More Than 4 in 10 Americans Prefer High-Deductible Health Insurance Plans

NEW YORK, Dec. 2, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- More than four in 10 Americans prefer a high-deductible plan with a lower monthly premium, according to a new Bankrate.com (NYSE: RATE) report. Thirty-six percent of Americans would rather choose a low-deductible plan with a higher monthly bill, and nine percent would not choose either of these two options.

Millennials and Americans with household incomes of $30,000-$49,999 are the most likely to prefer a high premium/low-deductible plan, while higher income Americans ($50,000 and up) and those ages 30-64 years-old are more likely to prefer a low premium/high-deductible plan.

"While a low health insurance premium can be very attractive, you don't want to make the mistake of focusing too much on your monthly payment," said Doug Whiteman, Bankrate.com insurance analyst. "Especially for older Americans who may require more doctor visits than their younger counterparts, a low premium/high-deductible plan could actually cost more in the long run."

Despite efforts by the Obama Administration to improve the health insurance exchanges, most Americans still dread shopping for their health insurance. In fact, 82% of Americans who recently shopped for health insurance say that it's just as bad as or even worse than doing your own taxes. Seventy-five percent say it's the same or worse than getting the middle seat on a crowded airplane. Even having a tooth filled is better than health plan shopping for some Americans; 23% of those who recently shopped for a plan say it was less enjoyable than facing the dentist's drill and 45% say it's just as bad (for a total of 68% who say it's the same or worse).

"Shopping for health insurance can be complicated, but it's one of the most important decisions you can make," said Whiteman. "If you have the wrong coverage or no health insurance at all, you could be just one illness or injury away from massive medical bills."

"It's much better to go through the pain of researching and choosing a plan now than it is to figure out how you're going to pay for an unexpected hospital visit during an emergency."

Additional Findings:

• 32% of Americans say they feel "more negative" now than they did a year ago about the Affordable Care Act's impact on their own health care, more than twice as many as the 15% who feel "more positive."
• Almost half (49%) of Americans want major or minor changes to be made to Obamacare. 26% want to repeal the law completely (down from 30% when the same question was asked in June 2014) and only 16% want to keep the law as-is.

The survey was conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International (PSRAI) and can be seen in its entirety here:

http://www.bankrate.com/finance/insurance/health-insurance-poll-1114.aspx

PSRAI obtained telephone interviews with a nationally representative sample of 1,004 adults living in the continental United States. Interviews were conducted by landline (502) and cell phone (503, including 291 without a landline phone) in English and Spanish by Princeton Data Source from November 20-23, 2014. Statistical results are weighted to correct known demographic discrepancies. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

About Bankrate, Inc.

Bankrate is a leading publisher, aggregator, and distributor of personal finance content on the Internet. Bankrate provides consumers with proprietary, fully researched, comprehensive, independent and objective personal finance editorial content across multiple vertical categories including mortgages, deposits, insurance, credit cards, and other categories, such as retirement, automobile loans, and taxes. The Bankrate network includes Bankrate.com, CreditCards.com and InsuranceQuotes.com, our flagship websites, and other owned and operated personal finance websites, including Caring.com, Interest.com, Bankaholic.com, Mortgage-calc.com, CreditCardGuide.com, Nationwide Card Services, CarInsuranceQuotes.com, InsureMe, CreditCards.ca, and NetQuote.com. Bankrate aggregates rate information from over 4,800 institutions on more than 300 financial products. With coverage of nearly 600 local markets in all 50 U.S. states, Bankrate generates over 172,000 distinct rate tables capturing on average over three million pieces of information daily. Bankrate develops and provides web services to over 80 co-branded websites with online partners, including some of the most trusted and frequently visited personal finance sites on the Internet such as Yahoo!, AOL, CNBC, and Bloomberg. In addition, Bankrate licenses editorial content to over 500 newspapers on a daily basis including The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, and The Boston Globe.

For more information:

Caroline Farhat
Publicist, Bankrate, Inc.
[email protected] 
(917) 368-8638

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130805/FL58072LOGO

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/more-than-4-in-10-americans-prefer-high-deductible-health-insurance-plans-300002931.html

SOURCE Bankrate, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.bankrate.com