THE CLOCK IS TICKING

If you are a physician who operates a small independent practice, we applaud you. You certainly work hard, value your independence, and care deeply about your patients. Yet operating a small practice has become increasingly complicated, and you face many challenges.

One of these challenges is maintaining balance: providing quality benefits while managing their cost. Health insurance is a prime example. Let’s look at the reasons to consider offering health insurance to your employees.

THE CLOCK IS TICKING

If you want your taxes done, most likely, you see an accountant. If you want a faucet fixed you call a plumber. If you have a toothache you go to a dentist.

No one knows this better than those in the medical profession. Some jobs simply call for a specialist. The same holds true when it comes to trying to manage, or control, your health insurance costs.

Health Insurance Open Enrollment has begun and is only open for a brief time: until December 15. Now is the time for Texas physicians to make important health insurance decisions for themselves, their families, and any of their practice staff. TMA Insurance Trust advisors are ready to help you find the right group coverage and assist you with health insurance enrollment before the deadline.

It’s no secret that today’s health insurance marketplace can be complex, chaotic and confusing. And as a practice owner, you certainly know that trying to control health insurance costs can be a challenge.

But we found some information that might surprise you. It’s not very well publicized but it could be extremely helpful if you want to gain more control over your health insurance costs.

If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.

A wise proverb. Maybe not one that immediately comes to mind when you think about health insurance. But if you are an owner of a practice, teaming up with a knowledgeable partner could help you go a long way toward the goal of controlling your health insurance costs.

If it’s not broken, don’t fix it. A good strategy for some things – like your vacuum cleaner, or lawn mower. But maybe not for everything – like your Medicare prescription drug plan.

It’s that time of year again – the Medicare Annual Enrollment Period (AEP) – when you can make changes to your Medicare coverage, including your prescription drug plan (Medicare Part D).

What a terrible feeling it is to be locked into an agreement when the terms do not suit your needs … and how much worse when those needs are related to your health. Over the past year, you may have found that your Medicare prescription drug coverage is not meeting your needs anymore. That is why it is so important to take action during the Medicare Annual Enrollment period.

Because of recent changes in law, short-term health insurance plans aren’t so “short” anymore; They can now be renewed for an extended period of time. Should you as a solo or small practice owner obtain this coverage for yourself? On the surface, short-term coverage may be an attractive option: it may appear to be flexible, affordable health insurance coverage. Your employees may be considering this as an option for themselves as well.

At TMA Insurance Trust, we want you to understand the details of short-term health insurance so that if you do decide to purchase a plan, you will be aware of what you are buying.