ACA and High Deductible Health Insurance

[beltim]

Hi all,

I'm a big fan of high deductible health insurance plans; I think they represent what health insurance should be—paying for large health care expenses—instead of most insurance, which is often closer to health care reimbursement. 

Anyway, one of my options for employment next year is in Massachusetts, and I was doing some research on health insurance plans available next year using the MA Health Connector.  I was quite surprised to find no high deductible health insurance plans for sale, despite the fact that my wife and I are both under 30.  Some research on "Catastrophic Health Plans" in Massachusetts suggests that there are conflicts between the ACA and MA state law that forbid such plans from being offered there (http://www.mass.gov/ocabr/docs/doi/consumer/marerials3092012.pdf)

I was wondering if anyone else has had similar experiences in other states.

[seattlecyclone]

I agree with you about high-deductible health plans. Most of the plans on the market these days go way beyond my definition of "insurance."

I was looking at Washington's health exchange website out of curiosity and found there were a couple of options at the bronze level (and one at the silver level!) that all qualified as HDHPs with HSA eligibility. If I were moving into the individual health insurance market I would be very likely to pick one of those. I'm sorry to hear nothing like that would be available for you in Massachusetts.

From what I've read, even though you're young enough to buy one of the "catastrophic" health plans, you would probably only want to do it if your income is too high for one of the subsidies. The catastrophic plans don't qualify for subsidies, and you would probably find a better overall deal with one of the bronze plans if your income qualifies.

[beltim]

Indeed, my income there would be too high for subsidies.  And the difference between the cheapest bronze plan and a high deductible plan would likely hundreds of dollars per month. 

I took a look at the Washington health exchange, and those plans definitely look better.