high deductible health plans

Health & Safety
National

A new approach to employer health care? Give workers money to buy their own plan

6:00am September 24, 2024

Some companies are trying something new: Instead of offering a group health insurance plan, they're giving workers a contribution to buy their own individual plans.

Dani Yuengling of Conway, South Carolina, knew she had to follow up after a mammogram found a lump. Her mom had died of breast cancer. But she had no idea how expensive the biopsy would be.

Health & Safety

An $18,000 biopsy? Paying cash might have been cheaper than using her insurance

5:05am August 23, 2022

by Lauren Sausser

A hospital's cost calculator said her procedure would be $1,400 for patients without insurance. Instead, the bill was almost $18,000 and, her part was more than $5,000 — the balance of her deductible.

Matthew Fentress was diagnosed with heart disease that developed after a bout of the flu in 2014. His condition worsened three years later, and he had to declare bankruptcy when he couldn't afford his medical bills, despite having insurance.

Science
Health & Safety

Heart Disease Bankrupted Him Once. Now He Faces Another $10,000 Medical Bill

4:14pm September 25, 2020

by Laura Ungar

A cook at a senior center, Matthew Fentress is one of millions of Americans whose skimpy health insurance plans leave them vulnerable to huge out-of-pocket costs when they get sick.

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