"Is your family consuming more than $7,200 a year of medical expenses? Highly unlikely. You want to get the most bang for your buck, so be practical about what you need to buy."
But what if you have young children who see the doctor frequently? There are still good options with managed-care plans that waive the deductible for checkups but apply the deductible if you go in when you're sick.
Another important issue to consider is whether the plan you're considering restricts the doctors and hospitals that you can use.
If you don't care about whether you keep your existing doctors, you can choose any plan. But if you're attached to your current medical providers, you should find out whether their services are covered under the plans you are considering. In some cases, out-of-network doctors are covered at a lower rate. In others, the plan can further restrict payments for these providers by declaring monetary limits on out-of-network care.
Make sure you check with your doctors and the plan provider about any restrictions to coverage if you intend to go out of network for care.
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Shop online or with an insurance agent
Now that you know what you want and need, it's time to start shopping. You can shop with a health insurance agent, shop online or do both.
There is a vast array of websites, but not all of them are particularly helpful. At www.insureme.com, for example, you'll need to give your name, address and phone number, as well as a few other pertinent details about what you're looking for -- individual or family coverage, for example -- and the ages of the applicants. With that, you're supposed to get a list of policies that you could apply for.
Instead, however, you'll get a listing of companies with whom you could apply, but the site says the details will have to be quoted by an agent. Conveniently, only seconds after you hit "send" on your computer, the designated agent is likely to be calling you. If you want to shop without an agent -- at least for a while -- you'll have to screen your calls.
The shopping is better at www.vimo.com, where the same group of questions will result in half a dozen options offered by the likes of Aetna, Anthem and Blue Cross. If you click on the "more details" button on any given policy, you can see the coverage limits and restrictions.
However, that site also appeared to immediately shoot a user's name and phone number to at least one agent and potentially several more, who then called to get more information and provide advice.
