High Deductible Health Insurance Plans

High Deductible health insurance plans have much lower premiums than their regular health insurance counter-parts. Keep in mind though, even though the monthly premium is much lower, patients have much higher out of pocket expenses for regular doctor visits and prescription drug purchases through much higher co-pays. Under most high-deductible health insurance plans, patients must pay higher co-pays for doctor visits and for generic drugs. Hospital service coverage usually begins to kick in after a the deductible, which under high deductible health plans begin at around $2,000. The obviously benefit to these high deductible health insurance plans is that their monthly costs and premiums are much lower. Let’s take a quick look at one of Coventry One’s high deductible plans which is available in Las Vegas, Nevada:

Total monthly costs for this plan is $43.03 and the yearly deductible is $5,000. The annual out of pocket limit is also $5,000. This means that the MOST an individual will ever pay for health care in one year is $5,000 through this plan. So even a catastrophic illness or surgery that costs say $100,000 a year would be covered by this plan – the only thing it, it would cost $43.03 a month and the first $5,000 would have to be paid out of pocket by the patient. Still, $5,000 is a small price to pay for a major operation. Most people should have at least $5,000 saved up in an emergency fund for exactly these kinds of emergencies. So what else do you get for $43.03 a month for this particular plan? Office visits to primary physicians is only $25. Your high deductible insurance plan will cover the rest. Why? Because it’s in the best interest of the insurance company for you (the patient) NOT to get sick – so they won’t have to pony up huge amounts for hospitalization. For prescription drugs, your copay is only $10 for generics. For brand drugs on the other hand, you’ll need to pay the full amount up until you reach your $5,000 deductible, then it’s $40. The lifetime maximum coverage through this $43.03 a month plan is “Unlimited”, which means even the most expensive operations and treatments are covered. This particular plan also covers free yearly check-ups and some basic out of network coverage. For more details on this health plan or other health plans, simply check out the best high deductible health insurance plans section of this site.

Most regular insurance plans require patients to pay 10%+ of the cost for major operations, so a $100,000 surgery or treatment would end up costing over $5,000 under a lower deductible health plan. Oh and the monthly costs for a regular health insurance plan is MUCH higher than the monthly cost of a high deductible health plan. If you never have to undergo a major surgery, having a high deductible health insurance plan will certainly pay off. Even if you never end up in the hospital – you’ll save money in the long run as the monthly costs associated with a high deductible plan is significantly lower than regular health plans.

Overall, the monthly costs for high deductible health insurance is extremely low compared to that of regular low deductible plans. You can even purchase business high deductible health insurance or family high deductible health insurance plans.