It’s not always easy to choose a medical plan. With so many factors and figures to consider, the selection process can be daunting. How can you tell which plan would be best for your circumstances? To be a wise health care consumer, you must look at the big picture because when it comes to health care spending, total cost is what counts.

Think about your family’s health care last year. Where did you spend your money? Did it go toward doctor visits? Prescriptions? Hospital stays? While you can’t plan for the truly unexpected, you can make an educated guess based on past experience and your family’s health. Here are five tips to help you choose the best plan:

1. Estimate next year’s costs for care. Planning on making big changes, like starting a family? Or do you have a chronic condition that will require care? Do your homework and research how much it might cost.* Include how much you might spend on prescription drugs, doctor visits, etc. This will give you a number to use when looking at plan deductibles.
2. Understand your deductible. Many people are concerned about choosing a higher deductible plan. But they may end up paying more overall by choosing a lower deductible plan that carries a higher monthly price. Doing a little figuring can work in your favor. Many plans also include prescription drug deductibles as well. These can either be combined medical/prescription amounts or in addition to medical deductibles. Make sure you know how your plan works.
3. Consider the coinsurance. Coinsurance is the amount your plan pays for eligible medical services once you’ve met your deductible. As with the deductible, understanding your coinsurance percentage will help determine how much it will cost you to use your health plan. For example, once you have met your deductible, if your coinsurance is 80%, this means you’ll pay 20% of the eligible expenses. If your coinsurance is 70%, you would pay 30% after meeting your deductible, etc. Also take note of the plan’s out-of-pocket maximum. Once you’ve met that, a plan typically pays 100% for eligible charges for the rest of the year.
4. Figure the cost of coverage for the year. While how much care you’ll need over the course of a year is a guesstimate, you can figure the minimum amount you’ll pay for health coverage every month. Choose a couple of plans, then multiply the monthly rate by 12 to get your annual cost of coverage.
5. Put it all together. The key to choosing the right health plan is estimating total cost per plan. Compare your estimated health care costs (tip # 1 above) with the deductibles for the plans you’re considering. How close will you come to meeting those deductibles? How much will you pay out-of-pocket to use each plan? (Make sure to consider deductibles, out-of-pocket maximums, coinsurance and copays for things like prescription drugs, office visits and hospitalization).

By looking at how much you’ll pay for coverage and for potential services, you can find the right balance of cost and benefits for your family.

*Tip: For tools to help you search cost by condition and price by procedure information, log on to Highmark's Web site and select the “Useful Cost Information” link under the “Your Spending” tab. You must be enrolled in a GuideStone PPO medical plan to have access to this tool.

GuideStone Financial Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention welcomes the opportunity to share this general information. However, this article is not intended to be relied upon as medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.