Client advice.

When it comes to talking health care with clients, Marleen Thudium, president of Willow Brook Broker Support and CalCPA Personal Financial Planning Committee member, tells her clients, "The best way to protect yourself is to consistently pay premiums--whether it's an HSA qualified plan, the most expensive plan, a group plan, individual plan or a ProtectPlus plan.

"If a plan is hospital-only or is limited to generic-only drugs, keep in mind that you're risking becoming uninsurable for those items not covered by your plan, regardless of the law changes. Therefore, you will need to set aside...