My husband and I are taking a year off work to travel, starting next week. Our combined income for 2018 is low enough to qualify for a honkin' subsidy on the ACA marketplace.
A silver plan will cost us $150/month and we'll each have a $2,250 individual deductible. The bronze plan is only $34/month, but has a $6,350 individual deductible.
The plans only work for providers and services rendered in our lovely home state of NH. Once we travel outside of NH, both plans with only cover us for emergency services rendered in life threatening situations. The silver plan has a 30% coinsurance on ER visits after the individual deductible is met. It has a $5,850 out of pocket max per person. The bronze plan has a 40% coinsurance on ER visits after the deductible is met. It has a $7,350 out of pocket max per person. So a $1,500 ER visit will cost the same under both plans. A $2,500 ER visit will be roughly the same price as well. It's in the $2,500 and up range that the plans start to differ in what they'll cover. A $5000 ER visit will cost me 5k with the bronze plan, and $3,075 with the silver plan. Granted, I'm paying $1,380 more per year toward the silver plan premium to get that cost savings.
Neither of us has been to the ER in ages. However, we will be skiing, mountain biking, and hiking quite a bit in the upcoming year so there is the potential for injury. Although, I think driving across the country probably poses the greatest statistical threat.
Should either of us develop a chronic health condition, we'd likely make our way home for care.
Which plan would you buy? The more I break down the costs, the more the bronze plan seems to make sense for our situation. Am I missing anything?