EAP 101: What Is It, and How Can I Use It?

If you own or manage a business and want to improve your employees’ health and morale, consider offering an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) through Boss Insurance Agency in Kingwood, TX.

Typically funded by the company, these programs provide employees with a range of supports: physical, medical, and financial, in times of need. Here’s what a business owner or manager should know about EAPs.

What Is An EAP?

EAPs are voluntary benefits that employers can offer to supplement health plans at no additional cost to employees. They give employees access to various tools, resources, and services supporting their daily lives. From legal aid to finding quality childcare, EAPs can be a valuable resource for workers.

Services EAPs Provide

EAP services differ between coverage options, but all are designed to help staff navigate common daily challenges and significant life events. Common features of an EAP include:

Options for improving well-being: EAPs offer resources, tools, and coaching in key areas such as emotional wellness, weight management, and nutritional guidance.

  • In-person or virtual counseling: Offering aid with coping mechanisms for issues like depression, anxiety, stress, grief, anger management, and substance abuse prevention and recovery programs.
  • Financial and legal aid: EAPs can offer assistance with issues such as retirement planning, budgeting, divorce, identity theft, debt management, and other legal matters.
  • Local resources and referrals: The plan can help employees find and secure pet care, child care, elder care, and housing help.

Support Your Workers with EAP Access

Empower your team with the guidance and support they may need to thrive through an EAP during their tenure with your company. Learn more about these programs and get a quote from Boss Insurance Agency in Kingwood, TX, today.

How Long Can My Adult Children Remain on My Policy?

Many families in Kingwood, TX keep their adult children on health insurance policies to ensure they have medical coverage when they become independent. The reasons for doing so include young adults not having jobs or employers that don’t offer this benefit. Most people can’t protect their adult children forever. The agents at Boss Insurance Agency can help young adults when the time comes to find their own policy.

Dependents Can Stay On a Policy Until Age 26

Anyone with a health insurance policy with dependent coverage can keep their adult children on the policy until age 26. Depending on the plan, your children may be able to stay on the plan until the end of the year when they turn 26, while others will discontinue coverage in the month of their birthday.

Adult children can stay on their parents’ health insurance plan even if they don’t live at home or have any of the following conditions:

  • Are married
  • Have their own children
  • Attend school
  • Not financially dependent on their parents
  • Have an employer who offers health insurance

Even though you can keep adult children on a policy, for some situations, getting an individual policy may make more sense if your child lives out of state where there aren’t any in-network providers.

Can My Disabled Child Stay on My Policy After Age 26?

In many cases, disabled adults can stay on their parents’ health insurance policy. Young adults may be able to continue on their parent’s plan if they have an intellectual or physical disability that prevents them from working and is financially dependent.

If you have questions about keeping children on your health insurance policy, Boss Insurance Agency will be happy to help. We serve residents of the Kingwood, TX area.

Questions to ask before you choose your health insurance

Choosing your health insurance is one of the most important things you do every year. Having insurance you can afford, and that provides coverage is vital for your good health. At Boss Insurance Agency in Kingwood, TX, we are independent insurance agents, and we offer our customers more choices. 

Questions to ask

Is my doctor in the network?

If you have a doctor you prefer, whether it is your primary care doctor or a specialist, it is important for your health that you have access to them. With some health plans, you have no coverage for doctors outside of the network. This is true with HMO plans except in a dire emergency.

What is my deductible?

Before your insurance starts to pay for services, you have to meet your deductible. High-deductible plans are popular these days because of their affordability. It doesn’t make sense, however, to have such a high deductible that nothing is paid. If you only want coverage for a catastrophic illness, a high deductible works,  but it is best matched with an HSA (healthcare savings account). 

Can I use a doctor outside the network?

Depending on what type of managed care you have, you may be able to get some coverage outside your network. With a PPO or a POS, you will get the best coverage by staying in your network, but you will be able to get some coverage outside the network.  

Does the policy include prescriptions?

Prescription coverage is not included with every health insurance policy. If you don’t take any prescription medication, this may not be an issue for you. If you do take medication, it is important to have this coverage and to know in advance how much of a copay you will need to pay every month. 

We Can Help!

Contact Boss Insurance Agency in Kingwood, TX when you are ready to discuss your health insurance needs. 

Benefits of Health Insurance

Health insurance is important for your health and financial security. An unexpected health event can quickly result in big bills when you are at your most vulnerable. At Boss Insurance Agency in Kingwood, TX, we offer many types of insurance, including health insurance. 

Benefits of Health Insurance

Financial Security 

One of the benefits of purchasing health insurance is financial security. Medical bills are the top reason why Americans remove money from retirement accounts or file for bankruptcy. 

Insurance coverage protects you from catastrophically high medical bills. 

Less Expensive Healthcare

Insurance coverage not only protects you from high medical costs associated with a serious illness or injury. They also make routine care less expensive. 

Doctor visits and prescriptions are much less expensive with health insurance. 

Preventative Care 

Most insurance plans provide certain types of preventative care for free. Other types of preventative care are covered under insurance, so you only need to pay your copay. 

Preventative care is important for staying healthy. It’s designed to prevent diseases or to catch them in the early stages, while they are easy to treat. 

In fact, studies show that people with health insurance live longer and are healthier than those without insurance. It’s believed that access to preventative care is one of the reasons for this. 

Access to Care 

Insurance isn’t typically required to receive medical care, but it does make it easier to be seen by a provider. You are only responsible for your copay, and many doctors’ offices are willing to bill you. 

When you don’t have insurance, most offices will require payment upfront. This can make getting care more difficult. 

Give Us A Call

If you need health insurance in the Kingwood, TX region, contact Boss Insurance Agency. We are here to meet all your insurance needs. Our friendly agents will discuss your needs and coverage options and help you select the best policy for you. 

I’m young, healthy, and don’t have a family. Do I need heath insurance?

Health insurance has many benefits. Beyond the obvious benefit of providing direct access to healthcare, health insurance also makes healthcare more affordable. Regardless of your age, healthcare is important. Fortunately, there are a wide array of healthcare options available to most people. Our team at Boss Insurance Agency understands that navigating health insurance can be confusing. This is why we’re here to help our Kingwood, TX residents understand their health insurance options.

What are the Benefits of Health Insurance for Young Adults?

The first obvious benefit of health insurance for young people is affordability. Although young people tend to be healthy and may not utilize or need healthcare as much as older people, health insurance can greatly decrease the cost whenever they are in need of it. Also, health insurance can help young people manage their health via routine visits and access to a personal doctor or nurse practitioner. Many employers offer health insurance to their employees. This makes attaining health insurance easier for young people because they can acquire it through their employer. 

What Happens if a Young Person Doesn’t have Health Insurance?

Age is a non-factor when it comes to the need for access to quality healthcare, or healthcare period. Often, young people opt out of healthcare and will go without insurance for medical needs that may come up unexpectedly. As a result, emergency room visits are often used to cover their healthcare needs due to a lack of health insurance.

Contact Boss Insurance Agency Today

If you’re a young person that’s interested in learning more about the benefits of health insurance for young adults, give us a call in  Kingwood, TX. We’d be happy to discuss your options and help you come up with a solution that works for you.

Why You Need Health Insurance

At Boss Insurance Agency, we work with many people who believe that they don’t need health insurance. These individuals end up experiencing real issues in Kingwood, TX that affect their overall well-being. Here are a few reasons why you should seriously consider health insurance.

Reasons Why You Need Health Insurance

If you still don’t think that you need health insurance, we have news for you: everybody does. Even if you’re young and in relatively good health, insurance can protect you in many surprising ways. Here are three reasons why you will need this type of policy in your life:

  • Accidents Can Happen – You never know when you’re going to experience an accident or suffer from worsened health that impacts you. Health insurance protects you and minimizes danger.
  • Health Bills are High – American health treatments are among the best in the world and the most expensive. Health insurance keeps you financially strong and minimizes your financial issues.
  • Aging is Not Easy – Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for people to need more health protection as they age. Thankfully, health insurance can pay for these bills and keep you safe and healthy.

Try to seek out a health insurance policy that fits into your financial situation, including one that you can easily afford. You also need to make sure that you talk with an insurance broker about other elements, such as your deductibles, copayments, and any other factors that may affect you.

Keep Yourself Safe

If you need health insurance in Kingwood, TX, and want to work with a team you can trust, please contact us at Boss Insurance Agency right away to learn more. Our team of professionals will work with you to understand what is happening and ensure that you get protected in any way possible.

What Does Preventive Care Mean and Is It Covered?

One of the trickiest parts of insurance in Kingwood, TX, and all over the country, is determining what is and isn’t covered. So what does preventative care mean? And how do you know if it is covered by your insurance? Boss Insurance Agency has all the answers to your insurance questions. 

Preventive Care is a health care service that is routine and designed to prevent health issues or diseases before they arise.  These include annual check-ups and physicals, screenings, blood work, dental cleanings, eye exams and patient counseling.

A wide range of potential illnesses can be prevented by attending these preventive care visits or problems can be caught very early, meaning they are much less costly to treat.

Almost all insurance plans cover some preventive care at no cost to the patients, such as:

  • Annual physicals
  • Blood work
  • Testing for cholesterol levels, diabetes (blood sugar) and blood pressure levels
  • Annual well woman exams (which includes Pap smears to screen for cervical and other reproductive cancers)
  • Well-baby and well-child visits (through age 21)
  • Vaccinations against diseases such as polio, mumps, measles, meningitis and others
  • Vaccinations for viral infections such as the flu
  • Screenings for many cancers, including colonoscopies and mammograms
  • Counseling on health related topics such as losing weight, quitting smoking or drinking, managing mental health issues, exercising and more

Preventive care is typically done once per year and the services covered vary from plan to plan. Some plans may offer more extensive preventive services. It’s important to take advantage of whatever preventive services your plan offers to ensure you stay ahead of any more serious medical issues before they develop.

The team at Boss Insurance Agency, serving Kingwood, TX are standing by to answer your questions today!