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Choosing Health Insurance Sucks... But It’s a Lot Like Booking a Flight

Every October & November, millions of Americans undergo the anxiety-inducing decision-making process of selecting their health insurance plan for the upcoming calendar year. Should they keep the same plan they had last year? Should they switch to something less expensive? Will they have to choose a new primary care physician?

There’s an endless list of considerations for which to weigh pros and cons and without fail, you will feel overwhelmed. Let’s make it easier by comparing it to purchasing a flight.

Start: Search for available plans

When you book a flight online, you probably start on Kayak.com or Expedia.com to search for all flights going from your departure to your arrival city. These websites display a large assortment of options by carrier (e.g. American, United, Spirit, JetBlue, etc.), number of transfers, departure/arrival time, etc.

Similarly, you can access all the health insurance policies available to you on Healthcare.gov. It will figure out what type of insurance is right for you (e.g. Medicare, Medicaid, On-Exchange, Off-Exchange, etc.) and you’ll be able to shop across all carriers that service your zip code.

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Sort by: Time or Money?

There will be a ton of search results and you’ll use the filter & sort options to find the best options for you. When shopping for a flight, you’ll probably set a few parameters depending on your preference:

• Time – if you’re looking for the most convenient option, you might sort by least travel time and exclude flights that require layovers. The more convenient the flights, the more expensive they will be.
• Money – if you’re looking for the most economical flight, you can sort by price to find the cheapest flight. But know that you’re likely to find flights that depart at an ungodly early hour of the morning or flights that require multiple layovers.

Buying health insurance is also about time vs. money. The cheaper the health insurance, the more hassle you’ll have to put up with.

Filter by: Spirit or American Airlines?

If you sort by price, you’ll undoubtedly find super low prices from Spirit or Frontier Airlines at the top of your list. But don’t forget that price is only to get a seat on the plane. For every service used, you’ll be charged further - $60 to check a bag, $35 to pick your seat, $7 for a water bottle - by the time you add it all up, the total cost of your round trip might cost more than an all-inclusive ticket on American or United Airlines.

Now let’s translate it to healthcare:

• If you don’t plan on using a lot of services, a bronze-level HMO might work. It’ll pay for some of your expenses if something catastrophic happens, but know that you’ll probably be nickel-and-dimed for every lab draw, appointment, etc.
• If you do plan on using a lot of services, because you’re trying to get pregnant or if you have a chronic condition, then it might be less expensive (and less of a hassle!) to choose a gold or platinum- level PPO. It will feel more like an all-inclusive where you paid more upfront and don’t need to itemize each expense in a spreadsheet.

Pro Tip: Total Cost = Entry Fee + Cost of Services

You’re probably in between those two extremes, so to figure out the right plan for you, you’ll need to provide specific info to estimate the final bill. When prompted on Healthcare.gov, provide:

1. Prescription medications you’re taking

2. Doctors you’d like to keep seeing

Their cost calculator will figure out what things cost on the back end and calculate your estimated TOTAL cost to help you compare & contrast plans.

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