It would be nice if financial stewardship was as simple as “just pick the cheapest option.” But that's rarely the case. Health insurance is no different.
Each year you’re tasked with either staying the course with your church’s health insurance or looking for ways to reduce the cost. So, when the new benefits package lands on your desk, it seems like an easy choice to select the cheapest plan.
But the cheapest plan on paper isn't always the best value in practice. Try balancing a low monthly premium against what you might pay in deductibles, copays, and out-of-pocket costs over the year. Get that right, and you're protecting more than just your budget. You're protecting your well being and your family's health.
Before you work with numbers, there are two terms that matter here.
Your deductible is what you pay out of your own pocket before the plan starts sharing costs with you.
Your out-of-pocket maximum (OOPM) is the absolute most you'll pay in a year for covered care, deductible included. Once you hit it, the plan covers everything else.
When you have to determine the value of health plans, the OOPM isn't a second expense stacked on top of the deductible. It's the finish line, and the deductible is just the first stretch of that same race.
Now, for the numbers:
Based on the Health Savings Account (HSA), high-deductible plans carried cheaper premiums compared to low-deductible plans. They found that for family coverage, the average cost was $25,379 on a high-deductible plan and $28,272 for a low-deductible plan.
Based on that national average, that's roughly a $2,900 yearly savings by choosing the cheaper, high-deductible plan.
But this is not the whole picture.
Let's compare two real plans from RBA's Michigan 2026 Benefits Guide, family coverage. The HMA Consumer Plan (HSA-compatible) carries a $4,000 deductible and a $10,000 out-of-pocket max, meaning $10,000 is the worst you'll pay all year even in a catastrophic case.
The HMA $8,000 HDHP Plan (least expensive, high deductible) carries a $16,000 deductible and a $16,000 out-of-pocket max. In this plan, the deductible and the ceiling are the same number. It's essentially like not having health insurance for the first $16,000 of your medical bills.
A tip for you: If you have a HDHP plan, you should also have a Health Savings Account (HSA). It’s a savings account that uses pre-tax dollars to help bridge the gap before your insurance dollars start to kick in.
The number that matters here is the out-of-pocket max, since that's your real risk. In a hard year, the HDHP plan could cost your family $6,000 more than the Premium Plan ($16,000 versus $10,000). This erases more than two years of premium savings in a single claim.
That's the whole exercise. Premium savings on one side, worst-case exposure on the other. Whichever number is bigger tells you what you're actually signing up for.
This isn't an argument to always pick the more expensive plan. A healthy, low-claims year with a leaner plan wins by far. But if a new baby comes along, a surgery takes place, or a chronic condition flares up, the more expensive plan can usually save you thousands.
In the end, you can't know which one wins for you, your family, or your church until you run through the three steps above. If you want to see the full case for what a premium-level plan gets you, we've written about that here.
The cheapest premium doesn't always work out to be the best stewardship plan. Once you determine the real value of your options, your choice will become clear. we've written about that here to walk through this comparison using your actual household or church staff situation.
The information contained in this blog is for educational purposes only.