The I Don’t Know Plan

September 26, 2006 by bob.

Q. I am looking for health insurance. The plan I have now is no good and it costs too much. Can you help?

A. That isn’t much to go on . . .

When we talked I was a bit surprised to find out you did not know the name of the carrier, nor did you know the deductible or your out of pocket. All you knew is your office copay and monthly premium.

I shouldn’t be that surprised as your situation is not that different from many of the people I talk to. When asking details about their coverage, the typical answer is “I don’t know”.

I must conclude that the I don’t know plan is a popular one since so many have it.

The premium you are paying is about 30% too much. You have a lot of benefits you will probably never use. Your out of pocket is also out of line with the “norm” and is something you need to know in comparing plans.

The most simple method of comparing plans is to look at your annual premium + your out of pocket on a major claim. The plan with the lowest total at risk (premium + OOP) is the plan that you should choose.

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