Nothing causes as much consternation when reviewing health insurance quotes as the size of the deductible. Do you choose a high deductible to reduce your premium or select a low deductible to reduce your exposure to unexpected high medical costs?
The deductible within any insurance policy serves a couple of purposes. First, you are shouldering some of the exposure to hospital and medical expenses before the insurer gets involved. Second, being responsible for even $1000 will give you pause in certain circumstances about the type and level of medical care you should seek. In other words, you have a vested interest in selecting the most efficient and effective care for your dollars. The hope is that you will be a better health care consumer and save the insurance company money in the long run.
Our concern for the size of the deductible dissolves when we are faced with a serious illness, particularly if it is your child. At that point, we are willing to mortgage the house and get a third job to pay the medical bills. We are just happy we have a deductible backstop and the medical care will be provided.
On the other hand, the biggest needle in the back is getting hit with lots of little invoices for the treatment of a seemingly benign condition that racks up tremendous expenses on your part. At which point you wonderful, ‘Why in the heck do I have health insurance, it doesn’t cover anything?’
The very real fact is that the people that can least afford a high deductible, those with little savings for a rainy day, are the folks that are forced into high deductible plans because the premiums are lower. The best strategy is too leverage all the benefits of the insurance to prevent injuries and illnesses from getting out of control. This includes using the no charge preventive office visits, taking advantage of any copay office visits, avoid the emergency room for urgent care and correspond with doctors or nurses via e-mail to avoid office visits.
There is no easy formula for determining the size of the deductible you select. It is based on experience, comfort level, budgets and expectations. In the final analysis, having some sort of deductible is better than having nothing and at all.
I have attempted to create categories of health insurance (economy, mid-size and luxury) on my website tab comparisons. This might be of help to determine deductibles and benefits.
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