Weighing the trade-offs

As the increasing cost of health care continues to drive up the cost of health insurance, more consumers are evaluating their needs in a new way. On one hand, they're assessing how they use health care and the effect it has on the cost of insurance. And, on the other, they're looking at what aspects of health care they want insurance to pay for.

For example, some people have mainly routine needs - doctor visits for wellness and minor illness or injury - and use insurance to pay for them through office visit copays. For these consumers, a copay makes doctor office visits feel affordable. However, using health insurance in this manner - to pay for everyday occurrences - may actually be costing more than they realize. It's like having car insurance to pay for oil changes.

Others use insurance to pay only for the catastrophic. They self-fund the costs associated with everyday health care needs in exchange for a lower insurance premium. These consumers have assessed their needs and discovered they're ahead of the game financially in a best case scenario and, in a worst case scenario, no worse off when it comes to the total cost of care and insurance.

Determining how frequently you seek medical care and the degree to which you want health insurance to pay for that care is the best way to determine how to spend your health care dollars and get the most value.

Whatever style you're most comfortable with is the one that's right for you. From copay plans to high deductible plans, Choice Health Insurance offers choices for varying health care appetites - all without the hassles of a primary care physician's referral when you need to see a specialist.

.: Know what questions to ask