Thanks, Dr. Medimentary.

Avoiding care and overusing it are certainly drawbacks of the deductible, I would imagine that is frustrating to deal with as a provider of care. If the deductible is hijacking the concept of “the right care at the right time,” we should really look at fixing that, so please keep pushing on your end.

Max

That’s true. Evidently, my plan does not have a separate deductible for going out of network, but I suppose there is always the risk of being balances billed for going out of my network. I typically don’t have any issues staying in the network, but that’s because I have always worked for larger health systems with easy access to specialists.

I would imagine this is frustrating in a regular market.

Thanks for the clear review of deductibles and helping readers understand what they mean for individual and family plans. I also had no idea there was a Canadian-specific Home Depot bucket!

I often have conversations with patients who choose to avoid care or recommended imaging because their deductibles have not been met and they may incur the charges for medical care. I understand this worry. I also meet folks who have met their deductibles and are asking for testing or services they may not need. In our American version of the “insurance tail” wagging the “healthcare delivery dog”, the idea of the right care at the right time often gets overlooked. Healthcare services can be time-sensitive and having met or not met deductibles, unfortunately, influences appropriate care.

It’s nice that your blog addresses concepts and issues that I think everyone as healthcare consumers should know. I will continue to do my part and push for saner healthcare financing systems as focusing on the near-term deductible can have a real impact on long-term health outcomes. Keep up the good work!