Clark Howard: Open Enrollment is here

Jacksonville, FL — It’s that time of the year again…Open Enrollment.

According to HealthCare.gov, this is the yearly period when people can enroll in a health insurance plan. It runs from November 1, 2018, to December 15, 2018.

"Buying health insurance is complicated."

Consumer Warrior Clark Howard is checking in to help those looking to buy insurance save the most and get the best coverage for their dollar. Clark says roughly 1 in 6 Americans buy health care as an individual rather than through an employer plan, being of age to be on Medicare or something related to government providing healthcare like Medicaid.

"Individuals buying coverage have faced over the years, a real confusing conundrum with buying health coverage."

Clark says if someone qualifies based on income and family size for a subsidy, the cost of buying individual health coverage is relatively cheap because of the subsidy. He says if someone who makes too much to qualify for that and they buy their own individual plan – the plans can be a fortune.

LISTEN: Clark Howard's latest podcast

Clark says because of this people have been searching hard to find alternatives that would have more affordable premiums.

"I take a lot of calls from people who are looking at the religious-based co-op's."

According to the Clark, this is when a person goes into a co-op for health coverage which is not insurance and they pay into the co-op. The co-op then uses the funds people paid in to pay routine medical bills.

MORE: 4 things you need to know about open enrollment for 2019

While Clark suggests this is a good alternative risk – he does say there is a risk with this. He says the risk is these plans do not have strong financial backing. He says in a co-op, a number of people end up with catastrophic illnesses – the co-op runs out of money.

He says it does provide a much more affordable premium and has appealed to a number of people.

READ: Clark Howard's Health Insurance Guide