Open Enrollment: 7 Questions to Ask Before Picking Insurance

Open enrollment season turns everyone into a reluctant insurance analyst for two weeks a year. One thing first: we don’t sell insurance and won’t tell you which to pick — HealthPass is not insurance; it’s a healthcare membership that works alongside whatever qualifying insurance you choose. What we can offer is the checklist that makes the choosing clearer. Seven questions:

1. What’s the in-network maximum out-of-pocket? Not the premium — the ceiling. It’s the worst-case number your year can assign you, and the single best basis for comparing options.

2. What’s the deductible, and how does your family actually use care? A high deductible with low premiums rewards a low-use year and punishes a normal one. Count last year’s visits honestly — here’s what each term does — and run your real year against each option.

3. Are your doctors and facilities in-network? Check the insurer’s directory for the specific product, not the brand — networks differ between products under one logo.

4. How are prescriptions handled? Pull your household’s actual medication list and check each option’s formulary tiers. This is where “cheaper” options quietly aren’t.

5. What do urgent care and ER visits assign to you? Read the summary of benefits for those two lines specifically — they’re the visits you can’t schedule and the bills that surprise people most.

6. What changed from your current insurance? Renewals aren’t reruns: deductibles, networks, and drug tiers shift year to year. Read the change notice, not just the renewal price.

7. What’s the total exposure math? Premiums plus your realistic patient responsibility for a normal year — that sum, not the premium alone, is the real cost of each option.

One note for after you choose

Whichever insurance you land on, write down its in-network maximum out-of-pocket — because if you add a HealthPass membership alongside it, that’s the number that sets your price, and the patient responsibility your new insurance assigns at participating facilities becomes your membership’s job, not yours.