When To Consider Private Health Insurance Despite Employer Benefits
Saturday, July 30th, 2011 by adminSometimes private health insurance can be a better decision than employer group health insurance. Benefits in large group plans are geared toward the needs of the majority, which means the needs of the minority are not being considered. For those that fall in the category that needs either less or more benefits than the group plan offers, private health insurance benefits may be a viable solution.
Group plans offering health insurance benefits exceeding the needs of the user aren't very beneficial at all. In fact, an over-covered plan is a great way to needlessly throw away money. Just because coworkers have lifestyles that call for more coverage, does not mean everyone must be locked into the same deal. If it seems that premiums are far exceeding the need for care and medical attention, addressing the issue could save a ton of money.
Private health insurance coverage is notoriously expensive. Health insurance for groups is considerably discounted due to volume. As in most things, volume equals discount. But the fact remains that a discount on something not needed is a useless discount. Therefore, sometimes the employer health insurance is not the best answer.
Family plans through an employer are usually a flat rate despite family size. A one-child only household may find better options by branching the coverage in different directions. For example, maybe a family would actually save more if they all went to a private plan, or maybe just the child and other parent. Keeping only the one employee on the plan as opposed to everyone could change the employer insurance to a nicely discounted single plan, rather than an inflated family plan.
Another major reason to consider private health insurance falls on the opposite issue, which is the plan not providing enough coverage. Sometimes falling at the minority-end of a group plan means needing more coverage than most. Private health insurance can prove to be beneficial in addition to employer health insurance. Sometimes medical issues simply exceed that of most single plans. People with major issues that require far more coverage are wise to double up with a secondary plan.
Employer plans sometimes will have exclusions that force an employee to seek alternative insurance options. An example of this would be a preexisting condition clause. Many private health insurance plans offer options that cover preexisting conditions.
Nobody should simply assume one is better off with an employer group plan. The best way to determine what insurance options are best is to simply weigh the health insurance benefits against the health insurance needs. This is a surefire way to see the gaps that need to be filled, or over-inflated coverage weighing down funds.

