High deductible health insurance plans : Are they worth the hype?

A high deductible health insurance plan offers low premiums to the insured while offering a higher deductible amount to be paid by the policy holder before the coverage starts. They are a very popular choice with the young, healthy, self employed and other wise uninsurable people and are generally coupled with HSA plans.

Their high popularity does not necessarily mean that they are the best solution to regular high cost insurance plans. There are a lot of areas in these policies where the people actually are undermined. The caps on hospitalization, life time/total coverage and doctor visits are often very restrictive and do not provide the necessary freedom of choice to the insured. In most cases, the insured choose, or rather, forced not to seek minor insurance claims for the fear of eating up on the number of visits to a doctor or on the total insurance coverage. This is in total negation to the reason for taking the insurance policy! The cost of treatment for serious illnesses is very high and most of the times, the caps provided by the insurance companies are insufficient.

The high deductibles by themselves are a cause for concern. Many a time the insured find themselves in a spot to cover the deductible costs. The haste and greed to get as low a premium as possible often leave the insured to cover highly unreasonable and expensive deductibles before the policy coverage starts. It is a gamble taken by the insured on their own selves; it pays sometimes but hits them back with huge costs, most of the times.


High deductible health insurance plans are actually beneficial to young, healthy individuals or even self employed people. The low premiums do not put any strain in the monthly budgets. They also provide basic preventive care and check ups at no extra cost. For a healthy individual, a regular check up might be the only medical cost in a year and that comes free of cost with the high deductible health insurance plans. These plans can also be linked to HSAs and give the insured an added avenue to save taxes and also provide an opportunity to earn substantial long term interests.

The HAS linked high deductible health plans also provide big discounts on medical expenses (which might otherwise not be available) to the insured, when and if the need arises. These plans can also be used as low cost alternatives for people who are in between policy changes. They also provide the ideal low cover for accidents and unpredictable predicaments. The pros and cons are pretty much stacked up identically on both the sides.

The onus is on the insured to weigh each side based on their individual requirements and then decide it the high deductible health insurance plans are viable for them or not. These plans are very attractive to young people, especially when they are supplemented by other plans and riders. At the same time, they are a trap for people who cannot afford regular insurance plans and also find it difficult to meet the high deductibles. Individuals must analyze their needs, payment ability and coverage requirements before making a decision on the effectiveness of these plans.

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