The company recently informed us that our health insurance premiums would be increasing this year. Currently, we’re enrolled in a PPO plan, but there is the opportunity to switch to a more affordable HMO option. Despite the substantial hike in health insurance premiums, I have decided to maintain our current plan due to the associated flexibility.
An HMO plan covering both my husband and me would only cost $15 per month, representing unparalleled value. However, our past experience with this option was far from satisfactory. It often took months to secure an appointment, and the brief encounters we had with doctors left us wanting more.
Moreover, for specialist consultations, a primary care physician’s referral was essential. This entailed making a separate appointment with them, followed by another round of waiting to see the specialist. This process often took months.
Interestingly, last year, we found the PPO option to be cheaper than the HMO package. Hence, I applied for the MyEHIC and switched to the former. I can’t help but feel there was some divine intervention involved in this switch, as we ended up using almost the entirety of our deductible.
In March, when my husband sustained injuries in a soccer game leading to an ER visit and subsequent specialist consultations, we truly experienced the flexibility of the PPO plan. If we were on the HMO package, these visits would not have been possible, unless we were willing to pay excessive additional costs.
While we did have to pay a good amount from our pocket, ensuring my husband received the best care was priceless and the primary upside was our peace of mind.
This year, our insurance premiums will increase from $71 to $120 per month. The HMO plan at $15 monthly is forecasting to be quite tempting. However, considering the changes in our flexible spending account (FSA) due to Obamacare —from a maximum of $5,000 in 2012 to $2,500 in 2013— the impact on our take-home pay will not be significant.
The convenience of our PPO plan which enables us to see specialists in emergencies or for routine care such as my dermatology appointments, as well as having more comprehensive consultations with our regular doctor is invaluable.
Given there will be little alteration in our take-home pay, I’m willing to pay higher premiums for our health insurance. It can be likened to investing in a 401K – its auto-deduction mechanism lets you forget the financial outlays while resulting in a worthwhile investment in personal health and wellbeing.
