Deductible Changes

One change to watch for is when the in-plan deductible and out of plan deductible. I used to have an overlapping deductible, meaning my $300 in-plan deductible was shared with the $500 out-of-plan deductible. Once I hit my $300 in-plan deductible I only had another $200 to fulfill my out-of-plan deductible. 

Then, one year I neglected to read the fine print, and discovered to my horror that the deductibles became separate. If you had expenses in both categories, you were liable for a total of $800 in deductibles

Read and review those year over year plan changes!

Year to year changes

As the cost of healthcare skyrockets, plans change more often than ever. During the enrollment period, typically november or december, is a time when you sign up for the following year's health plan. Hopefully, you'll get a summary of the benefit changes for the year, and I highly recommend you actually read it carefully, because the fine print can change considerably. It's easy and a fallacy to assume that if your health and family situation is expected to stay the same, that you should just leave everything the same with your health plan.

Introduction

I've spent a lot of time dealing with health insurance and thought it would be useful to share my experiences with a PPO. Remember that everyone's health plan may be different, so take these posts as examples only. In the end, and an important thing that I've learned, is that you have to take responsibility for yourself and be vigilant about your insurance coverage.