My question concerns buying health insurance. I recently left a federal job and I am heading to private firm that has terrible health insurance (premiums for a family are laughably expensive). As a result, I am in the process of buying private health insurance for my family. As background, here are the relevant numbers (approximate) for the health insurance plans that I am considering:
Bronze Medal (HSA eligible) for Family:
Premium: $536 per month
Deductible: $11,900
Max Out-of-Pocket: $12,700
Bronze Medal (HSA eligible) for individual plans for each family member:
Premium: $536 total cost (4 individual plans ad up to $536)
Deductible: $5,950 per person
Max Out-of-Pocket: $6,350 per person
My question is whether it makes sense to buy individual plans rather than one plan for the entire family. On one hand, for a family of four healthy people, I suspect that the greatest odds of reaching a deductible is that one family member has a medical emergency. On the other hand, there is always a risk that multiple family members have medical emergencies in the same year (i.e., a car crash). I lean towards thinking that buying individual plans makes the most sense. (for further background on my personal finances, I have enough money saved to pay the $12,700 maximum or the worst case scenario of $25,600 should all four family members suffer a medical emergency in the same year).
What say you Mustachians?