Should You Buy a High-Deductible Health Insurance Policy?
Given how expensive health insurance can be (especially for those without the luxury of an employer-sponsored plan), finding ways to get by on a cheaper policy makes a lot of sense. High-deductible health insurance policies are a great way to keep healthcare expenses down, but they're not for everyone.
A high-deductible health plan has a deductible (the amount you'll pay for covered healthcare expenses before your insurance kicks in) of at least $1,300 per year if it's an individual policy, or $2,600 for a family policy. Total yearly out-of-pocket expenses for these plans can't exceed $6,550 for individual policies or $13,100 for family policies.
The good news about high-deductible plans is that monthly premiums are typically much lower than they are for health insurance policies with standard deductible levels. The bad news is that if you have a number of medical expenses in any given year, you'll have to shell out a lot of money before the policy starts paying out. Thus, high-deductible plans are best for healthy folks with few medical expenses in a typical year. Of course, if you simply can't afford a standard health insurance plan's high monthly premium, then a high-deductible policy may be your only option.
Source: Fool.com
