Smart Use Health Insurance: Understanding and Estimating Health Care Costs Lisa McCoy, MS Jesse Ketterman, PhD Extension Educators – Western Maryland
Our Plan for Today: Understand the development and results of Smart Use: Understanding and Estimating Health Care Costs Understand health care costs covered by health insurance plans and where to find this information Explore tools consumers can use to estimate and plan for health care costs
Health Insurance Literacy Initiative (HILI) Health Insurance Literacy “ the capacity to find and evaluate information about health plans, select the best plan given financial and health circumstances, and use the plan once enrolled” – Healthy Insurance Literacy expert roundtable (2011)
History of HILI Needs assessment found that consumers are confused about health insurance: Terms Selecting a health insurance plan Navigating the health care system How to use benefits Estimating health care costs
Framework Guiding Smart Choice RC + IC & IC = SC Reduce Confusion + Increase Capability & Increase Confidence = Smart Choice
History of Smart Choice / Smart Use Smart Choice : Curriculum on choosing health insurance plans Smart Use : Expanded it to include modules on using health insurance benefits: Smart Use / Smart Actions Your Health Insurance Benefits Understanding & Estimating Health Care Costs
Adult Learning Principles
Understanding and Estimating Health Care Costs
Key Questions I Need to Answer • Why do I need to understand and Why? estim ate health care costs? • What kind of costs are there? • What docum ents provide inform ation What? that will help m e estim ate health care costs? How? • How do I estim ate m y health care costs? My SMART USE
Why Do You Need to Understand and Estimate Health Care Costs? To gain the most benefit from your insurance coverage To determine total out-of- pocket costs of my health insurance plan To have money to pay for out- of-pocket expenses To determine if your chosen health insurance plan fits your financial situation
What Are the Types of Health Care Costs? • Insurance Premiums • Doctors, Dentists and Other Provider Visits • Prescriptions, Insulin and Over-the-Counter Medications • Hospitalization • Medical Aids, Devices and Equipment • Medical Related Travel • Other Medical Expenses
Making Sense of Out-of-Pocket Health Care Costs Out-of-Pocket Maxim um Deductible Prem ium
What Documents Provide Information That Will Help Me Estimate Health Care Costs? Copayment amounts
What Documents Provide Information That Will Help Me Estimate Health Care Costs?
What Documents Provide Information That Will Help Me Estimate Health Care Costs?
How do I estim ate m y health care costs? How?
Meet Perry’s Family
Four Tips for Managing Your Health Care Costs 1. Review your health insurance documents to understand your plan’s cost. 2. Estimate your copayments, prescriptions, equipment, travel and other costs. 3. Calculate how much to set aside to cover out-of-pocket costs. 4. Shop around for your health insurance plan.
Eleven Small Ways to $AVE 1. Track your spending to find spending leaks 2. Avoid impulse spending; wait 24 hours 3. Comparison shop; compare at least 3 4. Save your loose change 5. Take lunch to work 6. Borrow books and videos rather than buying 7. Pay bills on time to avoid late payment fees; pay on time 8. Avoid high-interest credit cards and payday lenders 9. Eat out 2 fewer times a month 10. Limit spending on gifts 11. Plan ahead to avoid ATM, bank, & phone transfer fees
Evaluation results
Evaluation results As of right now, how confident are you that you understand health insurance cost terms? 4 3.5 3 2.5 2 1.5 1 0.5 0 Confidence - Terms Pre-Test Post-Test
Evaluation results As of right now, how confident are you that you could estimate your health care costs? 4 3.5 3 2.5 2 1.5 1 0.5 0 Confidence - Estimate Costs Pre-Test Post-Test
Evaluation results As of right now, how likely are you to determine how much you need to save in order to cover your health care expenses? 4 3.5 3 2.5 2 1.5 1 0.5 0 Determine Expenses Pre-Test Post-Test
Reliable Resources from the Internet University of Maryland (Health Insurance Literacy Initiative): http://www.extension.umd.edu/insure/ Medicare information: http://www.medicarerights.org/ IRS (Health and Medical Expenses): https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc502.html Kaiser Family Foundation: http://kff.org/understanding-health-insurance/ Healthcare.gov: https://www.healthcare.gov/
Acknowledgements This project was developed with funding from University of Maryland Extension; College of Agriculture & Natural Resources and University of Delaware Cooperative Extension :
Contact Information Lisa McCoy lmccoy@umd.edu Jesse Ketterman jketterm@umd.edu
Understanding and Estimating Health Care Costs
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