Raising your deductible can lower your premiums significantly and give you more control over your healthcare costs.
Psychologically, raising your deductible from $500 to $1,000 might not seem like much of a bargain because you have to pay more money out of your own pocket before the insurance kicks in. The value depends on how much money you’re saving in premiums and how many medical expenses you end up having throughout the year.
According to eHealthlnsurance, a 35-year-old male in Chicago, for example, could cut his annual premiums down from $1,700 to $1,452, by raising his deductible from $500 to $1,000. The equation is even better if raising your deductible ends up saving you exactly the same amount of money in premiums—a $500 premium reduction, for example, in return for raising your deductible by $500— which it does in many cases, and that’s just part of the savings. Most people will come out even further ahead because they generally do not spend up to the full deductible. In that case, if you raise your deductible from $500 to $1,000, for example, but only end up using $600 in medical expenses, you could save $500 in premiums and only spend an extra $100 out of your own pocket.
That isn’t even counting the tax savings. In 2006, if you raise your deductible to $1,050 for a single policy or $2,100 for family policies, you may also be eligible for a health savings account, which can give you valuable tax benefits.
