High-Deductible Insurance Plans Do Work Well

I was somewhat of a doubter when I learned that CVPH was going to a high-deductible health insurance plan. Having blown through that deductible like a Northeaster rolling up the coast in January I can tell you that it’s a pretty good option to have.

After years of few sizable claims, my wife spent five days as an inpatient with pneumonia in early February. However, compared to me she was the picture of health. I’ve had three interventional radiology procedures, an equal number of PET scans, two CT scans and radiation therapy at CVPH as well as some outpatient dermatology work at Fletcher Allen plus a few assorted doctor visits.

Trust me, that $2,600 exposure for family coverage was met, surpassed and then left in the dust never to be considered again until January 1, 2113. Plus I glow in the dark now, but that’s another story.

High-deductible plans have become popular with employers that offer group health benefits as well as for people who buy insurance on their own. Why? Premiums cost less and no one can question that affordability matters.

If you’ve ever been covered by a first-dollar plan the high deductible concept can appear to be a downer. Not having a co-pay or upfront deductible let’s you feel like a kid in a candy store accompanied by a rich grandparent just itching to spoil you. It’s all free.

But that’s not really the purpose of insurance. Insurance is meant to limit your exposure. We carry $500 or $1,000 deductibles on our cars so that in the event of an accident we are only at risk $500 or $1,000. By the way, typically we pay almost $500 more in premiums a year when the deductible is $500 rather than $1,000, not a good investment.

With the high-deductible plan, once you reach the maximum you’re covered. I don’t receive bills; I get a monthly report of what my insurance company has paid for care rendered to my wife and me. If I enjoyed gong to the doctor, having tests, being poked, prodded and probed I might feel like that kid in the candy store. Since I don’t enjoy such activity, I hope to go the last five months of the year with as little medical contact as possible.

However, from an insurance standpoint, I’m covered. I can worry about my health but not my pocketbook. That’s why people have insurance, even the high-deductible kind.

Mike Hildebran
Public Relations & Marketing
July 31, 2012