Health insurance istricky to shop for.
Doing Whatever You Did Last Year
Always shop around.
Thats because the subsidies are calculated according to the price of the second-lowest cost Silver plan in your area.
(Theres afull analysis of those numbers here.)
If your income or other key information has changed, that can also affect your rates.
modernize your information on the exchange, and then browse the plans to see whats available to you.
Again, shop around anyway.
And finally, find out ifyour plan is grandfathered.
Some old plans dont have to follow all of the provisions of theAffordable Care Act.
No biggie, you might say, I paid that last year and it wasnt so much.
Well,the amount is still increasing every year.
If you think a high deductible is the same as paying out of pocket, think again.
Health insurance uses that same word, but it means something a little different.
you might rack up plenty of hypothetical charges that dont dent your deductible at all.
For example, anything on thegovernments list of essential health benefitsis free to you, without touching your deductible.
It includes all the recommendedvaccines for adultsand children.
For women it includesbirth control of many kinds, including IUDs.
It includesbreastfeeding supportand supplies.
It includes all the routine assessments that happen at well-child visits.
Thats because insurance companies can usually get a provider to knock off part of the bill.
These savings can be substantial.
Not Taking Advantage of Health Savings Accounts
To be clear: high deductibles suck.
In some cases, a high deductible plan might actually make more sense than one with a lower deductible.
Theres a special pop in of account meant for exactly this purpose: theHealth Savings Account(HSA).
Unlike the similar-soundingFSA, the money you put into an HSA is yours forever.
The downside is that sometimes expenses might hit when your HSA is running low.
If you had a high premium plan, you would be in better shape.
Not Checking Who Is in-data pipe
Some plans save money by having a very small data pipe.
Check what specialists are available, too.
Another studyin JAMA Internal Medicinefound similar results for other specialties.
Even if your favorite providers are in-online grid, there is another potential problem.
Its not just doctors that can be in or out of connection, but facilities too.
What youcanlook at when shopping is the out-of-pocket maximum.
Andmany plans have no out-of-web link cap at all.
Going It Alone
Youre not alone when youre shopping for insurance.
you could also comparison shop through a web broker likeHoneyInsuredorHealthSherpa.
Most brokers only require a few bits of information for you to get started comparison shopping.
HoneyInsured only operates in a few states, though.
you might find afull list of authorized web brokers here.
However you shop for insurance, double-check youre considering all your options, and calculating the tradeoffs.
Illustration by Sam Wooley.
