Providing your medical staff with health insurance benefits is becoming increasingly expensive. Because of this cost, some business owners have made the uncomfortable choice to not offer health benefits to their employees. In a medical practice, however, the choice to not offer health coverage comes with hidden costs.

Limited choices and skyrocketing health-care premiums have left you few options for providing quality health coverage for the people you care about. Fewer carriers are offering HMOs in the Texas marketplace, and the plans offered may be as much as 40% more costly for individuals and families, while PPO plans preferred by physicians have almost disappeared from the marketplace.

The market for health insurance in Texas and across the country has become increasingly complex, and this year is certainly no exception. The newspaper headlines are concerning. From the Texas Tribune: Health Insurers' Exit Spells Trouble for Obamacare in Texas. From Dallas News: Seven More Texas Counties Could See Just One Obamacare Option in 2017. Carriers for personal plans have all but left the state, and the plans that are left carry greatly increased premiums. These changes affect all TMA members who shop for coverage, whether for themselves, their families or their practice staff.

In just a matter of days, it will be November 1st, the beginning of Open Enrollment for health insurance for members and their families, as well as practice staff. For many physicians, this is a time of frustration, but TMA Insurance Trust is here to make it easier.

Liz West is an experienced advisor on health insurance under the Affordable Care Act here at TMA Insurance Trust. She has worked here for nearly three decades, so she understands the marketplace and the particular needs of physicians in our state.

As the date for open enrollment nears, we sit down with Liz to discuss the health insurance marketplace and solutions to some of the issues our members are facing.

At TMA Insurance Trust, it is our role as your advocate to advise members when an important issue arises so that you are truly protected. In this week’s blog we provide a historical perspective on Universal Life and what can happen when you are not fully educated by an advisor who is not fully informed or not putting your interests first.

You may have a long-term disability policy provided by the hospital or medical group where you’re employed or you may have bought a plan yourself and filed it away. So why would you need to revisit and update your coverage? For most physicians, the answer lies in one simple question, “If you become disabled and cannot continue your career, will your disability coverage provide enough income to maintain your lifestyle for a significant amount of time?”

As Texans, we treasure our independence, and it shows. In Texas, 63% of physicians are independent, either in a solo or small practice of no more than three physicians. But as the saying goes, ‘responsibility is the price of freedom.’ The burden of financial responsibility can be a heavy one for physicians, especially independent or solo practitioners.