Health insurance offers high deductible plans

St. Petersburg, Florida -- As health insurance reform takes center stage in Washington, most Americans are in the middle of open enrollment. Companies are offering insurance plans with higher deductibles as an option for employees who want to cut costs.

Olga Colantrello is happy she has health insurance, but she doesn't care for the price tag.

"Regardless of whether the deductibles are higher are lower, I just find that the coverage is decreasing," she says.

As healthcare costs rise, more employers are offering workers higher deductible health plans. 

"They're moving people into higher deductible plans to reduce their benefits or take a larger portion of the responsibility when they do have a claim," explains Sam Wax, a health insurance agent.

Higher deductible plans mean you pay more out of pocket expenses at the doctor's office, but less comes out of your paycheck and -- once your deductible is reached -- your plan kicks in and covers a percentage of your medical costs. Higher deductible plans seem to work better for younger workers.

"They believe that nothing is going to happen to them, so they don't carry insurance at all or do go for the high deductible to save money for the near term," Wax says.

Some doctors are concerned that patients with high deductible plans are compromising their health. "A lot of times, I see my patients neglecting to take care of basic medical things like a regular checkup, because they haven't met the deductible," says Dr. Carlos Labrador.

If you have a chronic medical condition or you take a lot of medications, a high deductible plan likely isn't be your ideal choice for healthcare.

High deductible plans are usually paired with a health savings account, where you can put away pre-tax dollars to help offset the cost.