Understanding Health Insurance as a Millennial

“This post is sponsored by Aflac. I was compensated for writing it, but all opinions are 100 percent mine.”

Let’s face it. Talking about things like health insurance and responsibilities isn’t always the most exciting of conversations. As a matter of fact, many of us tend to avoid such topics, when in reality, health insurance is such an important topic and needs to be discussed.

Chances are you have looked into some sort of health coverage either for yourself or for your family, and it was most likely pretty time consuming and somewhat confusing. I know, I’ve been there and done that! In fact, most people would rather be doing anything else than completing their annual benefits enrollment. How crazy is it that 28% of millennials would rather go a day without social media, and 14% would rather walk across hot coals than dive into the endless pit of despair that’s health-insurance. (Aflac Open Enrollment Survey, 2016). Sheesh!

It’s become such an issue that millennial employees who don’t set aside time to review their benefits options often end up with inadequate health care protection for themselves and their families. Not taking the time to properly review benefits options can greatly impact one’s ability to maintain their lifestyle. I know I am completely guilty of rushing through my health insurance enrollment forms, and choosing the least expensive plan up-front.

Here are a few things to think about when looking into your benefits options:

• Spending more time researching benefits options can help ensure you make the best health care and financial decisions for yourself and your family this open enrollment period.
• Don’t forget to utilize the resources available through your employer. Many workplaces offer the option to speak with a benefits expert about your specific needs and provide online portals to compare plans.
• HDHPs are becoming a more common choice. More than half (60%) of millennials selected a major medical/health insurance plan with a high deductible of $1,000 or more last year, up from 48% who said the same in 2015.
• I have found Aflac to be a great resource for all of my health coverage questions. They really help you understand the process, as well as options for Voluntary Insurance plans for Accident, Critical Illness, and Hospital. These Voluntary insurance plans can help supplement traditional benefit plans and even provide cash benefits that can be used for groceries, child care, hotel, and parking expenses. Even if your major medical bills are covered by your employer plan, these incidental expenses can add up quickly!
• If you have questions about Voluntary Insurance or benefit enrollment process (like I did), visit Aflac.com so you can find the information you need to make the right choice for you and and your family.

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of CLEVER and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own. Z161128Q  10/16

Aflac herein means American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus and American Family Life Assurance Company of New York.