The answer is different for everyone. You must consider both your overall health and your ability to pay for the whole deductible or the copay for each visit. Many people in the Antelope valley are covered by the two major carriers: Blue Cross and Kaiser.

Most Kaiser patients have a low deductible. Many Blue Cross patients have a high deductible, sometimes as high as $5,00.00 or $10,000.00. In general the insurance costs have been rising (as the insurance companies continue to make obscene profits). To discourage visiting the doctor, and logically help lower costs, they increase the deductibles and copays. With insurances that are covered by unions (like the Antelope Valley High School District, Sherrif department, Prison guards, Cal-Trans) the trend has been to lower deductibles but gradually increasing copays.

Small business owners and employees that work for progressive companies like Lockheed or Northrop, we tend to see higher deductibles supported by a HSA or FSA. An FSA allows you to set aside part of your paycheck (pretax) for health expenses.  If your deductible is high you may qualify for a health savings account (HSA) and your employer may also contribute funds.  Note: You generally cannot have both an HSA and an FSA.

In general, if you go to the doctor a lot, are older or have a chronic condition you are better off in a lower deductible plan. If on the other hand you avoid the doctor and have the resources to cover the cost of the deductible, then a high deductible may make sense, in that the lower cost may save you more money.