Health care costs can be substantial and vary widely from year to year. A family with chronic conditions may experience higher medical costs than another even though both families had the same coverage.
Using an online tool like KFF Marketplace Calculator can help you find affordable health insurance plans that fit your budget and meet your needs. The site offers information on deductibles and out-of-pocket limits, as well as other cost-sharing options. These are all important factors for consumers to consider before choosing a health insurance plan.
Average Health Insurance Deductible
The deductible is the amount that you must pay before your health insurer begins to pay on your behalf. In most cases, you and your health insurance provider will share the cost of medical services until you reach the deductible level. Once you reach this point, the health insurance provider pays the remainder of the costs.
You can choose a high deductible health plan, or a low-deductible one. The low deductible health plan usually has lower premiums. But you'll have to pay more if your medical needs are urgent or you get sick.
Most plans with a deductible of $1,700 or more are expensive for families and individuals. Lively CEO Ryan Wiik states that Obamacare-based plans are the ones with the highest deductibles. Some options have an average deductible up to $4,000, or even higher.
If you're not a frequent user of medical services or don't need prescriptions on a regular basis, a bronze level health insurance plan may be a good option for you. It's relatively cheap. Bronze-tier policies have higher deductibles. However, the premiums can be lower. Bronze-tier plans may have deductibles equal to the maximum limit of $7,900 set by law for 2019.