Hi Howard’s Employees!
All the important info regarding Assurance Healthcare and Sedera Health should be on this page!
If you have any questions, please use this contact form, and either me (Jason) or Ashley will respond to you as quickly as possible.
Assurance Membership Information
If you’d like an overview of how membership works with Assurance Healthcare and Counseling Center – this video is your best resource.
For details on pricing and what your employer is willing to contribute towards membership via payroll deduction, talk to your HR department.
Sedera Membership Information
How do I join Sedera?
There will be a website (likely on this page, or talk with your HR department) where you will register you and/or your family. You may register from your phone or desktop computer, although a phone may be more convenient. If Howard’s Medical moves forward with Sedera as an option, in order to be active by January 1st, you must complete registration by December 20th!
What is Sedera?
Sedera Health is a Medical Cost Sharing community – an alternative to health insurance. Combined with a membership with Assurance Healthcare & Counseling Center, it becomes a complete healthcare solution that offers incredible access and affordability.
I have a family, can they join Sedera, too?
Absolutely. Howard’s is willing to do a payroll deduction for membership with Sedera, and you are welcome to add any family members you have. For pricing, see the video below, or talk to your HR department.
Is this health insurance? Does it count towards the tax penalty?
Sedera Health is NOT health insurance. The good news is that in 2019 the tax penalty is $0, so you don’t have to worry about that.
What is the IUA (Initial Unshared Amount) you talk about in the video? Is it like a deductible?
Technically, it’s not a deductible, but it’s similar.
The IUA is the amount that you pay out of pocket before sharing begins – and it is for each “need” – not each year.
Each “need” is a collection of medical costs that are all caused by a single accident or illness. So, you could have several ‘needs’ per year (although that would be a bad year for most people), but you also do not ‘refresh’ your IUA simply because a new year has started. For example, if you break your leg December 15th, go to the hospital, plus have several doctors visits and some physical therapy from December 15th through March 15th of the following year, you only pay ONE single IUA (either $500, $1000, or $1500 – whichever you choose). And, if for some reason the costs from that single incident lasted multiple years, you would pay only one IUA, and the community would share in everything else above that amount.
There are also limits to how many IUA’s you would owe per individual or family per year (which helps limit your out-of-pocket costs) – see the guidelines or the video below for that information.
Do I have to have health insurance, too? Will this be enough?
The Assurance membership and Sedera membership combined gives you a total healthcare solution. So no, you do NOT need to also have health insurance! The only thing these plans do not cover is dental and vision. Talk to your HR department for options with both dental and vision.
I have a pre-existing condition, can I still join Sedera?
Yes, anyone is welcome to join. If you have any of the following conditions and they are well-managed – high blood pressure, high cholesterol, sleep apnea, or non-insulin dependent diabetes – there are no restrictions on sharing (so long as they are well managed).
If you have a condition other than any of those above, then the question is whether you have had any symptoms or received any treatment in the past 36 months. If the answer is yes, then that would be considered a pre-existing condition, and you would then have sharing restrictions ONLY on that specific condition. See the video or read the guidelines for more information.
I am a tobacco user, can I still join?
Yes! You’re welcome to join. There will be an additional $75 monthly surcharge (per household) for tobacco users. There are also sharing restrictions for tobacco users over the age of 50. See the video below or guidelines for more information.
I have a ton of questions – where can I find the details of Sedera Health membership?
I’m glad you asked. Here are the membership guidelines for employer group plans (PDF download – about 40 pages). Note that there are a couple minor changes going into effect in 2019 – mostly for your benefit. Contact us if you have any questions about those changes.