High deductible heath plans maim and kill people

[Ms. Toad]

36. My numbers come from both direct shopping

when I did not have insurance through work, as well as general knowledge of what my employer is currently paying for our insurance - and what they used to pay under the PPO.

The numbers I gave take into account take into account whether the plan pays 50% after the deductible or 100% or 0%. Whatever portion you have to pay stops when you hit the max out of pocket - the only thing co-pays or co-insurance impact is how quickly you reach your maximum spend. So the minimum is premiums only (assuming you never ever went to visit the doctor). The maximum is the absolute most you would ever have to pay in a single year, even if millions were spent on your behalf. That is the total premiums + the annual out of pocket maximum.

You're missing a critical number to do that calculation for yourself - the annual out of pocket maximum.

It is worth it to do the calculation whenever you're evaluating insurance plans, because many insurance companies rely on the fact that way too many people just buy the lowest deductible, highest coinsurance they can afford on a weekly/monthly basis - and never pay any attention at all to the fact that many can get coverage significantly cheaper if they buy the lowest coverage available - EVEN if, like my daughter, she hits the $3000 out of pocket maximum in January or February every year.