Do consultants exist for evaluating health care plans for an individual?
August 27, 2020 8:34 PM   Subscribe

I know there are companies that work for employers to evaluate the best health insurance options for their company, but I’m wondering if there’s anyone I, as an individual, could pay for someone knowledgeable to review the different offerings my employer provides, and what my family’s medical needs are, and help us understand our choices better? It’s a confusing process (to me, anyway!) and I would appreciate the peace of mind of having an expert help us make these decisions. Specific recommendations or any general guidance would be most appreciated.
posted by brbmaroon to Work & Money (6 answers total) 6 users marked this as a favorite
 
Best answer: Does your company have an HR department or person? If you want to evaluate plans offered by your employer, I would ask HR if they have a rep or someone from the insurance company that can walk you through some scenarios based on your expected healthcare needs.
posted by WeekendJen at 2:50 AM on August 28, 2020 [1 favorite]


Best answer: I don't know of a professional who plays this role. If your company is like many, there are different plans offered by different insurance companies, so a given rep is not going to be able to help you make a choice between all the plans available to you. The insurance broker may have someone who can help, and it wouldn't hurt to ask HR if you can speak to someone from the broker. But that person will be able to answer questions about the plans only, and is not going to be able to evaluate your family's medical needs.

This would be a fascinating job for someone to create for themselves.
posted by peanut_mcgillicuty at 4:58 AM on August 28, 2020 [1 favorite]


Best answer: I've never heard of an independent consultant like this, and I work in insurance. Another option that could be helpful for you: this tool helps you choose plans from the marketplace based on what criteria are important to you. Going through that process could give you some data to help you evaluate your workplace's plans. Good luck! https://www.policygenius.com/health-insurance
posted by monster_a at 6:13 AM on August 28, 2020


Best answer: My employer offered this through a company called My Health Math, but I think they were only set up to work with HR/ employers, not individuals.

I signed up and they called me, asked me questions about my healthcare usage, and then sent me a report with the likely out of pocket costs of each health plan my employer offered and their recommendation for the most cost effective.
posted by geegollygosh at 6:56 AM on August 28, 2020 [1 favorite]


Best answer: If all the offerings are from the same company, that company should have a customer service person who can explain the differences to you,. Not sure they would make a recommendation to you - for all kinds of reasons - but they might be able to make it easier for you to understand what the differences are between the plans so you can make a decision.
posted by domino at 7:24 AM on August 28, 2020


Best answer: This service exists for exactly this purpose: https://predictabill.com/

I haven't used it myself, but a friend recommended it, and my soon-to-be-former spouse is using it to sort out his health insurance options once we are divorced and he's no longer on my insurance. They will evaluate employer health plans as well as open market plans.
posted by bedhead at 7:39 AM on August 28, 2020 [4 favorites]


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