes to $3,000 in the third year, and continues to diminish until it reaches 50 percent of the original total. 

Find out more about these and other Arizona health policies for self-employed individuals.  Ask your insurance broker at Anderson Insurance Services.