A while back, I wrote about how to calculate how much life insurance you need. That kind of article usually makes stay-at-home parents tell their spouses, “Honey, you need more life insurance!” or maybe even just, “Honey, you need life insurance!” (After all, only about half of American adults even have life insurance in place.) But what about you? Do you have life insurance? Do you even need it? View post
Insurance is one of those things that no one gets excited about. It’s like brushing and flossing your teeth; the few people who are really into it make a career out of it and the rest of us just go along with it because it’s the adult thing to do. But no matter how you feel about it, insurance is important to protect you from financial ruin, just like good dental care can save you from gum disease. Today we’re going ...
The Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) is a government insurance program that provides low-cost health insurance to children from families that earn too much to qualify for Medicaid but not enough to be able to afford private insurance. This includes many pastors’ children. CHIP Eligibility Is Based On Income Like many such programs, eligibility is based on income. That’s simple for most people, but can be a cause of uncertainty for pastors. You start filling out the forms and when you get ...
Despite being a hot topic over the last couple of decades, the cost of health care is still a major problem for American families. Healthcare costs tripled between 2001 and 2016, and the average non-elderly family now pays $8,200, or 11% of their income, each year. That is a national average where many people have employer-provided health insurance. Many churches cannot afford to pay as much of their pastors’ premiums or even offer health insurance at all. If you are without ...
A big part of the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, legislation was the creation of the Marketplace where people without access to a workplace health insurance plan could shop for and purchase an individual policy. This was good news for many independent pastors because a lot of small churches simply cannot afford to offer health care benefits. How Obamacare Subsidies Work Not only did Obamacare create the Marketplace but it also created government subsidies, or tax credits, to help people pay their ...
Today we are going to talk about insurance, which is a favorite topic of conversation for almost no one. In fact, on a recent road trip, my mom wanted to take a quick nap so I listened to a podcast about insurance to help put her to sleep. I’m sure many of you can relate. Even though insurance isn’t a very exciting topic, it’s an important one. Especially disability insurance, which is what we are talking about today. If you own ...
We are nearing the end of open enrollment on the Obamacare healthcare exchanges. If you are not satisfied with your current health insurance (or lack thereof), now is the time to address it. Health insurance is a big topic among pastors because many churches do not have the resources to provide insurance the way large for-profit employers do. What is a pastor to do? Here are your options, depending on whether or not your church is willing and able to help ...
The insurance industry has created so many complicated products that it scares people out of buying life insurance. However, life insurance is an important protection for your family. Here is a primer that will prepare you for competent life insurance shopping. View post
Last week I introduced you to a little-known alternative to health insurance, medical sharing plans. Depending on your situation, they could be an affordable alternative to traditional health insurance. There is no set standard for how these ministries work, each is unique in its rules and structure. Here are the details on the top four programs: View post
Affordable Care Act mandates, growing deductibles, and skyrocketing insurance premiums have left many independent pastors scrambling for an answer to their family's health care needs. Luckily, there is a more affordable alternative to health insurance: medical cost sharing plans. View post