A growing risk: High-deductible health plans can ruin finances | The Compost Bin | Forums

But it's the affordable care act!

CHARLOTTE, NC (Ann Doss Helms/The Charlotte Observer) -
The 30,000-plus people who work for Carolinas HealthCare System will have only one option for insurance next year, and it requires them to pay up to $5,600 a year out of pocket. For family coverage that risk rises to $11,200.

The move by the Charlotte area's largest employer spotlights a trend that's sweeping the country: As more people get health insurance, more people with insurance face potentially devastating medical bills.

The cost-sharing shift has been building for years. Now it's snowballing to include some of the region's biggest employers, from hospitals to banks to public schools.

Proponents say greater cost-sharing promotes healthy behavior and drives down medical spending. Some employers contribute to savings accounts for medical expenses and pay workers for such actions as avoiding tobacco and getting health screenings.

“I think these high-deductible plans are going to become more the norm. They do reward folks who take good care of themselves,” said Joseph Piemont, chief operating officer for Carolinas HealthCare.

In a typical year, many employees can save money on the new arrangements, which have lower monthly premiums than traditional plans. But medical crises can't always be avoided or budgeted.

David Frick of Waxhaw, a 50-year-old case worker for a company that manages worker's compensation benefits, was healthy and financially stable until Dec. 1, when a trip to the emergency room with abdominal cramps ended with a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer (see accompanying story). He maxed out the $11,000 in out-of-pocket costs on his workplace policy for 2014, and quickly started piling up more bills in 2015.

Even after tapping retirement savings and getting help from family, friends and their church, he and his wife, P.J., still owe more than $10,000.

“We work professional jobs. We're educated. We did everything right,” Frick said. “We have no control over it.”

Less than half of all households above the poverty level have enough assets to cover an out-of-pocket maximum of $3,000 to $6,000, considered a moderate level, according to a March analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation.

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