About Us

Advantages of Health Plan Specialists

Health Plan Specialists (HPS) goes BEYOND  just quoting rates, providing brochures and letting you decide. Choosing a proper health plan is more than finding the least expensive plans with the lowest co-pays for prescriptions and doctors visits. Discovering creative ways  those needs can be met while saving you more money than you imagined was possible is our strength. 

HPS can show you unadvertised plans, offered by long standing companies whose products are only available through certain authorized brokers like us. 

HPS utilizes little used tax strategies that can make your health care costs most affordable

HPS , associates and colleagues come from a background that has always focused on making available quality affordable health insurance alternatives . What this means to you is MORE COVERAGE and BETTER BENEFITS for your money! Many of our clients save as much as 75% for the same or better quality benefits after coming to us. 

We take the mystery out of health insurance shopping by taking the time to show you a way to compare apples to apples between all of the health plans you'd like to consider.  

We'll help you understand what is covered as well as what is not covered so there won't be any unpleasant surprises. 

We'll guide you so you won't make the common and extremely costly mistakes many people make when shopping for health insurance. 

Then when it is time to use your coverage, after attempting to first work with the carriers claims dept. directly, we're always here to help resolve problems if need be.

About Emily Harding

Emily Harding, principal of Health Plan Specialists has a long proven track record with over 19 years experience in the health insurance field finding health coverage that both meets her clients coverage needs and saves them more money than they sometimes thought was possible.

The Founder of the Rhode Island Association of Health Underwriters (RIAHU) , the Rhode Island Chapter of the National Association of Health Underwriters, Immediate past president and the current Legislative Chair, she is also devoted to improving the industry and access to affordable health insurance for all .

 As a result of the rapid exodus of carriers that had long provided Rhode Islanders with affordable health insurance alternatives, she coordinated the founding members of the first Rhode Island chapter of the National Association of Health Underwriters with a view to rescuing Rhode Island from its ever worsening health insurance crisis.  

For articles she has published and news stories she was interviewed for  visit  the News page or visit the Rhode Island Association of Health Underwriters website for developments of  Rhode Island's healthcare crisis and progress the chapter has made thus far.

Due to the few health insurance options in RI, Emily Harding brings her experience helping her clients get a better health insurance value creatively, using what few options are available  along with little known and little used tax strategies which can bring substantial healthcare savings to those who are aware of them and take advantage of them. 

With more options available to small businesses in Massachusetts and a wide range of choices of plans and carriers for both individuals and businesses in Connecticut, she brings the same knowledge and expertise with the added ability to meet needs through more choices-- including HRAs and HSAs-- and greater savings.

She and her colleagues and associates don't just sell insurance, HPS does what is right for the client  by helping the client choose  the most  appropriate quality coverage for the least cost. 

"We do much more than simply showing you a spread sheet of popular HMO plans so you can choose the one with the lowest  office visit co-pay."

We  make it a point to  show you ALL your best options both advertised and unadvertised-- many of which are overlooked by our competitors. 

We  use only the strongest  NATIONAL  top rated carriers and plans with the best access to providers across the country through national PPO networks  like Private Healthcare Systems www.phcs.com.

Typically these plans with the  national insurers have no primary physician requirements Their strong claims paying ability and far greater experience in the industry, we think, make them a better choice than a less stable but perhaps more well known local or regional HMO with more restrictions.

HPS creates customized affordable health plans and then they provide ongoing assistance after the insurance is in force.

 We think it is safe to say you'll be hard pressed to find a better healthcare value elsewhere.