Selecting health insurance

The end of this year offers all sorts of excitement in regards to health insurance plans. First, we were notified that our personal health insurance plan was no longer going to be offered next year. We checked out Covered California's website for our individual market options, and we waited to see options on the small business exchange (SHOP). We heard that the federal government was going to delay rolling out SHOP for a year, but it turns out that that only affects the federal website. California's SHOP website was supposed to be up and running by mid-November. The rate information still isn't available at the time of writing. Oh well, we thought -- I guess no SHOP for us this year. But, it turns out, we can still buy SHOP plans, but just not through the website (we need to go through a broker). But, there are non-SHOP plans that are also available for small businesses -- wider selection, but no possibility of tax credits. Oh, by the way, did we realize that only a limited number of plans are accepted by the doctor that we currently see? (Some other plans are negotiating, but we still don't know if those plans will be accepted.) Getting to this point was just the easy part.

We've been looking at premiums, co-payments, co-insurance, deductibles, and out-of-pocket limits -- enough to make our heads dizzy. Then, we should also consider whether we want HSA-compatible plans, and did you know that HSA plans come with a monthly fee for administration? We started looking at different scenarios that would cause differing levels of health care spend. There are so many variables. While I haven't been a fan of the rollout of these changes, one positive aspect is how the exchanges highlight the dimensions in which the health plans can differ. Having all of the information on the same site makes it easier to choose, but the choice can still be overwhelming.

We're almost done choosing, in part because the deadline is upon us. If any of you are in a similar situation, good luck! Hopefully, it won't spoil your holiday season.