When you're buying something important you want to make sure you're getting the best that you can afford. Right now you might be having a hard time finding someone who can tell you what the best is for your health insurance.
Don't worry, your search can finally come to an end.
My job here at Giangola Insurance is to help identify the "best" plan for you. It's a question I helped hundreds of people answer every year.
Since Obamacare officially kicked in two years ago, this list has been pretty short. So short that it only featured plans from one health insurance company.
This year I'm relieved to finally be able to put another name on the board.
Let's get into the list.
Medical Mutual's MedMutual (Market) 4000 HSA
- Deductible: $4,000 (Single) $8,000 (Family)
- Coinsurance: 0 Percent after deductible
- Out-of-Pocket Max: $4,000 (Single) $8,000 (Family)
Note: The word "Market" will appear in the name of Medical Mutual's plans if you are buying it through healthcare.gov to collect your tax credit if you qualify.
First, don't freak out about the deductible and out-of-pocket max. Plans that have zero percent coinsurance mean you aren't responsible for any money beyond the deductible. So the most you will pay during the calendar year for covered medical services is $4,000 for a single person or $8,000 for a family (two or more people).
This plan is replacing one of my all-time favorite options that only lasted one year in Obamacare, the HSA 3000.
Before Obamacare kicked in $3,000 deductible, 0% coinsurance HSA's were the cat's pajamas before they gave way to $4,000 deductible, 0% coinsurance HSA's. Last year Medical Mutual and other companies, brought back the $3,000 deductible. This year it's gone again and they're right back where they started.
In a lot of cases the old $3,000 deductible HSA was the happy medium between all things health insurance. But since it has once again gone the way of the dinosaurs, this is going to be your next best option.
Also, since this HSA is a silver plan, if your income is low enough and you qualify for the extra cost sharing subsidies you could be looking at a plan with a $500 deductible (single person) and out-of-pocket max.
Which is crazy.
NOTE: The plan will technically not be a HSA at the two lowest cost sharing levels because the deductible does not meet the minimum requirements.
Medical Mutual's MedMutual (Market) HSA 6000
- Deductible: $6,000 (Single) $12,000 (Family)
- Coinsurance: 0 Percent after deductible
- Out-of-Pocket Max: $6,000 (Single) $12,000 (Family)
Making the list for an unprecedented third year in a row, is the no frills, "catastrophic" option you love to hate and hate to love.
It's hard to fall in love with this plan without doing some serious math first. This plan also routinely falls under the "it's all I can afford" option.
Before you put your foot in your mouth and say something you can't take back, you will want to see how much this plan will cost you and figure out how much money it will save you in comparison to a lower deductible.
I can actually help you do that math right here.
Yes paying $12,000 up front before the plan "kicks in" is a pretty scary proposition, but the question you need to ask yourself is how much did you pay toward your deductible last year?
If your answer is $500, $1,000, $2,000 or even $3,000 than you have probably been wasting your money on too low of a deductible.
The worst thing in health insurance is just meeting your deductible or barely going over it. If that's happened to you, than your health insurance company won big time.
You want to make sure your guaranteed medical expenses exceed your deductible by a couple thousand dollars if you're looking to buy down to a lower deductible.
That is of course you want to get the most out of the policy.
InHealth Mutual's 2016 Silver 1
NOTE: As of 5/26/16 InHealth Mutual was order by the Ohio Department of Insurance to liquidate the company. You can read the full release from ODI here.
- Deductible: $2,250 (Single) $4,500 (Family)
- Coinsurance: 30 Percent after deductible
- Out-of-Pocket Max: $6,750 (Single) $13,500 (Family)
This plan is going to server as your best value option for a classic copay plan. This is one area where InHealth stood out above the competition last year and I expect them to only build of that momentum for 2016.
If you find yourself taking one, two, three, or more name brand medications on a regular basis then you're going to want to give this plan a serious look.
The deductible is about as good as you're going to get for the price and the copays will save your budget every month.
InHealth Mutual's 2016 Gold 1
- Deductible: $2,000 (Single) $4,000 (Family)
- Coinsurance: 20 Percent after deductible
- Out-of-Pocket Max: $3,500 (Single) $7,000 (Family)
If you want to take a step up to the next level with the classic copay plan structure, this is going to be your best option.
You'll have a $20 copay to see your primary doctor and a $40 copay for a specialist. A nice added bonus in the copay department is a $250 copay for any imaging tests like MRI's and CT scans.
You will also notice your out-of-pocket max is much lower than the Silver 1 plan by almost 50 percent.
Your copays for prescription medication will also be a little less as well.
The biggest question that will need to be answered when considering this plan is if the price is right.
InHealth Mutual's 2016 Gold 3 HSA
- Deductible: $2,250 (Single) $4,500 (Family)
- Coinsurance: 0 Percent after deductible
- Out-of-Pocket Max: $2,250 (Single) $4,500 (Family)
The big reason InHealth Mutual has such a strong presence on this year's list is because they are the only other company, besides Medical Mutual, in Ohio to offer a network of doctors and hospitals you deserve.
The last plan on this year's list is the lowest deductible HSA plan you're going to find. InHealth's Gold 3 HSA is the top of the line health savings account plan out there as most companies are doing away with most, if not all, of their Gold plans.
This plan will come in handy if you have a lot of on going medical expenses, like medication and testing, that far exceed this policy deductible. The upfront cost choosing this plan will sting a little, but you'll have the rest of the year to feel better.
Also, this plan might make sense if you don't like the idea of risking several thousand dollars more for one of the other plans and the premier for the Gold 3 HSA is somewhat reasonable.
Where are the other Ohio Health Insurance Companies?
Again for the third year in a row, most of the companies you'll be able to buy health insurance from are not offering a combination of price and access to doctors that are sufficient in my opinion.
If you and I want to look on the bright side at least this year there are two companies on this list compared to Medical Mutual dominating the charts in 2014 and 2015.
Anthem, Aetna, Humana, HealthSpan, Molina, Caresource and SummaCare have all decided to sit back and drastically limit the doctors and hospitals you have access to. Most of them will be charging you more money in the process.
Of course, rates do vary pretty significantly from county to county in the state and also by age and family demographic. It's possible you might find that you're the exception to some of these general rules.
Where pricing may change slightly, doctor and hospital networks are pretty cut and dry.
The Bottom Line
You can't imagine how happy I am to finally have a company capable of standing side-by-side with Medical Mutual.
Given Medical Mutual's stingy number of plans available, sometimes it was hard to find the right match for people. That shouldn't be a problem this year.
There's a really good chance one of these plans from Medical Mutual or InHealth Mutual will end up making a lot of sense for you in 2016.
Again, it's important to remember that this list was created to highlight the best all-around health insurance options for you. If you want to get a little more specific, follow the next step.
Next Step
Put my list to the test and see how these plans work for you. Click here to learn how these plans compare to one another AND how much they will cost you.
