The end of the year is closing in on us. Soon, we will be celebrating the holidays with our friends and family. Are you looking forward to it, too? Before that though, on a more serious note, we will have six weeks to enroll, renew or change our health insurance plan. A little less fun, maybe, but definitely important!  

Open enrollment starts soon — it runs from November 1 until December 15. During open enrollment, you’ll have the chance to enroll in, renew or change your health insurance plan, which makes it the perfect time to critically review your current health insurance and potentially switch.  

During open enrollment, the Health Insurance Marketplace on www.healthcare.gov opens up. This is where you can easily compare different plans and review their benefits and prices. These plans will offer various benefits, such as coverage for hospital stays, dental appointments, or doctor’s visits. As you go through the open enrollment process, it’s important to provide up-to-date information to your insurance company, as the cost of your insurance will vary depending on your age, income, and health conditions.  

To help you prepare for the upcoming open enrollment, in this article we will go through three key things to remember when choosing a new health insurance plan and go over the most common mistakes you should avoid. 

3 Things to Remember for Open Enrollment 

1. Review Your Current Coverage Based on Your Needs 

First, what you want to do before shopping for a new health insurance plan is fully understand your current health insurance plan. This includes understanding your benefits, deductibles, co-pays, co-insurance, and out-of-pocket maximum, as well as the specific doctors and hospitals in your covered network as well as exclusions.  

Then, diligently assess whether your current plan adequately covers your current and future healthcare needs. Were there any changes in your health status or lifestyle in the last year? Planning on growing the family next year? Or is there a specific doctor or hospital that you desperately want to go to, that you may want to have covered by your health insurance? The answers to questions like these could significantly affect your coverage needs help you choose next year’s health insurance plan.  

2. Estimate Your Income 

When getting a new health insurance plan, your income is important. Depending on your income, you could qualify for certain subsidies or tax credits to offset the cost of your health insurance. These subsidies and tax credits may change each and every year, which is why it’s important to check your eligibility during open enrollment.  

But how can you estimate your income? There are plenty of resources online that can help you do so — the Expected Income Estimator on healthcare.gov is one of them. On their website, they’ll take you through an easy-to-follow three-step process to help you estimate your income. This may come in handy during open enrollment and could help you pick the right health insurance plan!  

3. Do Your Research (and Take Your Time) 

The third and final thing you’ll want to do is your research — and take your time doing so. During the research phase, you’ll need information about your health needs and expected income for next year, allowing you to compare different health insurance plans. While comparing, consider factors like premiums, deductibles, co-pays, network of providers, and out-of-pocket maximums — the factors you’ve checked in your current coverage as well. And it’s advisable to take your time for this, to make sure you can do a thorough assessment of the plans available.  

The online marketplace at healthcare.gov is a great place to explore different plans and easily compare costs. And, if you’re employed, you should check with your employer to see if they offer health insurance plans as well. This could greatly help you reduce costs on your health insurance. Some states have their own health insurance marketplace, which you could check out, too. These are all great tools to help you get the health insurance plan that suits your needs in the most favorable terms.  

If you want to have a more thorough checklist of information to gather during open enrollment, check out this checklist at healthcare.gov. It lists everything you need to have ready before applying for a health insurance plan, as well as everything you need to include in your income estimate. 

Now, let’s move on to the most common mistakes people make during open enrollment.    

The 3 Most Common Mistakes People Make During Open Enrollment 

1. Procrastinating 

Procrastinating when choosing a new health insurance plan is probably the most common mistake people make during open enrollment. And it could be a costly one: As health insurance plans often have a limited number of available spots, applying on time is highly advisable. Even more so when open enrollment is coming to an end, demand for popular plans can increase significantly, leading them to fill up quickly. Waiting until the last moment may force you into having to choose a plan that doesn’t meet your health needs or fit your budget. And that’s the last thing you probably want.  

2. Mindlessly Choosing the Cheapest Plan 

The cheapest health insurance plan isn’t necessarily the smartest financial choice. How does that work? Well, while low premiums may seem attractive, other factors like deductibles, co-pays, and out-of-pocket maximums may be way less favorable in less expensive plans. So, while your premium will be cheap, it could easily mean that your out-of-pocket expenses will be higher than with a more expensive plan. In the end, this could result in you having to pay more than a plan with a more expensive premium. 

And other than the financial side of things, the cheaper the plan, the more limited the network of providers typically is. That means that could be more difficult to find a doctor or hospital that accepts your insurance, whenever you’re in need of one. All in all, it may be wise to look beyond the height of a plan’s premium when comparing health insurance plans.  

3. Not Fully Understanding Your Coverage 

The final mistake I want to help you avoid is not fully understanding both your current and (potentially new) plan for next year. Why? Because not fully understanding your plan’s terms and conditions could lead you to be confronted with unexpected bills, or even coverage denials. 

Contrastingly, misunderstanding your coverage could lead to you missing out on available benefits as well, resulting in you having to pay for services out-of-pocket that are covered by your insurance. That would be a shame, right?    

Luckily for you though, this mistake is quite easy to prevent. Take a few hours to read your plan’s terms and conditions from cover to cover, so you know exactly what you are signing up for. And if you have trouble understanding your plan’s terms and conditions, just know that you can get into contact with a representative at healthcare.gov or any health insurance professional for that matter.  

A Plan That’s Suited to YOUR Life 

Make sure you fully understand your current coverage, estimate your income, and do your research on what you want. When going through the process of choosing a new health insurance plan, make sure you don’t procrastinate on making your choice, don’t mindlessly choose the cheapest plan, and make sure you fully understand what plan you’re signing up for. That way, you probably won’t have to deal with unexpected surprises and can make a choice that suits both your needs and your budget. Remember, your health insurance plan should be suited to YOUR life, not the other way around!