McClatchy Introduces eValuator Tool

How eValuator Works

This simple, interactive online tool is designed to remove some guesswork from your health care budgeting. eValuator can help you choose the plan that best helps you manage your health and your money.

In addition to helping with plan selection, eValuator also can help you determine how much to save in your Health Care Reimbursement Plan Flexible Spending Account.

After you provide some information about your covered family members and anticipated benefit use, eValuator calculates potential out-of-pocket costs for your situation based on the medical plans available to you. You can add or drop dependents. You can play with "what ifs," such as a trip to the emergency room for an accident-prone skateboarder. You even can make cost comparisons between using brand name or generic drugs to treat chronic medical conditions.

Drawing on a national database of costs for specific, common treatments and procedures, eValuator also will show how much you would pay on your own if you didn't have health insurance.

Getting Started

Accessing eValuator is easy.

Just click on the "Medical Plan eValuator" link in the top left navigation menu at the HealthWorks website. You can choose scenarios based on anticipated "basic," "moderate," or "complex" health care needs -- and leave the rest to eValuator (used this way, you can see the results in just a few minutes). But to make the most of your session, it pays to do a little homework and describe the scenarios most likely for you and your family. After gathering the following information, plan to spend 20-30 minutes to make the most of the features in this powerful tool.

* Review your current-year health records, including explanation of benefit (EOB) forms from your medical plan, pharmacy records and lab bills.

*Consider how many dependents you will cover and how their health needs might evolve in the next year.

* Check your bracket for federal income taxes, so you can fine-tune estimates on potential savings by participating in the Health Care Reimbursement Plan Flexible Spending Account.

A note about privacy: The personal health information you enter will not be available to McClatchy or Aetna in any way. No information is stored in eValuator -- when you end your session all information is deleted so it's important to take notes along the way and to print the "results" page before you exit eValuator.

Summary of Services

Based on the data you enter, eValuator will generate a summary of anticipated medical and pharmacy services and their total costs -- with or without insurance. Here’s where you can modify entries for yourself or your dependents to model various coverage and care scenarios. For example, you can:

* Determine the potential savings of a switch to generic medications.

* Estimate the cost of retail versus mail-order prescriptions.

* Project the potential cost of additional doctor visits, or even a hospital stay.

Comparing Your Options

After you enter your information, eValuator will calculate your total cost under each of the plans for which you are eligible. The tool will display your annual payroll contributions and your anticipated out-of-pocket costs as part of the tally of estimated total annual costs.

eValuator is an estimator: eValuator is designed to provide only an estimate of your costs under the medical options available to you. Your actual out-of-pocket costs could be higher or lower than the amounts calculated.