The guessing game that is Open Enrollment

It's been a while since I’ve posted an article. Lots of great topics that I've encountered over the past months. I'm writing about health insurance plans because why else...It's Open Enrollment season!! Therefore, there are tons of questions about Employee Benefits and choosing the right plan for you and your family. When you make the decision to select a health plan, you always want to consider a couple things.

Do you know what you’re looking for? First off, know what you want in a plan. Do you know what your health situation currently is? Do you visit your doctor often? How often? Will you be having surgery during the plan year? What about medications? Are you on them daily? Will you be going to a Nutritionist this year? Are you planning to have kids? Do you have family members on your plan? Finally, how much are you willing to pay each pay period? Do you have a budget for it?

Are you even eligible for the plans? Once you’ve determined why you want a plan, find out which plans you are actually eligible for. Your company may have 1 plan, 4 plans, 7 plans available, different Tiers for different brackets of income, or maybe plans based on your status as an employee. Drum it down and figure out which one you are actually eligible for. No sense reviewing plans that you can’t even sign up for.

Life Happens! Once you’ve gotten that all figured out, start thinking of the services you may be using. This is not a perfect scenario because even if there is proper planning, Life Happens! (Of course, most company plans allow for such changes so that if there is a life changing event—marriage, loss of spouses plan, birth of a child, adoption, you are eligible to change your plan.) So what you planned for may not be what may happen during the course of the year. But it’s always good to have a great plan in place…just in case!

Bring out the colored highlighters. Most plans are done creatively by the Benefits department…some are written out in paragraph form or are communicated in a chart form having separate rows/sections for information on vision, health, dental, …….. What I like to do is get a highlighter and highlight the areas that I think pertain to me? For example, you might highlight the section on health, vision, dental, etc. Highlighting helps you focus on the specific sections that you anticipate using during the upcoming year.

Show me the money! Once you’ve determined what areas you’d like to focus on, everything else gets easier because it’s all about the money. More like SHOW ME THE MONEY! You now have to consider a couple things that pertain to you monetarily.

Premiums—simply put, a premium is the amount of money that is deducted from your paycheck every pay period. You will authorize your company to take this amount out during Open Enrollment (when you join the company and are eligible for Benefits or when you have a life changing experience). Once you choose your health plan, you should always check to see what the premiums are. There are usually different prices to choose from. Generally selecting a plan as “an employee” is different from selecting a plan as “a family”. The premiums as a family will be higher.

Deductible—The deductible is the amount that you will have to pay before the insurance company will begin to make (a portion of) payments to claims on your behalf. Most often than not, if you have a higher deductible, then you have lower premiums. If you have a lower deductible, then your premiums are higher.

Co-pay—A co-pay is the amount of “cash on hand” you need to take with you to pay for your visit to a health care provider. This is the amount that your company has negotiated with the insurance company, so make sure you know how much it is. The co-pay is determined by the type of plan that you choose. Depending on the plan, you might also have to pay a deductible before paying a co-pay.

Scenario 1. For example, let’s say that you select a plan that has a $40 co-pay to visit your health care provider along with a $250 deductible and you have to claims that are $125 each.
Co-pay: $40
Deductible: $250
Claim 1: $125
Claim 2: $125

You will first have to use up your deductible before you can start using the co-pay. Before the first visit, you have $250. After the first visit, you have $125 left to use in your “deductible bank”. After the second visit there is no more money that you have to pay out of pocket in your “deductible bank”. You can then begin paying $40 co-pay for your claims.

There are soooo many other items involved in Open Enrollment, such as adding dependents to your plans, Life Insurance policies, Long Term Disability, Flexible Spending Plans, etc. so each decision should be made following the items that I’ve outlined above. The plan documents for each of the plans offered by your company actually DO exist and can be located in your HR office. It has more of a detailed outline of all the items discussed but contains more information that you really care to know of.

Don’t forget to participate in Open Enrollment if you are eligible and good luck with choosing your plans. It may be a scary experience for some, but if you follow the outline above, it should be a little easier.

As always, prioritize, set boundaries, and Live!

A Change in the way we apply to Government jobs?

Obama's Administration is making changes to the way in which Americans apply for Federal Government jobs. This will surely have an effect on those "internally" who have been so used to the old method of recruiting...not to mention the relief to those who've applied and never really understood how to maneuver through this system.

Will it be easier to apply? Only time will tell. I'm sure that eventhough you won't have to necessarily apply using the same old methods, you will still be recruited based on your knowledge of the job, the skills you possess and your ability to come in and make things happen. Not all will be different, just the method in which you get in. Should be a little easier, right?

Read all about it.

Obama wants federal agencies to hit the gas on hiring

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/10/AR2010051004898.html

As always, prioritize, set boundaries and live

H.R. 3590 meet America

HealthCare reform that President Barack Obama promised has now been signed into law and will be known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act: H.R. 3590. Along with this signage comes about 2,000 pages worth of reading, so for those of you who enjoy reading, you’re in luck!!

There has been so much debate and time dedicated to covering the details of getting this Bill signed into Law. I’ve spoken to some of my friends who have tuned out of the HealthCare reform debate. Some mention being overwhelmed by the amount of media coverage, the grandstanding, the conflicting details, everyone’s woeful impression of what will happen to America if this Bill passed and more. (Hey, it’s America, we go through important processes like these and the media covers it in detail :-)

More of the intimate parts of how we will live with this Bill became “lost in coverage”. Just like my friends, I found myself lost in translation…trying to figure out how this Bill would affect the HR community and me personally. Well, we can breathe a short sigh of relief. Now that its finalized, we can now begin to dissect and understand it a little better.

To learn more about how you will be affected, please see the 3 links below...

Read about the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (HR 3590) here: Go to: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d111:H.R.3590: Then, click on Text of Legislation

“H.R. 3590 is divided into 10 titles. The bill contains provisions that will go into effect immediately, on June 21, 2010 (90 days after enactment); on September 23, 2010 (six months after enactment); and provisions that will go into effect in 2014.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patient_Protection_and_Affordable_Care_Act)

The HealthCare tool: This is from the Washington Post and allows you to calculate how the Bill will impact your life based on income, age, location and family size.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/healthcaretool

The new law and you: 4 scenarios, by Michelle Singletary of The Washington Post: I found a great article, written by Michelle Singletary of the Washington Post, that I thought I would share. Michelle provides commentary on what will affect us now. Some scenarios in her article… you are (1) married and have insurance already with your employer; (2) single and unemployed; (3) under 26 and just out of college with no insurance or (4) covered through your employer making over $200,000 or $250,000 married and filing jointly.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/26/AR2010032605598.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns

As always, prioritze, set boundaries, and live!

Candlelight Vigil for Haiti

Thought I'd pass this on for anyone that's interested...this is sponsored by the TransAfrica Forum and the Hip Hop Caucus.


Tuesday, January 19, 2010, 4:30 pm
Embassy of the Republic of Haiti
2311 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W.
Washington , D.C. 20008

One week after the catastrophic earthquake, TransAfrica Forum and the Hip Hop Caucus ask that we gather in front of the Haiti Embassy in Washington, D.C., to show our support for the millions of people who have either lost lives, been severely injured or are left in the midst of the rubble in Haiti. To date, more than 50,000 Haitians have died, millions more are without sufficient medical help, food and clean drinking water. Aid assistance is hindered by the destruction of the port, hospitals and roads.

Let us join in a candlelight vigil and unite our hearts with our 'family' in Haiti and resolve that we will stand with them. Haitians need our spiritual support now more than ever. Please bring a candle and invite your friends.

We are gathering at 4:30pm and will hold a moment of silence at 4:53pm the exact time the earthquake leveled Port-au-Prince .

For more info rmation or to become a sponsoring organization contact Joia Nuri jnuri@transafricaforum.org or 202-223-1960 ext 131.

TransAfrica Forum 1629 K Street, NW, Suite 1100 Washington , DC 20006
Phone: 202.223.1960 Fax: 202.223.1966 info@transafricaforum.org

As always, prioritize, set boundaries and live!

Does your company match your donation to Haiti?

What is your company doing for Haiti? Call your HR office and find out if your company has a charitable employee matching fund. Some companies match to the dollar the amount of money that you donate to your favorite charities. That's double the amount of money that you may be able to give to the Haiti cause. There may be a minimum to contribute and a maximum you can donate per year.

Good luck!

Let's Help Haiti

It is not much we can say we've done for the world community unless everyone has been impacted positively in some way.

I wanted to do as much as I could to support the people of Haiti and what they're going through right now. Haiti is in need of any help that the country can get. First and foremost, they will need water, shelter, clothing and food. They will also need donations of blood. There are so many small ways that you can help, so try to be as impactful as you can when giving. This is just the beginning of what we can do to help.

Here are 7 important websites:

1. Wyclef Jean's website where you can go to provide donations. He's been involved in providing for Haiti for some time now.
http://www.yele.org/

2. CNN provides a great break down of which organizations can help based on: basic needs, shelter, medical aid and food:
http://edition.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2007/impact/?iref=allsearch

3. Red Cross provides all types of services but mainly can provide needed blood to survivors.
http://www.redcross.org/

4. The White House will provide updates on what America is doing to help.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/01/13/help-haiti

5. Charity Navigator will evaluate the sites that you are sending money to so you have an idea of how your money is being used.
http://www.charitynavigator.org/

6. Huffingtonpost provides up to date news and blogs on ways you can help.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/

7. President's Clinton and Bush have joined together to set up a fund for donations to the Haitian cause.
http://www.clintonbushhaitifund.org/

Please continue to pray for the people of Haiti.

New Year’s Resolutions in bite size pieces

Resolve to NOT choose New Year’s Resolution that are unattainable this year. In 2010, there are many types of New Year's Resolutions that I have heard of or read about. People have resolved to lose weight, cut down on their spending, eat healthier, reach out to friends more and for some people, getting a new job is more important than anything. These are the resolutions that are recycled every year by so many. For the latter, if you are not satisfied at your job, then “feeling” that this is something you need to resolve this year is a plausible start. However, "feelings" alone should not guide your decisions when making New Year’s resolutions. There are actions that you need to take in order to make your New Year’s Resolutions more attainable and sustainable. Try using an environmental scan to assess your situation first. The environmental scan should be both internal and external. Internal environmental scans should be areas that are controllable by you. External environmental scans are not controllable by you.

For example, an external environment scan may show that the economic situation is bad, many companies are laying off their workers, having hiring freezes, and cutting costs. Also there may not be many job postings for the jobs that you are interested in applying for. But, if you do an internal environmental scan, you can assess how job ready you really are. What are you limitations? What are areas that you have perfected? For example, is your resume up to date? What about your interviewing skills? Do you need to prep with friends or get professional help with it? Do you have an interview suit? What about critical job skills, that certification, or advanced degree that you were thinking about attaining? Getting these things in order is very helpful when trying to find a new job.

A couple of weeks ago, I met up with some friends to have wine, chat and reminisce about 2009. We talked about our New Year’s Resolutions and our hopes for the next decade. We decided to meet at the end of each month to drink wine and to “celebrate” any accomplishments that we make towards these resolutions. Later, I pondered what I had decided to work on for 2010. On a broad sense, my “feeling” is to develop a more holistic/wellness approach focusing on my physical, emotional and spiritual well being. I thought about what my internal and external environmental scans were teaching me. Eventually I decided to take the steps necessary to attain this goal. I broke my broad New Year’s Resolutions into bite size pieces. I decided on an action plan and will move forward from there. Doing this I felt was more realistic for me in order to get to my New Year’s Resolution.

So, for everyone that has decided that in 2010 they are going to lose weight, cut down on their spending, eat healthier, reach out to friends more and get a new job, first focus on how attainable these resolutions are. And if they are too broad to be attainable, try to break them down into bite size pieces so you can have many “celebrations” throughout the year.

Happy New Year

As always, prioritize, set boundaries and live!!!