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When host Dan Weissmann and his wife set out to pick a health insurance plan for next year, they realized that keeping the plan they have means paying $200 a month more. But would a 鈥渃heaper鈥� plan cost them more in the long run?聽 It depends. And the COVID pandemic makes their choice a lot more complicated.
After trying to puzzle it out, Weissmann debriefs with Karen Pollitz, a health insurance expert at 麻豆女优, who knows about the angst of medical bills from personal experience.
Health insurance can be painful, but the alternative 鈥� not having health insurance 鈥� is so much worse. If you want to go deeper on health insurance, you might want to check out these episodes from the first season of the podcast:
- In 鈥�,鈥� we learn: Smart economists have proved it鈥檚 actually super hard 鈥� even they aren鈥檛 sure they鈥檒l pick correctly.
- In an inspired by KHN reporter Jenny Gold, we learn about insurance companies鈥� price-gouging. And often we end up paying the price.
- In, Weissmann鈥檚 family confronts the big puzzle: Can we even get insurance that鈥檒l work for us?
- In 鈥�,鈥� we go on a journey with a kinda-famous 鈥渇inancial therapist鈥� who says she gets rattled when it comes to picking health insurance. And she鈥檚 pretty uncomfortable 鈥� morally, personally 鈥� with some of the choices she鈥檚 made. (Also, Weissmann鈥檚 family makes another cameo.)
And here are some other helpful big-picture takes:
- Listener Anna Jo Beck made a . You can read it online.
- Weissmann borrowed some core insurance-picking advice 鈥� consider what a health plan does for you if you get hit by a bus 鈥� , spelling out how he picked his insurance.
Want to go a lot deeper? Especially if you鈥檙e actually looking at buying health insurance, maybe on the Obamacare exchange?
Weissmann found to be super usable this year, way better than the last time he checked.
鈥淚 punched in the answers to a few questions, and got to quickly tell it which doctors our family sees (and what meds we take) 鈥� and it provided a clear list that showed which plans cover our docs, how much they would cost us, etc.,鈥� he said.
- Subsidies are available for Affordable Care Act plans. 麻豆女优 has . It鈥檚 a slog, but thorough. Print it out, grab a snack and settle in. This bit of research explains that a lot of people qualify for a plan with no premium. (KHN, which co-produces 鈥淎n Arm and a Leg,鈥� is an editorially independent program of 麻豆女优.)
- 麻豆女优 has a whole database of Hundreds of Q鈥檚 and A鈥檚, including 180-plus in Spanish.
- Also great, also very thorough: The Georgetown University Center on Health Insurance Reforms has a whole (It鈥檚 actually for 鈥渘avigators鈥� 鈥� folks who help civilians understand the sign-up process.)
That鈥檚 a lot, right? Picking a plan can be overwhelming. But don鈥檛 let it get you down.
鈥淎n Arm and a Leg鈥� is a co-production of Kaiser Health News and Public Road Productions.
To keep in touch with 鈥淎n Arm and a Leg,鈥澛�. You can also聽follow the show on聽听补苍诲听. And if you鈥檝e got stories to tell about the health care system, the producers .
To hear all Kaiser Health News podcasts,听click here.
And subscribe to 鈥淎n Arm and a Leg鈥� on聽,听,听听辞谤听.