Hello there!

It's Open Enrollment time for a lot of people, including me. You may be going through Open Enrollment right now, too.

So, since your health insurance is top of mind right now, it's a good time to take inventory or what you CAN DO right now.

Right now while I am working on our family's choice for 2025, I am also helping two of my adult kids and a few of their friends who are making their choices, too.

Here is what I suggest focusing on right now to take inventory and figure out where you are at and where you need to go:

• Get your current benefit plan in front of you - to recognize the differences from the new 2025 plans

• Get your 2025 benefit plan in front of you - you may have multiple plans to choose from and you'll want to compare each plan choice to see which gets you 100% covered for the least amount of money out of your pocket!

• Compare the Annual Out Of Pocket Maximum - it may be abbreviated OOP, this is the most important number...I like to say that deductibles, copayments and coinsurance are merely head fakes.

• Find out what your tax rate is for 2024 - check the IRS website here Most people are in the 22% or 24% bracket

• Find the premium you pay now and find the premium you will pay in 2025. It is probably shown as the amount you pay per pay period, so you will want to multiply to find out the annual amount

• IMPORTANT: Confirm how often you are paid - once per month (x12), 15th and last day of month (x24), every two weeks (x26)

This where the rubber meets the road! Do the calculations for each of your choices - you'll be surprised!

You want to compare the TOTAL YOU PAY including taxes to Uncle Sam

Your total equals the premium you pay plus your maximum out of pocket (OOP) plus the taxes you pay for your OOP

*If you DO NOT choose the High Deductible Health Plan that is eligible for a Health Savings Account you will be paying taxes to Uncle Sam before you can pay from your regular savings or checking account.

Why do you have to include the tax you pay? Because when you have a traditional PPO/HMO plan, you need to earn the money then pay Uncle Sam federal income tax and then get the net from your paycheck direct deposited to your checking/savings account so you can pay your OOP.

When you pay out of pocket expense from your Health Savings Account, you will not owe any tax. In other words YOUR TAXES WILL BE ZERO!

When you have an eligible High Deductible Health Plan with an HSA, you do not pay federal income tax on the money that goes into your HSA.

Needless to say, I lean heavily toward choosing an eligible High Deductible Health Plan with a Health Savings Account. It's like getting at least a 28% (to over 50%) discount on whatever you pay.

When my daughter and I went over her choices, she exclaimed, "I'm not choosing that (HDHP), it's way too high!"

After I went through the calculations with her, she realized that the HDHP/HSA was less expensive if she did not have any claims AND it was less expensive if she reached her maximum out of pocket limit. She was happy that I showed her how to look at her choices!

I hope this helps you, too.

If you need help, don't hesitate to send me an email and ask for help scott@scottwdowling.com.

You can also find me on X/Twitter @scottwdowling and be sure to ask for help!

Good luck in 2025!

All the best,

SWD