Data shows that voluntary benefits have gained popularity across the country as more employees take on the financial responsibility for their health care through high deductible plans. The Midwest is leading the pack in HDHP (high deductible health plans) and voluntary benefits. 67% of employers in the Midwest offer HDHPs and more than 42% of the employees are electing these plans. This speaks for itself. It works.

What this combination does for the employee is this: The whole mentality for carrying health insurance is to get well and stay well. And protect yourself from the financial loss of a serious illness or a serious injury. The gap in these two scenarios is what I call our small illnesses and injuries such as seasonal sinus infections, slip/fall, things of this nature.

Those items, when you carry a high deductible plan, become yours to pay. Here’s how to manage your dollars in that “gap”: First, please take advantage of the FREE preventive and wellness exams including, your screenings, once each calendar year. This creates a baseline for the providers to better serve you going forward and it also creates an awareness of where you are with your general health. You can feel like a million dollars and still have an issue. By educating yourself and being responsible, a lot of things that happen to us can be prevented and/or managed, saving us dollars.

An HSA account (health savings account) allows one to make a tax-deductible contribution to an HSA account each year. So, for all your healthy years, you are taking care of your health through your preventive measure, saving some money for the “what-ifs” and enjoying a tax deduction at the same time. When you have something happen to you that is substantial in the way of an illness, you will be able to take care of this gap. This lowers your premium. By lowering your premium on the health insurance, it allows you to consider disability income, life insurance, and other ancillary coverages, that may otherwise be out of the question.

There has been a 138% increase in participation in HAS accounts in the Midwest. The highest average employee contribution in the country. Congratulations.

Small business owners: please call me for a review. They’re free!