Who we help
Families
Dependent tiers, pediatric dental, two competing employer offers, and the deductible arithmetic that decides which plan is actually cheaper.
The question
“How do we cover everyone without overpaying?”
Family coverage is an arithmetic problem disguised as a choice. The plan with the lowest premium is frequently the most expensive plan for a household that actually uses care, and the only way to know is to run your real usage against each option's deductible, coinsurance and out-of-pocket maximum.
Households with two working adults have a second question: whose plan, or both? Splitting a family across two employer plans is sometimes cheaper and sometimes a mess, particularly where deductibles are per-person and the children are on the less generous plan.
Then there are the details that only show up when you need them. Whether the family deductible is aggregate or embedded. Whether pediatric dental is genuinely included or nominally embedded. Whether the pediatrician you like is in the network of the plan that looked cheapest.
The path
What we do, in order
- First
List the year
Everyone's prescriptions, specialists and any planned procedures. Real usage, not a guess.
- Second
Collect the offers
Both employer offers if there are two, plus the Marketplace option for comparison.
- Third
Run the arithmetic
Premium plus expected cost sharing, capped at each plan's out-of-pocket maximum.
- Fourth
Check the networks
Pediatrician, any specialist and the hospital you would actually use in an emergency.
- Fifth
Fill the gaps
Standalone dental and vision where the medical plan's version is weak, and life cover sized to the mortgage.
Avoid these
Four mistakes we see every single season
Choosing on premium alone
A $180 monthly saving disappears against a $4,000 higher family deductible the first year anyone needs surgery.
Missing the aggregate deductible
An aggregate family deductible means no individual's claims are paid until the whole family amount is met. An embedded one is far kinder to a household with one sick member.
Assuming pediatric dental is real cover
It is an essential health benefit, but how it is embedded varies. Compare it against a standalone family dental plan before assuming you are covered.
Forgetting the 26th birthday
A child ageing off the plan is a qualifying event with a 60-day window. It arrives quietly and is easy to miss.
Before you decide
Families questions we hear most
If your question is not here, call the desk. Nobody will put you on a list for asking.
Not automatically. Run each employer offer for the whole family and for a split arrangement. Where deductibles are embedded and one employer contributes heavily to dependents, one plan usually wins clearly. Where they are similar, splitting can be cheaper.
Not necessarily. Paired with a funded HSA and a household that mostly uses preventive care, it often wins. Paired with a chronic condition or an empty HSA, it usually does not.
Birth or adoption is a qualifying event, generally with a 60-day window, and coverage is typically backdated to the date of birth. Tell HR and us as soon as you can.
Yes, and it costs nothing. We review the employer offer honestly, including telling you when it is already the best answer and there is nothing for us to sell.
Bring us the file. We will bring the market.
Send a census or ask one question. Either way it costs you nothing and nobody will chase you.
Independent and multi-carrier. $0 cost to work with us. No pressure scripts.