Jun 9, 20212 min read

Double-Digit Returns - Oh yeah!

Double-digit returns are great unless they're being paid out to someone other than your own account. What do we mean here? Had a look at your health insurance premiums lately? Although we're mid-way through the year you can expect to receive the annual notice of the proposed premium rate change. I've voiced concerns about the rising costs of healthcare for some time now and it doesn't appear to be slowing much at all. When you're premiums for insurance are more than your mortgage, you know there's a problem.

Supposedly inflation is non-existent right now even though the costs of goods and services are on the move. Gas prices are one of the things we often keep an eye on and I've seen them go up around 30% in the past 4 months. Yikes! What about other areas in the economy where prices are going up - many in the double digits! Energy, healthcare, college tuition, food, lumber, raw materials, and services are things we want to keep an eye on.

How about these eye-popping health insurance premium increases:

2016 - 7.1%
2017 - 16.6%
2018 - 13.9%
2019 - 8.6%
2020 - 6.8%
2021 - 1.8%

*Source healthinsurance.org | More detail and article found --> Here

What can you do about your own health insurance and what are your options? You'll definitely want to reach out to your HR department if your employer offers different types of coverage or an insurance broker to help guide you and give you all the insight that's specific to your situation. If you don't have an insurance broker or don't know where to find one, consider Optima Benefits & Payroll.

There are so many different types of insurance or alternatives that you might not know. Things like HDHPs (High-deductible Health Plans) paired with a Health Savings Account or even cost-sharing plans. I personally couple my HDHP plan with an HSA and it works extremely well for our needs. Using this strategy, we're a healthy family with limited visits to the doctors other than routine visits and wellness checkups. None of my family is on expensive medication or has pre-existing conditions that require regular screening or preventative measures so this is a very efficient way to get the coverage we need with flexibility.

Health Savings Accounts (HSA's) offer a ton of benefits for the right families and individuals. They offer a robust system to allow for tax-deductible contributions, tax-deferred growth, and tax-free distribution when used for covered items or services. I've been able to help tons of people invest and grow their HSA's after they've made the decision that an HDHP is the right choice. You can learn more about various insurance alternatives --> HERE.

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