Five tips to help maximize your health benefits!

Just last week, I got a phone call from Jeremy telling me it was time to make the decisions about insurance for next year. That's right, Open Enrollment. We are lucky, we have deeply discounted rates through his employer but I still love to maximize the effectiveness of our plan. I try to stay informed and do as much as I can to make sure we get the biggest bang for our buck.

Below are five ways I found here to help you do the same.

1. Stay on top of your health! Yes, your doctor is the go-to person for any health related issues. By saying to stay on top of it, I mean to schedule those preventative appointments. That is up to you! Yes, your doctor might remind you, but you have the schedule it! The best part of this is most insurance companies will pay for it!

2. Pay the lowest out of pocket. This simply means making sure your provider is "in network". So easy to do and you will reap the benefits. Our insurance's website easily tells me who is in network and out of network. Another thing to make sure you get the coverage is to make any required phone calls before any procedure. Anything that is not standard, I like to call just to be on the safe side.

3. Stay on top of your claims. If there is one thing I have learned, it is to keep a copy of everything when it comes to filing a claim. You always want to have proof of anything you may need, and with big companies, you never know what you just might need. Receipts, bills, claim numbers are just a few things you might need.

4. Something we are doing new next year is opening a Flexible Spending Account. We figured up how much we typically pay in medical bills and divided that number by 12. This will help us not go into the debt we normally do with doctor bills and when it comes time to go the doctor, the money for the bill will already be there. {Hopefully!}

5. Being aware of all of these things will only benefit you. What is your deductible? Is that doctor is network? How much do you cover of dental? How much on orthodontic? Ignorance is not bliss on when it comes to insurance. By gaining awareness and staying informed, your health care will benefit and your pocketbook will thank you!

What do you do to help maximize your health insurance policy? I would love to hear!


Three Ladies and a Dad Review Disclosure: I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms and Aetna blogging program, making me eligible to get a $30 Target gift card. For more information on how you can participate, click here.

Bing gives you the chance to win $100,000 for your school!

Budget cuts are tough on any school. Families are trying to find ways to help their school, keep up with tuition and/or fees and doing anything they can to help.

I don't know about you, but I want to make sure that my kids get the most they need at school.

Unfortunately, we can't donate any money right now to our school. However, on Friday afternoons you can find me in the kindergarten class donating my time. It helps cut costs of the school since they won't have to pay a teacher's aide to be there and I think I get more out of than the kids!

How can you help your school?

Did you know that if a teacher or student for gardes K-12 just submits a video, writes a short essay and maybe include a picture or two explaining what your school needs, you have that chance to win $100,000 for your school?

$100,000!! Imagine what that can do for your school!

You can view all the details here on Bing's website, along with a short video explaining step by step how to enter!

But hurry, the contest ends on Tuesday, October 19 and the voting portion of the contest ends on Friday, October 22!

Three Ladies and a Dad Review Disclosure: I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Bing and received a DonorsChoose.org giving code and gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate.