Seeing Your Health Care Options Clearly

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(Editor’s note: This content is provided by VSP Vision Care, a Next Avenue sponsor.)

Navigating health insurance options can be a daunting task at any age, but especially when you’re considering self-employment, working part-time or embarking on an encore career after retiring from your previous job. There are numerous factors at play which can get complicated if you’re navigating it all solo. Before the barrage of health insurance enrollment season begins this fall, ask yourself some important questions to determine which path to choose:

• Am I looking to purchase insurance on my own?
• Can I benefit from a current or past employer-supported health care benefits plan, or my spouse’s plan?
• Or, if you’re nearing retirement, am I planning to rely solely on Original Medicare coverage for my health care needs?

No matter your path, timing is everything when it comes to choosing the right option for you. Open enrollment for health care benefits happens only once a year – miss it and you generally miss out on coverage for an entire year. Employers typically hold open enrollment in November, and many state exchanges post open enrollment in the winter, all during a very busy, holiday-packed time of year. Knowing what deadlines to follow and getting ahead of the process with some research will ensure you make the right decisions now to protect yourself later.

Eye care is critical to overall health, but sadly it’s often overlooked. And there’s no better year than 2020 to take control of your vision care. The good news is when it comes to managing your eye health, there’s a much simpler path to choosing the right vision care. During open enrollment, or at any time of year, you can sign up for new vision care coverage with a VSP® Individual Vision Plan. But why wait when you can sign up now while vision care is top-of-mind.

Until recently, there were very few – if any – options for individuals to ensure their own vision care coverage. VSP Vision Care saw the need for this service and began offering the industry’s first nationally available Individual Vision Plan to ensure everyone who can benefit from an Individual Vision Plan can do so at any age.

This is especially important now with so many self-employed, independent consultant or gig economy workers going at it alone without benefits. It’s also important for those nearing retirement, since leaning on Medicare is not a full safety net; Original Medicare doesn’t include coverage for glasses and comprehensive routine eye exams.

To find more resources to help you down the pathway to working independently, or to find the right VSP Individual Vision Plan for you visit GetVSPDirect.com or call 877-988-4746 to speak to a vision plan adviser who can help you enroll or answer your vision care needs.