beniebuzz blog

When’s the last time you were at a dinner party and heard a man talk about prostate cancer? [probably hasn’t happened, right?] 

How about testicular cancer? [uh, very likely never!] 

How about men’s mental health issues? [it doesn’t count if it’s in response to a woman saying “all you men are crazy!”]

Do you hear that? That’s the sound of money being wasted! There are about 2 months left to the end of the year and the start of a new insurance policy for many Americans.  

So, we’re answering some frequently asked questions to make sure you get the most out of your policy and budget!

Question: I haven’t gotten close to reaching my deductible or out of pocket max – anything specific I should do?

Answer:

You know that overwhelming feeling you get when standing in the shampoo aisle looking at all the choices before you? Conditioning, strengthening, softening, volumizing, clarifying, for fine hair, for colored hair, for oily hair, for limp hair, for dandruff, for split ends, for bald people…ARRRGGHHH!  

Now, take that same feeling and apply it to the 50+ health insurance plan choices you’re about to be presented with (if you’re buying it on your own).

Obamacare implementation feels like that summer I had a cast – it’s dragging on and on! Now that we’re days away from the Health Insurance Exchanges going LIVE on 10/1/13 and weeks away from the 1/1/14 start date, most people are scrambling to figure out what the heck it means to them. 

Are you feeling behind the 8-ball because you don’t read every Obamacare article or watch CNN 24/7? Relax. I’m sharing my tips and brain power in these 6 things you need to know about Health Insurance Exchanges….

1. Refresh me…what’s a Health Insurance Exchange?

Last week, I went to a Heart concert (they were amazing – can’t believe all the songs I knew that I didn’t remember!). So, there I am, sitting with my drink on the lawn and all of a sudden I notice a small gathering of people in front of me taking drags off cigarettes.  And WHAT was the first thing I thought? “Wow, those people are going to pay SO much for health insurance!” (I now see the irony of my realization about the costs of smoking at a "Heart" concert!).

“Well, it’s finally happening. After years of drama on Capitol Hill, a Supreme Court case, a presidential election, and a Mayan apocalypse that could’ve stopped it dead in its tracks (but didn’t), the marquis elements of the Affordable Care Act - sometimes called Obamacare - are about to kick in and big changes are coming to health insurance in 2014.”

That’s the first line of the video you’re about to watch: The YouToons Get Ready for Obamacare! 

Are you starting to think about school starting?  Even though we have about a month before schools start throughout much of the country, I cringe as I write this article because it seems like summer just started.  AND then there are some parents who secretly (or not so secretly) can’t wait for school to start!

Has this ever happened to you? I had just worked an 80 hour week preparing for vacation with my family. We left after work on Friday and arrived at our destination hotel late that night. I was SO excited with the prospect of sleeping in on Saturday morning! But, my plans were foiled, for what did I hear at 6:30am? Not the pitter patter of little feet, but the jumping, screaming, running pounding feet of excited vacationing kidlets. All that sound reverberating through the acoustical hotel hallway with nothing between me and my well-deserved REM sleep but a flimsy wood door.