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Why is it a better idea to chose a higher deductible health insurance plan? |
What are your feelings about the rising costs of healthcare? It's supposed to lower your out-of-pocket fees for the insurance itself. I'm self employed, so I bought a policy that has a $5000. deductible so that I could afford the monthly payment ($600). I think the rising cost of healtcare is due to all the layers in the insurance business. A higher deductible isn't necessarily better, just different. Really depends on your financial situation. Suppose to equal a lower premium, but it depends on the plan. Have you looked into an HSA or do you even have a doctor in mind? I would urge you to get the book "Healthcare for Less" by Michelle Katz before you select a plan. I bought the book at BArnes and Noble and it was a fantactic guide and broke everything down in simple terms....it focuses on the questions you should be asking and has charts that you can use to figure out what is good for you. I found her website informative to at www.healthcareforless.us...che... out the blog and go to "buy a book" it will bring you right to the reviews so you can decide for yourself. High deductible-health plans (HDHPs) appeal to many people because of the lower premiums. I don鈥檛 have any numbers to support this, but I would guess that the majority of HDHPs are purchased solely for this reason. If that鈥檚 true, then these people are probably not able to afford the high deductible should they or a family member fall ill. HDHPs are best for people whose medical expenses are generally for preventive care AND those who can afford to pay the annual deductible should the need arise. As you probably already know, HDHPs are being paired with health savings accounts (HSAs), which are supposed to encourage wiser consuming spending and saving. However, the jury is certainly out on the value of HSAs. So, my opinion is that HDHPs are better for some people and not as good for others. It depends on the individual鈥檚 own financial and medical situation. As for the rising costs of healthcare, that is the $2 trillion question, isn鈥檛 it? That鈥檚 how much money the US spent on health care in 2004 (actually it was $1.9 trillion, but $2 trillion is a little sexier). That鈥檚 16 percent of the US gross domestic product (GDP). To put that in a global perspective, only Japan, Germany, China, United Kingdom, and France generated more money domestically than the US spent on health care. We spend about three times as much per person on health insurance than any other country. Moreover, the average cost of family health insurance for four is more than the yearly salary for a minimum-wage worker. I know all of this isn鈥檛 an answer; I鈥檓 just underscoring the crisis here in the US. The biggest problem as I see it is that the US has a schizophrenic health insurance system. We are the only nation I know of where we rely so heavily on employer-provided insurance. Most other countries are either completely state-funded or private. We have an unhealthy mixture of both. On one hand it is free market where you are supposed to fend for yourself (and close to 50 million people are thus uninsured) while on the other hand 60 percent of working Americans get insurance through work, and 1 out of 3 Americans are insured by the government. While a lot of people moan about government sponsored health insurance programs, the administrative costs are much lower than private insurance companies and lower than the socialized insurance solutions in Europe. The actual cost of health care (drug, medical procedures, et al) is also astronomical here. Actual health care costs are about three times what they are in Canada. Some people blame doctors who over prescribe and over treat to make more money while other people say they have to do this because malpractice insurance is so high. And insurance companies have to spread the risk to everyone. For example, 40 percent of the money insurance companies pay out are from 1 percent of claimants, and many of these people are part of group health insurance plans through work or are helped by the government. Either way, a lot of people are subsidizing their risk through higher health insurance prices. You can compare HDHPs and talk about health savings accounts with local area insurance agents without any obligation at MostChoice.com. It鈥檚 a fast, simple way to research health plans that might be of interest to you. You can find MostChoice here: http://www.mostchoice.com/health-insuran... Hope this helps, Barnes@MostChoice It鈥檚 crazy how much insurance companies are charging these days. And they鈥檝e become so limited too that many times, you end up having to pay extra because they won鈥檛 cover what you need. There鈥檚 a company Ameriplan out there that provides discount health benefits for a very cheap monthly rate. It includes just about everything you can imagine at a savings up to 80%. There鈥檚 no deductible, claims forms, co-pays, limits or anything like that. You just go in and get the service you need and only pay a small fraction out of pocket. When you consider how much you are shelling out a month on insurance premiums and then all the additional fees and limits, this can be a much more affordable way to go. I have their dental package, but I know they have a medical package as well that includes the dental as well as vision, prescription and chiropractic benefits for less than $60 for an entire family. It includes just about everything, and a lot of things that most insurance won鈥檛 even cover like cosmetic surgery and braces. I love them and I know a lot of people have saved several thousand dollars by using Ameriplan. They have over 100,000 providers and 2 million people using their benefits. And they鈥檙e registered with the BBB. Here鈥檚 the website: http://www.mybenefitsplus.com/40424269/.... I think you will be quite impressed. Good luck to you. And feel free to email me with any questions. I hope you find what you need. |
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