Life is unpredictable. In an instant, everything can change. You can go from the healthiest person to suddenly needing emergency medical care in a split second. You’re going to need a way to pay for those unexpected large medical bills. For many years, Americans have relied on traditional health insurance to cover the costs of their medical care. But, more and more traditional health insurance isn’t living up to its promises. Something has changed and health insurance isn’t such a bargain anymore…but medical cost sharing is.
Because insurance isn’t working anymore more many people, alternatives to traditional health insurance are gaining popularity. One of the most popular is medical cost sharing. There are currently over two million Americans today who rely on medical cost sharing to pay for their medical expenses.
Why should you go for medical cost sharing, and why is traditional health insurance always worse by comparison?
Why You Should Choose Medical Cost Sharing Over Insurance
Although traditional health insurance has been the preferred option for a long time, this is changing rapidly. Health insurance should be the financial safety net in your time of need. People are realizing that the net has some big holes in it. There are cheaper alternatives to health insurance that offer better perks for less money. One such alternative is medical cost sharing. Why should you be saying NO to health insurance and YES to medical cost sharing?
How Much Does Traditional Health Insurance Actually Cost?
Traditional health insurance requires you to pay monthly premiums as well as make co-payments every time you visit a doctor or get a medical procedure. In some cases, you might also need to pay co-insurance for things like surgery or hospital stays. The amount that you pay is dependent on the type of plan that you sign up for. Some plans can have an 80/20 split after you pay the deductible. This means that the insurance company pays for 80% of the costs and you pay for 20% of the costs.
It is also important to note that the co-insurance only applies after you have reached the deductible set by the insurance company. You would be responsible for the full cost of any medical bills that fall short of the set deductible. If you are on a lower premium, high deductible plan, this can come back to bite you when you can least afford it.
According to sources, traditional health insurance in 2020 will cost your employees an average of $103.50 per month or $501.21 for a family. This may sound really low, but these numbers only apply because you the employer cover the other 71% of the actual insurance premium per month. For context, in 2019, a single worker paid an average of $1,242 (18%), and employers paid an average of $7,188 per employee per year. This number looks even bigger when you think about covering your entire workforce.
Limitations Galore
Besides the fact that you have to pay so much to cover your family and your workforce, health insurance comes with quite a few limitations. These vary from one plan to the next so you would have to check each one, but here are a few common ones to be on the lookout for:
Limited Time to Sign Up: Open Enrollment
With traditional health insurance, there is an open enrollment window. You have just six weeks to decide on which insurance plan you are going to stick with for the next year. You cannot make any changes to your plan unless a “qualifying life event” happens, such as the birth of a child or a marriage.
If you miss the open enrollment period, you have to wait for the next one in the following year. You are responsible for finding out when the open enrollment period is and figuring out which plan you want to go for before it ends.
Visiting Doctors in the Network
You are often limited to visiting doctors in the network chosen by the insurance company. If you visit an out-of-network doctor, you will end up having to pay a penalty out-of-pocket. Most insurance companies charge you a penalty for visiting an out-of-network doctor.
What Health Insurance Actually Covers
You might think that, with all the money that you pay for insurance premiums, you should be covered for virtually everything. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case. According to the Affordable Healthcare Act, insurance companies only need to cover you for 10 essential benefits:
- Emergency services
- Ambulatory (outpatient) services
- Hospitalization
- Prescription drugs
- Rehabilitative and habilitative services
- Mental health and substance use disorder services
- Laboratory services
- Pediatric services (oral and vision care for children, not adults)
- Preventative and wellness services
Any other procedures that do not fall under these categories do not have to be covered.
The reality is that health insurance takes a “one size fits all” approach to healthcare. It has presented itself as a safety net of sorts for you and your family. There are many instances where you will end up paying for your medical care yourself. With the world in its current state, you need to find a better way to pay for your large and unexpected medical bills when they arise. But, with all hidden costs, some hesitation over health insurance is understandable.
With all these restrictions in place and the costs involved, it’s no wonder that millions of Americans are open-minded to trying something innovative and different. Medical cost sharing is a new and affordable approach to paying for large medical bills.
Why You Should Say YES to Medical Cost Sharing
Medical cost sharing is a community-based approach to paying for your medical expenses. Unlike health insurance, it lacks the overhead or profit motivations of a public company. Instead, members contribute a monthly share to help others in the community, then in your time of medical need the money from the community is there to help you pay for your large medical expenses. Here are a few reasons why medical cost sharing is always the better option:
Medical Cost Sharing is Cheaper!!
Let’s face it, price is everyone’s first concern. The good news is that, with medical cost sharing, you will pay between 30 – 60% less than traditional health insurance. Members are required to pay an initial unshareable amount (IUA) first. After that, the community shares the medical expenses. After an individual’s third medical need or a family’s fifth medical need in a year the IUA is waived for any additional needs in the same year.
Members of the medical cost sharing community are encouraged to lead healthy lifestyles. This means that there are reduced costs for individual medical care in the community. At any given time, there are funds available to give you access to high-quality healthcare.
Freedom of Choice
Unlike traditional health insurance, there are no network restrictions with medical cost sharing. This means that you are able to visit any doctor you want to without incurring any out of network penalties.
Another perk with medical cost sharing is that because you pay cash, you can negotiate with the doctor and get discounts as a cash-paying patient. Not only do you pay less per month, but you also get more savings with each doctor’s visit.
Sign-Up Any Time
Because medical cost sharing is not a form of insurance, there are no open enrollment limitations. This means that you can sign up for medical cost sharing and make changes at any time of the year.
Medical Cost Sharing With Scoop Health
When you join our Scoop Health community, you get more than just medical cost sharing. You become a part of a community that is there for you when you need them the most. We also make a range of resources available to help members cut out of pocket costs and make healthcare more convenient. These include:
- Telemedicine
- Free Second Opinions
- Health Advisors
- Powerful drug pricing and locating tools.
Now is the best time for you and your employees to save as much money as you possibly can. With medical cost sharing from Scoop Health, we can help you to do just that. Join over two million Americans today and become part of a community that prides itself on transparency and cost-efficiency.
Scoop Health is an affordable solution to health insurance. Learn more here!
