Why is enrolling in health care benefits so damn confusing?

I finally re-enrolled in the same health plan I had last year… but I still don’t feel completely confident in my choice. Mostly because I still don’t feel like a very savvy consumer of my benefits. I work for a company that has great, comprehensive health care, so I can supposedly breathe easy.

What I did differently: Upped my Health Care Spending Account $300 (I didn’t fund this at all last year). That means my monthly premium will go up $25, but hopefully I can maintain my very minimal out of pocket costs. For me, I would much rather stagger my spending in a predictable way. Nothing worse for me than having an unexpected medical bill dropped into my monthly budget.

The Deductible Details: My effective deductible is $600 annually. I technically must pay full-sticker for health care until this deductible is met. High, but reasonable for my annual budget, in my view. Then, I pay copays for everything afterwards - $15 for a doctor visit or prescription, etc. etc. Then in the details there is a different figure: Maximum Out of Pocket Costs: $2,600. I guess that means there is a $2,000 cap on all copays that I would pay in the course of a year over my deductible.

What I don’t understand: The impact of my Health Care Spending Account on my taxes. I get that these dollars are tax-free. But I really don’t understand how it effects my April tax return on a dollar basis.

My Health: Being in my mid-twenties and a relatively healthy person with no chronic conditions, I have to say my health is good. But I’ve had a few issues that I could see escalating. I’ve had some eye issues that don’t seem to be getting better, and I’m also having some semi-serious medical testing conducted this week. I also decided to get the HPV vaccine Gardasil this year.

What I’m not sure about: Under this Health Plan last year, due to employer pre-tax contributions in my personal health account, I never paid any significant out of pocket costs. Once I had some pricey dental work done, which was a chunk, but I knew that wasn’t covered in my insurance – so it was separate. I guess what I worry about is that this year, I will start really nicking into that $600 – and I’m guessing that would happen in several high-dollar due-all-at-once incidences. That worries me… but I still think this is the best plan.

Sigh. Why is Open Enrollment for Health Benefits so damn confusing?! I’m linking to an article on tips for evaluating health care coverage. It is very basic, but does give you a good checklist of things to think through as you decide.