Under the 2010 Affordable Care Act many preventive screenings and treatments are covered even for those individuals with high deductible insurance plans. High deductible plans were created to encourage consumers to make better educated decisions about their health care expenses but consumers get confused. According to research by Kaiser Health News, many consumers with high deductible insurance plans believe that the deductible applies to all doctor visits even though those plans typically don’t require patients to pay for preventive care such as annual physicals or screening tests. The research found that as many as four in five Californians, where the study was done, said they’d delayed or avoided office visits, tests or screenings due to costs. Read the full article here.
High deductible plans on the whole want patients to make use of screening and other preventive programs and try to make that route the easiest and cheapest route for them. If you are unsure about costs for things like annual exams, vaccinations or other preventive care programs contact your insurance company and ask.
