More and more companies are switching from traditional health insurance plans to high deductible health plans to save costs. Also known as consumer-directed plans, these health care plans make employees more responsible for the cost of their health care and are designed to make the employees more conscious of the price of the health care options they choose. In 2015, nearly 30 percent of companies in the United States will have high deductible health plans as the only plans they offer to their employees, including JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, General Electric and Honeywell.
The Cost Of The Plan
While the premium for the high deductible health plan will be much lower than the premium for a traditional health plan, meeting the deductible means that you will pay much more for your care before your insurance kicks in. In some cases, the deductible for the health plan can be as high as $6,000 for an individual or $15,000 for a family. Even after the deductible is met, the health plan may only pay a portion of any additional costs, leaving the employee on the hook for 10 percent to 35 percent of the additional costs.
Having a high deductible health plan makes people much more cautious about when they need to seek health care. An injured individual may put off going to an urgent care center because they have not yet met their health plan deductible and will shoulder the entire cost of the visit and treatment. Some believe that this will ultimately bring down the cost of health care, as people will only purchase services that they actually need. Other believe that people will lower incomes will be disproportionately hurt as they will be unable to afford the deductible and will go without the care that they need.
Preparing For The Expense
If you have a high deductible health plan, you need to make sure that there is enough money in your emergency savings account to ensure that you can pay your deductible if you must. Some people choose to use a health savings account to put away the money for their deductible tax-free. However, if you do not need to meet the deductible in a particular year, you have to use that money for health care related costs before the end of the plan year or that money is lost. Putting the money into a traditional savings account allows you to use it for your health care costs or for other urgent needs as they arise.