Out of 8 million enrollees in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, only about 5 percent typically switch plans during the annual open season, according to Walton Francis of the Consumer’s Checkbook Guide to Health Plans for Federal Employees and Annuitants.

from: GovExec.com

The “consumer-driven” and “high-deductible” plans offer many employees substantial savings over the traditional insurance plans, said policy analyst Walton Francis, who tracks premium and benefit changes in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program.

from: Washington Post

The Swiss and Dutch health care systems are suddenly all the rage. They have features similar to proposals by at least two presidential hopefuls, and next month the United States’ top health official will visit Switzerland and the Netherlands to kick the tires.

from: New York Times

Whether you’re an employee being faced with new health insurance options through your company plan, run your own company like me, or purchase individual health insurance, the choices you make regarding your health insurance are an important part of your 2008 financial strategy.

from: Yahoo Finance

As flu season approaches, experts recommend a simple method for staying disease-free.

from: Chattanooga Times/Free Press

Looking for another way to benefit from tax breaks on saving for retirement? Then take a gander at the new, improved health savings account.

from: Kiplinger:

The average Massachusetts resident without health insurance will soon be able to obtain coverage for $175 per month through the state’s Connector, a health insurance exchange for individuals and small businesses.[1] Because the Connector can accept pre-tax defined contributions, many will secure even lower premiums. A middle-class individual, for example, whose employer designates the Connector as its employer plan, could purchase that same health coverage for just $109 per month.

from: Heritage.org

Because unused balances in the HSAs can be rolled over from year to year, some financial advisers are suggesting that the accounts can be a way for families to accumulate money to be used to cover health care costs in retirement, including Medicare deductibles and long-term care insurance.

from: Chicago Sun-Times

You’ll be wise to compare terms of two or three different companies and, if you have the opportunity, a group plan. In general, healthy people do better with individual policies; those in poor health or with a family history of disease, may do better in a group. Industry leaders are companies like John Hancock, MetLife, MassMutual, Prudential and Genworth.

From: New York Times

By the end of 2005, over 4 million people were enrolled in HSAs, 31 percent of them previously uninsured.

from…US News: