Here we are nine years into the Affordable Care Act and the only constant has been less affordable healthcare. Maybe we should sue the federal government for false advertising? Central to the affordability conversation is how high deductibles happened to be for the average plan. For 2019, the average health insurance plan carried a deductible of about $1,350 per person. A new record high and for tens of millions of families, not affordable.
According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, 40% of families can’t afford healthcare this year in large part due to the heavy costs associated with out-of-pocket expenses required before meeting deductibles. Over the past year, 64% of Americans said they at least delayed healthcare due to cost, and of them, 44% have avoided healthcare altogether. These numbers are huge and if its hit home to you consider that the average family is spending $1,021 per month on health insurance costs. That’s over $12,000 per year. That’s not taking into account one’s deductible. I reviewed the new high-deductible plans that are set to be rolled out over the next few months and found that the average coverage plan will only cost 42% of the average comprehensive plan and carry a deductible that’s around $2,500 per person.
That’s nearly $7,000 in savings per family if you’re willing to go along with the higher deductible that’s about $1,100 more per person. For most families, you would likely save around $3,000 over the next year using this approach. If you’re concerned about healthcare costs, this year will provide more options, some of which could save the average family thousands of dollars over the next year.
Photo by: Getty Images Europe, Christopher Furlong