{"id":55935,"date":"2024-10-07T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-10-07T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/?p=55935"},"modified":"2024-10-09T09:29:29","modified_gmt":"2024-10-09T14:29:29","slug":"helping-clients-with-healthcare-planning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/advisory-services\/helping-clients-with-healthcare-planning\/","title":{"rendered":"Helping clients with healthcare planning"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As a tax and accounting professional, you are ideally suited to helping clients with their most important financial decisions, but one of the most overlooked areas of concern for clients is healthcare planning. It shouldn\u2019t be. Health insurance is a major concern for people across all income groups, especially as the enrollment period is underway in October.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to a Spectrem Group\/CEG Insights report, two-thirds of affluent investors (65%)<\/a> want their financial advisors to help them with health insurance, but only 4% <\/em><\/strong>say their advisor<\/em><\/strong><\/a> is providing that help<\/em><\/strong>. Further, among people who don\u2019t have financial advisors, the top areas<\/a> for which they would want guidance are retirement income planning<\/a>, Social Security planning, and Medicare advice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is healthcare planning?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n
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Christine Simone, CEO of Caribou Wealth<\/a>, makes healthcare planning software for financial advisors. She told me on my podcast<\/a> that <\/em>healthcare planning is the \u201ccomprehensive overview and optimization\u201d of your client\u2019s present and future healthcare costs based on their individual needs and budget.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHealthcare planning is about helping people find ways to reduce the cost of their healthcare at every stage of life; it can be as complex as analyzing different plan options and aligning those options with a person\u2019s needs and budget,\u201d she said, and added that it can be as simple as having a conversation \u201cabout the best ways\u201d to use a client\u2019s Health Savings Account<\/a> (HSA) funds.

Simone shares more insights about how CPAs can help clients with healthcare planning in my new book <\/strong>“A Holistic Guide to Wealth Management for Accounting Professionals<\/a>.”

<\/em>The key to successful healthcare planning, said Simone, is not using the same industry benchmark for every single financial plan. It must be customized for every client\u2019s health needs and financial goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Benefits of offering healthcare planning as a service<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

On the surface, customizing healthcare planning for every one of your clients seems like a lot of work. But as an accountant and financial advisor, the more unique, high-value services you can offer, the better your ability will be to attract and retain clients. Healthcare planning fulfills an important client expectation that shouldn\u2019t be overlooked if you want your practice to remain competitive. After all, nearly half (47%)<\/a> of clients report feeling \u201csomewhat\u201d or \u201cvery concerned\u201d about issues relating to healthcare according to a recent Investments & Wealth Institute survey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those issues include the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n