Aflac & Open Enrollment Information

I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central 

Consulting (#MC) for Aflac. I received a promotional item 

as a thank you for participating.

Every year I have open enrollment for health and supplemental insurance through my employer. During that time I can choose to change my insurance company and opt in or out of supplemental, dental, and vision insurance. The process is overwhelming; however, my employer holds an Open Enrollment Benefits Fair where you can go and speak to representatives from different insurance companies and grab a benefits book from each. It is a great way for me to make an informed decision for the next year. 

I am luckier than most because most companies make changes in conjunction with the health care reform without their employees' really understanding (or even being made aware of) all the changes. An Open Enrollment Survey was conducted in 2013 and I was surprised to find out that 74% of workers sometimes or never understand everything that is covered by their insurance policy today! After reading that I realized how lucky I am that I am well informed. I keep my benefits book handy all year and and well aware of what is covered and how much I am expected to pay. 

It is very important that you keep well informed of your benefits. This past year I even had to fight a claim with my insurance company but because the coverage was in black and white (probably a misprint) in their benefits booklet they ended up paying a claim they were not intending on paying. There have been other times when I found claim and diagnostic codes entered by the physician's office were incorrect because I knew how much I was supposed to pay. My insurance company worked with the physician's office to fix the paperwork and I saved a ton of money! 

So, how can you make sure you are well informed of your benefits? Here are my recommendations:

• See if your insurance company offers a benefits booklet. I would imagine most, if not all, do. Keep your booklet handy and review your bills with the booklet to make sure you are being charged the right amount. Make sure that services/medications are covered before doing to the doctor as well.
• Check to see if your insurance company has a website. You can often view benefits there and I can even monitor my claims through my company online. 
• Don't be afraid to use your insurance company's customer service number. Yes, I know we live in an age of texting and people often forget that a good old fashion phone call is an option; but, when you are really confused about something talking to a live person is very helpful.
• After reviewing your benefits, consider the need for supplement insurance. My health insurance only covers very basic costs of dental and I considered dental insurance. I added up the cost of the monthly payments and figured out how much this would save me on dental bills and made the informed decision that dental insurance was just not worth it for me. 

The one insurance I struggle with every year is whether or not to get Aflac. We live paycheck to paycheck and an extra deduction taken out every two weeks stresses me out just thinking about it. Especially since I am not sure that I would even use the insurance. I have always opted not to but am seriously reconsidering this year. Last month I got sick....really sick. I had an infection that was very severe and I was given really high doses of antibiotics that almost put me into renal failure.  As days went by I began to panic because my sick leave balance was decreasing quickly. Luckily, I was able to return to work after 2 weeks but I realized that if I became ill again then I may really put my family's finances in jeopardy. Simply put, we cannot live without my paycheck.  Suddenly I realized that supplemental insurance may well be worth it!  I have had Aflac in the past with other jobs and was very impressed with what they had to offer. 

If you would like to know more about open enrollment and Aflac's supplemental insurance, you can visit the Aflac Open Enrollment Resources website for more information.