Which is better, a health insurance plan with deductible or one that has no deductible but higher premium and higher maximum out of pocket expense?

It totally depends on your situation so it really is an unanswerable question with any authority. i have a health plan that is higher premium and no deductible but I’m old.

That is one you’ll have to figure out yourself. The answer will be yours; not ours.

Depends on how much you’ll need to use it

I’ve been wondering about the answer to that for years. Still don’t know.

Do you know what you’ve spent on healthcare in the past few years?

We had a number of plans to consider through work and I created a formula based on our regular prescriptions and typical out of pocket expenses and it turned out that the lowest monthly cost plan was the cheapest in the long run (assuming we meet max out-of-pocket, which we have for several years in a row).

The problem with deductibles is that when you are responsible for the whole cost, you may delay care. It’s also problematic if your prescriptions are tied into the deductible (that is an absolute no for me). I prefer plans with reasonable deductibles, standard copays for PCP and specialist appts, and prescription costs unrelated to the deductible.

But, obviously, the higher monthly cost has its own challenges.

@Blackwater_Park nailed it. If you are generally in great health with no real problems, a plan with lower (or no) premiums but with higher out of pocket expenses would be better. If you have a lot of health issues, you might want to think the reverse. But if you compare plans you will likely find that what you pay in premiums and out-of-pocket maximums will likely equal each other. More premiums and lower out-of-pocket will equal lower premiums and higher out-of-pocket. The savings is only realized when you factor in how much you will use.

Another thing I just learned as well is that while many (if not all) plans will cover routine colonoscopies, they have a new way to screw you. If you are getting a colonoscopy and that is all, they pay. If the doctor see something and wants to get a sample of it for evaluation, suddenly that stops being a routine procedure and becomes a diagnostic one where you end up having to pay for the entire thing yourself. Make sure you read all the fine print and ask the questions.

^^Thank you and thanks so much jellies!