Decide whether you care more about predictability or about saving money over the long term. Families with small children and lots of little sore throats and doctor visits often care most about keeping paperwork and out-of-pocket costs under control and may opt for a health-maintenance organization or a low-deductible plan. Folks with a bit more cash flow like the newer trend: higher deductibles and lower monthly premiums. Almost half of all companies are adding new health-care savings accounts to their mix. These plans have deductibles that start at $1,000. But they let you take a tax deduction for extra money that you stash in a savings account to cover those extra costs. They're an especially good deal for families who want to bank health-care money for the future and can use the tax breaks.
If both spouses get a plan, compare them to see which is best. Sometimes splitting them saves the most. Before you sign, make sure the kind of coverage your family really needs, whether it's braces or blood-pressure meds, is in there.
If you've got a flexible health-care spending account, you've probably got to use up what's in it before the year-end. That means an extra round of dental checkups and eyeglasses, just as you're getting busy with the holidays. But a new rule allows your employer to extend the time you have to spend that money until mid-March. Ask your company to make the change, and then adjust your contributions for next year.
Not every "benefit" is all that beneficial, as Scott and Debbie Way, each 41, of Carmel, Ind., discovered. It was going to cost them more than $600 a month to cover their family, including three sons, ages 17, 10 and 4, through Debbie's plan as a private-school teacher. Instead they went out on their own and bought a high-deductible plan that costs them $225 a month for substantially the same coverage. They're banking the difference.
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