Are You Like My Dad or Grandma When Choosing Health Insurance?
What type of health insurance plan is best for you? Benefits by Design Insurance Services can help you choose the right type of health insurance.
I am often asked which health insurance plan I recommend for someone. My answer always is, “Choosing a plan is a very personal decision. Your choice should be based both on your individual needs, as well as how much can you afford to pay.”
For example, in helping my Dad and my Grandma choose a health plan, they each had different priorities.
My Grandma has always been very healthy. She was an apple a day kind of person and took great care of herself, walked regularly, and lived an active life. She did her laundry on Mondays and dusted on Tuesdays. Because she was healthy and rarely went to the doctor except for check ups, she didn’t want to pay a lot for health insurance – she felt that would be a waste of money. Did I say she was frugal? But the truth is, she had sufficient savings to afford an occasional medical bill. So, she always chose a medical plan with a higher out of pocket maximum and high copays or co-insurance. Although she was not a betting woman, that strategy worked well for her.
My Dad, on the other hand, is also frugal, but he is always on a tight budget. He doesn’t want to have any large medical bills to pay, so he would rather pay more per month for his health insurance. Whenever he goes to the doctor or hospital, he wants his out of pocket costs to be affordable. When I discussed his health insurance options with him, he liked the idea of a low copayment for doctors’ visits and lab work. What works best for him is a more expensive health plan with higher premiums, so that he can pay less whenever he needs health care.
So are you like my Dad or my Grandma?
Which type of health plan will work best for you? Give that some thought when looking at your plan options, so that you can make the decision that will best meet your needs and budget.
There is no right answer to the question of, “What is the best health insurance plan?” The best plan is the one you can afford monthly and can tolerate in the worst of circumstances from a total out of pocket cost for the year.
The good news is that every year you start over with your maximum out of pocket responsibility. And, since the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was passed, if you buy a health plan with minimum essential benefits that meets the ACA requirements, your lifetime benefits are unlimited.
Still have questions about the details of the plan you are considering? Call us at Benefits by Design Insurance Services at 760-696-3573 or email pamm@benefitsbydesignca.com, and we’ll help you through your personal decision process.
Benefits by Design Insurance Services is a full service health insurance and employee benefits broker, offering custom tailored coverage solutions for your business or family. We are located in the San Francisco Bay Area and provide the expert advice for group and individual health insurance, Medicare, life, long term care, and travel insurance decisions.
Comments are closed.