Deductible
Deductibles are typically used to deter the large number of claims that a consumer can be reasonably expected to bear the cost of. By restricting its coverage to events that are significant enough to incur large costs, the insurance firm expects to pay out slightly smaller amounts much less frequently, incurring much higher savings. As a result, insurance premiums are typically cheaper when they involve higher deductibles. For example, health insurance companies offer plans with high premiums and low deductibles, or plans with low premiums and high deductibles. One plan may have a premium of $1,087 a month with a $6,000 deductible, while a competitive plan may have a premium of $877 a month with a $12,700 deductible. The consumer with the $6,000 deductible will have to pay $6,000 in health care costs before the insurance plan pays anything. The consumer with the $12,700 deductible will have to pay $12,700.
Flexible spending account
There are FSA plans for non-employer sponsored premium reimbursement and parking and transit expense reimbursement. The individual premium account allows an employee to pay for his or her spouse's insurance with pre-tax dollars as long as the other coverage is a non-employer-sponsored, is considered an individual plan, and is directly billed to the member or the member's spouse. A parking and transit account allows employees to pay parking or public transit expenses with pre-tax dollars up to certain limits. Though not as common as the FSAs listed above, some employers have offered adoption assistance through an FSA.
Also, one cannot have a health care FSA if he or she has a High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) with a Health Savings Account (HSA). In cases where an employee has a HDHP with a HSA, they are eligible for a Limited Expense FSA (LEX) (also called Limited Purpose FSA). These FSAs may be used to reimburse dental and vision expenses, regardless of any plan deductible; at the employer's discretion, eligible medical expenses incurred after the deductible is met may also be reimbursable.